General Music Chat

when he's not enthralling 15 yr old girls crooning sappy pop tunes....john mayer is a very respectable gtrst who always includes lots of old fashioned guitar gun slinging in his shows. no doubt he's created LOTS of interest in newbies to pick up a gtr.

Maybe a few youngsters, but not to the degree that the rock guitarists of the 60s/70s did. If Mayer was a true 'guitar god', he wouldn't be imitating Jerry Garcia on the latest Dead tours.

Fewer NEW electric guitars being sold - for sure. Take a look at the used market though. It's not like 5-year-old, or 10-year-old or even 20-year-old electric guitars are being tossed in the scrap heap.

It's not like 5-year-old, or 10-year-old or even 20-year-old electric guitars are being tossed in the scrap heap.

Good point. But that part about acoustics starting to outsell electrics in 2010 seems like reality.


Sure there are lots of guitarists out there today who are good, but I think the return of the electric guitar will take someone turning it into something else.

but you can't overlook brad paisley,

Sure I can, cause I've never heard him

Vince Gill is pretty good but that's bluegrass.

The part about acoustics makes sense. Listen to any newer "indie" music, and chances are, even if it is 'electric sounding', there's an acoustic guitar in there, too. And acoustics do get tossed on the scrap pile - if they are not kept humidified in the dry winter, they crack, warp, etc.

Most of the time when you see a guitar player on YouTube what do you see? Generally most of the time all I see is professional wankers playing scales as fast as they can, both amateur and professional. The Internet overflows with wankers, both good ones and bad ones. And for the most part they are generally playing the same scales and fingering formations at varying skill levels. 3-6 minutes of wanking gets rather boring for my taste.

Most of the time when you see a guitar player on YouTube what do you see? Generally most of the time all I see is professional wankers playing scales as fast as they can, both amateur and professional. The Internet overflows with wankers, both good ones and bad ones. And for the most part they are generally playing the same scales and fingering formations at varying skill levels. 3-6 minutes of wanking gets rather boring for my taste.

Oh yeah, plenty of wankers out there!

Most of the time when you see a guitar player on YouTube what do you see? Generally most of the time all I see is professional wankers playing scales as fast as they can, both amateur and professional. The Internet overflows with wankers, both good ones and bad ones. And for the most part they are generally playing the same scales and fingering formations at varying skill levels. 3-6 minutes of wanking gets rather boring for my taste.

Sounds like a lot of the videos you base new threads on.

In my own experience, I got into this scene because of the electric guitar. Loved classic rock long before it became "classic" (though it always was)

But putting bands together only to replace a member every 4 months got old through the 80s and 90s. Producing albums on bands that weren't together long enough to actually put it out beat me down.

Societal changes just made it not worth the hassle anymore. So I got an acoustic for writing and accompanying myself to at least have SOMEONE I could depend on.

But I've had a Les Paul with a Marshall stack sitting in my garage without being played since November 2000...and it kills me. How I wish it made sense to put a band together, but it doesn't once you're out of high school and everyone starts a life.

This scenario is typical and certainly playing a part in changing the demographics of electric guitar players and probably other traditionally "rock" instruments.

I will say this, if you want good original music there is plenty happening in Europe. Disclaimer: I'm a symphonic metal fan.

You can find it here at home too if you look.

Talbot

"Sounds like a lot of the videos you base new threads on. "

It might if you can't tell the difference between fusion and wanking.

Ironically, saw the teaser for this on the NewsHour last night:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/twi ... r-decline/

(Disclaimer: PBS may want you to provide a detailed history of your entire life, including birth records, SSN, educational & employment records, financial history, etc. and take a brief, 4-hour survey before you can read their "free" articles. Or you can do like I did: use ABP to excise the offending code.)

I would only add that if Taylor Shift has become the de facto inspiration for learning/playing the guitar, it's good to know I'll never again need to haul my rig anywhere. Pre-pubescent girls just don't get it...

George

Ok neighbor, glad to see you're still having fun with it. And there is still fun to be had.

cheers
Talbot

Sounds like a song:

" Oh the times they are a changin'"

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."

We have been here before. Late 70s thru early 80s when both Fender and Gibson were building arguably their worst instruments ever and both looked like their doors would soon close. Nothing lasts forever and we need another EVH clone like a hole in the head.

I am encouraged by some really stripped-down, simple honest songs performed well without all the heavy over-production. Reina del cid and others like them that are cutting a different path than most, but one that has been used successfully over many years. "Tell the story, people love a story."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3aBTJIanDo

Music will change and economies will shift but I suspect there will always be a place for guitar music. The "guitar hero" thing may have run it's course though.

Music will change and economies will shift but I suspect there will always be a place for guitar music.

Yes, much like baroque chamber music still has an audience....

The "guitar hero" thing may have run it's course though.

Guitar is still the easiest instrument for composing since you can't really carry a piano on your back.

That fact alone makes me think it will never go away. But to be guitar hero requires a band behind you and that is always going to be a temporary situation. I've been playing longer professionally as a soloist now than the entire time The Beatles were together. (the only favorable comparison I could make to them)


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heroes, schmeroes......that never was all that to me.

don't get me wrong i always appreciated people like Beck, Clapton, Page, etc but never was any more enamored by what THEY did than the rest of their supporting crews.

and arguments about who was the better or best gtrst always struck me as incredibly goofy, not to mention being completely subjective and all about personal taste.

solo gigs will always remain my least favorite gig. the thing that has always gotten my ankles hard playing music is being part of a band, a team that works well together AS A TEAM.

chops and/or speed has never impressed me so i never signed on to any of that shred stuff and wheedily, wheedily tech masturbation. content baby, give me content.