what do u play when testing out a new instrument?
- Thread starter dookiedookdook
- Start date
gutturalpiss
New member
to me this is not a valid question. if u want to test it, its totally upto u. Of course u would want to test out a new product, generally test to see whether it can do what u would want it to do. if u dont know what to play, that cannot be. Because surely u can test out the tone by playing different notes on different strings, test out the distortion by chugging a power chord if ur testing a distortion pedal along with it, or see how it handles amp effects by playing some chords with each effect.
i think the question here is, do u want to test or to just show people u can play? if u just want to test, there shouldn't b any reason why u would want to know what others play when testing their instruments. i think same goes for sound checks, i think there are questions on that also - "what to play during a sound check". Well, these are afterall "checks" and "tests" to check or test whether things are right or wrong, to make sure u are satisfied.
i think the question here is, do u want to test or to just show people u can play? if u just want to test, there shouldn't b any reason why u would want to know what others play when testing their instruments. i think same goes for sound checks, i think there are questions on that also - "what to play during a sound check". Well, these are afterall "checks" and "tests" to check or test whether things are right or wrong, to make sure u are satisfied.
good one guttural piss, i did actually type a really long message but it deleted it self. Just wanna say, if you cant play sweet child of mine, dont even try testing it out when testing a new guitar. you look stupid.
And another thing. too many times have i seen people test guitars, and as soon as they sit down, they go to the amp, boost max gain, max presence, and max EQ, i mean cmon, are you testing the guitar or the limit of everyones patience and hearing! what is wrong with you? :?
And another thing. too many times have i seen people test guitars, and as soon as they sit down, they go to the amp, boost max gain, max presence, and max EQ, i mean cmon, are you testing the guitar or the limit of everyones patience and hearing! what is wrong with you? :?
Crawldaddy
New member
Hmm.
Just to share......
Acoustic guitar testing I usually try out stuff like finger-picking stuff to see the balance in tone and responsiveness of the instrument. I would also do some serious sturmming stuff.
Fav songs to try out on acoustic:
Led Zeppelin - Over The Hills And Far Away (tests hammer-ons and pull-offs, fret buzz etc)
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs Robinson (tests punch and tone of the guitar)
The Beatles - Blackbird (tests the entire playing area from the nut to the 12th fret)
However, when it comes to testing an Electric guitar, I would try to find the best amp in the store possible rather than any old cruddy 10-watter amp if it's possible lah.
But if only testing the feel I would play unplugged, hear the loudness of the guitar's unplugged tone and move on from there.
I would try out certain riffs with different pickup positions and both in clean and dirty mode. In this case, I usually gravitate towards 2-humbucker guitars.
neck dirty: sunshine of your love (tests out the tone from neck region to see how well it stays clear)
neck clean: any random blues stuff (looks out for snap or muddiness in tone)
neck+bridge dirty: whole lotta love, heartbreaker (tests for low/hi-end balance)
neck+bridge clean: don't dream it's over (testing for clarity and balance)
bridge dirty: random power chord stuff (testing for brittleness and excessive treble)
bridge clean: random country stuff / sweet home alabama
Just to share......
Acoustic guitar testing I usually try out stuff like finger-picking stuff to see the balance in tone and responsiveness of the instrument. I would also do some serious sturmming stuff.
Fav songs to try out on acoustic:
Led Zeppelin - Over The Hills And Far Away (tests hammer-ons and pull-offs, fret buzz etc)
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs Robinson (tests punch and tone of the guitar)
The Beatles - Blackbird (tests the entire playing area from the nut to the 12th fret)
However, when it comes to testing an Electric guitar, I would try to find the best amp in the store possible rather than any old cruddy 10-watter amp if it's possible lah.
But if only testing the feel I would play unplugged, hear the loudness of the guitar's unplugged tone and move on from there.
I would try out certain riffs with different pickup positions and both in clean and dirty mode. In this case, I usually gravitate towards 2-humbucker guitars.
neck dirty: sunshine of your love (tests out the tone from neck region to see how well it stays clear)
neck clean: any random blues stuff (looks out for snap or muddiness in tone)
neck+bridge dirty: whole lotta love, heartbreaker (tests for low/hi-end balance)
neck+bridge clean: don't dream it's over (testing for clarity and balance)
bridge dirty: random power chord stuff (testing for brittleness and excessive treble)
bridge clean: random country stuff / sweet home alabama
gutturalpiss
New member
^ very good examples of songs which basically do the testing for u, and explained well. So in the end, it comes down to what ur looking for in ur instrument.
Crawldaddy
New member
Hmm.
gutturalpiss, exactly... I'm basically a very blues-based rock and roll player when it comes to the electric, so I always see if the guitar can accomodate my playing style, and if it can pull off other genres/styles then it's a plus point.
Acoustic-wise, different people have varying preferences between mellow and bright sounding guitars, and sometimes I wonder... slightly worn out strings sound mellow and warmer.. no? LOL so at times I also not sure how to gauge a guitar because, throughout a string's life also have different tonal characteristics.
gutturalpiss, exactly... I'm basically a very blues-based rock and roll player when it comes to the electric, so I always see if the guitar can accomodate my playing style, and if it can pull off other genres/styles then it's a plus point.
Acoustic-wise, different people have varying preferences between mellow and bright sounding guitars, and sometimes I wonder... slightly worn out strings sound mellow and warmer.. no? LOL so at times I also not sure how to gauge a guitar because, throughout a string's life also have different tonal characteristics.
lol thats the same problem as me.... i just start out guitar 1 month and wanted to get myself an electric guitar for some practice at home.. so went into g77 ask for a cheap begginer guitar... then the guy was really friendly showed me some schecters and stuff, then at the end he gave me a pot and told me to try it out and it was really of dam good quality. then when i sat down with it i compeltely blanked out, nothing to play cuz im a complete noob, so was just so dam embarrassed 
Wah... u guys are so precised.. in my personal humble opinion, there's no fix stuffs that you'd play to really 'test' that guitar before buying let's face the reality. half of the time is about showing off 
no? let's be honest with ourselves haha...
anyways, i love to see and watch people trying out guitars at shops. in my 19 years of playing the guitar, I don't really have anything specific to test the guitar. On technical part, I'm no guitar technician, but of course I'd check for neck alignments, and cracks/knocks/chipoffs/etc, some minor test on every pickup to make sure the swtich is working also for the knobs, the machine heads, well jus a bit here and there. And in my experience in buying my guitars in the past, I've not had any problem after buying, except for a cracked body on my Jem which was the biggest blow i had.
depending on what guitars I try, 80% of the time, I know what I'm going to buy the moment i step out of the house. Any seasoned guitarist should know that too. If you are buying a strat, do expect a strat sound, the only difference would be the country of manufacture, and also the kind of amp used for the 'test'. If i'm out there to get a Ibanez (modern guitar), then, I should have a basic idea of the sound i'd be expecting. right?
for neck test, i'd do some modes, from the first to the last fret, some and chromatic scales (my best choice to test fret). i dont have to do the scales fast if my sole intention is to really test the guitar. If someone purposely stand in front of me to test me, then i'll shred. Else, i be my natural self, the humble guitarman.. anyways, i have nothing to show off, no skills no need to show off lor.. haha!
oh.. songs? no specific songs. i dun need it, just do all the modes, thats all. for strats, i love the twangs, so i'll do some slow blues pentatonics. this way, i get to hear the twanging sound that i love, plus get to feel the guitar. 95% of the time I get the assistant to test. And that was how I found my personal guitar teacher (he was a lead guitar champion in one of the lead guitar competition.. good rite? Who knows one day you found your personal guru that way too.
in my personal humble opinion, there's no fix stuffs that you'd play to really 'test' that guitar before buying let's face the reality. half of the time is about showing off no? let's be honest with ourselves haha...anyways, i love to see and watch people trying out guitars at shops. in my 19 years of playing the guitar, I don't really have anything specific to test the guitar. On technical part, I'm no guitar technician, but of course I'd check for neck alignments, and cracks/knocks/chipoffs/etc, some minor test on every pickup to make sure the swtich is working also for the knobs, the machine heads, well jus a bit here and there. And in my experience in buying my guitars in the past, I've not had any problem after buying, except for a cracked body on my Jem which was the biggest blow i had.
depending on what guitars I try, 80% of the time, I know what I'm going to buy the moment i step out of the house. Any seasoned guitarist should know that too. If you are buying a strat, do expect a strat sound, the only difference would be the country of manufacture, and also the kind of amp used for the 'test'. If i'm out there to get a Ibanez (modern guitar), then, I should have a basic idea of the sound i'd be expecting. right?
for neck test, i'd do some modes, from the first to the last fret, some and chromatic scales (my best choice to test fret). i dont have to do the scales fast if my sole intention is to really test the guitar. If someone purposely stand in front of me to test me, then i'll shred. Else, i be my natural self, the humble guitarman.. anyways, i have nothing to show off, no skills no need to show off lor.. haha!
oh.. songs? no specific songs. i dun need it, just do all the modes, thats all. for strats, i love the twangs, so i'll do some slow blues pentatonics. this way, i get to hear the twanging sound that i love, plus get to feel the guitar. 95% of the time I get the assistant to test. And that was how I found my personal guitar teacher (he was a lead guitar champion in one of the lead guitar competition.. good rite?
Who knows one day you found your personal guru that way too.
