ring a ding ding

So I've been playing guitar with my amp the last few days.  Been careful as usual: jazz setting, low gain, moderate tone, moderate volume.  Only a little reverb.  Still got some ringing.  Man, what's the deal?  I know it will go away, but I can't even use the amp a little without some ringing?  How am I supposed to play guitar???? I can't use my classical nylon stringed gittar -- that thing makes my ears ring!  Am I limited to unplugged electrics?

Is this another reason to move from blues to jazz?  blues tends to be loud, more percussive, more aggressive in tone.  Jazz can be more mellow -- like smooth jazz guitar.  So many more colors in jazz, too.  The pentatonic palate, even with some added scales (I've messed with mixolydian) still has its limits.  Plus the I IV V pattern 12 bar.   Yeah, there are 8 bar blues and other chord patterns, but the core is the 145.

liken' the t-pick!

yeah, the thumbpick is working well so far.  feels good -- no thumb joint pain yet.  and no new pains!  also it sounds good with the strings.  it's heavy!  maybe heavier than most jazz picks!  so a good tone emerges.  feels good that it stays on with no effort.  why don't more guitarists use them as picks? will something else come up to rain on my parade?  new pains?  weird side effects?  who knows!  for now I like it, dude!

Maybe the only downside is on an upward pick there is a chance to get the pick caught on the string, depending on the angle.  Hasn't bothered me so far.  I even did my scale triplet practice with the t-pick and had now problems like that.

got a thumbpick....

trying out a thumbpick to use as a regular pick, or plectrum...!  Also wanted it to go with my metal finger things for picking.  what do they call those things?  banjo dudes use them a lot.  anyhoo, i have some, but didn't have the thumbpick, so I got one today.  A National medium.  I'll see it works as a pick for blues.  So far I like it -- just gotta get used to a different feel.  Maybe it will eliminate the pain in my thumb joint I get after using a standard pick for too long.   ah, the aches and pains of gitar!

Pullman Green: BackTracker

so now it's gonna be back trackin' that's my thing.  Unless I get really good -- not likely -- I can at best achieve decent mediocrity.  Hey, most of us are average, by definition!  So, what can an average gitar playin dude to make himself sound better?  backing tracks......

I downloaded a bunch more blues tracks.  Now I've got almost 30 -- way more than I need right now.

the plan: for each track, develop the lead guitar part.  Specific themes, riffs, etc. to improv with.  Make it structured.  Also, I'm gonna use all the sounds from my vg strat.  Gonna choose a tone for each song. I'll write this all down and prepare a set list.  then I'll have the product I"ve been yearning for -- the ability to perform for an audience.

ear trouble?

well, it's close.  i notice my ear ringing is slightly increase with today's playing.  neck pup?  probably!  i cut the gain a little, and that might help, but it also cuts the bell like tone.  leaves it more flat.  maybe i should just go back to bridge/middle combo.  it's safe and effective.

yeah, just a/b 'ed the two, and bridge/middle wins, as usual.  neck pup is bellish -- those are the frequencies that ring my ear.

likin' the neck pickup

yeah, since I've had the strat (sept. 10) I used the bridge/middle pickups.  Yesterday while messing around I tried the neck pu and with the right amp settings I finally found a great tone that doesn't ring my ears.  This is the strat lead tone that so many like to use.  rich, full, bell-like.  In the past when I've tried for it my ears couldn't take it.  I think the trick is to have the amp in "jazz" mode which tones everything down, and to have the gain set very low.  Tone is at 5 or 6 on the amp.  A little reverb is there too. 

just when i'm thinkin' about jazz, the blues comes back! 

jumping from box to box

one thing I started doing is to jump from box to box, skipping a few.  so, if i start in box one of the pentatonic, i jump with a slide to the fourth or fifth box.  looks and sounds dramatic.  then i have two points to slide back and forth from.  start at 1 and slide to 4, solo a little,then slide back to 1, solo, etc.  Just need two boxes in a solo, far apart, and the sound really improves.