About a month ago I tuned up the red Casino and plugged it in to try and learn how to actually play something a little bit musical. Just playing at home after the kids go to bed, so I can’t be too loud. I’m finally figuring out how to play the pentatonic scale up and down the fretboard. Nearly there…. I’d probably call myself “advanced beginnerâ€, I know a bunch of chords but sometimes have trouble hitting them.
Rig right now
Mid 2000’s MIK Epiphone Casino —> Boss super OD SD-1 —-> Traynor 15w tube amp. Just put in a set of fresh strings (went with slightly lighter strings - 9s instead of 10s, and they’re awesome.)
I just ordered an inexpensive looper just to give myself something to play along with, and a tuner pedal so I’m not plugging in/unplugging all the time (Amazon basics for both). Metronome app on my phone…
Any other (inexpensive) gear I should consider?
Learning resources? Using YouTube now (Justin, Marty and Guitareo mostly, but there’s no real “plan†to it.
About a month ago I tuned up the red Casino and plugged it in to try and learn how to actually play something a little bit musical. Just playing at home after the kids go to bed, so I can’t be too loud. I’m finally figuring out how to play the pentatonic scale up and down the fretboard. Nearly there…. I’d probably call myself “advanced beginnerâ€, I know a bunch of chords but sometimes have trouble hitting them.
Rig right now
Mid 2000’s MIK Epiphone Casino —> Boss super OD SD-1 —-> Traynor 15w tube amp. Just put in a set of fresh strings (went with slightly lighter strings - 9s instead of 10s, and they’re awesome.)
I just ordered an inexpensive looper just to give myself something to play along with, and a tuner pedal so I’m not plugging in/unplugging all the time (Amazon basics for both). Metronome app on my phone…
Any other (inexpensive) gear I should consider?
Learning resources? Using YouTube now (Justin, Marty and Guitareo mostly, but there’s no real “plan†to it.
not sure if this is helpful but my kid is taking guitar in High School. His teacher uses https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ and we also got him a sub for Christmas. I dont play but my kid love loves it.
I would probably add some delay and/or reverb. If you really want to stay inexpensive, check out options from Behringer. They have a ton of good clones of more expensive pedals that sell for under $30.
As for learning resources, I’m at the “advanced beginner†stage too, or rather, I was before this deployment began. Now I can actually hear my calluses shrinking away from lack of playing.
Justin is simply the best free online resource. Other than that, YouTube is your friend. People to check out for either lessons or inspiration:
Paul Davids
Chris Buck
Tom Bukovac
Ross Campbell
Tim Pierce
Rhett Shull
Rick Beato
Angela Petrilli (does new song lessons each week and is really good)
Joes Guitar Lessons (just a regular old British guy who will teach you the Blues)
Lee John Blackmore
Guitar acquisition syndrome can get out of hand fast, trust me. I have been through the whole process over the years and now I just use a tube amp, EQ in the effects loop, and some sort of dirty fuzz pedal. If I was performing I would have to add a few things but this is great for at home. I just use my phone to tune because it has presets for various tunings. I keep one guitar that switches between Drop D, E and E flat and one that is tuned to C standard.
For fuzz/OD pedals I prefer Black Arts Toneworks (I use the Destroyer but you can’t go wrong with any of their stuff).
Experiment with different picks. It depends on the type of playing you do but it makes a difference to find the thickness and shape you like.
For rock music of all sorts, the minor pentatonic scale, a few chords, the ability to rapidly switch between power chords, and a bunch of licks that you can shred with will go a long way.
for SG - I forgot to mention that my amp has the swampiest of all reverbs built-in, so I’m good there. Sounds like Dick Dale is surfing in a Louisiana bayou…
About a month ago I tuned up the red Casino and plugged it in to try and learn how to actually play something a little bit musical. Just playing at home after the kids go to bed, so I can’t be too loud. I’m finally figuring out how to play the pentatonic scale up and down the fretboard. Nearly there…. I’d probably call myself “advanced beginnerâ€, I know a bunch of chords but sometimes have trouble hitting them.
Rig right now
Mid 2000’s MIK Epiphone Casino —> Boss super OD SD-1 —-> Traynor 15w tube amp. Just put in a set of fresh strings (went with slightly lighter strings - 9s instead of 10s, and they’re awesome.)
I just ordered an inexpensive looper just to give myself something to play along with, and a tuner pedal so I’m not plugging in/unplugging all the time (Amazon basics for both). Metronome app on my phone…
Any other (inexpensive) gear I should consider?
Learning resources? Using YouTube now (Justin, Marty and Guitareo mostly, but there’s no real “plan†to it.
Hi Jason, when you say “the pentatonic”, make sure to learn both…i.e. minor and major pentatonic scales. With those two scales you can have fun playing 99% of pop/rock/country/blues/etc.!!!
Regarding learning material, I find the TrueFire online material to be well organized, very accurate, and high quality. I believe they have 14-day free trial that gives you access to every single thing on their website…so you could at least try that risk free and see if there is something there that appeals to your style/ability. TrueFire does organize their material into plans or tracks or something like that, though I have not followed them personally…I just picked and chose half a dozen or so of their lessons over the years.
I’m not sure if the Halifax in your name refers to Halifax in Nova Scotia, but I played a show there at the casino downtown a couple of years ago. Super nice people! I wish I would have time to see more of the city, but we basically flew in the day of, played the show, and left the next morning. Particularly would have liked to see that maritime museum.
Guitar acquisition syndrome can get out of hand fast, trust me. I have been through the whole process over the years and now I just use a tube amp, EQ in the effects loop, and some sort of dirty fuzz pedal. If I was performing I would have to add a few things but this is great for at home. I just use my phone to tune because it has presets for various tunings. I keep one guitar that switches between Drop D, E and E flat and one that is tuned to C standard.
For fuzz/OD pedals I prefer Black Arts Toneworks (I use the Destroyer but you can’t go wrong with any of their stuff).
Experiment with different picks. It depends on the type of playing you do but it makes a difference to find the thickness and shape you like.
For rock music of all sorts, the minor pentatonic scale, a few chords, the ability to rapidly switch between power chords, and a bunch of licks that you can shred with will go a long way.
what kind of EQ are you using? separate pedal, or the TMB knobs built into the amp?
the Super Overdrive gives plenty of dirt to the signal. right now I’m running amp fairly clean (it will start to break up if I hit the strings hard) with the gain at noon and volume at “whatever” it needs to be to manage the output, then the OD pedal will push the amp.
You’ve got plenty of gear right now. If the idea is to learn how to play, just pick one online teacher and stick to the program. I like JustinGuitar. I started playing five years ago by going through his program. It served me very well. I sing and play with my friends and I was having a great time before Covid hit. Right now I mostly just learn new songs to learn new technique
So, of course, I have to show you the new guitar I got about three weeks ago;
Martin Custom Shop 0000-18, 12 fret. It’s like a dream come true!
Hi Jason, when you say “the pentatonic”, make sure to learn both…i.e. minor and major pentatonic scales. With those two scales you can have fun playing 99% of pop/rock/country/blues/etc.!!!
Regarding learning material, I find the TrueFire online material to be well organized, very accurate, and high quality. I believe they have 14-day free trial that gives you access to every single thing on their website…so you could at least try that risk free and see if there is something there that appeals to your style/ability. TrueFire does organize their material into plans or tracks or something like that, though I have not followed them personally…I just picked and chose half a dozen or so of their lessons over the years.
I’m not sure if the Halifax in your name refers to Halifax in Nova Scotia, but I played a show there at the casino downtown a couple of years ago. Super nice people! I wish I would have time to see more of the city, but we basically flew in the day of, played the show, and left the next morning. Particularly would have liked to see that maritime museum.
aren’t they essentially the same scales, just changing the root? eg c maj is the same as A minorr, but the root goes to the C?
and yes, I am in Halifax NS. I do love this town. The maritime museum is pretty cool, I’ve taken the kids there a couple of times.
Hi Jason, when you say “the pentatonic”, make sure to learn both…i.e. minor and major pentatonic scales. With those two scales you can have fun playing 99% of pop/rock/country/blues/etc.!!!
Aren’t they essentially the same scales, just changing the root? eg c maj is the same as A minor, but the root goes to the C?
You are absolutely right…the notes in those scales are the same. I personally don’t think of the scales as the same when playing the guitar…mainly because changing the root also changes the other intervals which just makes the two scales “sound” different to my ear.
Guitar acquisition syndrome can get out of hand fast, trust me. I have been through the whole process over the years and now I just use a tube amp, EQ in the effects loop, and some sort of dirty fuzz pedal. If I was performing I would have to add a few things but this is great for at home. I just use my phone to tune because it has presets for various tunings. I keep one guitar that switches between Drop D, E and E flat and one that is tuned to C standard.
For fuzz/OD pedals I prefer Black Arts Toneworks (I use the Destroyer but you can’t go wrong with any of their stuff).
Experiment with different picks. It depends on the type of playing you do but it makes a difference to find the thickness and shape you like.
For rock music of all sorts, the minor pentatonic scale, a few chords, the ability to rapidly switch between power chords, and a bunch of licks that you can shred with will go a long way.
what kind of EQ are you using? separate pedal, or the TMB knobs built into the amp?
the Super Overdrive gives plenty of dirt to the signal. right now I’m running amp fairly clean (it will start to break up if I hit the strings hard) with the gain at noon and volume at “whatever” it needs to be to manage the output, then the OD pedal will push the amp.
I just use a little crappy Boss EQ pedal. I mostly use the amp to get the tone and the reverb but the EQ makes it easier to adjust the sound a little. I think the best tone comes from a good amp driven hard with a little/lot of fuzz to dirty it up. A two channel amp can be handy as well. It really depends on what kind of music you are playing. I typically play doom/stoner metal so my set up doesn’t need to be complicated. This is a total rabbit hole you can go down if you chase tone. I used to run two tube amps on the same guitar with a slight delay to fill in the sound. Things got complicated and expensive really quick. It is only worth it if you are performing and then it would still probably be better to use a rack and a computer.
If you want to sound like SRV you are going to need a Strat, Fender amp and a Tube Screamer (and the skills of Albert King).
