Guitar Talk

Here are three ideas for band names I came up with:

1. The Quick and the Dead
2. In Vesuvius' Shadow
3. Myth

I have every intention of forming a band. I'm at the point now where I really want to play with people. I've been playing guitar for about a year and a half now and can at least play well enough to be a competent rhythm guitarist. I also have a lot of lyrics I've written saved on my computer as well as the first 30 to 40 measures or so of various songs I've written using Guitar Pro of all things. It's not exactly a great tool for songwriting, but it's quite useful for a guitar player and it does provide the minimum of features necessary to write music with a variety of instrumentation.

In addition to more talent, I also need more equipment if I ever want to be at the point where I could perform with a band. The only guitar I own is my Ephipone Les Paul Studio, which I purchased for $100 less than the sticker price because it was chipped in a few places.

Mine's the one on the bottom.

And the amp.

I play through a Roland Cube 20x amp, which is fantastic as a practice amp but obviously limited in its use outside my bedroom. That's the extent of my equipment. Currently I'm debating whether I should purchase a nice acoustic guitar or buy some pedals and such for my electric; most likely I'd get an acoustic. I tested out the Epiphone Masterbilt AJ-500RE at Bill's Music in Catonsville and it was easily my favorite of the the acoustics that I tried. It's also $700, so it'll be a while until I can afford it. Still I'd much rather save up more money to get a guitar I really like than to settle for a cheaper one.


It's not that fancy looking, but it sounds fantastic.

I wish I had started playing guitar when I was much younger and taken actual lessons, rather than started teaching myself at the age of 19. I've gotten much more enjoyment out of playing guitar for a year and a half than I did from playing trumpet for six years. I guess I always sort of dismissed the idea of playing guitar because so many people do, but I suppose there is a reason it's so popular. I've found that it's starting to replace video games as my destressor activity. Honestly, even if I'm just sitting at my desk waiting for my computer to boot up, I'll pick up my guitar and start playing.

If anyone has any suggestions for acoustic guitars I should look at, or what my next step should be to augment my electric guitar playing, please share them. At first I felt like a bit of a poser for waiting so long to start playing, but any time's a good time to start, and I've really gotten into it. Not only is it fun and relaxing, but it's helped rekindle my excitement for music after being in high school band for four years pretty much crushed it. And that right there is a powerful thing.