Self indulgence and Day 27

Warning: this is purely a post about gear.  It is a What If scenario of if I had all my money from my bass rig in my hand and went to buy guitar stuff instead, what would I have.  Some people are turned off about this sort of pie in the sky dreaming.  I won't be selling my bass gear, EVER.  Its just that its day 27 and I need topics to go in between my other topics.  So excuse me if I get self indulgent for a while, feel free to scroll down to the Day 27 memoir.

Well first I have to decide what to do about the money in my cabs.  Guitar cabs have the same advantage as sub-500 dollar guitars, they sell really well.  So the markup on them are less than bass cabs.  Also, they are smaller and lighter by their very nature compared to bass speakers.  Much of the money in my bass cabs are features that you just do not get in guitar cabs to amplify the price.  So, I am going to allocate my speaker costs 50% into the amp and 50% into the guitar.

The Guitar

Wait a minute, you may say, I thought you were into SG's?  Well I am, but fortunately SG Standards with the options I want are doable under $1000.  Plus, the last few years Gibson has been futzing with the pickguard, and I like the 70's "batwing" pickguards.  So used is where I'd go these days.  Also I have an SG already, so to get the most bang for my buck, I'm looking at Les Pauls.   I change which bursts I like all the time, currently I'm on a Caramel-burst or Tea Burst phase.  These Standard Premiums are being liquidated for a huge mark down as of this writing.  Flame top?  Check.  Binding? Check.  Pickup covers? check.  Trap inlays? Check.  No pre-installed pickguard, meaning I don't have "worm holes" in the top?  Check.  This is the picture of a Les paul that people have in their minds when they think Les Paul.

The amp

Blackstar HT20

For what I do, I think 20 all tube watts is what I need.  I would go with the 5 watt version, but I plan on using the clean channel for any heavy metal pedals I want to change the sound with.  I keep switching between wanting Egnator and Blackstar, but currently I hear so much good stuff about Blackstar.  Also, they were once employees of Marshall, so I'm not too far from my old fanboy self when I go for Blackstar.  An effects loop is a must, so the Marshalls of this price range are out.  I would get two of the 1x12 cabs they have for their HT5 series.  Each is rated at 50 watts, so I'm still safe.  I like having 2 1x12's for the same reason I did that with my bass, its just more versatile of a set up.  I enjoy being able to keep one at home, and keep one at a practice spot if I wanted, and use them both if playing outside.

And... I have a ton left over. There are more expensive Les Pauls, but what's the point?  That's my dream Les Paul right there.  There are 40, 50 and 100 watt version of that amp, but that means I'd go deaf before I have the natural tube overdrive I like.  Sticking with the premise, all being spent on music gear, I guess I'd go looking for my dream SG, which would be used and I'd still have money left over.  I'd have a "beater" SG and a fancy SG, I would have enough left over for a les paul studio.  Maybe a caramel burst Les Paul Studio pro so I'm not too scared to take a Les Paul to friend's homes for jam sessions.

And there's a lesson to be learned in that last sentence.  Well, that'll be another post for another day.



Day 27

I did lots of stuff today.

Aside from my warm up in Guitarcade, I'm adding the Chord 101 and Chord 102 practice tracks to the warm up.  I have a solid 45 minutes of "warm up" time in Rocksmith now.  I know as I type these up it might seem like I do less and less Rocksmith, but its not true, its just that its kind of routine at the moment while I work on chords.

I'm ending up with 2 separate journals. One is for theory notes, scale shapes, chord charts etc.  One journal is my song notation book.  Each song I put in here will have its chords, its key, and whatever information I need to memorize.  I will have different versions and strum patterns for them, and then set up my personal arrangement.  Why have a personal arrangement?  Well if someone asks you to play a song while they're just hanging out, they aren't looking for 5 minutes of lone guitar and no vocals.  They want the high points of the song that are recognizable, so this is the kind of "1 minute arrangement" that I want to come up with for requested songs.

I am practicing a very versatile song that I feel is going to help me with lots of my chord playing.  It is "Simple Kind of Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the lyrics just rub the the wrong way.  I've grew up hearing this song and I know a lot of people that know the song.  The song is 3 chords, and you can do a very simple version, a version with advanced strumming patterns, and even a power chord arrangement over it.  There's also the version that most resembles what you hear on the radio, with lots of embellishments.  I am very good at going from C Major to A Minor thanks to Rocksmith, both of those chords are taught by the Chord lesson tracks, and also used fairly early in Return to Castle Chordead.  I'm needing to work the most on the G chord, which is new to me.