so, my church's worship team is adding and subtracting some people for the new school year... which in some ways is good, and other ways bad. the band now stands as:
one drummer (finally! we have a drummer! it's about fricken time, it's terrible to play with no drummer!)
one bassist (he's new, but much better then our other bassist who actually played acoustic guitar, but picked up the bass only cause we needed a bassist)
one acoustic guitar player (this is the one that was playing bass for us before. I don't mean to be mean, but he really is a terrible player)
3 singers (2 of which are actually any good, one of those 2 being my girlfriend)
and finally, 2 electric guitar playes (one being me)
the band is just horrible. the individual people in the band are actually really good (except for 2 really, the acoustic, and one singer) but when you throw us all into one band, it's just very clashing, and we sound terrible.
to make matters worse, I used to be the only electric player, so basically, if crunch was needed in a song, I was there, if there was a solo, that was me... the new electric guitar player is alot better then me, so when we need a solo, then he can come in and do one alot better then I could. in fact, last night at practice, I was so fed up with it, that for a couple songs, I didn't even play at all and guess what? NO ONE NOTICED!!! next thing, I got told to turn down my amp several times because I was told I was overpowering everything, when the other electric player was right next to me, playing even louder then I was!
AARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!! it just makes me want to scream!!!
just as a note, I have nothing against the other electric player, me and him are pretty cool with each other, it's just I feel like I'm really not appreciated in this band at all, and I could quit tomorrow and nobody would even care.
bleh!!!!!!
# 1
Don't let it get you down. Playing with this guy will probably make you better quicker than being on your own.
This story my put some perspective on it: I once was playing a gig with a 3 piece band, I was the only guitarist. I kicked my cable out of my guitar by accident, but since I was singing, I couldn't go plug it back in. Nobody noticed, they just kept dancing. After the song was over, I plugged it back in. The point is that it isn't necessarily personal that they didn't notice.
About them telling you to turn it down...someone advised me recently that I should mix sound so that each instrument has it's own little territory in the sonic spectrum. So, if this guy is treble-heavy, you should go mid-bass heavy, and get him to turn down his mid-bass. Or vice versa. It will get rid of the mud in the sound. I tried it and it worked really well. Give it a shot.
This story my put some perspective on it: I once was playing a gig with a 3 piece band, I was the only guitarist. I kicked my cable out of my guitar by accident, but since I was singing, I couldn't go plug it back in. Nobody noticed, they just kept dancing. After the song was over, I plugged it back in. The point is that it isn't necessarily personal that they didn't notice.
About them telling you to turn it down...someone advised me recently that I should mix sound so that each instrument has it's own little territory in the sonic spectrum. So, if this guy is treble-heavy, you should go mid-bass heavy, and get him to turn down his mid-bass. Or vice versa. It will get rid of the mud in the sound. I tried it and it worked really well. Give it a shot.
# 2
I've noticed in my band that sometimes they tell me I need to turn down, and I can barely hear myself......Same goes with Brad, our other guitarist, we'll tell him to turn down a little and he goes "I can't hear myself".
My theory is that it's hard for you to hear yourself in a band b/c your playing the notes and all those notes or chords are running through your head as your playing it. You hear what's in your head rather than what's actually coming out of your amp when the level's are actually equal. So in turn, to hear yourself coming through the amp, you must be louder than everyone else......Just my theory on how this all works with my ears...
But Jon is right also, when you have 2 guitar playing, they have to be eq'd differently or they blend in and the sound gets muddy...
My theory is that it's hard for you to hear yourself in a band b/c your playing the notes and all those notes or chords are running through your head as your playing it. You hear what's in your head rather than what's actually coming out of your amp when the level's are actually equal. So in turn, to hear yourself coming through the amp, you must be louder than everyone else......Just my theory on how this all works with my ears...
But Jon is right also, when you have 2 guitar playing, they have to be eq'd differently or they blend in and the sound gets muddy...
Check out my band:
Havoc Din
Havoc Din
# 3
One more note on the volume issue. Your amp is going to be a lot louder to someone standing 10-20 feet in front of it than it will to you standing 1-4 feet away from it. You don't have ears in the back's of your legs you know. I suggest finding some way to tilt your amp back a little so it's pointing at your head. Try it and see what happens.
As far as the other goes, I'd much rather play with someone who's a lot better than me than equal or worse. You'll learn more that way. I love being a rythm guitarist myself. The way I look at it is, if it weren't for me, the lead guitarist wouldn't sound so good. It's a team effort, work together to create the overall sound of things.
As far as the other goes, I'd much rather play with someone who's a lot better than me than equal or worse. You'll learn more that way. I love being a rythm guitarist myself. The way I look at it is, if it weren't for me, the lead guitarist wouldn't sound so good. It's a team effort, work together to create the overall sound of things.
# 4
One more note. If you do tilt you amp back so it's going towards your head, it might be a shock to you, to actually hear what it sounds like. When/if you do this, remember that that's more than likely what your audiance hears, so adjust your settings for that. It probably wont sound very good at first, and can be a bit tricky to dial in right, but this is what you need to get used to if you play live.
Another trick you can do is to put some duct tape on your grill cloth at the center of the speaker. Make you a circle of duct tape that's about 3-4" in diameter and place it directly in the center of each speaker on the grill cloth. This will spread out the piercing highs and disperse the sound a little better. It's a cheap alternative to >these<.
Also, if the back of you amp is sealed, try removing the back panel, and make sure the back of the amp isn't right up against something. This will also help spread out the sound, and make it more 3 dimensional.
Another trick you can do is to put some duct tape on your grill cloth at the center of the speaker. Make you a circle of duct tape that's about 3-4" in diameter and place it directly in the center of each speaker on the grill cloth. This will spread out the piercing highs and disperse the sound a little better. It's a cheap alternative to >these<.
Also, if the back of you amp is sealed, try removing the back panel, and make sure the back of the amp isn't right up against something. This will also help spread out the sound, and make it more 3 dimensional.
# 5
Hey 6strngs_2hmbkrs,
Stick with it, just remember your are there to worship god, he knows what your playing. I have kind of a similar situation. I can play heavy stuff all day long and fairly well. But now... instead of playing Slayer and or Deicide type songs, I play with the childrens worship band at my church. Its a little frustrating because now I have to read music and play chords other than plain or bar chords, and instead of just flying up and down the neck I have to really think about what i'm playing and be tasteful. It has been a HUGE positive in my guitar playing but is so stressful when Im fumbling with m7 and 9 chords and figuring out what to play over top of them. The other guitar player (who is a theory head and a great player) told me "just keep working on it, your playing to worship and God hears you. And when I look out and see little kids singing and dancing around it makes me stick with it.
Hope that helps a little.
Stick with it, just remember your are there to worship god, he knows what your playing. I have kind of a similar situation. I can play heavy stuff all day long and fairly well. But now... instead of playing Slayer and or Deicide type songs, I play with the childrens worship band at my church. Its a little frustrating because now I have to read music and play chords other than plain or bar chords, and instead of just flying up and down the neck I have to really think about what i'm playing and be tasteful. It has been a HUGE positive in my guitar playing but is so stressful when Im fumbling with m7 and 9 chords and figuring out what to play over top of them. The other guitar player (who is a theory head and a great player) told me "just keep working on it, your playing to worship and God hears you. And when I look out and see little kids singing and dancing around it makes me stick with it.
Hope that helps a little.
# 6
Originally Posted by: hbkolbAnd when I look out and see little kids singing and dancing around it makes me stick with it.[/QUOTE]
ahh, I was the "guest guitarist" for the little kids for about 3 or 4 weeks, due to the regular guitarist needed to play the drums (since he can play both guitar and drums) and I do have to say, playing for little kids is alot more fun! the kids dance around and get into the music, and it feels good.
I normally play in the high school worship team, and as much as we try to rock it out, only a handful of the 40-50 people in the room are actually even singing along, let alone liking it... but then again, if you heard our band, you wouldn't like it either, the band as a whole really is horrible...Originally Posted by: PRSplayaOne more note. If you do tilt you amp back so it's going towards your head, it might be a shock to you, to actually hear what it sounds like. When/if you do this, remember that that's more than likely what your audiance hears, so adjust your settings for that. It probably wont sound very good at first, and can be a bit tricky to dial in right, but this is what you need to get used to if you play live.
so, any ideas on how to tilt the amp back without endangering the amp?
[quote=PRSplaya]Also, if the back of you amp is sealed, try removing the back panel, and make sure the back of the amp isn't right up against something. This will also help spread out the sound, and make it more 3 dimensional.
the amp is like 2/3 of the way open in the back, and it's about 2-3 inches away from a wall
# 7
