Out of Pod Experience

Am reaching out to see if anyone can help me a little.

I started out as a piano player. Self taught, not necessarily good but I played some nice things that made people sit up.

When I moved house I left my piano behind and due to space restrictions I started playing the guitar. I'm not bad on the frets but I have become very stale - I play the same things, over and over, then put it back down. I don't have the same creativity that I had on the piano.

I wondered if anyone in OOPE had any suggestions for how to boost my guitar-shaped creativity.

I can't really read music although tab is just about in reach. I play mainly by instinct. Main guitar is acoustic atm, though I do have a Mexican Tele with a Trace Elliot amp (no pedals)

Would love to hear if you have found/seen/heard something that has inspired you.

I am not a guitar player my self, but I do know that Jesse Ferguson (I am subbed to him on YouTube) does some dam fine work on an acoustic guitar and best of all he plays them in-front of his camera and that should allow you to follow along with him on you guitar.

I hope this helps.

Personally, I think inspiration can come from a number of sources. For instance, when I started listening to Nightwish I found myself wanting to play guitar again. The music was so melodic while at the same time still heavy that it really caught me.

Additionally, I'd spent years mostly rehashing stuff that was written by other bands, but, after watching some videos by Youtubers 331ERock and FamilyJules7x (they do metal covers of video game and movie music), I suddenly wanted to start writing and recording music myself. The latter actually has a pretty good series of videos about how to do so with Mixcraft Pro Studio 5, and it's disturbingly easy to use.

Since then, I've picked up Mixcraft Pro Studio 6 and started writing and recording my own stuff. I run a cable from the line out on my amp to the line in on my computer's soundcard, and use it in conjunction with the software to record the guitar tracks, then I use the virtual instruments and midi editor that come with Mixcraft Pro Studio to compose and lay down computer-generated bass and drum tracks. I've even dabbled a bit with orchestral sections, though I'm really still learning on that front. Best thing? Mixcraft is only $150, whereas ProTools will run you something ridiculous like $700.

This capability, in short, is what really inspired me to start playing regularly again and to expand my abilities as a musician.

Another thing that's really helped was picking up new gear that allowed me to build the sound I wanted. I've had a Line 6 Flextone Plus amp for years, and the ability to select different amp models and effects was a godsend. I recently upgraded to a Line 6 Spider IV HD 150 and 4x12 cabinet, which offers better sound and more options, all without having to throw out additional cash for effects pedals (though I did spend the money on the FBV Shortboard Mk II so I can control the amp and its many programmable channels and effects with my foot, as well as having a built-in wah/volume pedal).

You may want to head in to a guitar shop and try out various amps to find a sound you like. I've found that I'm not really inspired to play if I don't like the sound coming from my instrument, so having the right guitar and amplifier are truly key. Hell, you can get a little 15-watt Spider IV for $90, which will give you the ability to find the sound you like (it models 16 different amps a crapton of effects) or even switch between amp and sound effects mid-song. If you're willing to spend more money, then going with the 30-watt, 75-watt, or 150-watt versions would probably be better; the 15-watt only has an 8-inch speaker, which doesn't give your low notes much in the way of resonance. The others sport 12-inchers, and the 30w is still only $170-ish.

Word of advice, though, regarding the Spider IV: RTFM. It's got so many different options that figuring out how to use and make the most of it can be rather difficult if you don't. They even have .pdf versions available on the Line 6 website if you want to see what all it can do.

P.S. If you can't tell, I really like Line 6 amps.

P.P.S. I'm also mostly self-taught. So much so that, when I recently used teh intarweb to find out how to do a guitar harmony it felt like cheating. (As an aside, I don't really know any other musicians, so I'd never had the need to learn how to do a 2-part harmony before I started recording and gained the ability to lay down multiple tracks.)

If you don't mind spending a little cash, lots of things you can do with your computer. Look into line 6 guitar port, about 100 bucks. Ive used a bunch of editors, but for me I like magix music maker and studio, been using it for years and keeping up with latest versions. Forget the wizard, it works every VST I've put to it. Really nice midi editor too. Grab any cheap midi keyboard. I started with a tiny little compact Nano Key for like 40 bucks. Later got a larger Oxygen keyboard. I still use the nano a lot though. Download midi files you like, split the channels, extract the drum loops etc. Assign realistic sounding VST's to them. Plug in the midi keyboard and guitar, hit record heh. Something like that, it's the way to go.

Played guitars for years and years. Guitar lessons/classes and piano lessons/classes. I've played places. But home studios have become real nice the past few years, and lots of bang for the buck.

Oh for VST's, cakewalk VST's are my fav. Lots of free ones out there though, and if you try the magix trial you get some nice ones with that, but cakewalk VST's are all the rage. Z3ta+ 2 and rapture are just too good, but lots of choices there when you are looking for good addons. Of course you could always go with loops, downloading sets of them, but me I like creating my own loops.

I watched "It might get loud" earlier - that was so enjoyable. Just the amount of variation between the three of them was awesome.

Reminded me that I don't have to conform to enjoy playing the guitar!

I would say a lot more but I am cream-crackered and need to sleep.

What do you play over and over again?