Members LIAR-502 Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 i'm the only guitarist in my new band so solo's are a bit harder now that i don't have the added rthym guitar behind me. any tips? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaevasAsmodeus Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Do it over the bass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 50calexplorer Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 I'm the bassist in my band and my brother is our guitar player, what we try to do is make it natural. He listens to me and I listen to the drummer and him. If you approach your solo from the what the bassist gives you, you should be pretty right on. I think without the rythm player it feels more free form and looser, but it really depends on what the bass is doing behind you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Greazygeo Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Dont turn your amp up to eleven..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LarryJ48 Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 I think this situation, which can be difficult to adjust to if you are used to a rhythm guitar, is good for your playing in the long run. I faced a switch from a 4 piece to 3, and I think it made me be more articulate with the rhythm and phrasing of my soloing. It also helps if you have a bass player that knows your style well and knows how to fill in the pocket if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zorran II Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 1. A little distortion on bass should help. 2. Play solos with phrases, not scales, so its a little less conventional. 3. use delays (stereo if possible) hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tshapiro Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Soloing in a 3 piece is great when the drummer and bassist are solid. If not, it's a freakin nightmare. I play in a 3 peice and a couple of tips are: - Have pleanty of volume so that you can adjust the dynamics with your attack. - Delay - This is a double edge sword. It sounds good but it keeps you from cutting through and squashes the dynamics. so, I like to play pretty dry. - Use melodic phrases, dynamics, bends, slides, double stops, everything to keep it interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stratotone Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 It's easier. You are more tightly held in place to what you can and can't play when you have a rhythm instrument behind you... if it's just bass, you can go all over the place. I *much* prefer soloing over bass/drums than a fuller band for that reason. I can really go crazy with my note choices, and more of the nuances of my playing go through than if I'm soloing over an instrument in my register too. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members n0fx Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 All good advice above. I'd like to add there are times when you should echo the melody in your lead lines and try and go back and forth from single notes to two-note chord-type leads EG Chuck Berry licks. Work on dynamics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members potaetoes Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 when i've been in a three-piece, i usually worked solos out with the drummer so there were drum fills that matched up with what i was doing on guitar. otherwise, the drummer and bass player would lay down a groove that was a little different than the rest of the song, and i'd do stuff over that. all in all it depends on the song really... if you're soloing just for the sake of soloing, it's probably going to end up mediocre at best. if the song needs a solo, then work out whatever fits in there and makes the song better. if the song just needs a part without vocals, often times having all three people do something cool together is better than a "guitar solo" type thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan Turner Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 I'm in a 4 piece, but I'm the only guitarist. I think the key is to have a strong bass sounding bass player that can set the foundation of the progression or riff while you solo over it. My bass player does a pretty good job of this. While he does bass lines that have their own little melody to them while I'm doing rhythm guitar parts, he also tries to step back a little during my solos and follow the simple progression or the riff that I'm playing over. I've been wanting to switch to a 5 piece and get another guitarist just because I have a bunch of lead fill ideas for my songs and I need another guitar part to fill in the void. My band had a second guitarist once, but me and him clashed with eachother on lead duties. My skills were much better than his and my lead fills and solos had a little more substance, but he wanted to have his share in the lead duties. This leads to clashing on stage which is not very good. But when we finally got rid of him, we sounded so much tighter as a group. The only thing I missed is that 2 guitarists create big wall sound that sounds great. But for now, I'm satisfied carrying all of the guitar duties in the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fetuspetus Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 1. solo less and rely more on GOOD creative hooks 2. make sure your bassist and drummer are solid together, but the bassist isn't just following you around on the fretboard.. he's gotta make his own presence, and there should be plenty of room... he shouldn't need distortion if you guys use musical space well enough through a song anyway. make sure his amp is loud enough too - try to make it a real close balance between guitar and bass... you don't want to overshadow him too much if you plan on making his bass a more prominent voice in any part of the music. 3. make your solos short and sweet, and simplify them a bit to make room for some rhythm passes through them. I know this sounds wierd but you can do catchy little lead hooks whilst holding down rhythm. this is an anchor I had for the last 3 years in my band, until we finally got a second guitarist who can keep up. All I know is no matter what type of music it is, if you want it to be tight you can't be doing a lot of wanking through a song. a thought you may not have given a chance would be to get a Dl-4 and loop a sequence and then add another guitar part over it, but your band better be tight and your timing better be tighter... and you don't want to use this trick in every song. btw here's a band that uses looping with a dl-4 (and a lot of fingertapping ) a lot - but they have 2 guitarists and a keyboardist and they just use it in quirky ways Http://www.myspace.com/minusthebear thanks ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 I've done it a lot. I do more 2-string stuff and refrain from a lot of super high single note leads. And the bass and drummer need to fill in too. Have the drummer maybe switch erom hi-hat to ride cymbal during the leads,etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DirtyChains Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Get the newest Zeppelin DVD set or even The Song Remains The Same and watch Page during some of the long jams. SRV, Cream, Jeff Beck, and even Hendrix are others to pay close attention to. All have live footage available to watch and all do long jams that give you plenty of time to see what everyone is doing. Just a different option to learn a bit while enjoying some great music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr 5150 Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Watch lots of clips of early Van Halen live. Ed seemed to manage ok without rhythm guitars..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Heineken Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 It's also cool if you'r Bassist has a fuzz or overdrive pedal he can kick in during your solo's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dv85150fan Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 just follow Alex Lifeson's example... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AcidRock23 Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 I have played bass, although not for a while, and you can get a nice sound my making a root/5th/ octave chord on a bass and fingerpickin' through it. If you practice, you can slide the chords around and all that but you kind of have to go easy with it or you will have a wall of sludge with it. Unless, of course, the wall of sludge is what you are after!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diddlybo Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 I've been in many 3 piece bands. Here are some tips from my point of view: Whenever possible, have the bass player and drummer play simple grooves. The simpler the grooves, the easier it is to lock in and lay down a big fat groove for the song. If your bassist has the ability to play chords, that will halp alot. Keep it simple! Be very careful with volume, if your guitar is significantly louder than the bass and drums it will stick out like a sore thumb. Work hard on volume levels. Use double stops and chord type soloing. It fills out the song a little. If you're playing covers, don't worry about playing the parts exactly like the records. Instead, try to capture the essence of the song. If you can find live versions of the song, give those a listen. Have the bass player play low on the neck as much as possible. IMO, this is VERY important for a trio. Played in a trio once with a bassist who liked to noodle around up high on the neck because he wanted to show off his chops. It made the band sound thin and wobbly. We fired him. That's all from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClamBoy Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 I didn't read too closely but lots of good suggestions. One thing the drummer can do during guitar solos to fill things out is to play a ride pattern or a more open hat, adding a bit of wash to the the overall sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dave L Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 We have two guitarists, but due to the other guy being away sometimes we Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Patrickjp Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Originally posted by LIAR-502 i'm the only guitarist in my new band so solo's are a bit harder now that i don't have the added rthym guitar behind me. any tips? Close your eyes and imagine you are listening to a cd. What would you want to hear? How would you like the solo to go? You have to really use your ears and not concentrate too much on the technical aspect of the playing. Try to make the solo a part of the song, almost like another instrument. I personally love soloing over drums and bass.. when I listen back it makes me a proud player to hold my own with the band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Heineken Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 It's also very subjective to the kind of music you'r playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ono Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Silent Heart Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Originally posted by LIAR-502 i'm the only guitarist in my new band so solo's are a bit harder now that i don't have the added rthym guitar behind me. any tips? Not to be a grammar Nazi, but the misuse of apostrophes has become rampant. Isn't the plural of "solo" "solos"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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