Worse than a bad hair day...

[SuperSwede]

... Is a bad tone day, dammit!
Some days when I pick up the guitar everything I play sounds bad, and none of the hi-speed licks are working. All my gear sounds crap as well on these days. This was the reason for giving up guitar playing for over a year last time.
Do you guys have these kind of days as well?

 

[Tim]

Yea,

I have a lot of days like that. It pays to just lay the guitar down and not play. Use the time to change strings, do some guitar maintenance, clean the studio, play the acoustic or just read a good book.

Tim

 

[SuperSwede]

*twang* *tweeeng* *twoong*
No not better yet

I almost wrecked the car today as well ...

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Tim is exactly right. When I pick up the guitar and play...if I'm not in the mood to play at all it will show. My lack of enthusiam will just make my sound and licks mediocre to me. I'll just put the guitar away and go do something else. On those other days when things are just perfect and the sound hits you right and you're blazing away on sweet licks then it makes it all worth it. Ironically when I have great days like that I'll only play for a short time (in practice anyway) simply because I like ending a good day on a good note. Makes me feel good about myself before I over do it and start to suck again. LOL I think I'm OC when it comes to my tone (obsessive/compulsive). It just has to sound great every 10th time I've played something and it has to sound exactly the same on each time before I put things away.

 

[SuperSwede]

Well, most days are good playing days.. It feels so damn nice when the guitar feels like it is self-playing

hmm... perhaps it is time to go and buy a new guitar toy to increase the motivation meter )))

 

[Katastrophe]

Yep, it happens more often than I'd like it to. I'll usually put the guit-fiddle down for a bit and concentrate on something else for a while. Sometimes, I'll get a new riff stuck in my head doing that, then it's time to run back and hammer it out...

 

[SuperSwede]

It seems to be a common syndrome.

 

[Nelskie]

Bad "tone" days - oh yes, most definitely. However, thanks to the advent of modern amp-modeling technology, I find that those days are really few and far between. Most of the time, I find that these bad days are a combination of 1.) a lack of enthusiasm, and 2.) tired fingers (perhaps a long jam session w/ the guys the night before). There are many things a guitarist can do when the "magic" just isn't there - like digging out a number of "essential" listening CD's, and basking in the vibe of several of your favorite players. This not only serves as a motivational tool, but it makes me appreciate all of the hard work I've put into becoming a better player.

Home recording is another new activity I've found to be a nice substitute to actual playing. If I've recorded some new original material, I'll pull it into Acid Studio, and put together a song track or two. In a sense, it's like playing, only that you're experiencing it from a different perspective. Very cool, indeed!

 

[Nelskie]

Hey Tone, I just noticed your new avatar. That's quite a line-up, my friend!

 

[Tim]

Yes! Good looking amps. Where are the stringed instruments?

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Hey Nelski thanks,

Those are/were my Marshalls and Fender head, along with an old Charvel I used to have. That pic was taken at a gig we did once in a fairly large auditorium downtown. One of the biggest gigs we ever did.

The Marshall combo I still have of course. The Marshall cab to the right I still have. The top angled Marshall cabinet to the left I sold to help buy my wife's wedding ring. I think I mentioned it in a previous post somewhere. That was a sweet cabinet...had the tweed cabinet cover on it too. I very much regret selling that. The Marshall head to the left was borrowed for that gig. It was a Super Lead 100wt.

The Fender head was a silver face Bandmaster that I had once. Sold it.

The Charvel was sold also.

 

[Robert]

Cool pic, ToneBoy!

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Thanks boss.