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I am noticing something interesting with the new PM100 and that is that it has this very nice "singing quality" to it. I am not picking as much and sliding and slurring my way around because it speaks so well when I am doing that - I am a pretty hard core alternate picker because it makes things easier switching between upright bass and guitar since I can use my bow knowledge on the pick. I guess it makes sense being a Metheny guitar and that is something he does so much of that it had better be able to highlight that kind of phrasing.
But it made me think. Have any of you gotten guitars that make you play differently due to them being really well suited to something that you usually do not do often? What was it, the size, construction - what was it that made you play differently? I have been pretty consistent alternate picking almost everything whether it was an archtop, semi or electric so I didn't expect this but I like that it is getting me to do something different.
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06-04-2017 10:34 PM
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Specially a Strat makes me play very differently than the rest.
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My Selmer Macaferri copy definitely changes the way I play, as does my Telecaster.
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The low frets on my GJS use to make play differently.
Now with the new frets, I play the same as on other guitars.
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Some of my instruments require considerable modifications in technique from one another. The 12 string, for example, is a different beast from the classical, despite the similarities in neck width and scale length. The resonator makes its own demands, as do the Martins and the others. I find that even guitars that are basically similar still differ enough to require some technical adjustments - the ES-345 and the ES-325 are quite different, and so on. What I find most useful to my musical pursuits is the inspiration I get from the same guitar with different strings or plugged into a different amp or the same amp with different settings or whatever. For example, I like to plug into two tremolo-equipped amps and mess with the timing to get ping-pong effects - not for the effect itself, but for the rhythmic inspiration it provides. The licks and melodies and riffs and whatnot may ultimately be played quite straight on any number of instruments. The point is the creative spark.
Also, I like messing around on guitars.
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I wouldn't say my technique changes from one guitar to another... and I actually look for guitars that allow me to play the way I play, and get rid of ones that make that difficult (for example, I play "thumb-over", so neck profile is a very big deal to me).
However- I DO find myself changing my STYLE a bit from instrument to instrument... for example, on my Gretsch, the Brian Setzer licks come out in droves, but less so on my tele, even less so on my Les Paul, and are non-existant on my acoustics. Tons of SRV type stuff on my teles, but not so much on my Gretsch. Material from my old hard rock days plays on the teles and Les Paul, but nowhere else. And if I still had a real archtop (it's in my future), it would be exclusively for Charlie Christian/Johnny Smith and western swing stuff....
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I use two guitars now. Exclusively. That's because they do make me play very differently. Neck contour, body depth, the feel of the attack, the response of the body acoustically are even and the sound is complex and immediate. They feel as close to a classical guitar as I've ever been able to get and I play fingerstyle.
They inspire me to play chordally and I find I use more counterpoint when I'm playing these two guitars. Strange, but it's true.
I'll also add that it took a lot of playing and breaking in to get them so they felt "right".
They're two custom solid wood 7 strings, one 15", one 16".
David
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That's one reason I love playing teles. In the usual classic form (single coil p/us, steel bridge plate with 3 saddles), the tele rewards changing up your picking dynamics ... especially moving the right hand down closer to the bridge. Every guitar does this, but it's pretty noticeable to me on my favorite teles.
The winner in this department for me is a Jerry Jones baritone guitar. Mine is tuned A to A. It automatically elicits different types of rhythm playing, with that huge low end. Brings out the inner bass player.
MD
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It happened exactly the same to me with my GB-10.
Originally Posted by rio
I should know; it was 1982 and I played Classic Rock then! Imagine my surprise when I found myself sliding and slurring, and NOT bending, not even when playing Blues?
At least to me it was simply mind-boggling! Kind like looking yourself in the mirror and going "who is that guy, uh?"
Last edited by LtKojak; 06-05-2017 at 08:19 AM.
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I have a blonde '57 Gibson ES 175 that has a "genie" that lives inside. When I rub the strings with my fingers and a pick, I sound better than I do on any other guitar. I don't know this kind spirit's name, but I swear this is true. Has anyone else felt the presence of a spirit residing in a particular guitar they have come across?
(I looked inside, and I think his name might be "Kalamazoo").
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I play mainly archtops and telecasters and I find a great difference. With the teles I tend to avoid the 1st and the 6th string, the focus is the middle 4 strings. The archtops play a little more like an acoustic instrument. Originally Posted by rio
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I have 16" laminate thin body archtop that in many ways is my favorite guitar.
However, there is some thing about the G notes, especially the 2nd string at the 8th fret that make me play differently. For certain notes, I find I really have to play with a very light touch if I don't want them to sound like a honking goose.
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Have you started wearing a lot of long-sleeved t-shirts with horizontal stripes and tight jeans, too? Sprouted a giant frizzy hair-helmet yet? Originally Posted by rio
John
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That's really the only reason I use different guitars at times. To the audience, the difference in sound between my hollow body and semi hollow isn't that great. But they make me play differently.
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My stockpile of short shorts is on the way. Originally Posted by John A.
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For sure! A Semi to semi? no, but arch top to semi to solid absolutely! Originally Posted by Rufes
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One of my archtops has a lone Lollar Charlie Christian pickup. I use it for old tunes like "All of me" or "Honeysuckle Rose". Another archtop has a Benedetto pickup, it sounds almost an acoustic quality to it. My other archtops have humbucker pickups they sound much more Kenny Burrell/Wes Montgomery. I guess that what I am saying is that the sound of the guitar affects the style that I employ when I play it. Originally Posted by GNAPPI
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Zoiks! Originally Posted by rio
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For me it is a tone and comfort choice. I use two 17" archtops. A Triggs New Yorker and a Heritage Johnny Smith. How two so similar guitars can be soooo different is amazing. The Triggs is 25 1/2" scale,sturdy built, and the Heritage is 25" very lightly built. The Triggs has the power and slightly more difficult to play,the Heritage is quiet and plays like butter,you hardly know it's on your knee. Almost a part of you. You want to play it. It's that one that you play differently. I love both guitars but the one that makes you feels it's a part of you is the winner. Yeah Heritage!
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Of all the guitars I've ever played, Strats force me to play very differently than others. It's like I become another player other than myself. Strange!
For jazz guitars, like 'Easytograsp's ES175, I too have one with a genie inside...its a Heritage H525 that makes me sound much better than I really am as a player. Not sure what it is, but there's old school magic in that box!!
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When I got my first ES350T, I played completely differently.....my fingers just fell onto things without thinking. When I eventually got my Byrdland, it was even better. That scale length just seems to work better for me.
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Once every 2-3 weeks I pull my Peavey Omniac Jerry Donahue model out of its case and it forces me to play very differently compared to my 1961 ES 175D or other guitars
- Progressive and relatively sharp v-profile on the neck
- Very narrow neck
- Relatively high frets since the guitar is specifically built with string bending in mind (bending a third is possible)
- Custom Seymour Duncan pickups that are very responsive
- Very small gap between strings and body calls for adjustment to right hand technique
- Lots of space behind the nut, provides an opportunity for bending strings behind the nut (open or fingered) - interesting for spacey fusion
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For me it's more a matter of different set-ups changing the way I play than different guitars. Relatively high action/heavy strings vs lower action/lighter strings means two different sets of articulations and (to a degree) techniques. At least for me, lower/lighter yields a bigger pallette, so at least with electric guitars I've "standardized" on that.
John
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That's a nice guitar there Originally Posted by Gitfiddler
Of all the guitars I've ever played, Strats force me to play very differently than others. It's like I become another player other than myself. Strange!
For jazz guitars, like 'Easytograsp's ES175, I too have one with a genie inside...its a Heritage H525 that makes me sound much better than I really am as a player. Not sure what it is, but there's old school magic in that box!!
I dig the deco style amp too
What brand is that amp ?
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