Question for the guitarists of the forum

[holloway]

Hey guys,

Spoiler: Old Q about singing

Recently I've felt my vocal chords tightening at the higher end of my register and this has gradually got worse in the past few days to such an extent that I've been left unable to sing in my middle range. Srsly.

What I was wondering is if it could have been cause by either a lack of fluids (for some reason not drunk as much recently) or perhaps not having done any vocal exercises for like two weeks.

New question: I have a strat copy. Not one of those £40 "starter" lumps of shit but a reasonable enough copy (was around the £150 range new). The pickups are single coils, so I was researching new pickups when I wondered- how important is the actual guitar? The guitar is almost exactly the same as my mate's legit strat, so I was thinking a set of pickups salvaged from a real strat would likely create a sound very similar (looking at this for example). I don't exactly have a bad tone, but it'd be nice to know I could improve it.

 

[Brewmeister]

(for some reason not drunk as much recently)

That's it!  you need to get drunk more!  :scruff:
I always sound much better when I'm drunk.
(and if the audience is drunk, they believe it too)

But, seriously. Unless you have a 3+ octave range, I don't think lack of vocal exercises would effect you as dractically as you are implying.  Lack of fluids on the other hand, certainly could.
Then there are a host of other factors that could also add up to the effect you describe...
Temperature (breathing too much cold air), polutants (smog, smoke, pollen), allergies, there's a nasty-ass flu making it's way around the world right now. Hormonal changes (...going through puberty? ) Stress.  You haven't been doing a lot of yelling lately, have you?
I'd say, start up the warm-ups again & see if it improves. If you have any inflamation or pain, see a doctor.

...lack of fluids...

That's got Freud written all over it  :scruff:

Be Well

 

[holloway]

Well I started making sure I drank more water, and balanced extra water with alcohol, and I definitely think my range is coming back. Probably that was the cause then.

...lack of fluids...
That's got Freud written all over it

I take exception

...going through puberty?

I take exception.

 

[holloway]

Top post updated- no longer a singing q!

 

[Brewmeister]

I take exception.
I take exception.

Don't!  it's just humor. (humour)  :scruff:

While you will get a fuller, fatter, hotter sound with duals, you still have to look at the guitar itself.
If it has a great action, plays well, the neck is tight, and it stays in tune for a long time, then yes it's worth the effort.

Be Well

 

[Kaoii]

I've been playing the guitar for about 5 years now; hopefully I can answer your question.

I own four guitars: a Gibson Les Paul, a custom-built Carvin DC127, a Mexican Fender Strat, and a Yamaha Craptastic Acoustic.

Your pickups can change the tone of the guitar dramatically. If you're using the stock pickups, they probably suck. Most professionals change Fender's stock pickups out, and everyone has their preference. Also, check the weight of your guitar. This is where the price point usually comes in. The heavier the guitar - typically the more expensive the wood. The lighter the guitar the cheaper the wood. Heavier guitars have heavier and deeper sound, and this is a sound preferred by most players. My Les Paul weighs a ton and could probably give someone a concussion. This is what separates the clones from the real guitars - the wood.

If you want new pickups, I would suggest either EMG or Seymour Duncan.

 

[holloway]

@Kaoii: Thanks. Its quite heavy and not flimsy like the shitty ones you can buy. I think I'm going to purchase some good pickups to improve the sound as it sounds like a frigging Telecaster at the minute.

 

[RyanAllen]

I've been playing the bass for quite a while now, and i've kept the same bass (That cost me £70) since i've started. It's not just the pickups that effect the sound of guitar, also the type of wood a guitar is made form can effect it as well as the type of string. My advice is just find a sound for your guitar that you like and stick with it, as long as you like the sound, sod everyone else :P

 

[holloway]

I've been playing the bass for quite a while now, and i've kept the same bass (That cost me £70) since i've started. It's not just the pickups that effect the sound of guitar, also the type of wood a guitar is made form can effect it as well as the type of string. My advice is just find a sound for your guitar that you like and stick with it, as long as you like the sound, sod everyone else :P

£70 bass? Is it any good, because I've never ever seen a good guitar below £100.

Edit: Except for that mail order replica company.

 

[RyanAllen]

I've been playing the bass for quite a while now, and i've kept the same bass (That cost me £70) since i've started. It's not just the pickups that effect the sound of guitar, also the type of wood a guitar is made form can effect it as well as the type of string. My advice is just find a sound for your guitar that you like and stick with it, as long as you like the sound, sod everyone else :P

£70 bass? Is it any good, because I've never ever seen a good guitar below £100.

Edit: Except for that mail order replica company.

My base is awesome, had to fix it a little because the neck was bent, changed the strings because the ones it came with were WAY to thick and walla, a perfectly awesome guitar

 

[holloway]

Hm. Well to each his own.

 

[Kaoii]

If you want a good brand of strings, I recommend handmade DR's. I've tried every major brand on the market, and they are the only strings I use.

 

[RyanAllen]

If you want a good brand of strings, I recommend handmade DR's. I've tried every major brand on the market, and they are the only strings I use.

Elite Nickel are also a decent brand of string, there not that expensive either

 

[holloway]

For all their cost, Elixers are quite nice tbh.

 

[Kaoii]

If you go with Elixers, I would recommend getting the polyweb instead of the nanoweb. After extended use, the nanoweb starts getting all slimy and yucky >.<

 

[nohmaan]

There are a lot of differences with the guitars, especially if it's a copy.  I've got a Fender Srat which was about 400$, a Toronado GTHH that was $800, and a Les Paul that was 2500$.  The Strat and Toronado sound about the same, except the Toronado has dual humbucker pickups which gives it the cleaner sound through the amp-- but they both detune pretty easily in cold weather or if you hit it against something.  As far as action goes on both of those it's about the same.  And then, the Toronado has a much better tone quality.

The Les Paul has a great tone, the action is great, and it stays in tune for hours even if I beat it around, but if you play it you notice a huge difference in the fretboard- the guitar pretty much plays it's self.  The other's don't even come close.

Point being, the cheaper guitars have a quality plateau.  You can change the pickups which will help with the buzzing in your amp, but the entire hardware throughout the guitar- the wood, components, strings, bridge- all of it is tuned together to work in harmony on a higher end guitar.  But, I suppose it also depends on what you're using it for.  If you're just learning then changing the pickups would probably be enough to get you by.  But if you're playing shows or recording you may want to consider an investment in a sweet guitar.

 

[Kaoii]

Sounds like you're having to retune quite a bit :P
My Carvin has Sperzel locking tuners. The guitar literally never goes out of tune unless you use the whammy bar, even when each string only has one wind. Might wanna give those a look. That's peculiar; my Les Paul rarely gets out of tune o.O

 

[nohmaan]

Sounds like you're having to retune quite a bit :P
My Carvin has Sperzel locking tuners. The guitar literally never goes out of tune unless you use the whammy bar, even when each string only has one wind. Might wanna give those a look. That's peculiar; my Les Paul rarely gets out of tune o.O

Well the issue is that I live in Minneapolis where it is bitter cold, so every time you load in or out the instruments get terribly out of tune (aside from the Les Paul), but even after a show and going from 68 degrees inside to knocking it around for 45 minutes to -10 outside it does detune.

The strat and toronado don't have any spectacular tuners, so they do have that problem if I play it a lot.  But I have yet to find an instrument impervious to the terrible weather here.

 

[Kaoii]

And from the sounds of it I doubt you will >.<
You still might wanna try popping some locking tuners on one of your guitars. We have some wild weather here in Arkansas too (humidity and rapid temperature changes etc) and my Carvin still has yet to go out of tune - whereas my Strat and Les Paul have to be retuned nearly every time they are picked up.

 

[Gilleece]

For quality pick ups, no one does them better then

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/