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Post by PistolPete on Oct 27, 2021 7:05:52 GMT
I'm curious how far people agree that certain types of guitar are 'right' for certain types of music and 'wrong' for others?
If I want to fingerpick blues on a dread, or flatpick country on a ladder braced parlour is that a crime that against humanity, or just what you do when that's the nearest guitar?
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Post by grayn on Oct 27, 2021 8:09:01 GMT
Great players can make any type of guitar sound good, with pretty much any style of music. But there's no doubting that certain types of guitar have set a standard for certain types of music and "officianados" of that style will only accept that combination. Do what suits you (the player) is my thought.
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Oct 27, 2021 8:20:40 GMT
It’s a good question, Pete. I play most things on everything - but I’m not going to play a ballad on my resonator… I think that’s my only caveat. Other than that, it’s all up for grabs as far as I’m concerned - just depends which guitar’s turn it is that day
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Post by Onechordtrick on Oct 27, 2021 8:27:38 GMT
I'm curious how far people agree that certain types of guitar are 'right' for certain types of music and 'wrong' for others? If I want to fingerpick blues on a dread, or flatpick country on a ladder braced parlour is that a crime that against humanity, or just what you do when that's the nearest guitar? Heresy! Seriously you should play whatever you like on whatever you want even though an unforeseen consequence would be that it reduces the scope for I need a new guitar beacuse I want to play a blues/country/jazz tune.
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Post by Onechordtrick on Oct 27, 2021 8:28:31 GMT
P.S. but as leoroberts says some things won't work as well on certain guitars
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Post by delb0y on Oct 27, 2021 8:34:43 GMT
I love the sound of a finger-picked blues on a dread! Those lovely ringing bass-notes, or the deep thud if you're muting the strings! John Fahey agreed...
But to answer the question, I think there's an audience expectation and I think there's a guitar-music combination that works well for certain styles - Telecaster and country twang is just perfect. You can't get that sound on, say, a Strat (or, rather, I can't). And gypsy jazz really does benefit from those gypsy jazz guitars. And resonators, of course, for that small branch of blues. But these examples are few and far between. Mostly it's that audience expectation thing - like having to wear hats and long dark coats if you're playing Stevie Ray style blues... I recall we did a rockabilly gig once, and the promotor said the music was great, as good as he'd heard, but he wouldn't rebook us because we didn't have the right image. Those rockabilly crowds want the correct engineer boots, and full sleeve tattoos, and the jeans turned-up just so. Oh yeah, you'll need a Grestch, too....
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Post by sweyne1 on Oct 27, 2021 8:47:49 GMT
My initial thought is that fingerpicking sounds lovely on my S12 Lowden (in spite of me most of the time) but chords don't sound right (or as good as i'd like). On another thread recently someone said J45 Gibsons really suit chord work. I've never played one so can't comment.
Chords fit certain styles whereas fingerpicking fits others.
John
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stringdriventhing
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Post by stringdriventhing on Oct 27, 2021 9:12:42 GMT
Check out the John Martyn's '73 OGWT performance of "May you never" for evidence of how fingerpicking can sound good on a dreadnought And John Fahey, as delb0y mentioned. I think that you can play most stuff on pretty much anything, but the sound you are aiming for may well determine the type of guitar you choose. I always think old blues songs sound great on knackered cheap guitars.
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Post by scorpiodog on Oct 27, 2021 9:45:25 GMT
Play anything on anything. Some combinations may well deselect themselves, of course, but on the other hand, some combinations introduce you to sounds you may never have foreseen.
I'm also a great believer in playing stuff in unexpected styles. Try slowing down and fingerpicking "No Woman No Cry", for instance. And some early Beatles songs make great ballads when stripped of their pop vibe.
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tangledfool
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Post by tangledfool on Oct 27, 2021 10:19:37 GMT
Check out the John Martyn's '73 OGWT performance of "May you never" for evidence of how fingerpicking can sound good on a dreadnought And John Fahey, as delb0y mentioned. I think that you can play most stuff on pretty much anything, but the sound you are aiming for may well determine the type of guitar you choose. I always think old blues songs sound great on knackered cheap guitars. Magical stuff!
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Post by nkforster on Oct 28, 2021 9:51:16 GMT
Yes and no. Like others have said, a great player can sound great on any instrument. You can play anything on anything. That said, certain guitars have certain sounds. One of the reasons Martin Simpson turned out to be such a great ambassador for Sobell guitars is the guitars suited him so well. In the 90s, Martin would teach a small courses in the US, with 3 or 4 fellers all with Martins and Taylors and such. They just couldn't sound like him regardless of how good their technique was until they played his Sobell. At the end of the course, many of the players had ordered Sobell guitars. It was the only way you could get that explosive sound. Django sounds "right" on a Selmer. He's still great playing an electric, but it just isn't the same. The Selmer sound suited his playing. Hank Marvin sounds like Hank Marvin regardless of wether he was playing a Burns or a Strat. But the Strat sound he had is classic Shadows. So, yes, I'm sorry to say, the gear is a big part of the sound. Not always, but sometimes. Nigel www.nkforsterguitars.com
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Post by andy3sheds on Oct 28, 2021 20:36:13 GMT
A pal of mine who is great reso player once told me he had a quest to play reso guitar in all the genres that didn’t realise they needed a reso, hence fb.me/e/2zY5ScnVJ
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juliant
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Post by juliant on Oct 28, 2021 21:22:41 GMT
I'm curious how far people agree that certain types of guitar are 'right' for certain types of music and 'wrong' for others? If I want to fingerpick blues on a dread, or flatpick country on a ladder braced parlour is that a crime that against humanity, or just what you do when that's the nearest guitar? I don't necessarily go for the nearest guitar (although there is that adage that the best camera for a shot is the one you have with you). If you like the sound that *that* tune makes on *that* guitar, then who's to tell you that it isn't valid?
My Lowden is lovely for Celtic stuff and classic ragtime (Scott Joplin et al), but really doesn't work for more stompy fingerpicking, where I want less of a piano-like tone and less sustain. Conversely, the National is not something I'd pick up for an Irish air.
But if it sounds nice, why not?
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Post by bellyshere on Oct 30, 2021 18:08:19 GMT
My initial thought is that fingerpicking sounds lovely on my S12 Lowden (in spite of me most of the time) but chords don't sound right (or as good as i'd like). On another thread recently someone said J45 Gibsons really suit chord work. I've never played one so can't comment. Chords fit certain styles whereas fingerpicking fits others. John The S12 sounds good with open tuning chords. It is a fingerpicking guitar for the most part as are most of the Lowden guitars IMO.
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Post by NikGnashers on Oct 31, 2021 7:31:12 GMT
I think it's all subjective to the listener personally.
When you think of (for example, because it was posted above), John Martyn playing 'may you never' on a large bodied dread, you associate that song, with that artist, and as such 'that' is the correct way for that song to sound.
A skilled player can make anything sound very good on any guitar, if the listener appreciates that particular sound. As such it will sound good to that listener.
There is no right or wrong, just what a certain listener prefers.
I personally don't really like huge, boomy, bassy, large bodied guitars, and as such, anything will sound better on a more balanced medium bodied guitar, simply because my ears prefer that particular tone. Of course, a skilled played on a large body instrument will always sound good to me, but maybe because I am listening to the playing ability and not looking deeper into the actual sound.
Interesting thread !
So taking Mr Martyn's song as the example, if you take away John's really aggressive picking style, and his particular EQ/tone setup, and all of the effects he uses, and hear it played on a slightly more natural toned sounding instrument, does it sound worse or just different ?
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