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Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 6:01 am
by musicman691
Frodo wrote:Hey Bayswater:
It's a tough call. For a take off, all guitarists are different and have their own preferences for these instruments and how they should play. In addition, these instruments all have personalities of their own even if they are the same model from the same manufacturer.
Bu I do not envy having to buy a left-handed instrument. I was born left-handed, but back in the day when the abacus was all the rage, left-handedness was considered to be a sickness of some sort. I was swatted for writing left-handed, and swatted again when my right-handed work looked like a bad accident.
So, I am very sympathetic to Southpaws!
That said, I cannot imagine shopping for left-handed guitars. That inventory in any shop is not particularly abundant, and it's hard to tell if the left-handed instruments even begin to represent the best of what's available.
More directly to my point (being a spanked righty), it gets into the necessity of having a lot of custom work done unless someone you trust can give you the inside skinny on the better instruments and when/where they might be available.
Honestly, I would still rather play the bass left-handed. It's just easier in a lot of ways (for me). But we live in a right-handed world, and such conformity adds a layer of discomfort I've never been completely happy with.
Then again, I was encouraged to study the piano since my early days which gave equal time to both hands. I try not complain too much.
I got an American Standard Tele a couple-three years ago and have been very happy with it. But a Tele is a Tele and a Strat is Strat.
Me want Strat.
I often think I was born left-handed as well and like you came up at a time when being a leftie was a lot more than frowned upon as you have experienced. One thing I have learned over the decades of working righty is I have become quite ambidextrous and the only thing I can't do with any facility is to write long-hand with my left hand. Everything else I can do equally well either way (which also helps my drumming) although playing lefty is easier for me.
Not to be flippant but have you considered doing the Hendrix thing and flipping a righty Strat over and playing left-handed? Could also do the same thing with a Tele. But with a Les Paul or any of the other Gibson axes there's an issue because of the way the bridge is set; it's not square to the strings like on a Fender product and there's not enough travel on the bridge saddles to correct for intonation.
OT (sorta): do you use right-handed or left-handed scissors? Don't laugh as there are differences between the two. Has something to do with how the blades are formed.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:43 am
by bayswater
musicman691 wrote:Not to be flippant but have you considered doing the Hendrix thing and flipping a righty Strat over and playing left-handed?
OT (sorta): do you use right-handed or left-handed scissors? Don't laugh as there are differences between the two. Has something to do with how the blades are formed.
If that was addressed to me: yes, I tried it, and have to do it a lot. I can play basic stuff upside down in a pinch. But the controls on a strat etc are on the wrong side so that gets awkward. Some guitars may appear close to symmetrical, but it's difficult to use access the highest frets. Hendrix did it but he lots of stuff I haven't mastered.
My mistake: I learned basics on a cheap acoustic with a moveable bridge and the strings reversed. My first electric was a Harmony in the same configuration. That made it pretty much impossible to go back by time I got a solid body guitar.
You're right about left handed scissors. The handles are different too. That's what I use.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:51 am
by musicman691
bayswater wrote:musicman691 wrote:Not to be flippant but have you considered doing the Hendrix thing and flipping a righty Strat over and playing left-handed?
OT (sorta): do you use right-handed or left-handed scissors? Don't laugh as there are differences between the two. Has something to do with how the blades are formed.
If that was addressed to me: yes, I tried it, and have to do it a lot. I can play basic stuff upside down in a pinch. But the controls on a strat etc are on the wrong side so that gets awkward. Some guitars may appear close to symmetrical, but it's difficult to use access the highest frets. Hendrix did it but he lots of stuff I haven't mastered.
My mistake: I learned basics on a cheap acoustic with a moveable bridge and the strings reversed. My first electric was a Harmony in the same configuration. That made it pretty much impossible to go back by time I got a solid body guitar.
You're right about left handed scissors. The handles are different too. That's what I use.
Actually I was responding to Frodo who was responding to you but the comments/questions still stand.
As far as some guitars appearing symmetrical but they're really not there's one that comes very close and that's a Gibson Flying V but you've still got the thing of the bridge tilted the wrong way around. Now if someone made a bridge that had enough travel in the saddles that might help. Acoustic guitars are about the most symmetrical axes I can think of.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 8:14 am
by bayswater
musicman691 wrote:As far as some guitars appearing symmetrical but they're really not there's one that comes very close and that's a Gibson Flying V but you've still got the thing of the bridge tilted the wrong way around. Now if someone made a bridge that had enough travel in the saddles that might help. Acoustic guitars are about the most symmetrical axes I can think of.
I've reset the bridge on some acoustics; that usually works OK. As for the V, in the day, it was one of the guitars easier to find in a left handed version.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 1:44 pm
by Gravity Jim
I have reached the Terminal Buss Of All Amp Questing. I.e., this:
It's a Fuchs Overdrive Supreme (ODS) 50-watt head with optional half-power switch. Hand built in New Jersey and designed by master circuit geek Andy Fuchs, it is the damnedest thing I have ever heard. From absolutely pristine Fender-y cleans to chewy, creamy Dumble overdrive, there is nothing this amp won't do and sound delicious while doing it.
I'm selling the Egnaters. They've been good - very good - but this is not just great, it's absolute. PS: this is not a first-blush honeymoon review: I've been playing it for a month now and it continues to amaze me every time I switch it on.)
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 5:00 am
by musicman691
Gravity Jim wrote:I have reached the Terminal Buss Of All Amp Questing. I.e., this:
It's a Fuchs Overdrive Supreme (ODS) 50-watt head with optional half-power switch. Hand built in New Jersey and designed by master circuit geek Andy Fuchs, it is the damnedest thing I have ever heard. From absolutely pristine Fender-y cleans to chewy, creamy Dumble overdrive, there is nothing this amp won't do and sound delicious while doing it.
I'm selling the Egnaters. They've been good - very good - but this is not just great, it's absolute. PS: this is not a first-blush honeymoon review: I've been playing it for a month now and it continues to amaze me every time I switch it on.)
Interesting amp (and the rest of the line ain't too shabby either). I wonder why he went with all tube except for the reverb? What speakers/cab are you using with it?
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 11:39 am
by Gravity Jim
I am currently using an oversized, open-back Mojo cab loaded with a 12" Eminence Red Fang (8 ohms), and a closed-back Egnater Rebel cab loaded with their private-label 12" Celestion Elite 80 (16 ohms). They both sound great, but I'm probably going to sell that cab with my Rebel 20 and replace it with a Fuchs Mini12 cab loaded with one of their preferred Eminence 12"... if only for the solid pine construction. You can choose a Red White & Blues, Wizard, Texas Heat or Delta Pro for no upcharge, or go crazy with some boo-teek-y drivers for a bit more. I like the Eminence speakers, and will likely go with the RW&B.
EDITED: Ordered the Fuchs cab. Looks like I found a buyer for the Rebel 20 overnight.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 1:46 pm
by Gravity Jim
Also, this:
I'm having a luthier (who knows my playing and knew my old Gibson J50 very well) named Charles Dick build a copy of a 50's J50... some old Indian rosewood he's been saving for "something special" for the back and sides, solid Lutz spruce top, dark ebony fingerboard and bridge plate. It's about half finished: this pic shows the top, which has been glued to the box now, having it's bracing tuned. (342 is the frequency that was being used to excite the wood in this test.) I really like Charles's work overall, but this guitar is going to destroy all monsters. Can't wait to get my grubby mitts on it.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:43 pm
by Frodo
Back to the lefty bit for a sec, I got a chuckle hearing McCartney saying that he chose his Hofner violin bass because as a lefty holding it the other way around it looked "less daft".
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 6:44 pm
by mikehalloran
Frodo wrote:Back to the lefty bit for a sec, I got a chuckle hearing McCartney saying that he chose his Hofner violin bass because as a lefty holding it the other way around it looked "less daft".
I can believe that.
I played lefty as a kid. I switched in 8th grade for a couple of reasons. One was that my father got mad when I re-strung his guitar and made me put it back. About that time, I got interested in the cello and bass and noticed that all orchestra musicians played right handed because of bowing. So I flipped it over and, when I got a decent acoustic and electric later on, they were standard. I rarely switched back except as a party trick to show that I could.
After my stroke, I tried to play left handed. I can still chord and finger with my right but cannot hold a pick or strum in rhythm with my left hand. I did try tapping a left handed bass but couldn't make it work the way I wanted.
Rick Turner has expressed interest in building a tapping bass bass or modding one of the ones he has already built for me if I can figure out the string gauge and scale, something like bass only Chapman stick. That's a lot of money for something I may not like. Tony Levin's playing on the Stick is impressive, though.
Nowadays, if I play on a track, I lay a bass on my lap and finger the notes while plucking with my thumb on one of my right-handed basses one handed. That is tiring after about a half hour so, when I gig with my band, I use an iPad and tap the notes on the glass using the GarageBand bass.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 5:14 am
by musicman691
Parallel to the thing of people switching lefty for righty - so far we've been talking about musicians. An excellent example of switching hands is Rafael Nadal the tennis player. He's a born righty but Uncle Tony switched Rafa around to play lefty and you can see he's done fairly well for himself.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:36 am
by bayswater
The irony is you look a bit daft anyway because you're holding the guitar the wrong way around, even if it's the right way up.
Mike, when tracking do you pick and finger with the same hand? I've tried to develop that without much success.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:15 am
by mikehalloran
bayswater wrote:Mike, when tracking do you pick and finger with the same hand? I've tried to develop that without much success.
Yes. I'm not so sure it's a skill worth developing, frankly but that's how I can play.
I've tried it laying the bass both ways and working my thumb both directions. Headstock to the left is easier on the brain but hardest on my hand as the thumb crosses under the fingers—I can sing, however since the patterns are familiar. Headstock to the right is easier on my hand and sounds better as the thumb is further away — I'm not able to sing like this as I have to concentrate too much on my playing.
It's easier on short scale basses. The first time I tried it was on a friend's EB-2. The Kala U-Bass has a very short scale with silicone strings and works quite well for this. I'm not so enamoured of the technique that I've bought one, however.
The GarageBand bass is much easier to play and doesn't cause hand fatigue. It lacks the ictus of a plucked string — you don't hear this solo but, with other instruments, it doesn't sit as well in a mix. The lack of a strong ictus lets me run it directly through a PA without bringing a bass amp. I've been doing it long enough that I can sing lead without looking at the glass.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:41 am
by bayswater
mikehalloran wrote:Yes. I'm not so sure it's a skill worth developing, frankly but that's how I can play.
I remember seeing Tommy Emmanuel do it -- picking with both hands while fingering chords, melody and bass. That got me interested in the possibilities.
Re: Calling all guitarists
Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2016 5:30 pm
by monkey man
Hey fellas. Hope you're all well.
Posted my catch-up info here if anyone's interested:
http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 10#p523110
Seeing as amps have been discussed a little now, I just wanted to mention the Kemper. There. Done it. Audition it at your peril.
Talk about damnedest things!
