I’ve been on a long “dry spell” with my practicing and playing, lately. (Life got busy – you know how it can be.)
But I played for about an hour, today. It was nice.
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Good to hear from you, Jason. Happy to hear you found to play a little and enjoyed it.
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Hi Jason,
Good…go on…back to the light 
,back to the quiet sounds of the guitar…and the many many many other musical instruments you play,and you had just started a new instrument I remember.
Greetings
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Today I spent pretty much all day with an electric guitar and the Boss GT-1000 Core. I’m pretty damn impressed with that Boss unit. You can set it up to be super responsive to your dynamics, volume, et cetera as you play (which has always been the an issue with me and digital amps and multi-effects units). I thought the 1st gen Katana was pretty good at that, but this unit is even better. It’s more complicated to get it set up and dialed in, though.
I’ve been messing around with it going straight into the audio interface (i.e., no “real” amp), and it’s genuinely good. Next I want to try it with 4 cable hookup into my Marshall DSL-40. However, for recording it’s way more convenient to go without an amp at all, and you can do a wet/dry or even wet/dry/wet setup with just the Boss unit.
I recorded a Bm progression to play over. I’m thinking I might develop that into something, actually. Maybe I’ll record some free form soloing over it in the next day or two. Won’t be a complete song, but if I lay something down I’ll post it here. My posted electric recordings are few and far between (limited to a clean electric solo on one of the songs – I think it was Nothing Compares 2 U).
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Great to hear from you, Jason.
Good feedback on the unit. And I think if I’d been wiser, I might have done better buying such a unit when I first bought an amp and perhaps adding a speaker?
Look forward to hearing more of your lead play.
There are pros and cons for either approach. There’s something visceral about the “guitar into a cooking amp” experience, feeling the instrument and the amp (and speaker) respond. This Boss unit is really, really good at emulating that, but it’s still just emulating it. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it for recording or even playing on stage direct into a PA, but I’m not about to sell my amps, either. (And as I said, I’m kind of excited to try using it with a tube amp and “4 cable” method and seeing how that marriage goes.)
The other thing is that starting with an amp is probably less expense and less hassle. For the price of the unit and a powered speaker (or two, if you want to take advantage of the stereo capabilities of the unit) you could buy a very nice amp, or even a couple of amps. And twiddling the knobs of an amp is more straightforward than configuring the Boss unit.
(Also, while I think it’s okay for a beginner to start off with a digital unit and some headphones, especially when budget or playing volume is a concern, I think there’s no substitute for playing through a speaker and moving the air as you play. So I’d definitely want a speaker or two. Sometimes it can be necessary to just play through headphones, but it’s never a “first choice” for me. I just don’t enjoy it as much.)
Anyway, like I said, there are pros and cons. I wouldn’t feel like starting with an amp is a mistake, though.
For sure pros and cons.
I do enjoy the sound through the amp but play in a relatively small room and can’t turn it up too loud. In fact I have no idea how loud it might get if I turned the master volume up past 12 o’clock. I know it might not continue to increase all the way to max but that level is already beyond.
And for my play-grade and use case, have no need for more than the one amp. An affordable multi-fx might be fun as I dabble a little more with playing rhythm into the looper and then lead over it. Or maybe just an overdrive pedal.
But my ability to play is still the greatest impediment 
I’ve been studying the way Paul McCartney composed bass lines in the later period of the Beatles. One thing that jumps out at me is “put in memorable/musical melodic phrases, but mostly put them in the ‘gaps’ when the main melody isn’t in focus.” Obvious when you think about it, I suppose. I hadn’t really thought about it, though. If I put down a bass line it’s usually done quickly (so I can get to working on the guitar part) and tends to be some basic roots, fifths, and maybe a third now and then.
I’m applying this to a song I’ve been working on, and I think it made an immediate difference. Pretty cool.
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Hope you keeping well, Jason.
Thanks, David. I’m doing well.
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Thats probably why it’s often bands full of talented musicians that make great music. A bassline for a guitarist is probably different than a bassline for a bassist.
It’s also interesting to see the difference between Paul’s early bass lines and his later bass lines. His early period bass lines are very similar to the kind of thing I might put in as a “basic line.” That is, mostly roots and fifths, maybe a third, maybe a walk-up or a walk-down now and then. Somewhere along the line Paul’s bass line composition skills became elevated. I wonder if it was gradual or if it happened more like a sudden jump? I’d need to go through the albums and listen carefully to find out, I guess. Probably more time than I want to invest just to answer that question…
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Hi Jason. I’ve been watching the McCartney 3, 2, 1 miniseries and is amazing what is left uncovered when the tracks are isolated and some parts look to go in a different direction than the whole piece but a the end just enrich the sound of the combined track.
I hadn’t heard of that miniseries. I’ll see if I can check it out. I’d like to see the Get Back documentary, too, but I don’t subscribe to Disney+ (I’m already paying for two different streaming services, and that’s not one of them). I’ve only seen bits and pieces on YouTube.
Someone has put it up on YouTube but obviously there are some cuts as YouTube wouldn’t let them post recordings of certain songs.
My newest guitar has given me a burst of inspiration and enthusiasm, which is cool. I was improvising over the bridge section of a song I’ve had on the back burner and ended up composing a decent solo for that part. More fun than I’ve had in a while, actually! 
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If it feels fun, it is fun!
Rock on.
Continuing to have fun with the new ES-339. Actually recorded something today: more new lead stuff that I worked on over the “Mundi Dolore” chord progression I’ve had hanging around.
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I used a Travis picking variant for the guitar part in Ninety Miles An Hour (Down A Dead End Street), and I’ve been playing around with different patterns since then. I haven’t played much fingerstyle lately, so dusting it off is satisfying.
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