What happens when your cheap guitar feels better than "the real thing?"
It's my belief that every guitar player at some point has to make the mistake of buying an expensive electric guitar before he learns not to waste his money. It doesn't matter how many times I tell players, "DON'T DO IT!", because they're going to do it anyway, waste cash and then realize the expensive stuff really isn't any better than the cheap stuff.
Here's another interesting thing that happens: There may come a point when you actually prefer your cheap guitar over your expensive one.
Since I bought my Squier Bullet Strat, I find myself going back to that guitar again and again - even though I own a Fender Stratocaster. Why? I just like the neck on the Bullet better, and I also really like the pickups in it. And yes, I'm talking about an all-stock Bullet with no mods other than a switch-out to black knobs instead of white.
I like my Squier Bullet so much that I'm actually considering getting an HSS version of the guitar just because I like the feel of the neck that much. And yes, I would get it even though I own a Fender HSS that does everything - including a split-to-single-coil option.
Everything about my Fender is better, hardware-wise. Better pickups, better tuners, better fit and so on. But that Bullet just has a neck to die for.
I tell people over and over again: Go cheap. You'll be able to buy a lot more guitars (why have just one?), guitar stores never give you any hassle about playing the cheap guitars as long as you want to try them out, and sometimes it's actually true that the cheap axes actually feel and sound better.
Is my Bullet "perfect?" No, but damned close. The control knobs are smooth and always have been, the neck feels better the more I play it, the sound of the pickups is a tone I really like and so on. My only real complaint is that yeah, it could use better tuners and maybe a nut made of material that promotes better string travel. But other than that, I can't really think of anything else bad about it.
I'm not saying my Bullet is "the guitar" for everyone, but it is the one I play most. I have the Fender for when I want more growl from a humbucker, and the Epi Les Paul P90 for when I want the "deeper" P90 sound...
...but that neck on the Bullet is what keeps me going back to it again and again; it's just an amazing player.
There is no shame in going cheap when it comes to guitars
Remember, the only people who would make fun of you for owning a cheap guitar are idiot guitar players who think a high price tag means "quality." Screw them; play what you want. When you're out playing with friends or at a gig or whatever, fans do not care what kind of guitar you're playing. As long as the song is good and the sound is right, that's all that matters.
Incidentally, the Galaxy Trash teaser I just posted recently? That's nothing but Squier Bullet that you hear in that clip and not the Fender.
Everything you ever wanted to know about electric guitar strings
Does choice of string change the sound of the guitar?
Yes, but not for the reasons most players think they do.
As I've mentioned before, I prefer nickel-plated steel strings because they have the in-between flexibility I prefer.
A basic rule-of-thumb when it comes to string flex is:
- Plain steel: Least flexible
- Nickel-plated steel: Flexible
- Pure nickel: Very flexible
I'm not going to get into coated strings, cryogenic (as in frozen during manufacturing process) strings, stainless steel or anything like that, because more often than not the only 2 that players pick from are nickel-plated or pure nickel. Rarely does anyone play an all-plain-steel set on an electric, and I'll talk more about that in a moment.
A big reason certain strings sound different isn't necessarily because of the string material but rather how you adjust your playing style to compensate for the flexibility.
If, for example, you decided to try out pure nickel type, such as Fender 150L (light 9-gauge) or Fender 150R (regular 10-gauge), there are two things you'll immediately notice if you're used to playing nickel-plated. First will be string buzz, and second will be string flop.
Buzz happens because at first you're going to be striking the strings with your pick the same as you would with nickel-plated or plain, and as a result, buzz will happen. So you learn pretty quickly not to strike the strings as hard when using pure nickel strings.
Flop is a clacking noise from the strings hitting the frets, similar to a slap bass sound, which of course is totally inappropriate for electric guitar. You'll notice this most when playing the wound (low E, A and D) strings when you pick and the string has this nasty habit of flopping down hard. Why? Because pure nickel is much more flexible, you pick the string, it bends when you pick, and when it snaps back into place, flop happens and therefore the clack noise happens.
No, pure nickel strings do not make an electric unplayable. Not at all. Some players really like them. But you will adjust your playing style to avoid buzz and flop, even if it's on a subconscious level. It will happen, believe me. Because of that, your guitar will sound different. Yes, the strings themselves make your guitar sound different, but your adjustment in playing style is also a big factor.
In other words, the "warmth" you may hear may simply be because your changed your picking style to have far less strike when playing on pure nickel strings.
Does anyone actually use plain steel strings?
Yes, but there aren't too many offerings where the entire set (as in all 6 strings) are 100% steel with no nickel. One of the few that is available is the D'Addario ProSteels series; the 9-gauge set is the EPS520 and the 10-gauge EPS510. If you can't find those in your local guitar store, don't be surprised because most retailers don't carry them.
Plain steel strings typically sound very shrill and have a tendency to rust quickly (as least for the non-coated variety.) The ProSteels are designed not to be as shrill and are corrosion-resistant, but compared to nickel-plated they will probably wear out a whole lot faster, typically. I say "probably" because in all honesty I have not tried them - nor do I have any intention to. Putting plain steels on a Strat would just be way, way too bright-sounding.
D'Addario describes ProSteels as having "penetrating highs," which is a nice way of saying, "pinch-you-in-the-eardrums highs." If you play your electrics acoustically with very little overdrive and lean towards country music a lot, then sure, ProSteels might be just the thing you're looking for. Or if you want "the ultimate in twang," yes, the ProSteels would be very well-suited for that. But for me, no way. I prefer the not-as-bright sound of nickel-plated, and I also prefer the flexibility nickel has.
What's the most common guitar string type that exists?
The roundwound nickel-plated electric guitar string set where the 1, 2 and 3 are unwound and the 4, 5, and 6 are wound is the most common electric string set out of all that exist. The next most common after that is the pure nickel, and after that you have everything else (80/20 bronze, phosphor bronze, chrome, copper, silver, stainless steel.)
In other words, you probably have been playing nickel-plated roundwounds all your life and didn't even know it - not that there's any problem with that.
The major differences between one string and another concerning how they feel and how much flex they have (other than nickel-plated or pure nickel content) depends on core type and core-to-wrap ratio.
Core type
For electric strings there are basically only two core types, that being round and hexagonal. The difference between them is easy to describe. Hex-core is more stiff than round-core is.
D'Addario, for example, prides itself on using hex-core wire for wound strings in their string construction.
DR "Tite-Fit" series strings like the 9-gauge LT-9 and the 10-gauge MT-10 are round core and list themselves as such.
When should you choose round over hex or vice versa? If with your existing string set you have the thought of, "Gee, I wish these strings were just a little bit easier to bend but not too much," use round-core. Or if they bend too much, check to see if you're using a round-core set. If you are, switch to hex.
Core-to-wrap ratio
This means thickness of core wire to thickness of wrap.
Some strings have thicker cores and thinner wraps, while other strings have thicker wraps and thinner cores.
The Dunlop strings I'm trying out now are listed as having a "proprietary core to wrap ratio," which is part of the reason they feel different in the first place compared to, say, D'Addario strings of the same gauge. Does Dunlop actually tell you what the ratio is? No, they don't, and they don't have to because that's probably considered sensitive information. Certain string manufacturers do keep their manufacturing processes guarded so other companies can't copy them easily, and Dunlop is one of them.
Can I personally tell that the Dunlop strings use a different core-to-wrap ratio? Yes. I knew it the moment I installed them as evidenced by how quickly they were able to be stretched and be ready-to-play.
Wrap type
The most common electric string type as you know is roundwound. After that you've got flatwound and half-round.
On the 4, 5 and 6 strings there are wraps around those strings.
If you take your pick and scrape along any one of those, you hear a "shrrrrrkkk" noise. That's the pick scraping over the exposed roundwound grooves and making a noise from them. But notice that if you try the same on the 1, 2 and 3 string, there's little to no scraping noise at all; that's because there's no wrap on the 1, 2 and 3.
Imagine for a moment that the 4, 5 and 6 were thicker versions of the 1, 2 and 3. That's what flatwound feels like, more or less. Flatwound doesn't mean "flat string"; it means that the grooves have literally been ground down and flattened during construction to give a super-silky-smooth feel to the strings. You'll still see the grooves on the 4, 5 and 6, but you won't feel them since they're all flattened.
Half-round means "semi-flat". If for example you tried flatwound but found those strings to be a little too smooth, then you try the half-round.
Why use flatwound? If your fingertips get wrecked so much that the skin breaks away and you're bleeding a lot -OR- if you find your fingertips just hurt like hell after playing for even as little as 15 minutes -OR- if you just can't stand the sound of string drag when you fingers move from one fret to the next when playing, flatwounds will be a godsend for you; it's the most-comfortable string that exists...
However...
The problem with flatwounds is that you lose tactile feel by using them, which in plain English means, "you sometimes forget where you are on the neck because you were used to the roundwound grooves being there." Or to say it another way, flats sometimes "feel like they're not there." If that happens, and you really like the feel of flats but need just a little roundwound groove for tactile feel, that's when you use half-rounds.
As for which 'flatter' wrap type to go with first, I'd say try half-rounds first. Flats for most players just "feel too weird" unless you're already very familiar with what they feel like. But I do suggest trying a set of flats anyway just to experience them. Even if you hate the feel of flats, it's good to try them at least once.
D'Addario pretty much has the market cornered for half-rounds. For 9-gauge there's the EHR320 and for 10s the EHR310; both of which are commonly available in guitar shops because many players take a liking to them.
For flats, again, D'Addario pretty much has that market cornered. I'd suggest trying their "Chromes" series 10-gauge ECG23 (which I think is the thinnest gauge offered and it goes up in thickness from there.)
Are all strings basically the same?
Most are when it comes to nickel-plated roundwound, but when you do your research you find the ones that actually use different construction methods are those that truly separate themselves in feel and tone from each other.
If you played D'Addario half-rounds, those are nickel-plated strings using a hex-core with semi-flat wrap grooves on the wrapped strings.
If you played DR Tite-Fit, those are nickel-plated strings using a round-core with roundwound wrap grooves on the wrapped strings.
If you played Dunlop DEN0942, those are nickel-plated strings using a hex-core (not confirmed, but I think they're hex) with roundround wrap grooves on the wrapped strings using a different core-to-wrap ratio compared to other strings.
As for the pure nickel type strings, they're very bendy whether round-core or hex-core is used. They're typically heralded as "the string" for classic rock tones because the floppy nature of them can make chords ring out in a way that a lot of players like. For example, "vintage Telecaster tone" is something pure nickel strings would be good for.
As for whether you would like them or not, you'll just have to try a set and see what you think.
Crossroads, the "guitar guy's" movie
Crossroads is unofficially The Movie For Guitar Guys. Steve Vai is even in it. Yes, really.
This flick is EXACTLY 27 years old today (14 March 2013) as the original release date was 14 March 1986.
I originally watched this movie back in the 1990s because that's when I really started getting into guitar and was soaking up all things guitar-related.
Hot off the success of The Karate Kid and just a scant few months of the release of The Karate Kid Part II, the star of the movie is Ralph Macchio, and plays the character of Eugene Martone a.k.a. "Lightning Boy", a kid who was trained in classical guitar but then falls in love with the blues and then in the end gets into this Heaven vs. Hell guitar battle thing.
Yeah, this movie does feature a guitar battle.
Why was this movie made?
I'm pretty sure it was made to capitalize on the fact that in the mid-1980s, glam rock was FREAKIN' HUGE. It was the #1 style of music pretty much everywhere, every kid wanted a guitar back then, and someone thought it was a good idea to make a movie about guitar playing...
...featuring a lead actor who really couldn't play guitar that well.
Interesting factoid: Arlen Roth, who was an uncredited real guitar player to help with the Crossroads music production, taught Ralph how to play, 2 hours at a time, for 2 months.
Arlen did say how Crossroads was a great experience all around because it does have a good amount of authenticity to it in the respect the director really tried (and for the most part succeeded) in capturing the old-school southern blues theme on film. Artistically speaking, Crossroads does nail it pretty well.
Should you watch it? Yeah, you should. True, there are some scenes in the movie that are just bad (like the part where Eugene somehow hits this ridiculously high note using just fingers on a Fender Telecaster that has only 21 frets), but it's still a good watch. You should check it out.
What the hell is a sock account?
The internet is a battlefield of sorts where there are people who are trying to get #1 rankings, views, "likes," "upvotes," subscribers and so on...
...and sometimes they cheat to do it. If you've ever seen someone's fan page/YouTube channel/Reddit article/whatever skyrocket in numbers in a very short period of time for seemingly no reason at all (as in barely anyone is commenting/sharing/"liking"/etc.), chances are pretty good that douche bag is using sock accounts to artificially inflate his numbers. In other words, cheating.
Cheating for high numbers happens a lot, but it's much tougher to get away with these days. But before I get into that, a sock account means a web account where you use it as a false identity. The name derives from sock puppet (where you put your hand in a sock and draw a face on the sock's toe area to use it puppet-style); even though you're the one controlling the sock, the sock is meant to be a character, as in fake, as in not real, hence sock account.
Example: You establish a new Facebook fan page, so it has zero "likes." A cheater instead of earning the likes properly will instead sign up 100 different fake Facebook accounts and then "like" his own page 100 times, giving the appearance of getting off to a good start, but in reality the "likes" are all fake; those 100 fake Facebook profiles are all sock accounts.
Sock accounts are used either to inflate numbers or give the appearance that people are talking about certain things in order to trick people into thinking something is interesting. One who is skilled in the art of sock accounts can have a "conversation" that appears to be involving 5 people, when in reality it's all the same guy using 5 different accounts.
Those who are really good at using sock accounts create a fake argument online and draw people in from the drama. I will admit that that takes some skill to pull off.
Why does anyone even bother with sock accounts?
Some people do it just because they like seeing how many people they can fool, and the rest all do it for one reason: Money.
The more interest you can generate in anything, the more opportunity you have to sell stuff because when you've got a bunch of people watching, reading and participating, all of them can be potential customers you can hock products to.
I've personally never used sock accounts, but there are thousands of those who do every day (including corporations.) There are some out there with many thousands of different sock accounts, all ready-to-use for whatever reason. I'm not one of those people.
I don't play the sock account game because the risk is just too great. That and the fact online advertising costs a lot less now. I see no reason to spend hours, days, weeks or months creating sock accounts when I can just flip over a few bucks, advertise properly, get the views/likes/whatever and go about my business.
On a final note, part of the reason YouTube and Facebook started getting really strict with new signups (like cell phone validation via SMS message,) is because of people creating so many tens of thousands of sock accounts. One who would want to create sock accounts on those systems these days has a lot tougher time going about it, which is another reason why it's pretty much pointless to even bother with it.
5 things people think makes you get noticed as a guitar player that actually do not work at all
There's a lot of things people say you should do in order to get noticed as a guitar player on the internet, and many of those things are false. Here are 5 of them.
1. "Playing an expensive guitar will get me noticed."
False. For "getting noticed" reasons, it's actually better to play guitars that people can actually afford, such as Squier and/or Epiphone brand. Why? Because there are a lot more Squier/Epiphone players than there are Fender/Gibson players, and they will be searching for the guitars they play on the internet...
...and that is probably the reason you're even reading this now. Would you be following me on the internet if I were exclusively playing expensive guitar brands? Highly unlikely.
2. Producing only "pro-quality" videos only
There are thousands if not tens of thousands of "pro-quality" guitar player videos out there, and very little of them get viewed as much as the "crappy" webcam videos do.
Nobody really cares whether your video is in 360p or HD 1080p. And on your end, the "pro-quality" videos take 3 to 5 times as long to make, 3 to 5 times longer to upload (which is not good if you're under a bandwidth cap by your ISP,) and are generally tedious to even get done. You're better off making it as easy as possible to record a video and post.
And if people yap at you for lack of video/sound quality, let them, because in the end you're getting the views and they're not.
3. Using "for musicians" web sites
This doesn't work. Any site labeled as "for musicians" doesn't have anywhere near the draw that YouTube, Facebook or even Twitter do. Don't bother using them.
4. Only releasing "quality" music
Big secret revealed: There is no such thing as "quality" music, because the term is totally subjective.
In relation to music, people think "quality" means "complicated." Well, if your music is nothing but complicated crap, it will never get done. On the other hand, if you keep your songs simple, you'll be able to produce tunes faster and get more traffic from them.
5. Networking
"If I 'connect' with a bunch of other guitar players, that will get me noticed."
No, it won't.
I'm going to talk about this at length, but believe me, this is worth your time to read it to avoid mistakes.
With that said, here we go.
There have been bands and guitar players flying the "SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC" banner on the internet since the late 1990s, and it has never worked. It started with this thing called "web rings", and then later into MySpace, then later into ReverbNation. A bunch of guitar players and bands "supporting" each other but in the end accomplishing absolutely nothing. No new traffic gained, no increased sales of songs... just a big pile of fail.
In musician's circles, networking just doesn't work. Never has, and never will. The only reason anyone does it is because it's free.
Remember: Advertising always trumps networking
Spending a little cash, be it for a promoted tweet, Facebook promoted post (any status update you post can be promoted,) Facebook advertising or YouTube advertising goes a long way.
If you care about your music and/or band at all, spend the money and promo your stuff; it will not cost you hundreds of dollars to do it, but rather well under $100. With the Facebook promoted post in particular, you can go as cheap as 5 bucks. Is it worth it to spend $5 to see if advertising works for you? YES.
Can the free way of networking actually work?
Networking only works if you put a ton of effort into it, and you have to go about it in a very sneaky way which has the high probability of backfiring on you.
I'll explain.
Scenario: You're just starting out and want to gain some recognition. The goal for the time being is not to sell a song, but rather just get noticed and build your audience so you can sell songs later. You have a YouTube video posted of you playing your song and you're ready to promote.
We'll use the two options of:
- Promoting a Facebook post
- Networking
Assuming you have a Facebook fan page with at least 25 fans on it, we'll say that you spent the 5 bucks and promoted a post pointing to a YouTube video you made of your song.
What this will do is expose your post to about 1,000 Facebook users. Maybe 2,000 depending on how far the reach of your post gets when promoted. The end result should be that - assuming your song is any good - you will double your Facebook "likes" from 25 to 50 in 1 to 2 weeks once the campaign launches. That's not guaranteed, of course, but it's a reasonable expectation.
Networking
To do the same with networking it will take much more effort.
First, On YouTube, you go to every guitar-style video that has music similar to yours, post comments and subscribe in the hopes they will return the favor, subscribe to you and "like" your page. You will have to do this on anywhere between 100 to 500 different YouTube videos just to make this happen.
Second, on Facebook, you will have to follow suit and "like" a whole bunch of different pages (anywhere from 50 to 250) in the hopes you'll get "liked" back.
Third, you'll have to seek out guitar forums like Squier-Talk and Ultimate Guitar, register accounts and participate in a bunch of threads. The way to advertise there is by putting the links to your Facebook fan page and YouTube channel in your forum signature. You do not say "check out my band" there, because that's spamming and you'll be banned for doing that. For every thread you participate on, your signature will be seen and people will click on it - maybe.
You will have to repeat the above three every day. Comment on hundreds of YouTube videos, "like" hundreds of Facebook pages, and participate in many, many forum threads. You'll have to put a good 1 to 2 hours a day into this.
"Gee, that sounds like an awful lot of work..."
It is. If you're going to use the free way of doing things, you will be doing a whole lot of work just to get noticed. And there's no guarantee it will even gain you the recognition you want from all the time you spent with your networking.
It's much faster and easier just to buy advertising instead.
"But there's no guarantee advertising will work either!"
True, but at least you won't be wasting a bunch of time networking just to find out if it works or not.
You can either spend 1 to 2 hours a day for weeks if not months trying to network yourself, or you can buy advertising and know whether that works or not in less than a week...
...and that right there is what makes spending 5 bucks on a Facebook promoted post worth it. Time is money, after all.