i dont know if you know ocean colour scene over the pond, but i personally believe they are one of the most underrated british bands ever (but then i also liked "all for one" by sting, brian adams and rod stewart - so what do i know :lol: )
Anyway, the song in the link is one i am learning so i can try and convince the band to play it - and it wasnt until i watched this vid that i realised they only had one guitarist. anybody who knows them will know that all of their songs have very prominant and exellent guitar parts.
this brings to mind people like brian may and andy summers (and otherts i cant think of right now).
anyway, the question....
if bands have only one guitarist, what techniques and/or effects does he employ to produce a guitar part which doesnt feel like it has gaps in it, or one which really stands out with a mix of rhythm and lead???
i only ask because i am the only guitarist in our band and i often give way to the keyboard, because i cant seem produce a "big enough" part for a lot of our songs...
anyway, if you hacvent heard of this band, check out the vid, they are awesomely underrated.
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Well bands with one guitar never have just one guitar on an album they always either have the guitar player lay down several tracks or they bring in another guitar player and on tour if they don't have another guitar player you sometimes wonder why the song doesn't quite sound the same...cuz they can never duplicate what they did in the studio live.
But I know exactly what you are talking about unfortunately I'm not sure how to achaive that full sound with just one guitar other than maybe a chorus pedal to hlp fill out the sound a bit.
I can't watch the vid at work but is Brian May the guitar player? He can make his guitar sound like just about anything
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
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no, its not brian may, its the guitarist from ocean colour scene, i dont know his name, but it is alive performance.
its a great song.
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
A chorus pedal is the most obvious accessory to fatten up the sound, along with a good stereo effect using two amps if you've got all the kit.
A :-)
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A very short delay can also fatten up the sound. You'll need to experiment a bit to find what time suits you best - start with 1/10 of a second, it may not sound right, but it's a good place to start.
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I have always been blown away by artists that can walk on stage all alone with a guitar and fill the room with music.
Dave Edmunds and a telecaster. unbelievable. Sting is another one. Allman, we'll never reach that ability I am afraid to say, so what can we normal players do>?
what a great question.
I use delay and a hybrid picking style that tries to keep a bass line going whilst playing rhythm.
it doesn't come close to those players you mention. I am at a loss.
Not to take anything away from them because they are very talented and all, but one factor that helps them do this is the very talented people they play with. Case and point The Who. Pete Townsend is a great guitarist, but when they were around, there was no rhythm section that could compare to Entwisle and Moon. The two of them made the music of a four piece band. Black Sabbath for example, Tony Iomi is a great guitarist, but Geezer aint chopped liver on the bass either and they have always gone to war with a solid drummer be it Bill Ward or Vinnie Apice. I guess the point I'm making is the other musicians in those three piece bands are filling space as well. A shining other example would be Rush. Each member of the band has monster chops. They sound like six guys when it's only three.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
agreed to that.
one thing you could try is playing 'fills' behind the vocals. double stops up and down the neck, appeggios, etc.
I have always liked the tasteful playing the Nashville guys do behind the vocals and in between the verses.
Maybe a stupid question but why don't you find another guitar player to add to the mix?
When does your sound fall off, when you are soloing? All the time?
Agree with TR the other guys need to fill that rhythm behind you especially when you are soloing but no matter what you do it's going to tough to pull off a two or three guitar song with only one guitar expecially if the rhythm guitar part is playing the hook or main riff it won't sound the same with a keyboard player doing it.
We've have the reverse problem, well it's not really a problem but since we have two guitars we have stayed away from one guitar band songs, like Hendrix etc. Now we can do those obviously, I could play some chords behind the other guitar but for the most part we've left that stuff alone.
The other thing to remember is that even though you might love some songs they just not be a good fit for the band and you'll need to drop those and try some others.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
good replies guys - thanks.
dogbite, im going to check out some of that nashville playing. forgive my ignorance, but is nashville a band, or is it a style of music?? also, sting is one of all all time favourite songwriters, but i dont really recall seeing him play guitar, although i know he obviously can. im going to check him out on youtube...
cnev, youre right, i would love to add another guitarist, but at the minute we all work together and get on so well, that an extra member might complicate things - although i would love to have somebody i could learn off.
ill give the delay thing a try as well, i have a couple of delay pedals, guess its time to see what they actually do :D
thanks again
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Nashville isn't a band. it is a style of playing. there are examples on youtube. I stumble on them every now and then. sorry, I have no links to proffer.
Personally I like when I'm the only guitar player. :twisted: Ummm ... thats selfish aint it? :roll:
AImann, I have seen Sting play guitar on TV. He's good.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
