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Have you ever played on the street with a battery-powered amp?
Poll ended at Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:57 am
Yes 39%  39%  [ 7 ]
No 61%  61%  [ 11 ]
Total votes : 18
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Post subject: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 3:57 am
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Aspiring Musician
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You seasoned players have been great and given me loads of help and advice these past three years. I want to say "thank you!" and, perhaps, "pay it forward," as I have noticed several community members lately saying they have been playing a year or so. Now that I've been playing almost 3 years, not that I'm anything great yet, but I want to share a discovery:

GET A LOOPER PEDAL!!!! What an amazingly FUN little thing and a great tool for learning and improving!!!

I got my TC Electronics Looper Pedal last week and I seriously think my playing (soloing) has improved as much in the past week as it had in the prior 2.8 years. And it's so much fun, on top of that.

The history of my playing has been me with a guitar and amp...no band, no bassline, sometimes a drum track from my keyboard. During the past 3 years I have also spent a lot of time practicing my "playing" literally without a guitar in my hands--thinking about things while driving, at work, watching youtube videos, etc.

The thing about leaving space in soloing, especially blues soloing. I have observed this, but when I play with just me and my guitar, since I'm no Jimi, I tend to play note after note (1/4 and 1/8 notes?) with no space and it does not sound musical.

Well, I'm still not Jimi, but with the looper pedal, after laying down a beat and bassline and chord progression....I can now actually put into practice what I've "learned" and I found that I have made more progress than I had thought.

I mean...I know the pentatonic scale, not that I can run up and down super fast like some can, but I can mess around with it, and I can even arpeggio a little bit...real arpeggio, not just picking individual notes inside a chord shape...more like knowing "Ok I'm playing over an Am so I will pick notes inside the Am chord."

And with a chord progression and bassline always playing...it lets one learn the technique of leaving space....play a little run, pick a note and bend it and hold it....stop for a little bit.

No....I'm still not BB King or John Mayer, but I can see that the looper pedal will be a TOOL for improvement, not just a fun toy. I've actually created some pretty cool little jams that I actually think would not sound too bad if I were playing on a street corner with a Roland Cube Street! My only pedal (besides the looper) is an original Crybaby.

Point being, to the newer players....I think you should put a looper pedal near the top of your wish list if you've already got a decent guitar and amp.

Next on my GAS list: real tube amp, real overdrive pedal, Roland Cube Street.

Oh...I did a little poll.


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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:30 am
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Amateur
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So many tools out there now.
Back in the day I used a long digital delay, a cheap keyboard , Boss drum machine.
Money was tight back then and I adapted a tape recorder as a battery amp by tapping in to the record head, and added a decent car stereo 4" speaker in home made cab. Back then I couldn't hold down a tune longer than 30 seconds, but still put a few dinners on the table just tuning up in the subway :oops: :lol:
That experience taught me a couple of things -1) be prepared to bluff it out if you make mistakes. 2) If you write your own material nobody can say you made a mistake! ( though they will still pickup on bum notes, but hey check some of Satriani's tutorials on youtbe re modes and resolving to root note.)

Now I can slap a beat into Reason, or download a MIDI file. There's band tracks in FUSE and much more.

There is still nothing better than jamming with other musicians to trade musical ideas and knowledge.


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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 11:36 am
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Rock Star
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No.

1. I don't play solos.

2. I don't use pedals.

3. My natural time signature is 4/4. I'm a drummer, I can keep time when I play guitar.

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 1:12 pm
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Professional Musician
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Yeah they're a cool idea and even better if you can layer parts like with the Line 6 DL4. An idea that i use a lot is recording some nice drones using an ebow and then playing to that. 8)

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 1:26 pm
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Rock Star
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Buxom wrote:
No.

1. I don't play solos.

2. I don't use pedals.

3. My natural time signature is 4/4. I'm a drummer, I can keep time when I play guitar.

Yeah, but you're a special case, James... :mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 1:49 pm
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Screamin' Armadillo wrote:
Buxom wrote:
No.

1. I don't play solos.

2. I don't use pedals.

3. My natural time signature is 4/4. I'm a drummer, I can keep time when I play guitar.

Yeah, but you're a special case, James... :mrgreen:


I'm legally special ed, which is the funny part. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 2:00 pm
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New players should buy an acoustic guitar. No electrics, no pedals, no amps, no effects processors. An acoustic guitar.

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 2:35 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
New players should buy an acoustic guitar. No electrics, no pedals, no amps, no effects processors. An acoustic guitar.


Can only partially agree.

I agree that an acoustic makes you a better player and also develops your aural sense better and more quickly.

But, it is generally easier to play an electric and this can advance a newbie or keep them engaged and motivated where they might otherwise give up.

I would recommend a new player have one of each and try to play each one equally. That's what I do.

My instructor recommends playing an electric unplugged because mistakes and nuances are easier to detect. I also do this, partly because of his recommendation, but also because I live in a Condo w/ 16 other units and don't turn on the amp after 6pm so as not to disturb my neighbors (weekends/holidays excluded), That will change though as I progress and start making music instead of noise.

cheers!

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 2:39 pm
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On point, I have a JamMan Solo w/ 16 GB SD card where I can record up to 36 hrs. of Loops.

Right now I use it to play rythm tracks... less boring than a metronome.

I am going to start recording my playing for review and also so I can overdub it.

cheers!

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:37 pm
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Lightnin MN wrote:
... it is generally easier to play an electric and this can advance a newbie or keep them engaged and motivated where they might otherwise give up.


ok, only my personal opinion but I think a lot of guitar players should be encouraged to give up

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:41 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Lightnin MN wrote:
... it is generally easier to play an electric and this can advance a newbie or keep them engaged and motivated where they might otherwise give up.


ok, only my personal opinion but I think a lot of guitar players should be encouraged to give up


I shoulda been one :lol:

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 5:23 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:

ok, only my personal opinion but I think a lot of guitar players should be encouraged to give up


I love that.

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 10:26 am
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Lightnin MN wrote:
... it is generally easier to play an electric and this can advance a newbie or keep them engaged and motivated where they might otherwise give up.
ok, only my personal opinion but I think a lot of guitar players should be encouraged to give up

:lol: :lol: :P
I understand your sentiment....

...I feel that if a person truly wants to play guitar, the difficulties associated with playing acoustic will be no deterrent...they certainly weren't for me!

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 1:19 pm
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Lightnin MN wrote:
But, it is generally easier to play an electric and this can advance a newbie or keep them engaged and motivated where they might otherwise give up.
Agreed. Motivation is a key factor in learning anything, including guitar. And, not everyone who wants to learn to play guitar just wants to go 'jingle-jangle twang twang'. An electric guitar can be played clean for practicing, and then rocked out for motivation.

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Last edited by spacewolf on Wed Jul 10, 2013 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: To Newer Players: Get a Looper Pedal!!!
Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 1:27 pm
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Buxom wrote:
GilgaFrank wrote:
Lightnin MN wrote:
... it is generally easier to play an electric and this can advance a newbie or keep them engaged and motivated where they might otherwise give up.


ok, only my personal opinion but I think a lot of guitar players should be encouraged to give up


I shoulda been one :lol:

No you're not. Just keep doing what you're doing and have fun doing it.

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