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[quote=”1bassleft”]I get it (I think). A stereo 1/4″ jack socket instead of the usual mono. Put a stereo jack in (with a Y cable to a pair of mono jacks) and the switch flicks between tip for the lead going to the pedals and ring for the other lead going straight into the amp.
I had a similar thing with a bass I nearly built but aborted. At the time, I used OD quite a lot and this always lost me bottom end, sounding like a rhythm guitar. I had an idea to build a bass with a Jazz pup near the neck leading to one jack and a Musicman pup near the bridge leading to a second socket. Two leads out; the jazz going straight to amp and the MM going to the board. If I did step on the OD, I’d still have the Jazz pup dry to give some clean bass underneath the effected bass.[/quote]
You got it (far as I know, anyways). You filled in what I neglected to say too: one cable goes to the amp, the other cable (the “Y”) to my FX board. I hope it was worth installing. It was cheap enough where it’s basically negligable, and if I don’t end up using it or if I find it’s not as helpful as I thought, I can simply disable it (not use it) and I’m back to normal.
I would think we all play by ear, at least to some extent. But that’s stating the obvious, I guess. 😯
I know a little theory, and am learning more as I go. Surprsingly, it’s not as hard as I thought. Don’t get me wrong, it still makes me want to douce my eyes with gasoline sometimes (but that’d cost too much!), but as I slowly wade through the murky water, parts of the bottom become visible, if you catch my drift. Hehe. Sorry, that was cheesy.
But learning your modes is a good place to start, anyways. It’s helped me understand how and why some songs are the way they are, and certainly has helped me understand chord formations better, as well as why certain chords & certain structures work together.
A good song doesn’t sound good by mistake – it sounds good because it fits in a certain type of mathmatical formula, and we as humans recognize this audible formula, whether we know how to explain it or not. You don’t need theory to know a good song – that type of ability is built inside all of us. Music is a very primal instinct we all have; unfortunately it’s not stressed as much as it should be (or at least it’s not conveyed as well as it could be) when we are younger.
Take the major scale, for example. This is where these 7 “starter” modes (or whatever you call them) are derived from. Everybody I’ve ever met, musically inclinded or not, can hum “doe rae me fa so la tee doe” – VIOLA! The Major Scale. Once you can break that down into Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian, the music simplifies itself tenfold.
Sorry for the sort of “off topic” rant….time for me to go to bed!
[quote=”1bassleft”]
The FX loop bypass switch is a new idea on me; how does that work?[/quote]Whaddup bass,
Regarding the FX loop bypass, it’s similar to having an A/B switch, I guess, except it’s right onboard the guitar. This is a feature that Jerry Garcia used on his final 4 guitars (Rosebud, Tiger, Top Hat & Lightning Bolt), and though I don’t know much about it, it was an easy add-on that I thought’d be cool to have. It just allows you to flick the switch and bypass your FX chain altogether. Now I’ve just gotta find a good “Y” cable….
Sorry ’bout the double posts…..and thanks for your opinions on the axe. I was, and to some extent still, very wary of spending such an amount of $$ for a guitar, but it’s kind of like a “now or never” type situation. If I don’t do this now, I’ll probably never have the chance to do it again. So the due date is in about a month – I’ll most def post pics/reviews once I’ve had a chance to play it.
Thanks again guys!
Here’s what it’ll look like finished:
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q127/shakedown_04092/Music%20Equiptment/FISHY.jpg
She’s all Koa on the front & back, with Mahogony sides, Piece Flame Maple / Rosewood Neck, Custom Rosewood Bridge, Mother-of-Pearl Vertical Inlays (not like the ones shown, mine will be vertical bars on the bass side of the fretboard), Corian Nut, Ebbony Fretboard, Chrome Schaller Tuners, Custom Rosewood Bridge, Custom Ebbony Trapieze Tailpiece, 24 frets, 2 Schaller Golden 50’s Pick-ups, 1 Volume / 1 Tone / 3-Way Switch w/ Series Parallel Switches. I am also having them install an effects loop bypass jack/switch so I can bypass the pedal board altogether.
PS – do you guys realize that I have to spell Ebbony and Trapieze wrong because these words are “forbidden” in this system? What’s the deal w/ that?
Prepared to take a bath for some of these guys:
Jerry Garcia
Trey Anastasio
Bob Weir (hugely underrated guitarist)
Mark Knopfler
Jimmy Page
Brendan Bayliss
Jake CinningerNot a big fan of the last 2, but they are good. Glad somebody mentioned Django, really getting into him lately.
And nobody menitoned ME yet?? Sheeshhhh…. 😆 🙄
One “cheat” that I know of is playing a portion of the chord. You’re covering the same notes as the guys stated above (on the DGB strings), but rather than playing the “full” chord (i.e. x24442), just play a portion of it (xx444x) with your index finger.
I would recommend you just keep practicing though, because “cheating” is only going to set you back further and make it that much more time to get it down the “right” way. Trust me – it’ll come in a couple of months work. Whenever you get in a rut, it’s the worst feeling and you can never see the light of day on how to get out of it, but they always only last a month, two or three, and before you know it, you’re out of it and impressing yourself again. Just practice those barre chords everyday, for as long as you can. Hell, I used to press my fingers against the fretboard with my right hand (strumming hand) just to make them stick so I could play the chord for a brief second.
Also, do are you familiar with any other chord formations? Are you familiar with the CAGED theory yet? This is a good way to play chords in different positions, which’ll open up your eyes to a whole ‘nother world. The idea or concept behind this theory is that the chord formations are set up as the “open” chords that you probably already know.
You can play a B chord in a number of different positions:
Here’s the B chord in the “C” form in the CAGED theory:
(one of my favorites:)
e 11
B 12 <~see the open C form here?
G 11
D 13 <~see the open C form here?
A 14 <~see the open C form here?
E xThis is the “A” form:
e 2
B 4 <~see the open A form here?
G 4 <~see the open A form here?
D 4 <~see the open A form here?
A 2
E xThe “G” form:
e 7 (pinkie) <~see the open G form here?
B 4 (barre these 3 with your index)
G 4
D 4
A 6 (middle) <~see the open G form here?
E 7 (ring) <~see the open G form here?
The “E” form:
e 7
B 7
G 8 <~see the open E form here?
D 9 <~see the open E form here?
A 9 <~see the open E form here?
E 7(here’s the “shortened” or “cheating” version of the above chord, just barre the little e & B strings with your index finger:)
e 7
B 7
G 8
D 9
A x
E xThe “D” form:
e 11 <~see the open D form here?
B 12 <~see the open D form here?
G 11 <~see the open D form here?
D (13) (optional or not played at all)
A x
E xThese are all different ways to play a B chord on the fretboard. Not the only ways, but a bunch of different and common ways. Hope that makes sense!
