Definition of "lead guitar"

What's Hot
2

Comments

  • johnnyurqjohnnyurq Frets: 1368
    Or pass me another groupie this one is broke.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ChrisMusicChrisMusic Frets: 1133
    Or "pass me another virgin, this one's split"

    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • LukeageLukeage Frets: 35
    Hmmm... lead guitar... or is it really guitar lead? ;)

    Can't play lead guitar without a guitar lead. Unless it's acoustic... then, well.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BucketBucket Frets: 7751
    edited January 2014
    I sometimes find that I do end up playing the role detailed by the OP, of helping to guide other guitarists or other band members through a song that they might need a little help with. I prefer not to though, because I like to focus on playing while trying not to look shit-scared.

    However, I sometimes go onstage with my dad's covers band, and in that situation I'm just "the one who does the guitar solo".
    - "I'm going to write a very stiff letter. A VERY stiff letter. On cardboard."
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • chrisj1602chrisj1602 Frets: 3895
    edited January 2014
    monquixote;135802" said:
    In most bands it's a totally meaningless term unless you get a band like Oasis where one of the guitarists could barely play. 
    Usually I just ignore anti-oasis comments but I've had a few pints. Which one could barely play? Was it at Earls Court, Glastonbury, Wembley, Maine Road or Knebworth where they could barely play? They must have been gutted when they got found out. I honestly don't recall seeing the footage of them struggling to actually play though. Post a link maybe! ;)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    tFB Trader
    monquixote;135802" said:
    In most bands it's a totally meaningless term unless you get a band like Oasis where one of the guitarists could barely play. 
    Usually I just ignore anti-oasis comments but I've had a few pints. Which one could barely play? Was it at Earls Court, Glastonbury, Wembley, Maine Road or Knebworth where they could barely play? They must have been gutted when they got found out. I honestly don't recall seeing the footage of them struggling to actually play though. Post a link maybe! ;)
    Errrm, I like Oasis, but the mark 1 lineup was fairly seriously musically challenged. Other than the brothers you can take your pick of three guys who were struggling to play some pretty basic stuff. I'm fairly sure Noel made a few disparaging comments about his musical ability when he left. 
    Even Noel is fairly shoddy on some of their earlier live stuff. I think it's the Maine Road gig where most of the lead fills are missing.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mike_lmike_l Frets: 5700
    edited January 2014
    In most bands it's a totally meaningless term unless you get a band like Oasis where one of the guitarists could barely play. 

    To correct you, Bonehead was/is an awesomes guitarist, Gallagher would only let him play barre chords....(IIRC)

    Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21) 

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26753
    Hank Marvin.

    And generally it's people whose guitar knowledge stops with the Shadows that ask the question!
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    If you look on somewhere like joinmyband the L and R guitarist terms are used a lot.
    In that context Lead Guitarist Wanted means ' we have a friend who has a guitar who volunteered to join the band and he strums away and does the odd backing vocal but now we need someone to add the twiddly bits he can't do.'
    Rhythm Guitarist Wanted means ' we have a guitarist in the band but between us we have no idea what to do about the sound getting all thin when he stops riffing to take a solo so we thought a second guitar would help but our guitarist is an egomaniac so you are not allowed to demonstrate greater competence than him. Also, our harmonies are shit so BV's Essential.'
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 3reaction image Wisdom
  • bertiebertie Frets: 13564
    its a role within an ensemble not a skill level an it doesnt necessarily apply all the time in every ensemble
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • monquixotemonquixote Frets: 17485
    edited January 2014 tFB Trader
    mike_l said:
    In most bands it's a totally meaningless term unless you get a band like Oasis where one of the guitarists could barely play. 

    To correct you, Bonehead was/is an awesomes guitarist, Gallagher would only let him play barre chords....(IIRC)
    I've never heard that before and I was quite a big Oasis fan back in the day. 
    Gem always played a lot more than Bonehead so I'm not sure the "not allowed" argument stacks up.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mike_lmike_l Frets: 5700
    mike_l said:
    In most bands it's a totally meaningless term unless you get a band like Oasis where one of the guitarists could barely play. 

    To correct you, Bonehead was/is an awesomes guitarist, Gallagher would only let him play barre chords....(IIRC)
    I've never heard that before and I was quite a big Oasis fan back in the day. 
    Gem always played a lot more than Bonehead so I'm not sure the "not allowed" argument stacks up.
    IIRC it was in either Guitarist or Guitar and bass that Gallagher was the "lead guitarist" and the other guitarist was only allowed to play barre chords. Basically so no one else could show him up.

    Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21) 

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    Grunfeld said:
    Lead guitarist gets the girls I think.
    That sentence need rearranging .......Lead guitarist thinks he gets the girls.

    Girls are only interested in the guitarist if he looks hot. The singer gets the girls.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 3reaction image Wisdom
  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    mike_l said:
    In most bands it's a totally meaningless term unless you get a band like Oasis where one of the guitarists could barely play. 

    To correct you, Bonehead was/is an awesomes guitarist, Gallagher would only let him play barre chords....(IIRC)
    er ..... I think he was referring to Noel.
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SambostarSambostar Frets: 8745
    edited January 2014

    With the bands I like, lead guitar has a thinner, more brittle, high mids-trebly sound, rhythm guitar has a fatter, darker sound.  Although they both might play lead equally and they might be interchangeable, it is when you combine the two with a bass you get godliness.  Any other combination of tone usually results in a garbled mess of diatribe that doesn't translate well to my ears.

     

    Also with a setup like this, it's often why you struggle to hear one guitarist as he solos, especially outdoors, where as the other cuts above the mix, even when the volumes are similar.

    So, solos aside and completely irrelevant, that is how I'd describe rhythm guitar, as a frequency in the spectrum, somewhere between the bass and lead, doing it's job pushing out the heaviness.  Lead guitar would be the brightest tone of the spectrum.

     

    Also lead is more melody orientated, where as rhythm is more hooked in with the bass and the driving progression of the beat.

    Backdoor Children Of The Sock
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • ChrisMusicChrisMusic Frets: 1133
    edited January 2014
    Grunfeld said:    Lead guitarist gets the girls I think.
    axisus said:   That sentence need rearranging .......Lead guitarist thinks he gets the girls.
    Girls are only interested in the guitarist if he looks hot. The singer gets the girls.
    A  true-ism, well put axis.

    The clash of ego - it's along the same lines as the old one about the difference between a BMW driver and a Mercedes driver.

    The lead guitarist *thinks* he's the best and hottest in the band

    Where as the singer *knows* he's the best and hottest in the band

    (Substitute "owns the road" for the car analogy)

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • GrumpyrockerGrumpyrocker Frets: 4118
    edited January 2014
    It seems these are terms are more relevant to music from the 50s and early 60s. You'd see many bands where there would be on obvious star guitarist who would play all the leads and others who would strum out of the limelight. It wouldn't just be about the music they played, but their prominance on stage. 

    This kind of thing coloured my view of guitar playing in my youth to the point where I believed being a rhythm guitarist must be some kind of apprenticeship that once passed enabled the player to learn lead. This stupid idea was still in my head when I first started playing guitar age 16 until after a few months I saw footage of Iron Maiden live and it was like a lightbulb going ping above my head.

    There are still bands with a more obvious rhythm/lead split - Metallica seems quite an obvious one, despite Hammett's shiity soloing.  

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mike_lmike_l Frets: 5700
    axisus said:
    mike_l said:
    In most bands it's a totally meaningless term unless you get a band like Oasis where one of the guitarists could barely play. 

    To correct you, Bonehead was/is an awesomes guitarist, Gallagher would only let him play barre chords....(IIRC)
    er ..... I think he was referring to Noel.
    ok my mistake
    :-$

    Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21) 

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    Easy mistake to make. It's quite hard to tell which of them can barely play the most ;).

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

    4reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    is the one with the smallest dick usually....

    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
    __________________________________
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.