Gigtips 11
1. Correcting the Flaws. Simple concept, difficult in execution. I mean, man, the band has been struggling with this song for seven months now and it’s still a dog. A smelly dog. One night not long ago we all hung our heads in shame after playing it. Lucky for us, we had a courteous and forgiving audience. We could have learned a dozen great songs in the time we’ve wasted on this amateurish, smelly dog of a song. It’s true, you know. While determination may be a necessary part of self dicipline, some songs are best forgotten… or at least moved to the list of lower priorities. A sorry sounding song should not make it to the stage; never. Well, maybe once or twice just so you’ll be convinced. Of course, if it’s the band leader’s favorite tune you’ll play it for the rest of your life. Yes, foul songs can be fixed but I stand firm in the belief that moving on to something new is more productive. How to fix it? Most importantly you must be able to listen to the tune with a new ear. If you can’t hear what your band is doing wrong, and identify those errors, therein lies the problem (I’m assuming you have a recording on hand to compare to). Regardless of how many times you listen to a tune, there will be something you have missed. Those are the bits you must seek out. New ear? Sounds good.
2. Little Footswitches. We all love the little critters. A kink in the cable can make them writhe around on the floor like a snared snake. When the time comes to activate the button with a macho stomp, the tiny box is three feet away… resting on its side. “Hey dude, I really liked the tippy-toe dance you did goin’ into your guitar solo. That was hot!” I’ve seen a number of guitarists attach the switches to a nice, stable block of wood. You can’t throw the switch into the back of your amp anymore for storage (a blessing in disguise), but it will stay in place on the floor. Duct taping the box to the floor works also, but eventually the gooey residue from the tape will migrate to the strings.
3. Sissy Fingers. You’re not the only one. When we fail to practice often enough the callouses disappear and nothing remains but soft, delicate tissue between the string and your finger bone. Even if you have he-man fingers, they can be tortured by dry winter weather.
Here are a couple of ideas (NOT recommendations) gleaned from two of my pals.
*When Tom’s fingertip splits open, he fastens the split closed with ***er glue, then coats most of the fingertip with same (allowed to dry before touching string!). I have never tried it myself, but from what I could see, it really worked. I’m almost certain I saw smoke wafting off his fingers afterwards. There is a product “New Skin” which better suits the situation and is safer than su*** glue. It is available from the makers of Germoline; our thanks to Guitarglen for this info. Glen also points out that Stevie Ray used glue on his fingers. *Ron has a more unique and immediate problem. After losing two of his fretting fingertips in an industrial accident, there was no flesh left covering the bone. He now covers his fingertips with the fingertips from a rubber “cleaning glove” or “household glove” (removed from the glove; about one inch in length), inverted so the felt lining is on the outside against the strings. I have tried this trick and it is a realistic option. A little awkward, but not bad. The rubber fingertips are usable for more than one gig although they gradually lose their slipperiness as the felt is worn away from playing.
4. Eliminate the Variables. That’s what the above ideas do… the variable being soft skin and the eliminator being the plastic fingertip. Same thing goes for fingerpicks, flatpicks and slides; they all create a reliable mechanical activation of the strings as opposed to an inconsistent, fleshy thud. Fingernails work well until they break. Fake plastic nails? Be sure to get a shade that compliments your eye color.
5. Logically, if you are a guitarist whom doesn’t sing you should team up with a singer who shares your tastes in music. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Even if it seems you’ll never find someone to sing your favorites, never cease learning those tunes. That’s a part of from where your unique style comes. Keep in mind that compatible potential bandmates can pop up in the strangest of places at the oddest times.
6. Most of us carry around a bag of songs that we perform exceptionally well. Some of us carry those same songs (ammo) around for decades. We know ‘em by heart and rev them up at the jams whenever the opportunity arises. Seldom do we consider going back and re learning these gems, even if our performance is riddled with errors. A new project has just been heaped upon your shoulders.
7. Standing vs. Sitting. Sitting during a performance gives you a valid excuse for being visually unexciting. This doesn’t apply to Flamenco players or others who traditionally sit during their performances. Standing while playing increases the difficulty factor by ten to twenty percent, but that range diminishes as you become more accustomed to wearing an axe. Sitting affords better accuracy. Standing provides an always available opportunity to strike a pose for the audience.
8. Leaning Pickups. More specifically; leaning single coil pickups. You people that possess an axe equipped with these things know exactly what I’m saying. They look crummy and probably reduce the quality of your tones to some degree. At the root of the problem lies the tiny height adjusting screws at both ends of the pickup… the screw head isn’t large enough to counter the lopsided tension of the adjuster springs (located on the underside of the pickguard). I suspect this is one of the reasons some manufacturers replaced the springs with short pieces of surgical tubing. The pickups will usually straighten up, tones will improve, it’s a cheap and easy fix (although each pickup screw requires its own exact length of tube). The rubber tubing will deteriorate over time, replacement will be necessary every couple of years.
9. Boom stands are best for vocal mics, they keep the shaft away from the neck. Cheap boom stands are designed to sag automatically during your most important vocal parts.
Random wtf - "Bravery is not a function of firepower." - JC Denton