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Messages 1 - 55 of total 55 in this topic
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
May 12, 2013 - 02:29pm PT
Oh, blame it on the calluses!

But I don't know yer situation. I used to be into shreading on guitar, but I find more melodic, slower guitar work is more beautiful.

Call me a puss.

I just enjoy playing more pleasant sh#t. Usually means chord progressions at an even-keel.
Dr.Sprock

Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
May 12, 2013 - 03:38pm PT
you build up muscle culture in the fingers from climbing that works against you for guitar playing,

you use your hands to make the music, so if you have fingers developed for climbing, then it is like doing brain surgery with boxing gloves on,

bike riding does the same thing,

the best players use a very light, delicate attack,

watch Duane Allman, Ritchie Blackmore, Clapton, same thing,

some people can play with bad fingers, Roy Clark was a boxer for a while, look at his hands, and he plays mandolin!

same with Bill Monroe, used to make extra money at gigs by offering the fans a boxing match for 5 dollars, screwed up hands but he still played great mandolin, i guess you have to work around it,

if you want full dexterity, you have to avoid building houses and being a blacksmith,

you want thin, bony fingers for playing good guitar, not swelled up knuckles and arthritis


Andres Segovia used a jack hammer in his spare time?

no, but he did slam his fingers while closing a sticky window one time, Billy Gibbons cut his finger open while getting into a can of hot sauce,
Jaybro

Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
May 12, 2013 - 07:57pm PT
"Here come old flattop he come groovn' up slowly."
Or, for the purists,
"Up come a flattop he was movin, up with me..."
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
May 12, 2013 - 09:11pm PT
Climbing a lot never affected my friend in the Seattle Symphony - you shoulda been a trombone player.
Hell, he barely needed fingers except to turn the pages!
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
May 12, 2013 - 09:22pm PT
I've two professional classical guitar playing friends. They ain't goin' cliamberin' no how, no way!
Chinchen

climber
Way out there....
May 12, 2013 - 09:57pm PT
fer sher.

murcy

Gym climber
sanfrancisco
May 12, 2013 - 10:27pm PT
I've two professional classical guitar playing friends. They ain't goin' cliamberin' no how, no way!

Yeah, it's a little tough keeping up the long fingernails.

Like Sprock says, my stiff, fat knuckles are a bit of an issue, and I do play better with a few days off from climbing. I mostly fingerpick these days, on Chinese Martin copies.
Dr.Sprock

Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
May 12, 2013 - 11:58pm PT
just stuck an XLR jack into the DIY Princeton Reverb in place of the instrument #2 jack so i can play harp and guitar at the same time without the sound guy screwing up the mix,

that is an L & G 12 string,
Epiphone SG with rewound pickups,

a 6 string with a DIY wound pickup, i used 18,000 turns of #48 so the leakage capacitance cuts out all the high end that you do not want, sounds better than the overpriced Fishman stuff,

on the left is a DIY baritone git tuned to open C for the McMurtry stuff like St Mary's of the Woods and Levelland, going to wire in a DIY Neve input tranny into the Princeton for a mic input transformer, there is a DIY output transformer in there also with 40 percent screen taps, (Ultra Linear they call it)

using reverb and vibrato for the acoustic gives you the Fred Neil sound,

DIY guitar rack holds the harps and capos upstairs,

grill cloth on the amp is a climbing shirt that was too small bought from an online Tribal company and thats enuff braggin for 1 day,

oh, and a Sambos coffee cup on the upper right full of Earl Grey
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
May 13, 2013 - 12:06am PT
the best players use a very light, delicate attack,

watch Duane Allman, Ritchie Blackmore, Clapton, same thing,

Listen to the Dr. on this....
Dr.Sprock

Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
May 13, 2013 - 12:59am PT
oh i know there are some heavy handed players out there, but remember, Stevie is using navy ropes for stings, i believe that is a 012 on there but he tunes to E flat,

Jimmy Page can get real heavy also, same with Pete Townsend,

now if you use a light attack, you only get 50 millivolts from a humbucker, a heavy attack will generate 4 times that voltage, so you then have signal to noise problems, that is why Blackmmore is so amazing, he uses a noisy single coil strat thru a 200 watt Marshall but with a light attack, very hard to do, like controlling an elephant,

Tony Iommi uses an extremely light attack because of his artificial fingers, i think he strings up with 008's on his SG,

when Billy Gibbons saw Duane, he changed from a heavy to light attack and his playing went up a notch,

check out how light Duane is,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JibT2wcZKms
Ward Trotter

Trad climber
May 13, 2013 - 01:28am PT
Nay.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
May 13, 2013 - 10:57am PT
Was that Largo playing bass? Damn!
ydpl8s

Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
May 13, 2013 - 12:28pm PT
I mostly play acoustic now with my 1978 Guild D-25 (back when Guilds were good, before being bought out by Fender). I jam with my buds once a week at the coffee shop, I'm pretty much a banger with heavy touch and a voice like Joe Cocker these days.

I've got a Jap Strat, but I've got to agree with Locker, those SG's are about the sweetest thing going for an electric. Although, one of my buds just got a cherry red 335 that is "just lika ringin a bell!"
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
May 13, 2013 - 10:24pm PT
oh i know there are some heavy handed players out there, but remember, Stevie is using navy ropes for stings, i believe that is a 012 on there but he tunes to E flat,

Jimmy Page can get real heavy also, same with Pete Townsend,

now if you use a light attack, you only get 50 millivolts from a humbucker, a heavy attack will generate 4 times that voltage, so you then have signal to noise problems, that is why Blackmmore is so amazing, he uses a noisy single coil strat thru a 200 watt Marshall but with a light attack, very hard to do, like controlling an elephant,

Tony Iommi uses an extremely light attack because of his artificial fingers, i think he strings up with 008's on his SG,

when Billy Gibbons saw Duane, he changed from a heavy to light attack and his playing went up a notch,

check out how light Duane is,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JibT2wcZKms

The doc speaks the truth.
zBrown

Ice climber
chingadero de chula vista
May 13, 2013 - 10:31pm PT
I remember when Jack Bruce was doing a lot of climbing and playing, then they had the farewell show and he never looked back. Was He glad? Time will tell.

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Chinchen

climber
Way out there....
May 14, 2013 - 12:40am PT
I definitely notice that my fingers are tight after climbing. I can still strum and stuff, but fingerpicking and such, not so much.

Recorded this today.
http://www.reverbnation.com/jasonchinchen/song/17294714-trying-to-run-away
Chinchen

climber
Way out there....
May 14, 2013 - 12:47am PT
Yes, sort of.

And a little banjo, piano, bass and drums.

I am in desperate need of a backing band here on the east side for gigs. I have some friends that will play but I need gigging musicians. Badly. I can book gigs but can't find musicians willing to do work.

I also host an open mic here in Bishop: If you are a musician and in the area, please come down and join us! Good times and great music.

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
May 14, 2013 - 06:51am PT
It's a fact you can't be a great musician and a great climber at the same time for very long. climbing gives you too many tendon issues over time. i strive to be ok at both. I certainly could not play a gig after a hard day of climbing.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
May 14, 2013 - 08:10am PT
Mort Hempel.

Joe Fitschen.

And granted, Joe took up a career which was not centered on rock (or jass or schwing), while Mort merely held Pratt's rope on Crack of Doom...

wilbeer

Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
May 14, 2013 - 09:47am PT
[Click to View YouTube Video]Mild RA,35 years of swingin a hammer,40 years playing guitar,climbing actually helps.I am still a hack though.
Nice,Chinchen!
Chinchen

climber
Way out there....
May 14, 2013 - 11:03am PT
Dig it Wildbeer, that room sounds great too!

I don't use youtube, so here are some links to a few of my songs.

http://vimeo.com/57764280

http://vimeo.com/58913346
darkmagus

Mountain climber
San Diego, CA
May 14, 2013 - 02:32pm PT
As a drummer, the effects have been 100% positive at least as far as I can tell. Increased grip strength has given me the ability to play cleaner for longer, and it has increased the tempo at which I can comfortably and reliably crank out crisp notes.

I also think that I have experienced a greater degree of "motor planning", to know what I am going to play a few bars/beats ahead of it actually happening. Definitely a result of climbing. I've been able to let myself conceive of (and pull off) more complex, oddly timed fills. Which feels a lot like grabbing the right hold in the right way at the right time. Just like, "ok here it comes, I'm gonna GET IT!" Working through the awkward/complex stuff becomes more manageable.

I'd say, for a drummer at least, it's all good!
Michelle

Social climber
1187 Hunterwasser
May 14, 2013 - 03:20pm PT
When I was climbing tons years ago I was also playing a lot of guitar too. I used medium strings on my Alvarez and did a lot of funky detuning. I doubt I could smash the strings down now. Currently I noodle around on my 3/4 Ibanez (fits my hands better) and may try the Ani Difranco method of taping press-on nails on my fingers since I will never have nails. I used to sand my callouses too. Playing the piano with callouses sucked, it just felt weird.

Open Mic! Good idea.
tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
May 14, 2013 - 06:56pm PT
I don't know for sure but I doubt a serious full time professional musician would take those kinds of chances with their fingers.....? heck I have heard that some of those guys have insurance polocys on their hands...
Mike Friedrichs

Sport climber
City of Salt
May 14, 2013 - 07:17pm PT
Dirtineye seemed to do OK.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=938315&tn=32
Urizen

Ice climber
Berkeley, CA
May 14, 2013 - 07:56pm PT
Where did you hear that cellos had frets?
Jennie

Trad climber
Elk Creek, Idaho
May 14, 2013 - 08:08pm PT
Dirtineye seemed to do OK.



Thanks for that remembrance...

Dirt was world class. I kept in touch with his mother and best friend after his sad finish

Fortunate to acquire some of his recordings and performances
Mike Friedrichs

Sport climber
City of Salt
May 14, 2013 - 09:53pm PT
I never got to meet the man but I enjoyed his spirit. And he was an amazingly gifted musician. I think about him from time to time and would love to hear some of his recordings...
nutjob

Sport climber
Almost to Hollywood, Baby!
May 14, 2013 - 10:04pm PT
Hey Ron, what are all those blue ribbons for?

Thanks for sharing the vid, made me feel more comfortable to share mine. This was a fun night for me:
[Click to View YouTube Video]

My part kicks in more at 1:16 or 1:24. At one point I biffed it a bit with the harmonies clashing in the extended echo effects. Eh, what can you do. I would strive for perfection, but I avoid the temptation for that by not practicing! It's my ever-present excuse just like trotting out an old injury or talking about too much cubicle time at the start of a climb. Always keep an excuse handy :)

Edit: As I re-read what I just wrote, I thought about Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and how making excuses and not practicing are not what I aspire to. Different times I focus on different areas of my life, but at no point do I accept mediocrity just as a matter of course because of laziness or fear of judgment. Wow, I need to get out climbing. But first, I'm going to take a break from the taco brain-freeze and go play some guitar.

Gary

Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
May 14, 2013 - 11:51pm PT
OK, if you all have the guts to post something, here goes. Maybe it will draw John E. out.
http://hbfun.org/piano/chopin_op2_4.mp3
Chinchen

climber
Way out there....
May 15, 2013 - 01:41am PT
Great stuff folks!
Gary

Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
May 15, 2013 - 08:38am PT
Willbeer, Chinchen, good stuff you guys. Nutjob, there's no such thing as a mistake. And Burchey, nice guitar, dude.
Paco

Trad climber
Montana
May 15, 2013 - 09:49am PT
For me the biggest issue is fingernails... I use the nails on the thumb and first three fingers of the right hand for picking...and I have to clip them fairly short when I go climbing just so they won't rip off. Frustrating at times.
c_vultaggio

Trad climber
new york
May 15, 2013 - 01:11pm PT
Sweet stuff guys, thanks for sharing. A few of mine -

Looped [Click to View YouTube Video]]

raw fingerstyle/slap [Click to View YouTube Video]

Chinchen

climber
Way out there....
May 15, 2013 - 04:27pm PT
Yea c_vultaggio !!!!


Looping is where its at...

Is that an RC-300?
c_vultaggio

Trad climber
new york
May 15, 2013 - 05:34pm PT
Yea c_vultaggio !!!!


Looping is where its at...

Is that an RC-300?

Thanks amigo - RC-50 but the 300 looks pretty sweet. Dig the expression pedal. Boss makes a pretty nice product, I was stoked on the loop station as soon as I had it hooked up.
wilbeer

Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
May 15, 2013 - 07:08pm PT
Vultaggio,Yeah,man.
nutjob

Sport climber
Almost to Hollywood, Baby!
May 15, 2013 - 07:37pm PT
man o man, just blew the work productivity for the afternoon :)

I relaxed to some Chopin, got enamored with a new looper tool/toy I need to get, and rocked out to a cool and distinctive fingerpicking style. Then enjoyed some other cool guitar stuff in a totally different style. There's some non-climbing talent around this place. Thanks guys!

In a few months after I get stuff unpacked from boxes and easy access to recording, will have to revive this thread for some new creations and keep the little music support group alive.
Gary

Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
May 15, 2013 - 11:18pm PT
Yeah, that loop thing is pretty cool. So, what are guys using to record? I'm sort of primitive with a Zoom H4 then using Audacity to trim the ends and normalize.
Chinchen

climber
Way out there....
May 15, 2013 - 11:29pm PT
Garageband. Or Logic pro if I'm feeling, ya-know, pro.
nutjob

Sport climber
Almost to Hollywood, Baby!
May 15, 2013 - 11:32pm PT
Before I moved to LA, my band recording setup was Ubuntu Studio based linux apps. Some people get religious about Ground Up, I got religious about Open Source:

ffado drivers controlling an Mbox hardware A/D converter with mic and line inputs
linux real-time kernel tweak to get less choppy audio
Ardour as the main recording/mixing/effects plugins interface
JAMin for mastering the final mix
patchage for virtually wiring all the Jack apps together
Audacity for converting the .wav mixdown (Ardour output) to .mp3
(could use lame for command line, but Audacity is easy too)

All the "original" tracks on this link, except the last one, were done with linux software:
http://www.bandmix.com/6stringscott/


For my guitar effects, I've got mixed feelings about the Line6 POD-HD500. Very flexible and versatile, but terrible presets. Lots of work to tweak it the way you like, and then try to normalize the output levels for different patches is hard (e.g. for live shows to get similar volume levels on each patch). That messed me up a lot even during jam sessions, stopping to fiddle with levels and tone and getting in the way of just playing and having fun with the gang.

I really like my old Line6 AX2 2x12. Nice sounds, no fiddling necessary, but fiddling is available if you want it. And it's heavy to lug around.


Then there's the Taylor 12-string, the Takamine classical with built-in pickup, the import Fender Strat, and the old Yamaha steel string my dad picked up in the Philippines during Vietnam. And a beater classical I bought for $90 about 20 years ago, that I still take on camping trips.
c_vultaggio

Trad climber
new york
May 16, 2013 - 10:36am PT
Thanks y'all and thanks for sharing all your good stuff. Here's another with the loopbox:

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Chinchen

climber
Way out there....
May 17, 2013 - 11:06am PT
Heres a new song.

http://vimeo.com/66346059
Gary

Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
May 17, 2013 - 01:21pm PT
More good stuff, thanks for posting, you guys.
tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
May 22, 2013 - 11:03pm PT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV6SmY04WdE&feature=player_embedded

Technicaly perfect but as much soul as a couch. she actually looks bored?
wilbeer

Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
May 22, 2013 - 11:19pm PT
awesome.
Gary

Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
May 23, 2013 - 12:25am PT
If we're going in this direction, check this chick out:
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Lambone

Big Wall climber
Ashland, Or
May 23, 2013 - 12:46am PT
Climbing doesn't help my gigging any. Especially El Cap. Takes about a month for my fingers to get back to normal.
Ward Trotter

Trad climber
May 23, 2013 - 12:54am PT
Hey, now that we are on the subject of virtuosity check out this guitar genius and the respect he gets from his fellow band members:


[Click to View YouTube Video]
lostinshanghai

Social climber
someplace
Jun 10, 2013 - 09:10pm PT
Nice c_vultaggio

Needed to pick up a couple of things first when I heard your voice.

Overdubbing, some with delay, phasing here and there and varispeed a tad seems you can create anything now and is endless. Not like the old days

Mustang 1: control everything with the mousie. Hell for a hundred bucks can’t go wrong. Electronics sure has come a long way.

Thanks John; might want to be trading again “eh”.





wilbeer

Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
Jun 10, 2013 - 09:24pm PT
Nice job Ron.
aider

Social climber
Denver CO
Jun 12, 2013 - 09:00pm PT
Nice set up.

Boy been a long time but I remember the stand but it came I think from Roland could be wrong but like the change. How was the dubbing and did you hear back from Larry Thomas yet. I am waiting holding my breath. Kidding but let me know what he said. That's history.

John
klk

Trad climber
cali
Jun 12, 2013 - 10:00pm PT
lostinshanghai--

nice maestro.

what's that archtop?

and i hope that whatever ravaged that solidbody isn't contagious.
c_vultaggio

Trad climber
new york
Oct 30, 2013 - 02:25pm PT
Threw down a version of this track recently, processed through Pro Tools as a single-track through my live loop setup (RC-50) with mando, bass, and guitar.

[Click to View YouTube Video]
drljefe

climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
Oct 30, 2013 - 04:14pm PT
Cool thread, nice job people.

Messages 1 - 55 of total 55 in this topic
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