NeilES335

Very nice Lester 👍Ditto to what Mandy says, you played well together😊

And I just recorded a HIP HOP song! Just kidding 😉

@Skip RussellI think it really depends on what type of guitar you're playing, the pickups and your own playing style. So far with all of my recordings ive plugged the guitar directly into the interface, using either my Godin full hollow archtop (p90 pup) or my Gibson ES137 semi hollow archtop (hb pup). After experimenting with some pluggins I concluded "less is more". I have a mic to record using my amp ('63 Princeton Reverb Reissue) but have not trried it yet. You'll just have to experiment with your own gear to see as there are no hard and fast rules.

Thats a good idea. Stay with the barre chords until they sound clear and you're able to play them easily without too much effort. Most learners having trouble with barre chords are using the wrong muscles. The power for a barre chord comes from the index finger muscles, not the thumb and wrist. Trying to squeeze the neck to death to get a clear sound only causes fatique. So check how you're doing this an review the lesson video again if this applies to you. The neat thing about barre chords is that they are movable all over the neck. So say a 5th string root Minor 7th chord shape is the same for a Dm7, Em7, Fm7 and so on. So there really aren't a lot of shapes to learn to play many different chords.

@Cultosaurus Welcome to the Guitar Gathering forums! We're glad you're sharing your guitar learning journey with us. You're making great progess! Just follow the LMG lessons and keep at it and you'll do very well. The members here are more than willing to help, so feel free to ask any questions you may have. Cheers; Neil

@Wim VD1 Beautifully played Wim! The breadth of you ablilty is very impressive... from rock and blues, to fingerstyle, on this wonderful hymn (one of my favorites) you are covering it all. Your timing, was spot on, and I detected no "misfires" ... Tone very good too. For your first recording with an interface and Reaper DAW, this was very well done By listening, I gather you used the Focusrite Scarlet mic (that comes with this excellent gear,) to record your acoustic guitar. I have yet to use mine... I do want to try it with my Fender Princeton amp. Not intending to be critical, I'm sure you're aware of the string noise. I think the mic accentuates this in the recording. Other than possibly string change I'm not sure how to fix this... maybe a slight change of technique, ie; lifting the fretting fingers slightly on chord changes perhaps. (This is one of the reasons I like flat wound strings on my ES guitars; no string noise) On acoustic I struggled with this and found Martin SP strings to be very quiet while still delivering excellent tone. Some swear by other brands of coated strings like Elixer (I didnt care for them... put them on, played them once, took them off) Anyway Great job as always! Cheers; Neil

@Nutty 1 Good job with your song Mandy 👍 As Wim says, just singing and playing is more than most can do, and adding a bit of percussion is "special" . You have an nice soft voice too that suits this song. Keep up the good work. N

Hi Wim I'm very glad that whatever experience shared has been of some help you. The biggest lesson learned is that recording is a natural progression for guitarists and musicians of all stripes. Recording it is however, a whole new skill set that takes time and patience to learn. I have barely scratched the surface! Regarding the jazz tone... As you say, Reaper has dozens of standard "plug ins" for immediate use. And, you've likely discovered there are many more that are available Free throught the Software "Plug in Collective". These cover a huge range of effects and sounds. My advice would be simple. For your use, (recording yourself on guitar)... Dont waste a lot of time downloading ALL the accounts (like I did), because many are of no use in this application. After much trial and error, I found that the guitar is the best "tone tool" you have. I tried several different plugins on my recordings, with mixed results. But after all that, on my most recent recording, I found my best "jazz tone" was with NO effects at all! Just my Gibson ES-137 on the front (humbucker) pickup, with the volume on 10 (full out) and tone on 4. I kept the input volume down to about 11 oclock on the interface, (to reduce distortion). If you'd like to discuss other recording tecniques etc. we could continue by P.M. if you wish. BTW Great job on that hymn... beautiful!

Hey @Wim VD1 There are lots of good videos on Reaper's website to learn from. "Kenny Gioa" explains it pretty well. It can get pretty complex, and I admit I got a bit flustered with it in the beginning, but in the end to do a simple guitar recording isn't overly difficult. A lot of the stuff is customization, which isnt really needed.

Among many guitar students and players alike of all skill levels, there seems to be some "mystery" and perhaps a little fear when it comes to "Diminished:" chords. I know in the past if I saw a piece of sheet music with a BbDim or the like, I would think to myself, oh, I don't know that one... I'll pass on this song. Well over the last while I've come to really like this approach to playing rhythm and "comping" (that's short for accompanying )! I found that these chords can really spice up your chord progressions! And they aren't scary at all! I think of them as a bridge to the next chord. By nature, they sound "unstable" on their own, (unlike say a dominant chord like say, an A7 barre chord) and demand to be "resolved" to the next major or minor chord. I learned and used these chords in several "jazz tunes" I've recorded an posted on this site... but fear not, they are also used extensively in Country, Blues and Rock too. Here's a very good short teaching video from Steve Krenz desccribing what they are, and simply how to use them. Enjoy! ps check out the attached "Skills House" Lesson on "What Good Is A Diminished Chords Anyway"? https://web.archive.org/web/20130131044543im_/http://lm.gibson.com/Lessons/Foundation/WhatGoodisaDiminishedChord/WhatGoodisaDiminishedChord.mp4 WhatGoodisaDiminishedChord.pdf

@tjmeyers don;t feel too bad TJ... I have one too 🙂 They are very accuate for tuning by ear. No batteries required! (I use a Boss WazaCraft Tuner app now most of the time). I've found that tuning your guitar "by ear" is actually the best way. This means tuning the guitar "to itself", meaning each string in relation to the next, ie a 4th away. This way the intonation should be near perfect, (if your not tone deaf that is...). I have one guitar (an acoustic) that if it's tuned precisely to the tuner app, sounds a bit off, but when tuned "to itself" (as @Eracer_Team-DougH describes above) or by the tuning fork, sounds perfect. You can check the intonation by playing the same note and /or chord in serveral places on the fretboard, The "tone" will be slightly different, but the "pitch" should be identical. @Prabhu If you use these methods you'll be fine. Over time, you'll be able to tell very quickly if the a certain string is out of tune. Watch the pros... they tune on the fly. Their "tuner app" is called..."Ears!".

@gotto @Eracer_Team-DougH @Wim VD1 @matonanjin and others Thank you for you complimentary remarks. I'm always open to any suggestions as I try to improve on both playing and recording. Let's hear what you've been working on🎸😊.

Thank you @Skip Russell for the kind remark. Your hearing is fine... Yes, I did intentionally pan (separate) the melody and rhythm tracks left and right in this stereo hd recording. It was also "double tracked" for a total 8 tracks. It sounds best on good headphones, stereo speakers or studio monitors.

Welcome back to the course Tom! Check in here often,, ask questions, and make progress reports; there's lots of help here, Don't forget to participate in Live Lessons on our YouTube Channel too, Happy Tunes; Neil

Whatever makes it easier for you to learn and practicing more enjoyabe is a good thing, See my earlier post about string buzz and light guage strings, N