I missed this post somehow. But in any particular order:
Victor Wooten doesn’t make my list, his songwriting is pretty terrible IMO. His bass playing isn’t the most fun to listen to either. Shots out to you guys who named Paul Jackson though. Dude is mad stanky FUNKYYYYYY
Mother of God, this guitar… It’s supposed to be a midrange/low-end PRS guitar? BS. This thing plays like a damn dream. I love it.
PRS SE Singlecut Trem
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/551147_373673439360781_1338399433_n.jpg
Got this in a trade (said bye-bye to my Ibanez RGA, though I still have a SA260FM for single coil stuff). Pickups are DiMarzios; Humbucker From Hell in the neck and Steve’s Special in the bridge. Thankfully I have pretty long fingers so not only is the wide-fat neck comfortable for chord work, I don’t really mind moving up and down the fretboard for my usual fast lead stuff. Hell, I can do some Guthrie-style tapping shit just fine and there’s lots of “slap” and bite when I dig into the strings (D’addario .10s btw, might throw in Elixir .10s) while picking, both fast and slow. Very versatile guitar, definitely a keeper.
Planning on swapping out the pickups though. I’m not really that much of a high gain guy (jazz and prog mostly, but for prog I run my setup through some chorus and delay to add some layers) and I do like my mids. However, the amps at the gigs I go to aren’t always voiced the right way, and some don’t even have a mids control lol. So sometimes the Steve’s Special kind of gets lost in the mix especially if the drummer is going nuts, and we all know how to feel about your drumming throwing dynamics out the window and showing off his fills. Any recommendations? I might try Suhr humbuckers on this, but if only they didn’t cost an arm and a leg…
GFS Pro Series Alnico II pickups are quite sexy.
http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-professional-Series-Alnico-II-Humbucker-Nickel-Case-Neck-Pickup_p_4158.html
http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-professional-Series-Alnico-II-Humbucker-Nickel-Case-Bridge-Pickup_p_4150.html
seems like you guys are all on that acoustic shit. but i play guitar and record and mix all my own stuff, its all metal. and not cheesy ass power metal either
here’s a clip with vocals. http://soundcloud.com/cody-templeton/the-host-w-vox-03
cover of the Guile theme song I did with me band. http://soundcloud.com/cody-templeton/fa-dc-guile
I’m happy my Rondo and Guitarfetish recommendations have worked out so well.
Also, I like how the end of that song sounded reminiscent of Dream Theater.
You have said this over and over again, and I want to know why.
I present to you THIS
On a more serious note, I know that ‘technically’ someone’s song writing shouldn’t contribute to they’re abilities on a specific instrument. I think Vic is probably the most advanced bassist when it comes to his impeccable technique; but when I think of bassists I’m really impressed with, I think of their composing abilities first and foremost.
When it comes to Vic, I don’t think there’s much depth to what he writes. It’s hard to explain. I know Vic comes from the same genre so to speak of many of the other bassists I named above, 9 of the 10 have their own solo albums, and the music seems to be much more complex and interesting to me. By any chance have you heard one of the great lectures that Vic has given on music being a conversation, and how he equates playing music to learning to talk? It’s quite amazing that he’s able to break it down so well – the problem I have is his music IMO doesn’t do the same. It feels kind of one sided in that conversation; all bass nothing else? Or if not that, some kind of weird gimmicky lyrics? Sometimes too much technique, and not enough sensitivity to the music?
I know quite a few people who’ve expressed discontent over the content in his music, and I know one of his recent albums (Palmystery) was an effort where he even said he really tried to focus on making his compositions a lot stronger than in the past. I’ll be honest, that album is 5 times better than any other of the efforts he’s done (I haven’t heard the latest CD). He’s still got a ways to go in my eyes.
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this is my favourite Guthrie song right now. i’ve listened to Erotic Cakes plenty of times but I dont recall ever hearing this song until last night.
riff of the week. long, winding chord progressions in alt-rock are my favorite. also, probably the most gangster visual involving a guitar ever.
EDIT: i learned how to play this while singing the other week. yeah, i’m ok at mimicking voices, but i can’t emulate his voice for shit 
*I’ve just been getting into playing songs with Barre chords and holy crap I’m getting cramps and muscle soreness in my hands after practicing them for about 10 to 20 minutes. I’ve tried running my fretting hand under hot water to help but it’s only a short term remedy so far. Any of you guys got tips for dealing with hand soreness/cramps? *
You are probably tensing WAY too hard if you are getting lasting pain. The only times I’ve ever had that happen is after 8 hour + sessions where I really pushed myself. I don’t advise it, it’s better to be able to play every day than grind out one long session and stop yourself from being able to play at all fr a couple of days.
*It’s not long lasting when I get the cramps or tired sensation since it goes away after about 3 to 5 minutes of not playing and letting my hand relax. However after that short break it comes back after another 20 minutes or so of practicing barre chords again. Though if I Play regular chords or scales my hand doesn’t get tired or crampy. *
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i did a metal
make the shape of the barre chord then land it lightly on the strings. land all your fingers at the same time, not one after the other. you’ll build more strength and finger dexterity that way.
i’ve been doing that for so long i can even do a reverse barre chord with my pinky without any issues.
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crazy stuff
Was looking back at some of the lists you guys made. Why has there been no mention of Pat Metheny? Also, are you guys familiar with Hiram Bullock?
After using his music to reroute my dendrites completely, I’d have to say that if I were to edit my list in any way, it would be to add Allan Holdsworth into the top spot alongside EVH and FZ.
It is indeed crazy that Rand Paul is actually accomplishing something sane and useful.
*Thanks for this piece of info. I was already moving all my fingers more or less at the same time but lessening the pressure I was applying while slowing down my changes helped immensely. *
The key to pretty much everything guitar/bass is to use less tension.
Heh that’s seeming very true so far. I used to be tense in posture and shoulders but once I started to relax things became more comfortable and natural.
