Struggling to stay interested in electric guitar! Any advice

fourowls

Chris Martin wrote: »

Andy, just make sure to try a few other D hole models if you can. We all sometimes get lucky with a guitar that works for us and sometimes we are disappointed if a guitar does not do what we imagined. If you want a D hole for 'pompe' you may find a shorter scale easier as some chords can be a stretch, even a 12 fret neck will work for that. If you want it for a different sound don't forget there are different timbers for a particular tone, back and sides of rosewood or mahogany against a potentially brighter maple sound? Or maybe even a cedar top?

Yes true Chris...and in honesty I don't really need a long scale as I used to really love the D500 Gitane I had (for the money anyway) and a short scale will be easier for me. I guess the D Hole will be for a mixture but yes practicing rhythm mainly and I will use my longer Dell'arte for lead/arp work. I actually don't play in a band so it really is just for my home use (at this stage...). I can't get much choice in Australia...I guess I would have to import?

wim

Keep the tube amp, and get a magnetic pickup for the gypsy guitar. Then you can get rid of the electrics and any other guitars. I used to have about 6 guitars, but now just 1 - and so much happier. It's better to just focus on getting good at one thing, than try to be a jack of all trades.

There's a good scene in Brisbane. You should meet up with Shenzo, Ewan Mackenzie, Cameron Ford ... and go to the Ozmanouche festival on the last weekend of November, it's a gas. Seb Ginaux is headlining this year.

Elí Saúl

Haha gotta love how the thread derailed to which new selmac guitar i should get?

I'm pretty young myself, i have only been playing for 10 years or so. And i've never been really involved with the electric guitar world, I started playing boleros, a bit of classic and fingerstyle arrangements of some jazz tunes on my now gone first nylon guitar, i've always been into acoustic playing, however 5 years ago i got an Ibañez Af-75 and experimented a little bit with very little effects, like wah and somewhat Mike Stern like sound, got real tired of it fast though.
And it was about that time where i was introduced to Gypsy Jazz, but i only used o listen to it, it used to intimidate me the virtuosity of all the players. It's only been a year since i really started to play it because it's really difficult to find people to play with where i live, until 1 year ago i met this pal who is addicted to GJ aswell.

I can only say GJ was exactly what i was looking for!, that acoustic simplicity, an elaborated language influenced by traditional jazz, and challenging for my formation as a guitar player. I don't see myself leaving this anytime soon.

However i do get inspired for sure doing some Joe Pass inspired arrangements on my old Ibañez. And it's always a fresh thing to hear some other jazz areas within guitarists!

fourowls

Wim Glenn wrote: »

Keep the tube amp, and get a magnetic pickup for the gypsy guitar. Then you can get rid of the electrics and any other guitars. I used to have about 6 guitars, but now just 1 - and so much happier. It's better to just focus on getting good at one thing, than try to be a jack of all trades.

There's a good scene in Brisbane. You should meet up with Shenzo, Ewan Mackenzie, Cameron Ford ... and go to the Ozmanouche festival on the last weekend of November, it's a gas. Seb Ginaux is headlining this year.

Thanks for that..and I didn't know Brisbane had a Gypsy Jazz scene. I am so new that I need a lot of work first before meeting up with people, but with my usual dedication and interest in this style, I will get there! I think you're right, too many guitars are very distracting and I am pretty much a 'one woman man' (well I have been married for nearly 20 years so in that sense I am!). I might look into a pickup..I never thought of that angle actually..best of both worlds really!

Jazzaferri

My DuPont MDC 20 short scale 14 fret is dry with clear bell like tones. A number of high end guitars that I have tried share this quality. Almost piano like in their note separation when playing chords.

I suspect that this is due to a lot of energy focus on the fundamental and first harmonic. My Dunn long scale is a little more spread. More "guitar" like in chords but with a good "cutting" voice single string.

If you are really getting into acoustic GJ then looking for a "magic" guitar is worth the time. Its as much developing one's ear as one's technique IMO

anthon_74

Great post topic! I was a rocker for the first 15 years of my guitar playing life, but I've played predominantly gypsy jazz for the last 12 years. I recently sold my Line 6 bogner tube amp, and gave my solid body electric guitar to my step son who takes lessons from me.
The only reason I ever play electric is because I teach rock guitar to kids for a living. As a result, sometimes I take a break from Django for an hour or so and I work out classic rock solos instead to teach my students. Incidentally, a few years ago I purchased a semi-hollow Archtop. electric guitar so I would have something that retained the Arch top feel, but would be quiet enough to play late at night so not wake the family.

Sooooo..... Yes, it's hard to put any time an effort into the electric rock style when you're immersed in the world of Manouche Jazz. It takes so damn long just to start to sound decent in this style. But then again, when I played mainly electric, I wasn't inspired to become a great lead guitar player. It was only when I took up gypsy jazz that I became motivated to become an elite guitar player(As opposed to just a good, but underachieving player like I was for years).

Anthony

terrassier

My AJL that I got at Samois this year is getting all my love at the moment and apart from a nice EPI archtop and peavey delta blues all my other guitars and junk will be going on leboncoin - I dont have the time or talent to play one style well let alone several ! My only remaining problem will be scale length ........going from the AJL to the EPI is troublesome ....... I may have to get an archtop with a longer scale or should have maybe bought a short scale GJ guitar....... I suppose if I ever get decent I will adapt more easily ?!!
Do the decent players find it a doddle ?

wim

I don't think changing scale length can be easy for anyone, because so much of good technique is in the muscle memory. You learn good technique by many repetitions of the movement at slow speeds, and once you've got it down it's just 'there', you don't have to consciously think about it any longer.

Same goes for changes in the width of the neck i.e. the distance between each string. Even the slightest change from what you're used to can screw up your picking.

If you have regularly practiced on multiple scale lengths, I guess your brain can be trained for each - and more adaptable to switching. (If you've ever badly broken your right arm and had to use your left for basic tasks such as handwriting, you'll know what it feels like)

Jazzaferri

I have 3 guitars that I use regularly. They all have different scales and necks, the DuPont has a 10th fret dot. I takes a few minutes to adapt between them but only a few. I find I have to be precise about finger placement on chords or I can have the odd strange note in a chord.

Its similar to switching between alto and tenor saxes.

Jeff Moore

Like Wim I put a pickup on my selmac. Don't use it much, but I try to keep the electric chops from total decay.
My problem is that even though I love the 60's stuff, the sound of pickups have become the McDonalds of sound for me, not so much when I listen to others play, but more when I play electric.
Let me suggest adding a good flattop to your problems. The crossover is far richer from Blues to Bach to Bossa.
One way to solve a problem is to make it worse!