How do you get yourself to stop tweaking sounds and just play?

J

jumpybrain

New Member
Ok, I'm a bedroom guitarist (except for an occasional jam with friends), and even though I've been playing for a very long time and really enjoy it, I know I'm just not that great at it :|

Since I really can't justify big and/or loud amps I've been into modeling for a while. But I've always had this problem where I spend more time tweaking my patches than just playing. Even if I really try to focus on learning some song, it'll bug me that my tone isn't "just right" and I'll get distracted trying to get it there.

Anyway I got an axe ii over the summer, hoping that having better base tones would help - but if anything, it's even worse now that I have such a broad palette to work with :eek:ops I've actually considered selling the axe and going back to a more limited modeler to force myself to pick a patch that's "good enough" and get back to playing sooner. Yeah I know, first world problems!

So how to you guys get past this? If I was a "pro" I'd have real deadlines to meet, and I've tried setting fake deadlines for myself but I never fall for it. Do you schedule time to work on patches, and separate time to practice? Or do I just need to lock myself in a room with a little practice amp once in a while?
 
I have the oposite problem. I actually find the stock presets so good that i keep playing instead of learning more about the Axe.
Maybe my ears are getting old, but i even have problems getting through the stock presets without getting stuck on a new interesting place, just playing.
 
I think most of us can relate to that to some extent. You might try keeping the music off at first when you first pick up a guitar. Play with a tone that sounds and feels good TO YOU by itself. Allow a metronome, but not anything that you can relate your guitar tone to. Then warm up and practice. Obviously you can't learn a song like this, but you can work on your chops, writing new riffs, and just enjoying the experience (did I mention it has to be loud enough to warm the soul?). Personally, my music source is my computer, which takes time to boot. So I automatically get a start with just guitar. It's easy to continue once you're started. Then eventually you will have to exercise some self discipline and play the song you are trying to learn. How you stop yourself from tweaking tone at that point is beyond me. I can't do it either. But just remember, the tone you are hearing is most likely not just one tone by itself. Tell yourself to get close to the same feel and learn the part. Tell yourself to get close to the same feel and learn the part. Tell yourself to get close to the same feel and learn the part. It may take a few times. :D
 
I also have the opposite problem. I find it way too easy to quickly land on a great tone and just play.
 
Create a music schedule where you allow yourself a limited time for tweaking but then must move on to playing.
 
Hah, thanks, I guess this is a common problem. I find the stock presets surprisingly good too (especially those first 40) and at first I'd just play with one of them for a long time. But once I started to branch out I couldn't stop :)

I guess it'll just take more discipline... I am at least starting to settle on a few favorite amp models!
 
Reading your problem remind me of me. Tweaking isn't a bad thing because it's the only way you will be able to get the sound you want. What i can say is that the bad thing seems to be the lack of balance in it. First off make a regular WARM UP. Those are important if you don't want injuries, believe me! After that you need to learn and practice your song in clean. No effect, no anything. After you practiced enough, start tweaking you sound. It's important because the sound is part of the music, you know ;). When tweaking, i found a lot of small tricks to obtain what you want by ears, way lot faster than just "tweaking it". It will seem rather stupid and obvious, but learning to listen to tone should be the primary thing you should look up. So gather up a lot of different album and listen to small chunk of song to determine what kind of tone their is. On the axe you can reproduce almost anything, but at first don't bother with the advanced setting and such, you can sound amazing without touching it. Advanced setting are great, but you have to learn to use your unit first and have a great pair of trained ears :).
 
Switch back to a real, physical JCM800. Axe FX is not for folks with OCD. With a real amp you got what you got, no real opportunity to tweak stuff without spending hundreds of dollars. :lol

On a more serious note, seems to me like you might be in it not for the music but for the process. That's fine for a "bedroom" guitarist, but you have to kind of decide for yourself what your focus is, and if that focus is music, simply allocate more time to it. Do the "hard" things: compose, learn, perfect the material you already have. You can dial the tone in just right when you're ready to record.
 
I too easily find myself getting obsessed with tweaking. Hence I actually have a nasty little Fender amp (not a cool vintage one, one of them recent things with built-in effects) that I practice through. (I got it for free... which was more than it is worth)

My reasoning is (a) I've got nothing to focus on but my playing and (b) if I can get that piece-o-crap to sound good, then the Fractal will make it awesome.
 
Most people use 3-5 basic patches, clean, crunch, heavy rythem, lead etc.... And with scenes coming up it should be even easier. So I suggest getting those basic patches down and only tweak new sounds once every week or two. I've noticed if you have a couple comfortable old pair of shoes patches the playing is usually more consistent also :)
 
Ole said:
I have the oposite problem. I actually find the stock presets so good that i keep playing instead of learning more about the Axe.
Maybe my ears are getting old, but i even have problems getting through the stock presets without getting stuck on a new interesting place, just playing.
Click to expand...

Same here! I was a tone, or at least FX freak, but with this baby, I can tell you that I don't really have patches of my own. I'm just having a blast firing up a factory patch, give it a modest tweak or 2 (if at ALL needed) and just rip it!

I do say that I'm addicted to practicin' and playin', though...
 
I can identify with your dilemma! I play for fun and usually just have a few hours over the weekend to nourish my cravings. I sometimes start tweaking and before I know it I have spent the available time and did not get the chance to play.
I have a few patches that are my go-to ones and even those I tweak depending on the time of day and the acoustics that day. Sigh!
 
I tend to focus on playing, you can even put yourself a goal to master ten songs or learn a new technique, transcribe a solo etc. essentially musical goals.

But I liken it to cars or motorcycles, I would rather ride or drive than tinker with carburettor settings.

If you like to tweak and never have to perform or have never performed and had to learn material it may be difficult to be self disciplined. Join a band, get a teacher or some external commitment to playing if that is really where you want to head.
 
I agree about the time management suggestions so far.

If you can't by yourself manage the time for tweaking vs. playing and want to push the playing more, get a gig or lesson or some outside commitment that will push your playing for ya.

Richard
 
I was getting to (finally) record my album. Then I upgraded to the Axe-II. It felt like a painter just discovering a million new colors. So now I'm trying to figure out what colors I want to use before painting my pictures. Except then, Cliff comes out with new FW.

I do like the approach of 5 basic sounds, which I used to do with my other gear. Clean, Crunch, Crunchier, Crunchiest, and Lead.

So that's where I'm at.

Still no eta on the CD project yet...

BUT, I'm going to DI everything I record so I can reamp it later, like I know I'll want to then.
 
My advice:

1) Turn on AxeFx
2) Select appropriate patch
3) Turn around so you are not facing the AxeFx
4) PLAY YOUR GUITAR!:)

If you want, dedicate a certain time or day to just tweaking, but the bottom line is that you DO NOT need to do anything to get an inspiring tone out of the box, especially for practicing.

My .02,
TT
 
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