New to guitars from Georgia (U.S.)

[Whitey B]

Hello, Whitey here from middle Georgia. I'm no stranger to metal music but am new to playing guitar. Just bought an Epiphone Les Paul and Vox amp. I plan to put 10 guage strings on it( I think that's right ), and tune it to drop c. I am considering taking lessons for beginners at JamPlay.com as I am absolutely new to playing guitar. I want to learn metal rhythm and like bands such as Killswitch Engage and Amon Amarth. I am open to any suggestions or recommendations as I am completely new to guitars, thanks

[FatherAlabaster]

String gauges and picks are a personal thing, you'll zero in on what you like after playing for a while. For drop C, try to find a set that goes from 10 or 11 to 54 or 56. If you have your guitar professionally set up in your preferred tuning, it'll save you some headaches down the road. Try new things, but put the time and effort into getting used to a setup or a technique before moving on. Make sure you stay relaxed and don't do anything that damages your wrists or elbows. Lessons will probably help a lot. Play to a metronome for at least part of your practice every time, and once you get comfortable with a song, record yourself. Good luck.

[Whitey B]

String gauges and picks are a personal thing' date=' you'll zero in on what you like after playing for a while. For drop C, try to find a set that goes from 10 or 11 to 54 or 56. If you have your guitar professionally set up in your preferred tuning, it'll save you some headaches down the road. Try new things, but put the time and effort into getting used to a setup or a technique before moving on. Make sure you stay relaxed and don't do anything that damages your wrists or elbows. Lessons will probably help a lot. Play to a metronome for at least part of your practice every time, and once you get comfortable with a song, record yourself. Good luck.[/quote'] Thanks for the response FA, I had a fella recommended EB cobalt 12-56's for the drop c tune so I'll probably take it back to where I bought it and let them do the strings and tune. As far as wrist placement and such I'm trying to hold hand fingers thumb etc. correctly, just having to make myself do it as it doesn't feel natural but I know it will take some discipline and getting used to on my part

[Woutjinho]

Welcome. Indeed, play songs with a mentronome (I use powertab) and play the songs right and speed it up from time to time. Don't be hasy and learn to play the songs in a sloppy way.

[FatherAlabaster]

You could get away with 12-56, but if you're in drop C, that means your high note will be a D. If you're just starting off, you might find that a little tight. On the one hand it's good practice for your finger and hand strength, but on the other, if it's too hard for you to play, you won't find yourself enjoying it and you won't play as much. I found myself gauging up - at one point I was using a 14-68 set on my Gibson in drop B, but that's not necessary. On my baritone I actually use lighter strings, since the neck is longer, to keep the tension that I like - I have an 11-54 set tuned to C standard.

[deathstorm]

What is tone difference between. Lighter strings to heavier strings. Or vice versa

[RelentlessOblivion]

Having a good teacher will help a lot. I spent most of last year correcting various technique issues which were hampering my playing. I never would have fixed them had I not changed to a better teacher. Other then that it's all about practice. Personally I'd start out in a standard tune (EBGDAE) to train your ear as well. It's much easier to learn the basics when you aren't having to adjust scales to fit a different tuning from the outset. If you're going to learn on your own break songs down and make sure you can play a riff pretty well before moving on to the next part of a song. Playing along to songs is also a great exercise particularly when all you're doing is reading tabulature. This reminds me I've been quite slack recently and haven't put in anywhere near the practice time I should.

[FatherAlabaster]

What is tone difference between. Lighter strings to heavier strings. Or vice versa

It depends on how your guitar is set up, but lighter strings will have a little bit lower output, so they will sound brighter. Heavier gauges have more midrange and a stronger fundamental (bass note); they'll also sustain better and the note will be more stable (thinner strings bend more easily while you fret them and also tend to go more sharp on the attack if you hit them hard). Thick strings will also snap back a little more quickly, making them sound "tighter" when you're palm muting and tremolo picking. This is all true up to a point; if you put really thick strings on, they'll be too tight, your intonation will suffer, and the sustain will be for shit. Thin strings can sound good. Meshuggah uses relatively thin strings to get their tone, according to interviews I've read; if you want a more old-school DM or thrash tone, you're better off with tighter (thicker) strings. But we're talking a .02-.04 difference here, it's not drastic.

[FatherAlabaster]

Personally I'd start out in a standard tune (EBGDAE) to train your ear as well. It's much easier to learn the basics when you aren't having to adjust scales to fit a different tuning from the outset.

It sounds like he's choosing that tuning based on the bands he likes. Standard tuning isn't really all that standard anymore, and it's got nothing to do with ear training, it's more about having a setup that's compatible with the music you want to play.

[deathstorm]

It depends on how your guitar is set up' date=' but lighter strings will have a little bit lower output, so they will sound brighter. Heavier gauges have more midrange and a stronger fundamental (bass note); they'll also sustain better and the note will be more stable (thinner strings bend more easily while you fret them and also tend to go more sharp on the attack if you hit them hard). Thick strings will also snap back a little more quickly, making them sound "tighter" when you're palm muting and tremolo picking. This is all true up to a point; if you put really thick strings on, they'll be too tight, your intonation will suffer, and the sustain will be for shit. Thin strings can sound good. Meshuggah uses relatively thin strings to get their tone, according to interviews I've read; if you want a more old-school DM or thrash tone, you're better off with tighter (thicker) strings. But we're talking a .02-.04 difference here, it's not drastic.[/quote'] Thanks alabaster

[Whitey B]

It depends on how your guitar is set up' date=' but lighter strings will have a little bit lower output, so they will sound brighter. Heavier gauges have more midrange and a stronger fundamental (bass note); they'll also sustain better and the note will be more stable (thinner strings bend more easily while you fret them and also tend to go more sharp on the attack if you hit them hard). Thick strings will also snap back a little more quickly, making them sound "tighter" when you're palm muting and tremolo picking. This is all true up to a point; if you put really thick strings on, they'll be too tight, your intonation will suffer, and the sustain will be for shit. Thin strings can sound good. Meshuggah uses relatively thin strings to get their tone, according to interviews I've read; if you want a more old-school DM or thrash tone, you're better off with tighter (thicker) strings. But we're talking a .02-.04 difference here, it's not drastic.[/quote'] I'm not looking for an old-school DM or thrash tone, just happens that the rhythm guitarists from bands I like such as killswitch engage use the drop c. I think the guitarists from Amon Amarth, another band I like, uses b.

[FatherAlabaster]

Re: New to guitars from Georgia (U.S.)

I'm not looking for an old-school DM or thrash tone' date=' just happens that the rhythm guitarists from bands I like such as killswitch engage use the drop c. I think the guitarists from Amon Amarth, another band I like, uses b.[/quote'] Don't misunderstand, I'm not talking about your tuning, I'm talking about the tone difference between, say, a 10-52 set and a 12-56 set in the same tuning. I didn't get the sense that you wanted an old-school tone, I was just trying to make a comparison for deathstorm. I think you should start in the middle. DR makes a set of 11-54 that will probably work well for you. Ernie Ball would offer a cheaper alternative; they and D'Addario have a lot of options and are readily available.

[Whitey B]

Don't misunderstand' date=' I'm not talking about your tuning, I'm talking about the tone difference between, say, a 10-52 set and a 12-56 set in the same tuning. I didn't get the sense that you wanted an old-school tone, I was just trying to make a comparison for deathstorm. I think you should start in the middle. DR makes a set of 11-54 that will probably work well for you. Ernie Ball would offer a cheaper alternative; they and D'Addario have a lot of options and are readily available.[/quote'] Me and the wife are going to look at a couple of places here in a little while, Guitar Center is one of them. Figured I would see what they have. Also I have a small Vox amp (tube style) that I'm trying to learn how to use, I'm sure the amp probably has a lot to do with the type of sound I get as well, again I'm not looking for real heavy distortion though.

[FatherAlabaster]

The amp does have a lot to do with it, but most practice amps have more than enough distortion. I have a small Vox too, but I hate playing through it. I suppose they're ok up to a point, but Blackstar and Fender make better practice amps IMO. There's nothing wrong with an Epiphone Les Paul, especially for your first guitar. Instead of spending more on something new, get your guitar set up in your tuning, learn how to tune it yourself, and have fun with what you've got. Plenty of time to upgrade after you've gotten used to playing.

[Whitey B]

The amp does have a lot to do with it' date=' but most practice amps have more than enough distortion. I have a small Vox too, but I hate playing through it. I suppose they're ok up to a point, but Blackstar and Fender make better practice amps IMO. There's nothing wrong with an Epiphone Les Paul, especially for your first guitar. Instead of spending more on something new, get your guitar set up in your tuning, learn how to tune it yourself, and have fun with what you've got. Plenty of time to upgrade after you've gotten used to playing.[/quote'] Ok, I just got home with some EB Cobalt 12-56's. I'll try them out and if I'm still not quite happy, I'll try one of the others you mentioned. As far as the amp, I'll probably start another thread asking questions about it, its just a small Vox vt20+ but it has a bunch of controls and presets that I'm completely clueless about. Thanks for your help and suggestions FA

[FatherAlabaster]

Re: New to guitars from Georgia (U.S.) No problem. As far as suggestions for your amp settings, you're best off reading through the manual and playing around with different amp models and eq settings to find something you like. "Gain" in this situation means the amount of distortion. The "power level" knob will basically work like a separate volume control, but it's a completely extraneous feature on this amp, more of a marketing gimmick than anything else.

[deathstorm]

Hey alabaster speaking of distortion pedals I own one it is a digitech. Death metal distortation. Pretty cool one I brought. It a guitar center

[RelentlessOblivion]

It sounds like he's choosing that tuning based on the bands he likes. Standard tuning isn't really all that standard anymore' date=' and it's got nothing to do with ear training, it's more about having a setup that's compatible with the music you want to play.[/quote'] So, as usual, I couldn't be more wrong if I tried.

[FatherAlabaster]

Nah, standard tuning is a good recommendation if someone just wants to learn guitar, this guy just has something specific in mind. I wrote exclusively in low drop tunings for about eighteen years, but recently got a lot more into C and D standard. I've even had fun playing in all fourths. Currently my baritone is in B standard and my Gibson is in D, but I have some stuff to relearn in drop B for one of my old bands. I encourage experimentation.

[Woutjinho]

I have my bass in standard E and my guitar in Eb. I used to do dropped tunings, but not anymore. Also dislike a lot of bands who play in dropped tunings. (metalcore, groove metal and such)