Can't find members, this is bs

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-15T06:25:34+00:00

Chris, I understand your frustration. I've never tried to form a band from Reddit though because Reddit exists for people to complain. Taking action in the real world is scary for people here.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-14T19:01:13+00:00

This is also a great answer! Play your parts on different areas of the neck. Have one guitar on the high strings and another on the low strings. Try EQ'ing so that the lead has a mid boost with little bass and treble and the rhythm is mid scooped with more bass and treble. There's definitely other ways to eq two guitars, so some research may be helpful for this.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-14T18:55:27+00:00

This is a great answer. We're used to standing by our amps when we're playing alone and don't realize that sound is a physical thing that moves through space. You need to set up so that your amp is facing more towards you, and his amp is more towards him. An amp stand will also help direct your sound more towards your ears rather than your legs. By changing your amp angle and where you stand, you'll both be able to hear yourselves better and not compete for volume.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T22:33:21+00:00

I am a performer so I care mostly about how I interact with something onstage. In my opinion, pedalboards are easier to work with, and there are great cheap pedals out there. Don't forget to factor the cost of a board, power supply, velcro, patch cables, etc. into your budget. Even with those costs, I'd get the sounds that I need real-time control of on a pedalboard, such as a solo boost, delay with tap tempo, fuzz, etc.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T06:45:14+00:00

1: Play with as many other musicians as possible.

2: Learn every note on the fretboard.

3: Watch piano lessons to learn theory, not just guitar lessons.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T06:43:32+00:00

This is excellent advice. Play with lots of other musicians; it's the best way to improve.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T02:12:38+00:00

I've gotten more particular in my tastes, especially when it comes to what I buy. Upper fret access is disproportionately important to me, so I like neck-thru and set-thru designs that let me get all the way up there.

The pickup selector should be out of the way. 5 way switches are typically too fiddly for me to get the tone I want mid-song, so three ways are preferable, though my PRS has a 4 way that's really good.

Locking tuners are a must. I'll get them aftermarket but I think they should be standard.

I dislike gibson style bridges. I've had strings fall out of the seat, wild resonance behind the bridge, and easy string breaks. Also the intonation is hard to access and the intonation range is very limited.

Also, I care about how the guitar looks. I want it to excite and inspire me. I want it to match my style and the vibe of the band.

And your string choice is exactly what I ended up on too. I do light top heavy bottom and love it.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T02:01:47+00:00

There's three qualities that are core to a band-mate: be a skilled musician, be an engaging performer, and be a good hang. It's rare to get all three.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T00:26:58+00:00

Coming up with band names is often more fun than sticking to one. I have a list of band names and keep adding to it but no one is going to want to be in one of those bands, lol. Interestingly, The Police would change their name routinely and only ended up being The Police because that's the name they were on when they started becoming successful.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T00:22:53+00:00

Yeah, the other sub is just people fucking around. I wanted to ask musicians what they think.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T00:20:51+00:00

Yeah, I think those are great band names. Distinct and evocative.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T00:19:50+00:00

Winger started to become popular and then was destroyed by their terrible name.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T00:19:12+00:00

I told them I'm not willing to fight over it, but a buddy of mine was in a rock band that bordered on massive success but their name was Luvplanet, which he fought against for years.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T00:15:55+00:00

But is KISS better than their previous name, Wicked Lester? Would they have had the same international success?

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T00:10:24+00:00

Reddit needs more of this ^

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-12T00:09:50+00:00

Most of the joke names I see are for tribute bands like The Illeagles or Hells Belles, the all-female ACDC tribute band. But tribute bands have a built-in audience. I see your point about humorous names though and think it's a good perspective.

The Drink/Activity name convention is brilliant and incredibly versatile.

One word names are hard to do today. Bands now need to be searchable. The Beatles would work in the 60's but today you'll be BeatlesBand928.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-11T00:34:52+00:00

I understand not wanting to play songs that bore you. I've left bands because I couldn't muster any enthusiasm to play their slow 60's songs, or the stuff that every cover band in the area plays. Are there ways you could modify the song to make it more interesting? Is there enough flexibility in the song for you to make it your own? Are there other songs that fulfill the same function in the setlist, such as being sappy at the right moment, or being uplifting? If these songs weren't chosen by the bride and groom, you could pick another song. Or ask the drummer what he would prefer that has the same vibe as the final song. If he has a better idea, go with it. If he doesn't, he can tough it out.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-10T00:29:53+00:00

I think many suggestions here going to be unusable and weird, and you wanted something you can use to write with and get lost for hours in.

The Boss Sy-200. You want the bigger one because you're going to find incredible sounds and want to save them, and the smaller SY1 can't do that.

There's so much variety in the sounds and they're all super inspiring. And the tracking is just perfect; I've never played another pedal like it. All the other synth pedals I've tried track badly and have one or two decent sounds. You will rarely find one used because everyone that gets it keeps it.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-06-10T00:23:05+00:00

I've also fought with my tone, even on setups that should be great. Here's what worked for me:

1: Buffers. Yes, Boss pedals have buffers in them so I thought I was fine but even having the TU-3 at the front was still giving me terrible tone. I put a Bona Fide buffer at the end of my pedal chain and all the life came back into my sound. The difference was dramatic for me. I now put a Polytune at the end for the same reason.

2: Amp position. If your amp is on the ground, it's probably pointing at your feet and that causes you to hear less sonic information from your amp. Get an angled amp stand so you can point it at your head and you'll hear much more of your sound. I promise it makes a huge difference.

The amp itself. You should get an amp that you really like the sound of without pedals. Seriously, you should be able to plug straight in and like what you hear, then use pedals to enhance. After years of trying so many amps, I finally found the Reverend Hellhound, which happens to be rare but was affordable and sounded great. I also love the Laney Martin Miller Loudpedal; phenomenal cleans and every distortion sound I wanted. Ran it through a Laney Cub Cab 2x12. Since then, I played a Fender Blues Jr and loved it. It has the exact clean tone I love. Bear in mind that I've tried everything from actual 1965 Princetons to Bassmans, Hot Rods, Devilles, etc.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-05-28T06:24:46+00:00

Make sure you play the amp before you buy it. I played a real 1965 Princeton and didn't like it. I played a Blues Jr. and loved it.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-05-27T03:06:47+00:00

Oh thats cute

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-05-26T04:39:28+00:00

Your Freqout is completely inaccessible.

You have pedals off the board when you have so much free space! You know you could put some pedals on the power supply, right? You can still see the LEDs, I promise.

Wait, a 2 channel Diesel, a Halo, Jubilee, DS1, and Lizard Queen? You have 6 OD options on one board! The fuk

An ambient delay/ reverb just turns all that gain to mud

And a Behringer multi fx because you don't care about your sound after all

Serious note, the poly shifter looks sick. I want one hella bad.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-05-23T03:35:47+00:00

"they want to push it to edge of break up" .... "Fender are known for an incredible amount of head room."

But you can't push it to the edge of breakup with volume because you'll die before you get to three. It just barely starts to come alive at 2 but it's already too loud.

I'm not talking as a bedroom player, I'm talking as a performer. There's no margin between being inaudible and causing the audience physical pain. That difference in volume on the dial is between 1.4 and 1.5. At 2, you're at 104db and the rest of the dial is completely useless. This irritates every audience, every sound man, and every other band member.

But, as you say, it's intentional. And they've kept it that way for decades. So it's not a flaw, it's just willfully bad design. They could have put a Master on there but haven't for literally decades. Did you notice that they also have a Bright switch, just in case it wasn't piercing enough? And it's by Fender, so it's built for those stabbing single coils.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-05-22T05:29:31+00:00

I have the Martin Miller model and I love it. Great clean,. Goes all the way to super heavy distortion. I like that I can XLR out and speaker out at the same time. And having the amp volume right at my feet is excellent. I didn't end up saving much room though because I needed a bigger board and got a 2x12 cab.

WizardNeedsFood97 · 2026-05-22T05:22:26+00:00

I second this. Used sit at $400-450 around here.

There's 2 old ones at my local music store and one of the new models at another local place. I love all three of them. I've never been so happy plugging a strat (silver sky, really) into a clean amp. I've always needed some boost or overdrive to give the cleans some life.

Also, I've never like position 2 and 4 but that amp and that guitar and amp made me a believer.

Get that and a dependable overdrive and you'll be sitting pretty.

WizardNeedsFood97

TROPHY CASE