Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 No bass, no keys, no drums, no band. Just a solo guitarist. Singing is cool, too. My guess is that there will be tons of blues and jazz solo electric guitar vids, but it'd be cool to hear anything else. I've been doing solo sets lately and I'm looking for ideas. [video=youtube;4T2hygHu8CI] Just posted this as an example. I've seen others, especially in jazz -- Joe Pass, Tuck Andress, etc. Also, is anyone else doing this at gigs -- no band, just solo electric guitar? Please, no acoustic or acoustic/electric stuff. I've got that covered. GO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rusholmeruffian Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Ted Leo is a fan of this approach: lkNGuh1FY0s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Cool! Ted Leo. Never heard him. Gonna dig into some more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 My "gigs" have been restricted to groups of friends in garages and the monthly meetings of a local music association, but that's what I'm doing. Acoustic frustrates me, I like electric tones and I have no band. Basically, the singer/songwriter thing but with my electric. I think you've heard what I do, so no surprises there. Got no time for a band or the headaches that go with, so I've just kinda copped a full rhythm approach for my songs that fills things out OK. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Yeah, I hear ya about the bands, EG. I think you know that I've done tons of solo git/vox a la acoustic gigs (probably well over 500 in the last four or five years), and I still like doing those -- but lately I've been taking my Zeff (through a Roland MicroCube) to my solo sets and getting a charge out of playing it. I even took the looper to the last one to see about adding something new -- other than just looping chords, which is cool but can be a bit hack if done too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poolshark Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 As much as I love Ted Leo, the way he does solo work doesn't do much for me; for me, great solo electric work isn't so much about building a rhythm 'bed' to sing over, but more about creating a duet with voice and guitar, as it were. Note the sparsity and careful note selection: [YOUTUBE]T5Xl0Qry-hA[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Jeff Buckley I think mostly used electric in his solo sets. [video=youtube;78CyWImeFq8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78CyWImeFq8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Wow, poolshark, that's amazing! I think that approach totally works, but I'm not confident that it could be sustained (like in that vid) for an entire set. The guitarist's approach is admirable and damn near perfect, but that rubato looseness would have to have certain featured spots in a set. A little of that, and a little of Ted Leo, and a little of something else inbetween perhaps. Dig it. I really dig that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Special J -- I'd forgotten all about Buckley! Of course!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pascal Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 [video=youtube;sRYkIwGQkHs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRYkIwGQkHs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rusholmeruffian Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 I recall that Bob Mould (ex-Husker Du, Sugar) is a big fan of solo electric--probably because he's got such terrible tinnitus that he can't hear an acoustic. Za_cp5n49Sk Another example of the "bed-of-rhythm" genre, though. I think most rock guys who do solo electric are going to be in this vein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Yeah, if I did something like Keiji does, I'd probably have to get a dayjob. Good way to clear the kinda rooms I'm working in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 I think you're spot on about the Bob Mould, rush. Essentially singer/songwriter acoustic but on electric. Still cool, though! Certain songs just need that approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pascal Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 [video=youtube;5pvsg_GwlYM] [video=youtube;SBOqwx_Ynes] Why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 I do a lot of "acoustic"-like one-man stuff with my electric a lot. I just play it like your usual acoustic singer songwriter would. You just have to find a tone that works. A little hard to do all the time, especially as electric guitars are considered to be ensemble instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Yeah, that's better, Pascal. It's something that more jazz guitarists should do anyway, rather than running a bunch of bebop heads. honeyiscool, I think you've hit on a good point. Most view the electric as an ensemble instrument. I think the thing that's cool about the electric is that you can add more sounds -- overdrive, wah, etc. I know that you can do this in an acoustic/electric setting a la Monte Montgomery, but I've never really dug that approach on acoustic. Love it on electric though. In my solo sets, I do find that I seek a cleaner tone. Sometimes I like to add a bit of grit and effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pascal Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Just because it's such a cool video... John Dee Holeman, Gromes Hotel New York, Feb '89: [video=youtube;WM5Wqs9F0Cw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM5Wqs9F0Cw Also, he isn't afraid of a little dirt: [video=youtube;6DHNSqW8rAM] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pascal Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Me again. Are you familiar with forumite bebenavole's work? [video=youtube;r21QP8c5MG8] [video=youtube;PHQOCRNxHIw] [video=youtube;pDH-9-9vIcU] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Really dug that, Pascal. And the second grittier one was sweet (and hell yeah an EPI). He's got that whole Lightnin' mixed with some Piedmont thing going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted March 28, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Just a few seconds into Bebe. I'll now spend hours on him. Wow. EDIT: does he post as Bebe or something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pascal Posted March 28, 2011 Members Share Posted March 28, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted April 16, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 16, 2011 Perhaps the only performance of electric solo guitar to go number 1? [video=youtube;_MLBfwblps8] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PrawnHeed Posted April 16, 2011 Members Share Posted April 16, 2011 Billy Bragg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Snappy Hat Posted April 16, 2011 Members Share Posted April 16, 2011 [video=youtube;pUzmZvwMNsw] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted April 16, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 16, 2011 Good to see Seasick Steve's gonna get some recognition. For quite a while he was just know by a few, but it looks like after this year's SXSW and signing with Jack White that he'll get some ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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