Amp Help

[JF]

A multi FX pedal is also a good investment if you are playing at low volume as you can create heavily overdriven (and other) sounds at sensible levels.

100% agree 

I have a Vox Tonelab ST, and I love it. I can play at any hour (with headphones)without disturbing anyone, and I can have many different kinds of sounds :
http://www.voxamps.com/uk/pedals/tonelabst/


Of course I'm sure that purists would say that it's not the "real" thing, but I think , modestly, that my recordings, in termes of tone/sounds, could easily be submitted to a blind test, compared to "real" amps :
https://soundcloud.com/jfstrat/sets

and I am proud of Ingo's comment about them :
http://www.mk-guitar.com/forum/guitar-discussion/hendrix-sounds/

[Fletch]

Brian, persevere with some simple finger movements on the fret board to get both your wrist and fingers used to their 'new' role! also your fingers will gradually get used to playing the strings almost to the point where you will hardly have to press the string down to play the note/chords...

Knopflerfan

Iam doing 10/15 mins a day , just easy finger movements on the fret board.
Not ready to give in yet.

Brian

I find the video where Mark demonstrates a C chord with his left hand, and then pensively remembers how, "...it's a battle just to get the fingers to do that..." quite funny!
All those motor skills rarely come naturally (except to 4 yr old freaks on YouTube grrrrr), you just have to keep "battling" and enjoying.
I find the easiest way to battle is with a good playable guitar (you got that) and nice sounds (the Mustang should suffice there too). Have fun!!

[BrianT]

Brian,
That's excellent - well done! little and often is the key. And if it's just not working put the Strat down and come back to it another time. The sound and general feel of the MK is awesome isn't it?
Steve

Steve

Thanks for the link, I enjoyed watching them, I spent a couple of hours today just playing around
and are finding it easier to control my left hand. More practise needed.

Iam doing 10/15 mins a day , just easy finger movements on the fret board.
Not ready to give in yet.
Brian

I find the video where Mark demonstrates a C chord with his left hand, and then pensively remembers how, "...it's a battle just to get the fingers to do that..." quite funny!
All those motor skills rarely come naturally (except to 4 yr old freaks on YouTube grrrrr), you just have to keep "battling" and enjoying.
I find the easiest way to battle is with a good playable guitar (you got that) and nice sounds (the Mustang should suffice there too). Have fun!!
[/quote]

Flech

Have been looking for that MK "C" chord demo, if you have a link could you post it. Yes the Mustang is good enough for what I need at the moment
and as am not into effects yet, I do not need any peddles

Brian

[Knopflerfan]

Of course you have the pre-set effects built into the Mustang too...
I personally never play the MK without a certain amount of delay added...

[JF]

Have been looking for that MK "C" chord demo, if you have a link could you post it.

Brian

is it about this ?

http://www.mk-guitar.com/?s=plumber&x=0&y=0

[Fletch]

C chord ".. You gotta battle just to get that... "

[3Strats]

Without getting into the "difficult" chords, after over 40 years I still find "F" quite uncomfortable unless I barre right across the first fret. 

[3Strats]

I've just taken delivery of a 10watt Yamaha THR10C. it's promoted as "your 3rd amp" (after your 100w stack and Club sized combo) but it's quite loud enough for home use. It models  5 classic amp types & there are also bass & acoustic amp simulations.  It has built in basic chorus, phaser, flange, tremolo, echo (they don't say "delay") & reverb, although they are not fully adjustable , but for such a small unit the sound quality is astounding !  Definitely recommended if you want a variety of amp sounds without the expense of buying half a dozen vintage amps!     

[BrianT]

is it about this ?
http://www.mk-guitar.com/?s=plumber&x=0&y=0

C chord ".. You gotta battle just to get that... "

Thanks for the links, the C chord does not look easy

Brian

[Fletch]

You MUST enjoy the "battle" - much easier with a good guitar and amp

I'd suggest learning all the basic major / minor chords via songs you know, for instance you could play a folky strummy version of Sultans or some of other fave songs, then the directions / advice / possibilities are endless.
I'll personally never forget my own epiphany whereby after 'battling' with chords and scales since I was a kid (learning led zep songs via tab etc. with no real understanding of how music works) one day I was listening to Sultans (I was always a fan but not a mad MK nutter, I'd only had the DS albums on cassette!) and I remember thinking "why does every lick that Mark plays here sound different, fits perfectly and amazes me?"
So I studied the song, the chord prog, the licks, which led to an understanding of how to play lead guitar over rhythm chords melodically and bluesy, and eventually led me to throw away my plectrums (very good move) and continue learning things like the Walk of Life rhythm playing via a disused MKgiitarstyle website and Ingos website....
About two years in, I auditioned for a band, much to my surprise they liked my (still weak) playing - not stepping on 'ordinary' style guitar players toes is one of the benefits of Marks rhythm style. Years later I'm lucky to play reguarly with an amazing singer and a few bands. It's been a lot of fun + drama too of course!

Sorry for the long history, but I really enjoy that MK fingerpicking vid, because everyone has there own story / development and I particularly admire that Mark mentions "the chord is just sitting there.. it's a battle just to get that right.."
It's true, but if you love music, love the 'battle'!

[Lis]

Nice reading... thanks Fletch!!

(And now I will have a look at the video, too!)