Guitar Guru
So...i should have 2 more guitars.
Man, i never thought i would say that or sound like that. I never wanted to be "that guy" who could throw money down on several guitars just to have them set in specific tunings all the time. I always thought "if you have so many guitars that 1 is just gonna sit there, give it to a kid in need like me!" I played the same cheap guitar for 6 years, tuning it up and down like crazy until i could finally afford a nice guitar (which i'll describe below). I'd be embarrassed i ever played it live if i wasn't so proud :'-). While i was still young in the guitar game, i talked to a guy who just thought it was so unprofessional to tune the guitar between songs while live on stage. He wanted to have another guitar in a different tuning just sitting in the wing, ready to go. I thought he was pretentious and dramatic at the time, but it was the argument against tuning onstage that i scoffed at. I also thought it was unprofessional to be unable to tune quickly and accurately live. Anyway, I realize now the importance of his idea. I have 2 (high-end) guitars, and i don't like changing the tuning on either of them. The 2 guitars i need are a nice acoustic and 1 more nice electric.
Because...
1) My first high-end guitar, which happens to be the first guitar i bought with my own money, is a Dean Dime Razorback. It's pointy -- it scraped my shoulder the first week i had it, almost drew blood! It's a super guitar, it has a Floyd Rose tremolo which is fun, and Seymour Duncan pickups which sound great! But because of the Floyd Rose, changing the strings is a pain! It's a whole process that takes more patience and accuracy than usual. When changing the tuning, i actually have to determine the spring tension for each spring, which is sort of trial and error. Changing tuning on this guitar is less fun than changing the strings, because even a quarter inch turn could mean trouble staying in tune. This is one guitar that needs to stay prepared in 1 tuning. I always keep it in C (either drop-C or special-C which is my own made up tuning).
2) My shiny, versatile ESP Ltd EC-1000 which is just too pretty to subject it to extreme degrees of tension (from standard E to drop-A, and back again? Not a wise decision). While this guitar does have the sharp and punchy EMG pickups, it does cleans wonderfully too. While i played for my church's worship band, this is the guitar i used, and i almost never used distortion. However, those EMG's can't give up the chug life. So at times, i will drop it from E to D, and mostly C. I bought this guitar specifically to play at church, but still be able to rock out some metal. It'd be wise not to tune it down to B and A, which makes me consider if i should tune my Dean down to A? Maybe i'll try drop-A on the Dean for the life of a set of new strings or until i need to make a change. But, once i change the tuning on the Dean, it'll have to be really important to change it yet again, and i'm not sure i want future Jacob to deal with that. Also, i use the ESP more often because it is more easily accessible, won't cut me, and is more versatile. If i install thicker gauge strings, it will limit how high i can tune it. It'll never go to E again. Good bye worship music...and Metallica haha.
I'm just saying, another guitar sure would help me with my decision for which one will be kept in drop B or A tuning. Plus, my guitars don't have the scale, as this website points out the ideal scales for drop tuning:
http://www.haloguitars.com/store/blog/the-secret-to-drop-tuning-baritone-guitars/
I'll be looking for a scale length of at least 27" (but not exceeding 30) and string gauges of at least .56 (but not exceeding .60). I'll consider shopping through Ibanez first. [Dean, ESP, and now an Ibanez? I'm so metal!]
Man, i never thought i would say that or sound like that. I never wanted to be "that guy" who could throw money down on several guitars just to have them set in specific tunings all the time. I always thought "if you have so many guitars that 1 is just gonna sit there, give it to a kid in need like me!" I played the same cheap guitar for 6 years, tuning it up and down like crazy until i could finally afford a nice guitar (which i'll describe below). I'd be embarrassed i ever played it live if i wasn't so proud :'-). While i was still young in the guitar game, i talked to a guy who just thought it was so unprofessional to tune the guitar between songs while live on stage. He wanted to have another guitar in a different tuning just sitting in the wing, ready to go. I thought he was pretentious and dramatic at the time, but it was the argument against tuning onstage that i scoffed at. I also thought it was unprofessional to be unable to tune quickly and accurately live. Anyway, I realize now the importance of his idea. I have 2 (high-end) guitars, and i don't like changing the tuning on either of them. The 2 guitars i need are a nice acoustic and 1 more nice electric.
Because...
1) My first high-end guitar, which happens to be the first guitar i bought with my own money, is a Dean Dime Razorback. It's pointy -- it scraped my shoulder the first week i had it, almost drew blood! It's a super guitar, it has a Floyd Rose tremolo which is fun, and Seymour Duncan pickups which sound great! But because of the Floyd Rose, changing the strings is a pain! It's a whole process that takes more patience and accuracy than usual. When changing the tuning, i actually have to determine the spring tension for each spring, which is sort of trial and error. Changing tuning on this guitar is less fun than changing the strings, because even a quarter inch turn could mean trouble staying in tune. This is one guitar that needs to stay prepared in 1 tuning. I always keep it in C (either drop-C or special-C which is my own made up tuning).
2) My shiny, versatile ESP Ltd EC-1000 which is just too pretty to subject it to extreme degrees of tension (from standard E to drop-A, and back again? Not a wise decision). While this guitar does have the sharp and punchy EMG pickups, it does cleans wonderfully too. While i played for my church's worship band, this is the guitar i used, and i almost never used distortion. However, those EMG's can't give up the chug life. So at times, i will drop it from E to D, and mostly C. I bought this guitar specifically to play at church, but still be able to rock out some metal. It'd be wise not to tune it down to B and A, which makes me consider if i should tune my Dean down to A? Maybe i'll try drop-A on the Dean for the life of a set of new strings or until i need to make a change. But, once i change the tuning on the Dean, it'll have to be really important to change it yet again, and i'm not sure i want future Jacob to deal with that. Also, i use the ESP more often because it is more easily accessible, won't cut me, and is more versatile. If i install thicker gauge strings, it will limit how high i can tune it. It'll never go to E again. Good bye worship music...and Metallica haha.
I'm just saying, another guitar sure would help me with my decision for which one will be kept in drop B or A tuning. Plus, my guitars don't have the scale, as this website points out the ideal scales for drop tuning:
http://www.haloguitars.com/store/blog/the-secret-to-drop-tuning-baritone-guitars/
I'll be looking for a scale length of at least 27" (but not exceeding 30) and string gauges of at least .56 (but not exceeding .60). I'll consider shopping through Ibanez first. [Dean, ESP, and now an Ibanez? I'm so metal!]