Make a grown man cry. How to build a sad sounding blues guitar...

[kboman]

I've said this before in another thread - to general disbelief, which was pretty funny - but I've basically never listened to blues and I don't play any blues stuff either. It just doesn't interest me. I've listened to some of the recurring tone references in the guitar magazine I read (Fuzz, it's Swedish), like Robben Ford and Larry Carlton and it all sounds amazingly simlilar. SRV and Clapton too. Similar and dull   :-\

To each their own I guess.

About the guitar - get whatever you think sounds good. And then play whatever you think sounds good. You may find this to be applicable to other genres as well.

 

[ildar]

Clapton admits (more or less) that he's a caretaker of the blues.  You think he hasn't spent some time listening to peoples records.

To add - Clapton lost his son - that's more than enough to have the "blues" (speaking of "authenticity").

Yeah he did, and the result?  
"My son fell out a window to his death. Wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it go."

 

[thumb55]

I'm not saying anything about anyones credability or authenticty, we all get the blues.

 

[pauldogx]

I show up at the blues jam and play hot country guitar  :icon_jokercolor:

Amen. My modus operandi as well. It's like showing them a magic trick!!!

 

[ildar]

I'm not saying anything about anyones credability or authenticty, we all get the blues.

That wasn't aimed at you, I just have a low opinion of anyone who profits from the passing of a loved one. Even more heinous is when that profit is the result of a calculated move. That it was his own son is beyond the pale.

 

[thumb55]

none taken.

we all have things in us that drive us to play.  that's the magic of it.  all I was really trying to get across is that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.  

just don't get all caught up in how orignal this guy is, and he's ripping people off.

 

[Superlizard]

I'm not saying anything about anyones credability or authenticty, we all get the blues.

That wasn't aimed at you, I just have a low opinion of anyone who profits from the passing of a loved one. Even more heinous is when that profit is the result of a calculated move. That it was his own son is beyond the pale.

Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) profited from the death of his son with the song "All My Love" (In Through The Out Door).

Hell, lotsa hippie-leaning bands in the 60's and 70's profited from the death of our soldiers in the Vietnam War with their protest songs.

I'm sure I could think of many more examples...

Just because it sells, doesn't necessarily mean it's all about "profit".

Who's to really say he wasn't sincere in his motives?  Maybe he just wanted the world to hear his pain.  Why shouldn't he be allowed
to release a song with that subject matter on an album?

 

[Mor Paul]

I'm not saying anything about anyones credability or authenticty, we all get the blues.

That wasn't aimed at you, I just have a low opinion of anyone who profits from the passing of a loved one. Even more heinous is when that profit is the result of a calculated move. That it was his own son is beyond the pale.

If I remember right, he had to be encouraged to play the song or something.
He doesn't play the song anymore, because he has moved on.

 

[David]

Hey guys, I was just wondering what people thought made a good sounding blues guitar, but I think this is a runaway thread now...

For example I like the P90 sound better than the strat or humbucker tone for the blues.  I also like the hollow bodies but that is mostly because I am biased toward ES335's.

 

[Vol. Knob]

Hey guys, I was just wondering what people thought made a good sounding blues guitar, but I think this is a runaway thread now...

For example I like the P90 sound better than the strat or humbucker tone for the blues.  I also like the hollow bodies but that is mostly because I am biased toward ES335's.

I stand by my statement.  You can't play the blues on a custom ax.

That said, I really dig the blues based rock tones from guys like Warren Haynes, Dickie Betts, Duane Allman, Derek Trucks (notice a pattern?).  Les Paulish, Gibsonish, Marshally tones really get the job done, IMHO.  James Marshall Hendrix did wonders with an upside-down strat into a Marshall.

There is no one ultimate tone however. 

 

[Alfang]

I saw larry carlton and robben ford last year   WOW!  very good show,

I saw SRV a few months before he died,,  Not sure why SRV would be bad for the blues, does that mean you dont like him, or he's bad for the blues?

Either way, It don't matter. blues rock, metal, whatever... they all blend together and criss cross categorys any way, so the term blues is really broad and general term.

IF SRV was a hendrix copy or stole his sound or whatever, Does it matter?  If you liked Hendrix, you should like SRV

The basic rule of rich or successfull people is simply this, you wanna be rich? you wanna be successfull? Do what rich and successfull people do.

 

[ildar]

I'm not saying anything about anyones credability or authenticty, we all get the blues.

That wasn't aimed at you, I just have a low opinion of anyone who profits from the passing of a loved one. Even more heinous is when that profit is the result of a calculated move. That it was his own son is beyond the pale.

Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) profited from the death of his son with the song "All My Love" (In Through The Out Door).

Hell, lotsa hippie-leaning bands in the 60's and 70's profited from the death of our soldiers in the Vietnam War with their protest songs.

I'm sure I could think of many more examples...

Just because it sells, doesn't necessarily mean it's all about "profit".

Who's to really say he wasn't sincere in his motives?  Maybe he just wanted the world to hear his pain.  Why shouldn't he be allowed
to release a song with that subject matter on an album?

I don't want to hijack the thread, but the "others have done it too" argument never holds water, no matter the topic.
I don't know in what fantasy land you live, but when a product sells, it is all about profit, otherwise why offer it for sale? A recorder and released song becomes a product regardless of sincerity or lack thereof.
Sincere in his motives? Seems to me if he was a sincere man, we never would have heard that song, and he would have kept his grief private.

 

[koshersteel]

For those who say you can't play the blues on a custom guitar, you are dead wrong. A fine instrument can allow for the most direct transmission between the players soul and the notes they play. That is the very essence of the blues.

As far as the ideal guitar might I humbly suggest:

hollow strat w/ f-holes, swamp ash w/ flame maple top, blue burst
Flame Maple neck w/ Ebony fretboard
3 Lollar P-90 pickups w/ the middle one RWRP
Hard Tail Bridge or "blocked" trem

 

[Superlizard]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but the "others have done it too" argument never holds water, no matter the topic.
I don't know in what fantasy land you live, but when a product sells, it is all about profit, otherwise why offer it for sale? A recorder and released song becomes a product regardless of sincerity or lack thereof.
Sincere in his motives? Seems to me if he was a sincere man, we never would have heard that song, and he would have kept his grief private.

The point being - since countless others have written songs over the centuries based on loss (that made money), according to your
"logic" (song about loss makes $$$ = greed), they're all heartless, greedy scumbags.

The other fact is you have zero proof that he wrote it for profit; just assumptions based on what is apparently something personal.

 

[Superlizard]

There is no one ultimate tone however.

Gotta disagree:  non-master-volume, 4-hole plexi-panel Marshall cranked.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[ildar]

I don't want to hijack the thread, but the "others have done it too" argument never holds water, no matter the topic.
I don't know in what fantasy land you live, but when a product sells, it is all about profit, otherwise why offer it for sale? A recorder and released song becomes a product regardless of sincerity or lack thereof.
Sincere in his motives? Seems to me if he was a sincere man, we never would have heard that song, and he would have kept his grief private.

The point being - since countless others have written songs over the centuries based on loss (that made money), according to your
"logic" (song about loss makes $$$ = greed), they're all heartless, greedy scumbags.

The other fact is you have zero proof that he wrote it for profit; just assumptions based on what is apparently something personal.

This is spiraling out of control quickly. I never said they were greedy, heartless or scumbags. I just said I find the indiscriminate public airing of very personal grief to be distasteful. And doing it for profit is, in my opinion, unethical.
Let's face it, if your son or my son was the one that died due to parental negligence, not only would we have not sold a single copy of any song written about it, we would have been brought up on charges.
So yes, Clapton capitalized on his tragedy, and had a built-in audience to support his questionable decision.
By your "logic", all's well that ends with a platinum hit.

 

[jackthehack]

This thread sure seems to bring out the depth of assholedom on the board?

The Blues is all about the fingers connected to a tortured soul...  The guitar used to express such is completely secondary, inconsequential...

To the Clapton bashers, pretty much all great music or art is born from cathartic experience of either profound pleasure or pain.  Just because you manage to express such in a manner eloquent enough to touch enough people to make that a commercially viable expression is irrelevant; does not negate it's impact nor sincerity.

To the SRV bashers, you understand nothing of the Blues in general, nor Texas in particular...

 

[ildar]

This thread sure seems to bring out the depth of assdom on the board?

The Blues is all about the fingers connected to a tortured soul...  The guitar used to express such is completely secondary, inconsequential...

To the Clapton bashers, pretty much all great music or art is born from cathartic experience of either profound pleasure or pain.  Just because you manage to express such in a manner eloquent enough to touch enough people to make that a commercially viable expression is irrelevant; does not negate it's impact nor sincerity.

To the SRV bashers, you understand nothing of the Blues in general, nor Texas in particular...

Being called an ass doesn't sway me, even if it is Jack calling me an ass.
While I have no use for Clapton, or 90% of post 50's so-called blues, I'm not bashing his playing or whatever. The man sold out his son, with a ballad, by the way-no blues in that swill. End of story for me.

 

[jackthehack]

This thread sure seems to bring out the depth of assdom on the board?

The Blues is all about the fingers connected to a tortured soul...  The guitar used to express such is completely secondary, inconsequential...

To the Clapton bashers, pretty much all great music or art is born from cathartic experience of either profound pleasure or pain.  Just because you manage to express such in a manner eloquent enough to touch enough people to make that a commercially viable expression is irrelevant; does not negate it's impact nor sincerity.

To the SRV bashers, you understand nothing of the Blues in general, nor Texas in particular...

Being called an ass doesn't sway me, even if it is Jack calling me an ass.
While I have no use for Clapton, or 90% of post 50's so-called blues, I'm not bashing his playing or whatever. The man sold out his son, with a ballad, by the way-no blues in that swill. End of story for me.

Is English a secondary language for you? If so, what would be your primary/first?

 

[Patrick from Davis]

For a blues guitar that sounds the way you describe, you need to have a very good idea of what you like and what you play well on.  The easier the instrument is for you to play, the easier it will be to make it sound the way you feel.  I would suggest the thicker necks for more contribution of the neck in the tone.  If you like p90's go for them.  If you like strats 3 single coils go for them.  Any one of them will work, but if you know what pickups you like the sound of go for it.  While I don't really care for the in depth discussion of the blues, the easier that the instrument is for you to play the less you think about it and are able to get the sounds you want.  Oddly enough two of the neck profiles are called the Clapton and the SRV.  Good luck.

I disagree about the Clapton song, sometimes it is good for the soul to let it out.  Do you think James Taylor wrote Fire and Rain for the money?  Musicians are constantly amazed by the number of people who have gone through horrible circumstances and noted that the song seem to talk to them, comfort them by letting them know that they are not alone.  I am sure that I am not the first to come up with this nugget, but sad songs are not always blues tunes.  Because some studio exec or movie producer likes a song and it gets crammed down the public's throat for 6 months doesn't mean the original intention was not sincere.  My two cents.
Patrick