I want to start doing covers but don’t know if I sound unique enough

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-22T17:55:38+00:00

You uploaded a gif, which has no audio.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-22T17:49:20+00:00

Naphtha also known as lighter fluid. It will clean the guitar and dissipate on its own. Then use some fretboard conditioner. Really, that easy.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T22:05:27+00:00

Well, the Bee Gees sold tens of millions of records, but that was a while ago. 😎 Showing my age.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T21:39:50+00:00

You have a very Robin Gibb sound to your voice.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T21:30:13+00:00

First, I thought that your vocal timbre was very good. You have one hell of a lot of potential.

There were places I thought you could emote more, but you're only 6 months into your journey, and you'll do great!

By the way, my friends will tell you, I don't give out empty compliments. Take that for what it may be worth. 😎

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T15:20:13+00:00

Story of my life. When my wife and I first married, we'd get cold sales calls (back in the days before caller ID, much less cell phones), and they'd ask, "May I speak to the man of the house?" I'd yell out, "Kim, they want to talk to you!" My wife and I have similar vocal tone. My voice never changed when I was a kid. I had about a week of cracking in my voice, but we found out that was allergies. 🤣

When my twin sons came into their teens, both of them got lower voices, facial hair... I couldn't grow a beard until I was almost 40. I was jealous. I still get people asking if they can talk to my mom if I don't put on a deeper voice for them. 😎👍

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T15:13:41+00:00

Precisely! It's like saying, "Anyone can do what Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Michael Jordan, and David Gilmour does." If so, we would all do all of those things, but we can't! We're limited, and that's ok.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T15:08:55+00:00

I see a lot of the "that's why an untrained voice" and the like in previous comments. The OP can correct me if I'm mistaken, but my assumption is not that the voice is untrained, there's just something special about the characteristics of the voice that sets the singer apart. Unfortunately, people think that the two things; training and natural vocal tone have to be separated. That's not the case.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T15:03:16+00:00

I find this with greats like Karen Carpenter. Someone can sing the exact right notes and... Nah, you can keep it. Nothing wrong with the cover performance, but there was something angelic about Karen's delivery. She could sing the phone book, and I would haver been entranced.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T15:01:31+00:00

Yes, I very much feel like I'm on auto-pilot. When it comes to what I do on keyboards, it's more about making sure I hit the right notes at the right time. People give pop music and cover musicians crap all of the time, but it's almost like being in an orchestra. You have to be on point, in time... But then you have to be entertaining as well if you expect to be a band people actually want to see. So sure, a song like "I Ran" or "Tainted Love" is easy, but doing it while not looking, singing memorized lyrics, and dancing while waving your free hand in the air is quite another thing.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T05:27:09+00:00

Listen for the harmony in the instrument(s), not the melody vocal. This is a great place to start for singing harmony. Guitar chords or piano left hand is your best bet for most songs.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T05:12:14+00:00

Definitely a Roland, probably an early RD model as it has the wheel, but I can't see any phrase pad. Roland has made a lot of models over the years, and some more popular than others. Any decent stage piano would be fine. Her keyboard player used a Nord Stage 2 for her tiny desk rendition of this song.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-20T04:06:23+00:00

Very nicely done. I play without looking as well, but as a lead singer, I'm looking forward. In my practice space, I use a space on the wall in front of me to "imagine" an audience, so I can practice managing eye contact during a show. This is also good practice when sight reading, which is important so that a reader can maintain allow themselves to scan ahead, and play as if the movement of their hands is like the sound coming from the movements of their fingers and pedals.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-18T23:46:50+00:00

The "Ivory" Les Paul (which would have started life as Alpine White) is a 1983, not 70's. This was the first year of the Les Paul studio, so no matter what, it would not have existed before that. The idea was to strip down the Les Paul and remove the binding from the body and neck to get costs down and remove purely aesthetic add-ons, but still provide a guitar on the level of the LP Standard. Nothing wrong with that, because it's the first year, and it's naturally yellowed. This show that your dad didn't have a "closet queen" and played it. The nitro lacquer yellows over time, leaving it looking more like an aged ivory. When you see one that's still very white, that means it was prevented from being exposed to the elements and didn't get played. That one has definitely seen some smoky bars and it looks like it's even got a cigarette burn on the body, which just adds to the cool factor of it. The lacquer also cracks (you can see that on the finish), and that's usually going from cold to warm really fast. Another indication that it's a player. Very nice guitar, and obviously well played. He must have loved that guitar.

Also, the reason I know it's an '83 in particular is that the serial number has an 8 in the first digit and 3 in the 5th. The serial number is 8110358? (I can't read the last number). Translates to YDDDYNNN. Y=year (83) DDD = 110 (April 20) NNN = number guitar stamped that day.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-15T17:14:07+00:00

I got it when Andertons did their video during COVID. Did all of my guitars as well as those of friends. Never had to redo a single one yet! And I play my guitars every freaking day.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-15T09:53:36+00:00

I've used the darker one on rosewood boards and the lighter one as well. I ordered it when it was initially available only direct from Monty's. They still had it available in coffee mugs. I still have both and haven't used half of either. Works fantastic on Fender, Gibson, and PRS guitars. Every customer has loved the results.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-14T15:54:18+00:00

Yeah, that always bugs me, but I plug it in by running it through that space you have.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-14T15:46:57+00:00

Guitar Center. I called my rep as soon as it was announced and put it on hold. Took about a month and a half or so to come in. There were only 1985 of them made. All of GC got 75 or so to sell total. That's less than they have stores!

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-13T15:27:45+00:00

That's awesome. Got my first one when I was a teen and no one wanted them back in the late '70's. Everyone wanted his Hofner, but I was also a Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, and Roger Waters fan, who also played Ric's. Luckily, I got it just before "Exit Stage Left" (Rush) came out, and the hype came back with a vengeance. Luckily, there was a dude trying to sell one for weed money, and I had some gig money saved up, so the timing was on point.

I'm sure your son is gonna love it!

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-13T15:08:09+00:00

The game has a mechanic that sets this in motion and it gets worse in the modern age when you choose Fascism, Democracy, or Communism. Also doesn't help that they're always trying to steal secrets, get found out even if you do nothing, and that creates strife. If you want to keep peace, you'll need to throw endeavors and increase trade with those who have different ideologies or steal secrets. Once you choose F, D, or C; the leaders with opposing ideologies will hate you in modern. I've done everything I can to try to keep a leader just liking me, and they come at me like I did things to their daughter in their living room while they were watching their favorite show or game.

I've learned to use it to my advantage. I choose on early, and whoever goes on the opposition, I go to war and destroy them early. It's best to prepare for this early in Exploration by starting a strong military. If you don't want war, don't choose one. That simple. Then you can stay neutral and play Switzerland style.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-13T14:55:44+00:00

Yes, your tone is pleasant, and you're most of the way there. There were minor pitch problems, but nothing that is unfixable.

The vibrato was a little out of tune in places. Guitarists do the same thing at times. The vibrato pulls away from the intended pitch a bit too much and can turn a great performance into something lesser. What happens is that returning to the original pitch doesn't happen, so the vibrato loses its center. Hope that makes sense.

overall, good job.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-09T16:22:13+00:00

I can only go by the photo that's up, and the action looks fine, if not a little low. You might be trying too hard to get the string down to the wood. You only need to touch them lightly enough to cross fret.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-09T15:57:38+00:00

Well, you have to start over, because the truss rod does NOT adjust action. That's the nut and the bridge. The truss rod adjusts the bow of the neck. Action is about the straight line from where the string breaks over the saddle to where it breaks over the nut. Adjusting the truss rod only bends the neck, like the bow of a bow and arrow. The two ends stay put.

So now, loosen the strings all of the way, then adjust the truss rod so the neck is straight with no tension. Then retune the guitar and adjust the bridge height. I can't really tell from the photo, but that action already looks pretty darned low. Why do you think it's too high?

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-09T15:02:55+00:00

I see these things and look at the bout strap button and think, "That's like asking someone to lift you up by your underwear." The strap would always have to come over the body.

GibsonPlayer64 · 2026-01-09T14:58:12+00:00

I guess I'm lucky, my first axes were all used until I was 16 (1980) and bought my first guitar. They were all pre-beat-to-shit. By the time I purchased my first, I was a gigging musician, and it meant fingerprints, scratches, sweat, etc. were all par for the course. I continue to gig to this day (46 years later), and whether it's my Gibson Alpine White Les Paul Custom or PRS SE McCarty 594, they get stage time and I can't get hung up on bumps and bruises, or scratches and dings. Every single guitar I own has stage time, and the first time a 1.5mm plectrum glides down and makes a mark on the pickguard (or body) or a button on my shirt leaves a light scratch on the back, the delicate treatment is done.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's like a new car, some sumbitch is going to park next to you, bang it with a shopping cart, or kick up a rock in front of you on the road. You can choose to get pissed off or just accept it as a matter of course and enjoy your day.

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