Hmmmm....interesting!

Hey gang! I just "re-realized" something! I have been playing a lot on my steel string acoustic guitar lately-even playing and learning lead stuff like Rikki DLTN, Boston songs, Badfinger, and The Rasberries.

I use heavier strings on my acoustic-(.013-.056-Martin Marquis's). I have not been able to take out my electric lately-its kind of pain to haul even the smaller old Rickenbacker amp out and connect adjust, etc, when I can just pull my acoustic out and jam. The only thing is that I can't hit some of those higher notes and sometimes it is really hard to do that heavy bending on some songs!
I guess that all that playing on the acoustic has paid off! I picked up my electric-just unconnected-and tried some of the same stuff that I had been doing on my acoustic. Geez! It felt like I was bending rubber bands! (Kind of!) It was soooo easy to bend and to hit some of those really high notes! And I don't use too light of strings on my electric either (usually .010 to .046's).

I remember quite a while back, I had read in a guitar magazine about how Stevie Ray Vaughn used very heavy strings on his guitars, and the story's author mentioned that a player's finger strength could be increased by using heavier strings. Of course, I wouldn't recommend using heavy strings for a beginning player. I prefer using the heavier strings just because of the feel, and the extra "oomph" I get out of them, but I think the only drawback is that the top (5,6) strings might get a little dead quicker, since they are so heavy. I don't know-maybe that's just my imagination!
If using these heavier strings on my acoustic makes it so much easier to play on an electric guitar, then I will surely continue to do that!

Do any of you play on an acoustic or use heavier strings on one guitar and then move to another? I guess this would be somewhat like what the baseball players do when getting ready to be at bat-swinging with weights on the bat or more than one bat(?)


Related Tags: strings electric+guitar acoustic+guitar

Overkill or pure guitar heaven?

I was checking out guitar clips on YT the other night and found this clip for the song Mediterranean Sundance. I had heard lots about the individual accomplishments of Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola, and John McLaughlin, and also heard some of their collaborations. This clip here is a beautiful song and all, but to me this is overkill on the solos. Each guitarist just seems to be trying to out-gun the others with speed or complexity. Don't get me wrong-these guys are great guitarists, and granted, this event and others like it are to showcase the guitarist's talents. I guess I am the "weirdo"with this opinion here-comments on Youtube for this clip did not contain one comment with the same feelings I had about it.

What do you think? I am posting the three guitarists together for this song, and then individually to contrast and compare. (I like the individual stuff way better than the "supertrio" types of clips!)To be honest with you, I have to say that I like Al Di Meola's stuff the least-individual and when collaborating with other guitarists.


Paco de Lucia, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin-Mediterranean Sundance-


John McLaughlin-Cherokee


Paco de Lucia-Entre dos Aguas


Al Di Meola-Orient Blue Suite