Barking Hard Musicians: What do you play? | Page 2 | Barking Hard

Barking Hard Musicians: What do you play?

A DIY studio would be awesome. Cheaper than booking a place for sure, and you could make some money on the side if others want to record too.

Our guitarist just up and ragequit on us last night, so we're down a member and had to cancel our upcoming shows. Might try to find a new drummer and have me move into his former spot. We'll see what happens.
 
Our mandolin player has a coworker who is a drummer, and I work with a drummer and lead guitarist, so it might all work out in the end. At the very least the other four of us are all cool with each other so we'll try to at least do something.
 
Update, we got the drum set back (oh yeah, I failed to mention that he owned the drum set) AND we're moving to a smaller (read: cheaper) practice room. So, I don't need to move to guitar; we can instead look for someone to fill that spot, or divide it between a couple people, or both. Our mandolin player said he's interested in playing guitar on some songs, and our washboard/tambourine/female vocalist wants instead of being a becoming-largely-redundant percussionist to play a cigar-box guitar, which would work well on some of our things.
 
nickers said:
I did it on Sonar cakewalk through My PC..4 guitar tracks, one keyboard bass track.. And a drum track I did free hand on Keyboard because I didnt want to spend all day trying to program and quantize the drum parts.. So I just kept it simple... Did it all in Drop D tuning
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I have enjoyed your playing Nick. I think you are very talented and I have a suggestion. Don't bite off my head for suggesting this, but it seems to me that a guy with your talent ought to make his way to Nashville and become a studio musician. You would, of course, have to learn the Nashville Number System (if you don't already know it), but I would guess that it would be easy for you. The NNS is used by the studio musicians in Nashville since it allows them to play in any key with just one written notation.

At least that is what I would do if I was a little younger and had your talent. Me? I can cord a little on a guitar and had some fun with it years ago when I was in the Navy. But after the Navy, my life took another turn. Anyway, I don't have much of an ear for music nor the dexterity to be good.

I had a grandfather was quite a musician, I'm told. He was the type who could pick up any instrument and play it well. His instrument of choice was the Mandolin, but he taught his eldest son to play the violin, his oldest daughter to play the organ, and is wife to cord the guitar. On summer nights, so the legend goes, they would sometimes go out on the porch to play their music, and neighboring farmers would drive up to their house in buggies to listen.

My mother also was very musical, but, unfortunately for me, I had a father who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket (as they say) and it appears that I inherited as much from my father as my mother. Fortunately, my father was creative in other ways. For example, he was very inventive and I apparently inherited that from him. So although I missed out on the musical talent, I was creative in another way and have been granted 21 American patents for original designs, some of which have been commercially successful. But I digress. Although it leaped over me, there remains musical talent in my family. I have a granddaughter who plays the clarinet in her high school band. What is significant about that you ask? She is in the seventh grade. She is very good. She wants to play the trumpet next year.
 
Any advice on how to stop breaking my damn strings? Do I just have crappy strings, too thin of strings, too old of strings, too heavy a pick, volume too low?

I switched from drums to guitar in my band a couple weeks ago and last week bam, there goes the high E on my strat. So I switched to the Les Paul and bam, same thing. I still had an extra high E from another set that I had used to replace a single sting somewhere else, so I used it on the strat. It holds up for one practice, and then yesterday, bam, there it goes again AND throws my entire tuning out of whack. So I go back to the Les Paul, still without its high E.

And there goes the damn B. Retuned the strat, finished practice.

I was using GHS Fatties (either .009 or .010) since I got a good deal on them (probably mistake number one), got them ten years ago (mistake number two), haven't changed them in quite a while because until now I didn't play often and I'm cheap (mistake number three). Of what I read, I may also just be playing harder in an effort to hear myself easier, causing them to break. Also using a medium pick with that instead of a lighter one might affect things. I'm pretty much strictly rhythm, so it's not like I need to use a heavy pick.

A coworker told me he uses Ernie Ball Extra Slinky on his and has had no problems. I think I can likely go heavier to the Power Slinky (.011 rather than .009).

Any advice or string recommendations? I'm going to run over to GC today and just fully re-string both.
 
I like .010s for standard tuning, .009s feel too thin to me. I usually go for some form of D'Addario or Ernie Ball strings. D'Addario makes some Electrozinc strings under the D'Angelico brand that are a little pricier but feel really nice for uncoated strings. I've usued DR Pure Blues in the past as which which are pure nickel rather than nickel coated steel.

I would guess that your problem is just old strings. GHS are not bad strings but any string will corrode over time and become more brittle. It could be something with the way you are winding them too but I'd start with new strings first and see how that works.
 
I did a minor bridge adjustment since that's where the strings were breaking, tightened the tuners where they're held in in the headstock since they were moving a little, and got some Fender 10-46 bullet-end strings. Apparently they fit a bridge with a whammy bar better than normal ball-end strings so it shouldn't go out of tune as badly; we'll see, I don't typically use the whammy but it's good to have options since I could on one or two songs.

Also got Ernie Ball 11-48 Power Slinkys to go on the Les Paul, some .60 picks, and will likely turn up the volume a bit more so I hit my chords lighter. Going from drums to guitar, I might be a bit ham-handed in playing, so if I turn up a bit and make sure I can hear, I think I'd be more apt to play a little lighter.

Our first show since my move to guitar is tomorrow night. Fortunately our next one after that is six weeks off so I have some time for tweaking things more if necessary.
 
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The Fender strings worked great on the strat-- however I did notice a bridge problem that I'll need a professional to look at. I figured I'd put the whammy bar on and when I did, it doesn't press down very far-- because somehow the bridge is in the pressed-all-the-way-down position. Possibly a missing screw or spring or something in there, I'm thinking.

At the very least, it worked fine for the show, no string breakage and my only fuckups were my own doing and not my equipment.

Got a short video clip of one song here, my first time ever playing with a slide other than screwing with GNR's Rocket Queen solo in private. I was off a little, but for having learned the chords in only two weeks and barely having used a slide I think it was decent.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1js6sVD9AA4q-Zue1PkZDbmFqhDD7_olm
 
If it's a floyd rose or Fender style floating bridge, it might be due to string tension. If that's the case, you'll have to play with the springs in the back to compensate for the string tension. If you changed to heavier or lighter gauge strings that's usually it. I hate tuning and balancing floating bridges so I stick to fixed bridges.

Oh also nice video. Slide sounds pretty good.
 
internalprime8 said:
If it's a floyd rose or Fender style floating bridge, it might be due to string tension. If that's the case, you'll have to play with the springs in the back to compensate for the string tension. If you changed to heavier or lighter gauge strings that's usually it. I hate tuning and balancing floating bridges so I stick to fixed bridges.

Oh also nice video. Slide sounds pretty good.
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Thanks!

I finally got around to messing with the bridge this week-- and yeah, it's a Fender floating one. I got in the back and adjusted the claw to tighten the springs and it's somewhat better now. I may add a fourth or just put entirely new ones in soon.
 
Just got a new guitar a couple weeks ago-- a Gretsch Electromatic G5420T-- black with gold hardware and Bigsby tremolo. LOVE the sound from it.

My band's CD comes out December 1. Should be up on Spotify and elsewhere the day after.

Our CD release show will be live on Facebook too, I'll see if I can link to it ahead of time, or at least post it afterward.
 
I have been a pro drummer and I’ve toured,played in many bands and lots of studio work.
Kind of a throwback in the sense that everyone now are paying big money for small kits while my kit has toms ranging from
8”,10”,12”13”14”16”18”22x18 kick and a steel Pearl free float snare with a Gibraltar rack,DW hardware and Sabian cymbals of
17”axx ,19&20” asxplosions 20” HH ride and 14” sizzle hats.
Why do you think my name is Danamal?😁
 
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