Guitar Mythbuster

[Jimi75]

Hey folks,

What are or were guitar myths that you believed in when you were a noob and that later turned out to be false?

I know there are a lot of them out there. One that I believed in was:
If you wanna play/pick fast you have to play a very very thin pick.

Fortunately, I found out pretty soon that this was NOT TRUE.

Another one I was told was:
You have to train your right arm with a bar-bell and lots of weight so you can also pick faster
....isn't that stupid? You pick out of a wrist movement and not with your biceps, hahahahaha. I never tried it, but a friend of mine did to find out after a month that his work out lead to nothing but sore muscles :thwap:

Now lets hear some of the myths you have heard about...

Jimi75
:AOK:

[ibanezjunkie]

the 'Thin pick = Fast picking' was one ive heard too many times, and have a whole stash of 0.38mm picks because of it.

[deeaa]

There are PLENTY of myths about guitars/playing that I've found to be either utter or at least largely BS. Many are just way too B&W thinking when in actuality it's anything but clear-cut. Here's a few:

-There are big differences in sounds of pickups of same structure, materials and output.

-You can only get good sustain with fixed bridges.

-Heavy guitars equal thick sustainy sound.

-Light guitars always also sound 'light'.

-You need really thick strings to sound really big.

-There's no such thing as too much practice.

-Guitar materials such as wood type completely rule the basic sound of also an electric guitar.

-Body wood materials have absolutely no effect on sound.

-A set neck is better for sustain than a bolt-on.

-A set neck is always more 'solid' than a bolt-on.

-String and neck angles don't affect the sound, just looks.

-It's safe to hang a tiltneck guitar on the wall by the neck.

-It's not safe to hand a Fender-type guitar on the wall by the neck.

-Gibsons are great value for money.

-Fenders are great value for money.

-A tremolo bridge can be just as easy and hassle-free as a fixed one.

-Active pickups are buzzy and cold.

-You can only get world-class tones with tube amphs.

-Cheap/chinese/korean guitars are always just cr*p.

-With some amphs you can get no screaming solos :-)

...etc..etc...:rockon:

[marnold]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I would love to see a series of double-blind tests done to challenge a lot of what guitarists tend to accept as fact, whether that be tube vs. solid state or digital, Alnico (fill in the number here) vs. Alnico (fill in the other number here), Si vs. Ge transistors, etc. I would like them to test not only if people can detect a difference, but if they can quantify what the difference is and say which one is better and say which is which. I've heard rumors that such tests have been done but that the results will never be published due to the embarrassment that would result.

If I hear one more person say that a pedal sounds "digital" when there is nothing digital about it, I'm going to punch them right in the face.

[Monkus]

my greatest myth was: "you need a Marshall full stack and boutique pedals and the most expensive Les Paul to sound even close to good." even then you need Monster cables and a roadie with your guitar tech. :rotflmao:

[deeaa]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I would love to see a series of double-blind tests done to challenge a lot of what guitarists tend to accept as fact, whether that be tube vs. solid state or digital, Alnico (fill in the number here) vs. Alnico (fill in the other number here), Si vs. Ge transistors, etc. I would like them to test not only if people can detect a difference, but if they can quantify what the difference is and say which one is better and say which is which. I've heard rumors that such tests have been done but that the results will never be published due to the embarrassment that would result.

If I hear one more person say that a pedal sounds "digital" when there is nothing digital about it, I'm going to punch them right in the face.

Well...I've created quite a few polls and tests to see which is which and do people really know what is what based on sound clips etc. I could TRY and see if I could replicate at least some of those here...usually the results are way off base. I don't think I have nearly all my clips here but I could try.

[deeaa]

Ok I found one directory I had used for sound testing...here:

http://deeaa.pp.fi/clips/MARCH/RECAP/

It's clips where I played a riff clean to my computer, made a CD out of it and then played back from CD via guitar cable to 16 different setups ranging from tube amps to SS amps to D/I boxes; recorded 'em either with an AKG414 large-diaphragm mic or naturally D/I.

The whole idea was that I (auditorily) adjusted the amphs/boxes to sound as similar to each other as was easily possible...edit out startup mic noises etc...and to see if I could tell which is which after the fact....but really, there is no sense in dwelling over the matter if I can't find the info on which was which and what was the gear etc...could be most anything.

Damn, it woulda been great to test it here.

[tot_Ou_tard]

There are PLENTY of myths about guitars/playing that I've found to be either utter or at least largely BS.

-With some amphs you can get no screaming solos :-)


That's not a myth.

[just strum]

If I hear one more person say that a pedal sounds "digital" when there is nothing digital about it, I'm going to punch them right in the face.

Said the Rev of the cork sniffers:D

[MichaelE]

I should see the cork sniffers on this un-named site I drop by a couple of times a week. I rarely post there because I'm not one of the elite.

They know everything about tube amps except tube theory. :whatever:

[just strum]

I should see the cork sniffers on this un-named site I drop by a couple of times a week. I rarely post there because I'm not one of the elite.

They know everything about tube amps except tube theory. :whatever:

Tell them you own a great tube amph - get them wondering:confused:

[pes_laul]

Fast penatonic boxes are the only way to solo good

good guitars are only expensive

Just because Im the best in my school doesnt mean I AM THE BEST (learned that one the hard way)

[tjcurtin1]

If I hear one more person say that a pedal sounds "digital" when there is nothing digital about it, I'm going to punch them right in the face.
Rev, don't hold back - tell us how you really feel...:D

[oldguy]

"People with small hands/short fingers/chubby fingers can't play guitar well".:spank:

"Having a few drinks to 'loosen you up' will make you play better".:puke:

"A good chord vocabulary is not as important as knowing how to play wild solos".:messedup:

"The crowd really likes it when the guitar slinger overplays all night long".:rockon:

[SuperSwede]

That's not a myth.

Nope the Yamaha JX-50 is NOT capable of delivering screaming solos... its just not that kind of Amph says brother Dustin.

[tot_Ou_tard]

If I hear one more person say that a pedal sounds "digital" when there is nothing digital about it, I'm going to punch them right in the face.
This post coulde use some tubey sweetness and warmth.

[marnold]

And when I said "Punch them right in the face," I meant evangelically, of course.