Guitarists of Singletrack…

I thought I’d have a crack at the Dave Simpson course too. Here’s me having a go at it – not right yet in many ways but hey ho it’ll get better with practice.

Niice! I really like Dave’s stuff. I got closer to Little Wing after his tutorial video than after all the other guides to it. Probably because he isn’t try to teach me to just copy Hendrix.

We should all try and follow his lesson and post the results 🙂

I need to record his backing track and try playing along with it

Indeed.

A quick lesson from Keith on open G and five strings. (And as ever I’m reminded of the ‘only Keith and cockroaches will survive the nuclear apocalypse’ quote.)

I can sit and watch Keith forever. An absolute hero to me

I was keen to get some lessons to get me out of a bit of a playing rut but following a lesson from one of my guitar heroes I don’t think Skype lessons are for me.
As an alternative I’ve signed up for a True Fire All Access account which seems to have a load of video lessons over multiple genres. Just need to set some time aside to do it now.

I don’t think Skype lessons are for me.

I’m not enjoying my Zoom bass lessons much either. I think the Fender play course is proving more useful at the moment. I want to support the bass teacher though, so I’ll stick with it for now.

If anyone wants the Dave Simpson blues backing to record over I have downloaded it and increased the volume a tad. Message me your email anD I’ll pop a copy over. If I’m just playing along I tend to leave YouTube going so Dave gets the clicks.
He really needs to make these tracks available to purchase.

Good idea. I made a loop in Audacity which has been pretty useful but good thought about giving Dave the clicks in YouTube.

You can get a loop extension in the YouTube browser that I’ve lost somehow, must reinstall it.

You can get a loop extension in the YouTube browser that I’ve lost somehow, must reinstall it.

Ooh I’ll search for that,

What’s the view on starting a Daves’ Blues Lesson thread to allow lots of sharing of attempts etc without cluttering this thread up with a lot of questionable video and sound clips ? If it’s is a yes I’ll open one unless someone gets there first ?

Not seen his YouTube channel before, I think I’ll have a go with that over the next few days…..

He’s a pretty decent bloke.
Check out the Andertons interview with him.

I’ve had a go at the Dave Simpson blues piece for the first time today, it’s a bit of a hard one for me tbh. Can anyone give advice on string bending, as I’m struggling with that especially. Oh, and Eddiebaby, I’ve pm’ed you for a copy of the backing track. Ta.

What aspect of string bending are you struggling with @Watty?

Can anyone give advice on string bending

if you are using medium gauge strings, maybe swap them out for light gauge.
You’ll lose a bit of volume and ‘punch’ on the bass end though, it’s a trade off.

Dave Simpson seems to be a guitar playing Guy Kesteven… 🙂

@watty, as everyone’s already said – which bit of string bending. Physically? Or getting to exactly the right pitch? Or how far/which direction to bend?

I had to cancel my order for one of these when first lockdown happened, now they are down in price so I though best get one now.

More for a wall hanging if I’m honest and it is far prettier in the flesh than I imagined

I took a look at a couple of Dave Simpson videos this weekend. Really sorted something for me: his Little Wing run through said, basically, find your own voice with it – no point trying to sound like Jimi – you really won’t. The other excellent piece of advice I’ve had recently is Justin saying “record yourself”. Boy, that comes as a bit of a shocker, doesn’t it?
I’m on my way to getting a lot more out of my playing now. I’ve got a cheap but lovely guitar with P90s (Harley Benton). OK, it’s never going to sound like a Strat, it’ll hum like buggery unless I keep it in the middle position, but it sounds great that way. That’s my sound from now on.

@chipps, @Tom-B, @mattyfez – t’was a technique issue, thankfully improved by a couple of YouTube suggestions from eddiebaby, for which I’m very grateful. A weekend of concentrated practice and its come on no end. Cheers.

Edit: oh, and I loved that interview with Dave Simpson by the Andertons’ chap. I couldn’t believe it kept me entertained for the whole 90 mins.

I tried buying an Ibanez SR300 bass at the weekend, it would appear no one has stock. Loads in Germany, in the past I would have just ordered from Germany.

I’ve been toying with the idea of putting a pedal board together. No idea which pedals I want / need at the moment so Chipps is lending me a few to have a play with 🙂

I might do some carpentry for the first time since school woodwork class and copy one of Dave Simpson’s boards…

Some of my guys at work have a serious pedalboard building habit. One of them even made himself a holiday pedalboard for the Xmas break. And also made his gf a pedalboard for her birthday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJtI0ePMFYx/?igshid=1r94e8onovyg9

I on the other hand have a rectangular offcut of unpainted plywood!

My pedals litter the floor and I prefer ones with batteries which means one less cable to trip up. If I walk too far they just follow me around in a train.

I on the other hand have a rectangular offcut of unpainted plywood!

Plywood?
Luxury! I use a length of trailer lighting board with Velcro on it. The width don’t matter as I’m not exactly on a stage…

@Plumber – that is nice. I like the pink.

@Bazzer – GuitarGuitar are showing stock of the red or white.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/151218291650002–ibanez-sr300eb-candy-apple-red

Oh and Amazon do some great 2in wide velcro style tape at stupid low prices.

@oldtennisshoes Thanks for that, it should be here on Wednesday 🙂

I have been using the Rickenbacker synthbass from Native Instruments on my recordings. It sounds pretty bass like, but I find it hard to play on a keyboard in a way a real bass is played. That said I have never owned a bass, so might be a laugh to start 🙂

Edited to add, I actually wanted the red one 😀

I treated myself to a proper pedalboard over Christmas after struggling through with a plank/chain of loose pedals forever. It’s SO much nicer to be able to turn it on, have all the pedals work, no batteries or crackly cables to replace. I use the effects loads more now. The power supply replaces one of the slats on the board, so it’s lovely and out of the way.

So, in summary, pedalboards are ace…..but I do seem to want to fill any excess space up with eBay impulse buys though.

@Bazzer 👍

I think I’m on pedalboard number three (or four…) now. And that’s concurrent, not just one after the other 🙂

Two are for one amp – a Boost, mild OD, wireless and tuner sit on a board before the amp, then delay, chorus (actually a TC Dimension) and a master volume limiter sit in the effects loop.

Another one does the same, but it’s a bigger board with everything on it. And the third is my wibbly/wobbly noise board, with two delays, vibrato, three overdrives and so on… That was my proper lockdown project and it’s got neatly tied cables and cable ports and stuff… But they’re all mostly finished, which makes me wonder what’s next to play with…

Velcro tip – get the ‘strong’ Velcro as the regular stuff is a bit weak for actually sticking down to surfaces. And you don’t need that much! Just a couple of 15mm strips on a pedal is usually enough. I’ve tried some of that 3M Dual Lock too – you REALLY need to go light on that or you won’t move pedals ever! Just four little triangles on a pedal will be enough. I ended up having to use tyre levers and trim remover tools just to move pedals around… 🙂

Bass Combo amps again. I didn’t like the tone of the Ashdown amp I bought second hand so I’ve moved it on. I now need a second amp so that I can play with my daughter. I already have a Fender Rumble LT25 that I really like, but I’m going to donate that to junior.

As another one for me I’m looking at the Fender Rumble Studio 40 (£340 ish) which is another modelling amp with wifi etc.
Alternatives include
1. Orange Crush 50 Combo;
2. Blackstar Unity Bass 60 Combo; or
3. Something else

It sounds strange given my first choice and existing amp, but I like a clean sound, and I’m not too fussed about the different effects that the rumble series provides, but I do like the online tuner, the usb out and the option of wifi on the 40.

Top of the budget would be £400 but something cheaper would be nice.

Any thoughts / recommendations? BU

I just got my second ever pedal. So now I need to build a board right? It’s only a tuner to go with my Fender 3 in 1 bass thing. I can still get student discount on Fender stuff so I fancy the ‘Trapper’ which is the new bass fuzz pedal. Then I’d have something cooking.

Alternatives include
1. Orange Crush 50 Combo;

That’s what I’ve got but it’s my first ever bass amp. I think it sounds mint, not sure what I could possibly dislike about it. The bonus is my girlfriend likes having it in the living room because it matches her lamps. Worth every penny.

I used to have a pedal board, then I bought a Flyrig 5.
Does pretty much everything my old pedal set up does, bar a looper, which I don’t need anymore anyway.

Velcro tip – get the ‘strong’ Velcro as the regular stuff is a bit weak for actually sticking down to surfaces. And you don’t need that much! Just a couple of 15mm strips on a pedal is usually enough. I’ve tried some of that 3M Dual Lock too – you REALLY need to go light on that or you won’t move pedals ever! Just four little triangles on a pedal will be enough. I ended up having to use tyre levers and trim remover tools just to move pedals around… 🙂

I’ll sort out a link to the stuff I use. With 3M Dual Lock the trick is to use dual lock on one surface and Velcro on the other. A pretty ideal combination. To get the pedals off normal Velcro to move them just slide an everyday table knife in there and it separates the bits apart nicely.

I’ve tried some of that 3M Dual Lock too – you REALLY need to go light on that or you won’t move pedals ever!

I found this out recently, keep a pallet knife in my guitar crap draw now to assist removal.

Here’s the tape I use. Strong with a powerful glue.

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjjjd7Pv8vuAhWj6O0KHbm9AE8YABAEGgJkZw&sig=AOD64_2h8cQ6-IykpSS4Sa-B5aQuuMiQGw&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiF8tPPv8vuAhUVi1wKHeSPBmgQwg96BAgEEBo&adurl=

I’ve been playing with pedals over the new lockdown. It’s rapidly getting out of hand!

I’ve had to upgrade to a proper isolated power supply as the mix of digital and analogue pedals was getting pretty noisy.

I’m now in the process of building a couple of DIY kit pedals which is pretty fun, like grown up Lego!

I have a power supply and some patch leads now so just need some pedals 🙂