What Style of Guitar do u play?

[Alpha579]

Just Thoguth it would be interesting to know...Personally i play blues/rock, but im starting to learn a bit of Jazz...

[bwanasonic]

I think an *all of the above* or *none of the above* would have been useful :wink: I've always found these distinctions to be a bit arbitrary and abstract. If I go from Jimi to Monk to Stravinsky to Albert Collins to Buck Owens to Ali Farka Toure in a solo, what style am I playing?


Kerry M

[Alpha579]

Good point there. I think we may have just rendered this post obsolete :?

[Peter Snowberg]

It's early in your poll.... perfect time to add to the choices if you want.

I wish I made some changes to the DIY map stuff early on, but now it's too late. Oh well....

Take care,
-Peter

[petemoore]

For me it would probably be at least all of the above.
 When asked "What Kind of Music are you into?", I fear that self categorizing could be used against me. "Oh...Blues based" [in response to the very beginning of a long answer..."See right there...that old stuff won't go over in the bar."...So I answer by asking "Why do you want to know"...at which point they usually get the idea it's not working. I don't know who figured that one out but it seems to be a common dismissal point for pre-auditions...which is fine by me.
 If they have to ask for a limited format right off the bat, I immediately suspect there is alot of music they fail to appreciate or learn from.
 Learn from. Learning is the best thing about music. Most of the bands I try out for or see, it seems one of the main goals is that they want to do it like they could do it in their sleep...I invariably find that boring.
 A band that can stretch, flex, and relax. I used to go for more constant top speed music, but these days I think if I had to pick just one speed for a song [god forbid...no timing changes, just all the same quarter or whatever notes] it would be medium or slow.
 The best music IMO is the real music...the kind that flows from a very fluent player, who is very adept at retrieving techniques from a vast reserve of style through study.
 Sometimes when I play, I become one with the fretboard, the sound is dynamic enough that I can simply play 'natural songs'. They don't flow from the heart [like coutry sangers might portend], the best ones come from a source before unknown to the player. Very rare are the players that have this happen. It is my belief that it simply cannot be replicated, it is a flow of information from 'somewhere' that can hit me like a ton of bricks, and leave me just as quick as lightning, alone with the new information, grasping to remember it ALL...and working for many months, sometimes years before all the passages are found, techniquies are developed to actually play them, and they are made to fit in a fashion befitting their grandeur.
 It rarely happens, I don't know where it came from.  It is inner vision. Somehow it taps into stuff [information/playing styles, etc.] I'm completely unfamiliar with, are extremely complex, and show me things that need worked on to perform it properly, 'something' just hits me like lightning, after that everything is permanently altered. I've only had this happen once or twice...interesting chords and timing combinations I've never heard anything like before. It all makes fantastic sense. Everything fits, I feel honored to be the one to recieve it, and know to focus with great concentration on only that...of course it gets altered by other stuff in time, but the sound structures in it's design are always available to me now, I can call them up readily, anytime there's a need.    
 These visions that take place while I'm playing guitar [maybe 15-20 minutes into playing] have influenced my playing style as much as anything.
 So you take your fluent player, with a wonderfully dynamic sound, in the right mood with the right setting...and the 'flying' starts...that's what kind of music I like best for a while.
 I like the old tried and true blues based music...bout wide enough categorization for ya? Hard Rock, gypsy, country jazz, classical punk...done right with attitude, I like it all.
 What I don't like is stupid songs. Songs about stupid girl who was a drag, or stupid guy who dressed in drag. Songs about politically incorredt woman bashing or even just sucking on a chili dog ... irks me.
 Tight bands. No substitute. rythms that jump. tones that match or mismatch interestingly....all that.
 What do I like to play???...Steppenstone.

[smoguzbenjamin]

I voted for "rock". That's closest to what I play :mrgreen:

[zener]

METAL......LICA. That's what I play most

[Gilles C]

Still got the Blues...

[Marcos - Munky]

I can't answer this with a vote. I play rock mixed with metal, and use blues in my solos, but fast.

[Gringo]

I voted metal, but i'm much much closer to marcos' description. Blues, rock, metal...i listen and (try to) play all of them, and more. I guess i'm not the standard metalhead  :wink:

[RDV]

Lederhosen wearin' polka, baby. Yeah!

RDV

[Chris S]

:cry:

I was hoping to see a list like...

Les Paul
SG
Strat
Tele
Home made

I'd love to know who else plays a home made guitar!

[petemoore]

RDV, do you have any Pics of a lederhosen wearing polka gig?
 I was writing a song called "Lederhosen Wearin' Polka Pop Blues",
and I'm still trying to find inspiring word that rhymes with 'lederhosen'.

[Rodgre]

This is a really weird poll. I guess we realize by now that the choices are very limited, and don't include some really popular styles.

I wouldn't know what to say anyway. I sort of play any style that I have to at a given time.... being that if I'm sitting in with a friend and they're playing "Crosscut Saw", I'll pretend like I can play blues... Or if I'm producing an artist who sounds like Emmylou Harris, I try to play some type of country (not on the list???!)

I find it really hard to only play one style. This might sound really obnoxious, but that's how I feel. There are so many ways to play guitar that I would get terribly bored if I stuck to one thing.

That said, if you judged my style on my band and songwriting alone, I still wouldn't know what to say. I guess "Rock" because as a term it encompasses a wider genre than any other term, but if by "rock" you mean "in the style of AC/DC or Van Halen" then that's not applicable.

I like the concept of drawing from completely disparate influences to combine into something somewhat fresh (which is a tall order itself.) Say, if I was playing metal, and my guitar heroes were Kirk Hammett, Buckethead and Iron Maiden and I learned all I knew from them.... I don't know.... it ends up sounding like in-breeding to me. If I said I played Classical, and my influences were Joey Santiago from the Pixies, David Hidalgo from Los Lobos, David Gilmour, Chet Atkins and Lenny Breau, then I might have a chance of doing something kind of unique.

I realize as I type this that I probably am putting WAY more emphasis on being "unique" and having your own "sound", not to mention that I'm putting WAY more thought into this thread, making myself sound like a total pretentious jerk. Sorry

Anyway, I play "rock" guitar and I'm qualifying that by saying that I'm influenced by Pat Metheny, Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins, Peter Frampton, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys, Warren Cuccurullo of Missing Persons, Kevin Sheilds of My Bloody Valentine, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, Alex Lifeson of Rush, Adam Franklin or Swervedriver, Damon from the Swirlies, Elliot Easton from the Cars, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Roger McGuinn and Buddy Miller.

If that doesn't give you a headache, I don't know what will.....

Roger

[RDV]

RDV, do you have any Pics of a lederhosen wearing polka gig? I was writing a song called "Lederhosen Wearin' Polka Pop Blues", and I'm still trying to find inspiring word that rhymes with 'lederhosen'.

Well, we're sort of a "Garage Lederhosen Wearin Polka band" @ the moment. Till the rest of the world catches up with our 'vision', you'll have to use your imagination, here's a pic from the band I'm forced to play in cause everybody wants to hear that silly rock music, just imagine I'm wearin'the lederhosen & a nice feathered cap:


lederhosen = men are chosen

RDV

[Marcos - Munky]

I voted metal, but i'm much much closer to marcos' description. Blues, rock, metal...i listen and (try to) play all of them, and more. I guess i'm not the standard metalhead  :wink:

I'm like you. My influences don't have the same style. They are Jerry Cantrell (hard rock), Joe Satriani (who knows what style he play? he is very versatile. blues, hard rock, and lots of other styles ), the guys from Slayer (trash metal), George Benson (jazz), Leadbelly (folk), Zakk Wylde (another very versatile guitar player), Hendrix, Jerry Lee Lewis (I know he play piano, but is still a influence), Munky and Head from Korn (nu metal), Tom Morello (funk mixed with hard rock), Kurt Cobain ("grunge"), Dimebag Darrell (metal)... There are more, but I don't put them here because of space, or I forgot (or don't know ) their names . I try to listen a bit of everything and use it in a positive way in my style.

[strungout]

I play mostly punkrock, but even there, you have your subtleties coming into play, no one could say Millencolin sound like Strungout, or Pennywise (or Lenon and McCartney, if you prefer), tho they have alot in common.

I don't play live, except putting up occasional shows for the inanimate objects in my room, so the only time I have to answer to the question "What do you play?" is when someone puts up a post about it on a msg board or sum like that. I guess naming a few bands would get you the same response from bar owners...

But I have a question, don't any of you bring demo tapes to show the guy?
What's the saying: A song is worth a thousand words?

"I'd still rather box myself in than allow someone else to do it".

Ciao.

[d@vide]

Floyd to hell ..... eheh  

[petemoore]

A Bright Burst Flame LP w/Dimarzio PAF Br. neck Split coil. I redressed frets and did complete setup. I use 9's or 10's on it. Neck volume doesn't work.
 Washburn w/3 SC's. Black and White. Frets and *setup done on this one too *lower than LP, razor on the leads. the Pickups are what I'd call very nice sounding meduim strat style.
 For those of you wanting to learn guitars and Luthiering stuff, the Dan Erlewine Guitar Repair Method is very well written, easy to understand [results may vary]. I tried it the first time on a 'Clone your own" les Paul the first time, the guitar was 'borderline/pull the frets off?' affair, after some extensive filing of much  fret material, [neck musta lost a Lb. of fretwire], the thing actually played pretty good for how much fret height was left.
 On a less radical job, it's pretty easy to get the results you're after, provided you take the time to read thoughorly and understand enough to feel confident, closely evaluate your guitar prior to string removal, get all the tools necessary, etc etc...don't try it unless you think you can pull it off...not that hard tho.
 If you have a decent piece [guitar] to work with, it's actually pretty easy to turn it into the best playing guitar you've ever tried. Some necks move more than others...the high frets just never wear as fast as the mid high to lower ones on my guitars.
 Amazing  what a great fret job does for your tone...imprecision creeps up so slowly I hardly notice any difference...till it gets real bad, or I do a fret buff or redress...nothing better than the tone of fresh crowned frets.
 IIRC I got started with about 100 buxx. Of course I had some of the tools already. Main expense is the crowning file, the diamond one makes getting a great crown much easier than the tooth file which without very skilled and focused guidance will gouge your frets shoulders, or top if your the least bit sloppy. Sore hands.
 I like to do mine in as close to one sitting as possible. Takes me about four solid hours after setting up for it.

[troubledtom]

EVIL-PROG-METAL!!!!!!
         - tom