I’m struggling with my new Les Paul

you could sell the LP and buy 2 VG-8`s like acoustic player Brad Sayre in this vid ...




he used to be a member on a now defunct website .... this guy can give any shredder a run for their money (cant remember what gauge he uses,but i know there not for whimps :D )
 
Around here...if your not doing a full band thing...most of the solo/duo acts are doing the acoustic guitar sing-along stuff.

That may be OK in itself, since there are people that like that, and there are venues that can only accommodate that....
...but man, there are like dozens and dozens and dozens of these people out there playing or looking for work.
I can't fathom that there would be that much call for it...like everywhere you go, some schmo is strumming an acoustic and doing his Dylan impressions or some half-assed "unplugged" set of greatest Rock hits. :facepalm:

The Belushi clip is how I feel about it. :D
 
Playing electric guitar means you have to decide if you're a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarists or someone who flips between inside the song.
I can't play lead - well, I've played three lead solos in my 20 years of recording and only 1 was acceptable. I can accept that I can crank out an OK tone for rhythm based on power chords and open chords but can't play the other stuff.
Acoustic guitar - I have 2 but I prefer to play my semi acoustics & I wouldn't make anyone suffer from my acoustic playing if I can avoid it.
Electric guitar? Play often, play loud, accept limitations & be proud.
 
The OP hasn't been back. May have done his back on the LP and is having a lie down. I'm assuming he got a full slab model.:D
 
miroslav said:
Around here...if your not doing a full band thing...most of the solo/duo acts are doing the acoustic guitar sing-along stuff.

That may be OK in itself, since there are people that like that, and there are venues that can only accommodate that....
...but man, there are like dozens and dozens and dozens of these people out there playing or looking for work.
I can't fathom that there would be that much call for it...like everywhere you go, some schmo is strumming an acoustic and doing his Dylan impressions or some half-assed "unplugged" set of greatest Rock hits. :facepalm:

The Belushi clip is how I feel about it. :D
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And around here there are dozens and dozens of full bands trying to find gigs, too!
 
Acoustic gigs are easy to find. Just some lame sap and his folk guitar can play libraries, coffee shops, pilates classes, retirement brunches, maybe a funeral or wake, dentist office waiting rooms, the possibilities are endless. Any place where people want to be quiet, bored, and disinterested is a good place for an acoustic gig.
 
DM60 said:
Going from acoustic to electric is a challenge. The two instruments, while we think of them as the same, are not.
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this is true. two different instruments. your approach to each, and the "feel" of each is different. i learned on acoustic at 9 years old and it tore up my fingers, first off. i didn't play an electric until i was 12. to this day, i switch back and forth and typically do all writing on the acoustic (well, rhythm and chord progression anyways - i save leads for the electric). You have to consider the neck widths are different, the string resonance is different, the bending/sliding capabilities are different, the size of the instrument is different, and the sounds you get with each is different.

just stick with it, play it more, and learn what that instrument can do for you - what it does well. you can also do exercises - i still do these to warm up before playing out/recording. you can google/youtube hammer-on exercises for starters. that's my go-to on guitar and bass to get my fingers warmed up.
 
I'm no acoustic player, I hate acoustic guitars, but shouldn't going from acoustic to electric be much easier than going the other way around? Seems that acoustic players often criticize electric players as being less skilled, which may be true, but if it is true then an acoustic player should be able to rip shred all over an electric.
 
Greg_L said:
I'm no acoustic player, I hate acoustic guitars, but shouldn't going from acoustic to electric be much easier than going the other way around? Seems that acoustic players often criticize electric players as being less skilled, which may be true, but if it is true then an acoustic player should be able to rip shred all over an electric.
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For me anyway, I have a tendency to "manhandle" the electric. The acoustic you don't have to worry as much about bending the strings, on the electric, the bend pretty easy. I think also how one interacts with the instrument is the biggest thing. The EG requires more finesse, where the acoustic you ca lay on certain strings (like the 4/5) to give it some grunt.

Plus, with added sustain and the endless possibilities with the EG, it is a different approach. AG is pretty much, what you hear is what it is. At least that is how I see the two being different.
 
The heavy finger-pickin' guys on acoustic are skilled players. The ones who just strum along...:D...I don't think they see any ease in moving to an electric.

The thing about acoustics is that the stings are heavier and the necks less forgiving...so your left hand will be stronger/better, and that's what makes the switch to electrics easy....but it's still two different styles of playing.
 
Greg_L said:
I'm no acoustic player, I hate acoustic guitars, but shouldn't going from acoustic to electric be much easier than going the other way around? Seems that acoustic players often criticize electric players as being less skilled, which may be true, but if it is true then an acoustic player should be able to rip shred all over an electric.
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i think that you get used to playing chords over and over again, is the main thing. if that was the approach on acoustic, to just play Unplugged songs all day, you don't realize the other areas that go with playing an electric - more bending, using the side of your palm more perhaps, overall decrease in string resistance etc.. it can be frustrating when taking on something new/different. i do see your point - but if someone has only played acoustic for a long time, there will definitely be a learning curve. and for me, it's a toss up - i couldn't say who is better: the guy playing a blues solo utilizing lots of opening strings on an acoustic or someone playing Y. Malmsteen on an electric. each is a separate territory in my book
 
miroslav said:
The heavy finger-pickin' guys on acoustic are skilled players. The ones who just strum along...:D...I don't think they see any ease in moving to an electric.
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That's a good distinction I didn't think of. Strumming open chords on an acoustic requires little to no skill. Really making an acoustic sing does require skill. I would think those advanced acoustic skills *should* transfer to electric more readily than going from electric to acoustic.
 
I'm an acoustic guitarist first and foremost. I can strum or finger pick all day long without a thought. In bands I've always played Bass. (Bassists are rare round my way) I love the Bass and enjoying writing basslines more than anything, musically.

When it comes to electric guitar though, I just don't have that ability to do what others seem to find so easy. I can bash out power chords and the odd simple/pathetic solo good enough for what I need in my recordings. It's just not an instrument I've ever been comfortable with, sound wise or achieving "that" sound. Everything is either clumsy, awkward or just a terrible noise.

I guess it's just one of those thing that some people can't get. Or maybe they could with loads of practice? I'm not really that bothered to be a master of the electric guitar, solo's, etc.
 
Just curious about the OP. What styles of music are you currently playing? Are you doing mostly solo acoustic stuff? And how good are you?
 
Mr Clean said:
I'm not really that bothered to be a master of the electric guitar, solo's, etc.
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i know way too many people caught up in mastering a guitar solo note for note with all the exact effects, yet they can't write a decent song for the life of them. that's the area, i believe, that makes you a more rounded musician. learning how to construct a song, give something engaging, and keep an audience listening and/or moving their heads. i find the guitar soloist enthusiasts the same type of people who spend years trying to dunk a basketball instead of learning how to play as a team or even pure shooting. off topic, but not really. EVH could play mean solos, but he also knew how to write a proper/catchy song. heck, even his solos have aspects of a song -eruption is full of changes in tempo/mood, etc... less technicality, more emotion and sincerity
 
I wish I could magically play like slash too. It would of saved me 20+ years of practicing on every guitar I could get my hands on :guitar:
 
When I visited my brother this fall, I played a bit on his Dove. :guitar:
Seriously. Thing plays as nice as ANY electric I've ever played. Plays as nice as his LP Custom. But for 4Gs it ought to be nice...
 
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