A friend just introduced me to B.B. King. Wow.
I'm wondering how hard it is to play something like what B.B. plays on a Strat or a Fat Strat (which are the two kinds of beginner guitars out in the world)? I've skimmed some forums - there's a lot of a disagreement.
It feels like this is one of the things where purists will say it isn't right (that is, buy a Lucille clone), but for someone like me, just starting out, it won't matter? :)
The pups matter, but the amp has a lot to do with it as well. That stated, I think the player has the most to do with it.
Blues? You can play the blues on Strat's, Tele's, Les Paul's, Semi-hollow's and the list goes on.
To do this, I think a tube amp is a must and from there, the guitar you choose is up to you and your ear. In the end, you want to have your own sound, so pick what you like so you can make that sound you hear in your head.
Yeah, you can play blues on any kind of guitar. :D
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Yeah, what I meant to say is, maybe it won't sound exactly the same as B.B. , but it'll still be the blues.
Tone doesn't matter so much with blues. I think the blues sound is more captured in vibrato, meter, and of course, the scales. Tone is something to differentiate blues styles maybe, but that's about it.
-Metaellihead
Check out Jimmie Vaughan, he puts down some nice B.B. style licks and his strat.
"Failure is the key to success" Lee Wen; Champ vs Champ
It's in the fingers, not the guitar. You can play the blues, and if you're a beginner, learning the basics of the blues is more important than what kind of guitar you play them with.
Tone doesn't matter so much with blues. I think the blues sound is more captured in vibrato, meter, and of course, the scales. Tone is something to differentiate blues styles maybe, but that's about it.
I'm not so sure I agree with that. I think tone matters a great deal when it comes to the blues. You can play blues using one tone and have it sound OK, but if you experiment with your amp settings, etc. you can play the same thing and have it go from OK to awesome. For me anyway, when it come to blues, tone is just as important as having a good bend and a good vibrato. I mean, BB's tone or Peter Green's tone (or anyone with a killer tone) is such a huge part of their blues sound.
BB's sound is very much the result of his technique. Master that BB vibrato technique and you'll capture a big part of it. I get BB tones occasionally, on a really good day, with my Tele. I would say the guitar is almost the last component in the equation as long as you're playing something with relatively vintage pickups. A Strat should give you some sounds quite satisfyingly close to BB in the neck positions with the tone rolled back.
The whole point of the blues was the players didnt have a ton of money to pour into a equipment. I can play the blues on my classical nylon, steel string acoustic, tele, and even my EMG 81/85 Agile LP. So basically all you really need is a guitar, and if needed a small tube amp. Dont worry so much about equipment as you do technique. Learn bends, vibratos, slides, scales, 12 bar patterns, shuffles, and everything else that goes with the blues. And then my friend you will feel the emotion pour from your fingertips.
GN's resident learning sponge, show me a little and I will soak it up.
