Your gear, style, influences,

Cheyenne fucking Buffet · Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:14 pm

and any strange habits or preferences you may have with your respective instrument.

They're pretty much self-explanatory, but here's what I mean for the habits/preferences part. For example: "A roll of duct tape on the pinky finger of my picking hand... a wooden cactus glued to my neck."

I'm not going to make my contribution until later, if at all. I'm interested in everyone else's answers.

abyssspecter · Post by **abyssspecter** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:18 pm

Well, i play guitar, and i have some wierd things. like one, when i play power choards, some times ill use my index and pinky finger, other times, ill use my index and ring. another thing ill do is tremolo pick while holding the pick near the bottom, which not many people ive met do. and i tap with my pick and index at the same time.

long4theblur · Post by **long4theblur** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:38 pm

I have instruments and I play them.

Pfl?yd · Post by **Pfl?yd** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:42 pm

On the bass, I play almost exclusively with my fingers because right-hand technique is crucial. I have a pretty wide reach too but, funny enough, I'm not too good with tight chord grips where my fingers have to interlap.

I've watched videos of me playing before and my right hand pretty much moves back and forth a lot between the neck and the bridge to suit certain tones or whatever. I do a lot of muting and harmonics too, a lot of subconsciously.

People find my left hand technique kind of "unorthodox". I generally play as many notes on one string as possible, but it's easier for me because of my reach. I just like the tone of certain strings and I hate playing open strings.

long4theblur · Post by **long4theblur** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:24 pm

On bass I kick a lot of notes down a string. I don't like the higher strings at all except for soloing purposes. And I'm like you Pfloyd, I don't like playing open strings.

I picked the bass back up the other day, thinking since I'd been playing guitar for a while that I wouldn't really "lose" anything on bass, but it just showed me that it is a completely different animal and I do need to keep practice at it, regardless of how long I've been playing.

morgbite · Post by **morgbite** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:25 pm

My Gear

I play death metal influenced by Decapitated,Morbid angel, Nile, Immolation and suffocation.

dead forever · Post by **dead forever** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:33 pm

Because i learned to use the whammy bar backwards as dimes technique was the first i learned i tend to play lots of conventional techniques which are normally played on normal whammy position with the bar backwards, just out of habit. This has also lead to me discovering some cool things about the bar this way. Also out of habit sometimes i hold the pick with my middle finger and thumb because i got used to removing my other finger for playing runs with picked harmonics in the position of tapped harmonics.

long4theblur · Post by **long4theblur** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:10 pm

Where the genius happens

"Black Licorice pedal. Metal never tasted so sweet! Drops you down one octave plus adds a raging distortion. The combination is captivating!"

The negros of the group

The beast \m/

The long4 custom series

Revolver · Post by **Revolver** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:31 pm

Flamboiantly gay guitar straps

Aeon · Post by **Aeon** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:37 pm

You've got some shitty fucking gear.

long4theblur · Post by **long4theblur** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:44 pm

Revolver wrote:Flamboiantly gay guitar straps

the bass one is, yeah. it was bought for me back when i was in 7th grade and i never cared enough to buy a new one. and the other one is a gibson one, i think its cool

long4theblur · Post by **long4theblur** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:48 pm

Aeon wrote:You've got some shitty fucking gear.

youre one of the most worthless posters here. you pop in from time to time to say things that hardly anyone notices

Revolver · Post by **Revolver** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:50 pm

long4theblur wrote:
Revolver wrote:Flamboiantly gay guitar straps
the bass one is, yeah. it was bought for me back when i was in 7th grade and i never cared enough to buy a new one. and the other one is a gibson one, i think its cool

Whatever makes you tick. My mate used to have that one too

PRJECEDNIK · Post by **PRJECEDNIK** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:52 pm

that red explorer is beautyful

Aeon · Post by **Aeon** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:01 pm

long4theblur wrote:
Aeon wrote:You've got some shitty fucking gear.
youre one of the most worthless posters here. you pop in from time to time to say things that hardly anyone notices

Irony

Gnarkiller · Post by **Gnarkiller** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:05 pm

I have a jackson DK something or rather (older model) A shitty Cort that I will put up on Ebay if anyone is interested? A shitty 20 Watt "Traynor" amp. I use the Danelectro FAB tone. I also Have a shitty Jay Turser acoustic guitar (good for the price though)

I pick retarded compared to everyone else because the pick is parellel to the string, while most people go at an angle and nudge the string. (Dave Mustaine Guitar One interview) When I solo I use ALOT of hammer on's and pull off's becaust it sounds more smooth to me and my fucked up picking technique. I also like to pick 2 notes then pull-off, sound cool.

And I suck really bad at guitar

long4theblur · Post by **long4theblur** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:22 pm

Aeon wrote:
long4theblur wrote:
Aeon wrote:You've got some shitty fucking gear.
youre one of the most worthless posters here. you pop in from time to time to say things that hardly anyone notices
Irony

without your little NFL thread old, played out, inside jokes, you probably wouldnt even post here post yer picks.

Fantomas · Post by **Fantomas** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:52 pm

long4theblur wrote:
Aeon wrote:You've got some shitty fucking gear.
youre one of the most worthless posters here. you pop in from time to time to say things that hardly anyone notices

you noticed

Pfl?yd · Post by **Pfl?yd** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:58 pm

long4theblur wrote:On bass I kick a lot of notes down a string. I don't like the higher strings at all except for soloing purposes. And I'm like you Pfloyd, I don't like playing open strings.

I picked the bass back up the other day, thinking since I'd been playing guitar for a while that I wouldn't really "lose" anything on bass, but it just showed me that it is a completely different animal and I do need to keep practice at it, regardless of how long I've been playing.

I'm the same way with guitar, I play it completely differently than bass, as it should be. I hate playing with a pick though.

I'm not a big fan of solos on bass, but I play the upper registers a lot. I have some bass solos here and there where I play a short flurry of notes (four finger picking style =

) but, for the most part, I just play in the groove.

As for influences I suppose the closest styles I am in line with are Eric Avery, John Entwistle, John Paul Jones, some Jaco, old hard-bop jazz guys and shit like that. Even when I've played metal songs, I'm generally not doing typical "metal bass" as anyone here who has heard my stuff could testify.

hippy · Post by **hippy** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:50 pm

my style includes no messiness. it must sound clean.

long4theblur · Post by **long4theblur** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:27 pm

hippy wrote:my style includes no messiness. it must sound clean.

messiness is fun

Kellan · Post by **Kellan** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:45 am

I play usually my pre-Fender Jackson DX10D.
That goes into a Rocktron "Zombie" tube amp distortion, then into a Boss 10 Band eq, then into my amp which is a Fender Deville 4x10 combo, 60w all tube.
I have a boss delay, phaser, Ibanez flange/chorus, and Morley wah/volume but I haven't used any of those forever. Probably at least a year. Probably closer to two.
Anyway, as far as weird things I do:
My thumb is behind my neck 95% of the time. It was something I was taught when I first learned was to keep my thumb on my neck always, don't let it creep over or onto the fretboard.
The only time it does come up is if I'm playing something ridiculously hard/fast or it stretches my reach and I have to move it, but even then it doesn't come up much.
I always see people's thumbs all on the low E and sticking up from behind the neck, so I thought that was sorta unique.

I usually never use pentatonic scales in my soloing. I got so sick of hearing every mediocre guitarist using them exclusively and tastelessly that I subconciously, or maybe more conciously than I'd like to think, made a point to use those as little as possible and put emphasis on modes and arpeggios. It's gotten to the point where if I'm soloing, I don't even consider pentatonics. Or even think about them.
It's all modal or arpeggio stuff, unless I play something that might fall into a pentatonic by mistake.
Pentatonics are just fucking boring used by themselves. I end up going into modes anyway when I'm playing pents.
I rarely ever play in dropped D. I guess that isn't very odd though.
That's all I can think of right now.

long4theblur · Post by **long4theblur** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 4:12 am

Fantomas wrote:
long4theblur wrote:
Aeon wrote:You've got some shitty fucking gear.
youre one of the most worthless posters here. you pop in from time to time to say things that hardly anyone notices
you noticed

pay attention or i will attack

Eyemaster · Post by **Eyemaster** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:07 am

I don't have pics, but i play a Pearl export pro, a Yamaha doublepedal & Yamaha stands, Sabian & Zildjian cymbals, Zildjian sticks, Remo and Aquarian heads.

dirtbag · Post by **dirtbag** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 9:03 am

guitars: Ibanez rg1570 (with seymor duncan pickups), Washburn EG333, and a 1968 Gibson ES335 (hand-me-down from my father, in cherry finish)
Amps: Krankenstein (usually through a 1960 A cab, but im looking to buy a randall 2 x 12" 1 x 15"), Gibson solid state amplifier... i think the model is a G 60. Its 120 watt and has a 15" speaker, also from late 1960s, also a hand-me-down.
Pedals: CFH wah, mxr kerry king eq (at the time it was cheaper for the kerry king than the regular mxr 10 band), and a rocktron metal planet distortion pedal.

When i play arpeggios at 150 bpm and lower i just sweep them; however, when i play them faster than 150 i alternate pick them. Example: starting from low E: D D D U D U D, and sweep from there.

Im also 100% self taught, but am seriously debating whether or not to seek lessons.

Muffin · Post by **Muffin** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:24 am

dirtbag wrote:Amps: Krankenstein

PABassPlayer · Post by **PABassPlayer** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:31 am

Basses: USA 4 String Fender Jazz Bass, USA 5 String Fender Jazz Bass,
(Jap) Geddy Lee Signature Jazz bass that I have replaced the Jap pups with USA and added a mod that makes it operate just like a USA with a S1 switch) Jap Fender P bass Frettless, Ibanez AB30 electric/acoustic.
I try to stick with Fender brand strings, but they get hard to find and then settle with Bass Boomers.

Guitars: 1 piece-o-shit Fender squire strat for doodling.

Stage set up: 1x15 SWR Workingpro cab, 4X10 SWR Workingpro cab,
700 watt SWR Workingpro head, Korg DT-1 rack tuner, Furman power conditioner, Shure wireless, Boss bass overdrive stomp box.

Home/practice/jam set up: GK 100 watt 12" Backstage kickback amp.

My biggest "quirk" is that I tend to add scale walks to everything. I think that comes from early influences like Bob Daisly and Duff McKeegan who do this alot. I have a deformed pinky on my right hand from breaking it a few times, and when I play my 5 string, and don't need to use the B in a song, I tend to hook my pinky on the B string as an anchor to keep from accidently hitting the string. Worst habit, if a song is challenging to me, I tend to "death grip" the fretboard making me fatigue way to fast. I do excersises to learn to relax and let exceptionally challenging passes and riffs flow easier.

BassPhemy · Post by **BassPhemy** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:07 pm

I might post my penis in this thread.

warhead dime · Post by **warhead dime** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:01 pm

Guitars: Dean ML F 79, Schecter C-7 Hellraiser, few others I don't play anymore
Amps: Peavey 5150, Randall RH200

Like Floyd (although he's a fingerpicking bassist and I'm a guitarist), I have a shitload of nuances in my picking that I don't even think about. I think a lot of people think that there isn't much to rhythm guitar, but there's a lot more than they give it credit for. A good example is Eric Peterson of Testament. He adds many nuances with his picking that give character to the riff. Dime was a master at this as well.

I also think I have a pretty odd picking style. I throw emphasis on odd beats that my band usually has trouble getting used to at first.

Pfl?yd · Post by **Pfl?yd** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:12 pm

I hear that with the confused bandmates thing. For awhile, my drummer was pretty comfortable with my rhythmic interplay, but he always counted on me nailing the "one". then I started playing shit like clave rhythms where I refused to touch the "one" at all. Now he's used to me fucking with him. He was playing a 4/4 beat and I played in five over top of it.

Gotta keep those other guys sharp.

flashback delirium · Post by **flashback delirium** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:15 am

I've been slowly training my picking hand to start moving in more toward the neck while playing the higher strings on my bass. My E has thunderous bass and a bowel-moving rumble, my A is punchy, and my D sounds bla because I don't focus on hitting the string closer to the neck for more of a punch, I've been working on that. I don't like playing open strings, and I love playing hammer ons that go something like (A: 0-2-5, 0-3-6, 0-2-5) I think it sounds badass if thrown in underneath a guitar riff to keep listeners interested

Hunter/Killer · Post by **Hunter/Killer** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:04 am

guitars: gibson flying v, schecter c7 hellraiser, ibanez rg550, takamine elect/acous
amp: peavey xxx
pedal: boss gt6

style: death/thrash. im a rhythm player, i can't write solos but i can play solos i learn from songs. i only solo when covering songs

i don't have any weird habits. well i can't play in front of people. like if theres a room full of people and im the only one with a guitar i won't play, im a wuss. i only play in front of people when im with my band. or if theres someone i can play with
another thing; when i buy new picks, before i use them i carve grips into them. all my picks look like hell, all dirt and crap in the carvings

Wrona · Post by **Wrona** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:15 am

Wayne wrote:guitars: gibson flying v, schecter c7 hellraiser, ibanez rg550, takamine elect/acous
amp: peavey xxx
pedal: boss gt6

style: death/thrash. im a rhythm player, i can't write solos but i can play solos i learn from songs. i only solo when covering songs

i don't have any weird habits. well i can't play in front of people. like if theres a room full of people and im the only one with a guitar i won't play, im a wuss. i only play in front of people when im with my band. or if theres someone i can play with
another thing; when i buy new picks, before i use them i carve grips into them. all my picks look like hell, all dirt and crap in the carvings

How long have you been playing? I was like that for quite some time but kind of out grew it though after playing with friends.
Now i love to play in front of people, the more the merrier.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:44 am

I play an ESP EC1000 through a Randall RH100 w/ a Marshall MG412 Cab

style - death metal - www.myspace.com/burialwithin

I make faces when I play. Like, really fucked up faces. I just can't help it. Also, most guitar players I know keep the last three fingers of their picking hand together in some form or fashion; mine are all semi-curled and retarded looking. I just can't straighten them out.
And I always, ALWAYS, have to piss right before I play.

Maelstrom · Post by **Maelstrom** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:00 am

Gear: Hohner Rockwood Pro (bought used for about $150) and Fender Passport. Both are shit because I can't afford decent stuff

Influences: Les Claypool, Robert Trujillo (when he was in Suicidal Tendencies and Infectious Grooves)

I don't have any unusual habits.

Hunter/Killer · Post by **Hunter/Killer** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 2:23 pm

TK wrote:
Wayne wrote:guitars: gibson flying v, schecter c7 hellraiser, ibanez rg550, takamine elect/acous
amp: peavey xxx
pedal: boss gt6

style: death/thrash. im a rhythm player, i can't write solos but i can play solos i learn from songs. i only solo when covering songs

i don't have any weird habits. well i can't play in front of people. like if theres a room full of people and im the only one with a guitar i won't play, im a wuss. i only play in front of people when im with my band. or if theres someone i can play with
another thing; when i buy new picks, before i use them i carve grips into them. all my picks look like hell, all dirt and crap in the carvings
How long have you been playing? I was like that for quite some time but kind of out grew it though after playing with friends.
Now i love to play in front of people, the more the merrier.

about 8 yrs

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 2:28 pm

guitar: epiphone les paul (when i get this new job i think im upgrading to gibson)
amp: Randall colossus half stack 300W
FX: Boss Gt-5

i play a lot of fast picking, i mix in the ska upstroke picking whenever i can, i like octave chords a lot, i do a lot of string rides a la Bouncing Souls (yeah, fuck you, too)

DBS · Post by **DBS** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 2:22 pm

i play power chords with my little finger and my thumb.

Shred-Dimebag · Post by **Shred-Dimebag** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 1:26 am

not a strange habit but i took dimebag's squeel technique, perfected it, and now my family fuckin hates me cause i blast my amp and just fuckin screech that mother fucker.

i dont even think my guitar is ment for it, i abuse it too much. i should take a picture of the headstock from doin the im broken cymbol smash..

slay · Post by **slay** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 4:39 am

DBS wrote:i play power chords with my little finger and my thumb.