The Mature way to play

nero1701

I've just read a comment from @Wazmeister and it actually stuck a chord!

The mature way to play is a great term for what I think a lot of us develop are we gently age....

Its happened for me certainly, paying far more attention to the cleans and then possibly adding a little more gain later rather than starting with the gain!!

Wazmeister

I guess it depends on your style of play, and the elusive ‘sound in your head’….

I remember playing the Two Rock live, covering Half A World Away, and I played a clean solo that cut through the mix, and it was SO good I felt slightly overwhelmed by it

nero1701

I've just bought a tone king imperial...winging its way from germany as we speak!! I really cant wait!

Wazmeister

We are spoilt for choice in all geetar areas these days - enjoy. 

Snags

Bollocks. MOAR GAINZZZ!!!!

As with everything, it's going to depend on what you're playing and the sound you're going for.

Unless you just mean mature like cheese, old and possibly stinky?

mrkb

One man’s mature is another’s “over the hill”. 

Svartmetall

it don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that GAIN

PolarityMan

Bullshit. Clean guitar sounds like ass. If you're not playing a style that needs high gain just do yourself a favour and play an acoustic because clean electric guitar is one of the worst sounds that exists. If you really must then apply liberal amounts of delay and chorus or phaser.

PolarityMan

I mean I'm joking but.....also....kinda not.

fastonebaz

I use a massive volume boost to cut through the mix during solos. 

sweepy

Maturity usually means playing less, locking into the drummer and using your ears more 

gatheredinsong

Wazmeister said:

I remember playing the Two Rock live, covering Half A World Away, and I played a clean solo that cut through the mix, and it was SO good I felt slightly overwhelmed by it

"Sorry everyone, I'm gonna need a little mid-set break"

  

hywelg

PolarityMan said:

I mean I'm joking but.....also....kinda not.

You likely won't get the chance now but what did it for me was seeing Matt Schofield live in a very small.club. Huge clean tone that you will never hear on a recording. And let's be clear gain, or more correctly distortion, hides many a poor player. When you play clean on a really good amp like the TR CRS you have nowhere to hide. 

And I challenge anyone to go see Matt  live and come back and tell us all that you don't like clean sounds. 

Danny1969

I certainly play cleaner than I used too, it is a thicker sound to a certain extent. Although higher gain can make things easier though it also takes a lot more skill to control on a stage through a big PA than a cleaner sound. 

There's also a lot of expression such as harmonics that can be used when you have a bit of gain on hand, Then just back the volume down on the guitar to clean up if you want some lines to be cleaner or you are throwing some bits of chord into the solo and want to hear the notes cleaner. 

The older I get the more I want to try every trick there is on the guitar 

BillDL

In this context I don't think "maturity" of playing is necessarily an indicator of, or the result of, people getting older and  gradually turning down the distortion with those advancing years.  Personally I couldn't stand or sit through a really loud concert these days because it deafens me and I would have muffled ringing in my ears for weeks.  That's definitely an age thing, but is nothing to do with "mature" guitar playing and is more to do with knowing your limitations.

To me "mature playing" infers the ability to squeeze a lot of nuances from the guitar using techniques developed over time whereby the absolute dependence on distortion and other effects from pedals and amps is no longer as important.  Obviously this doesn't happen overnight, so people do get older as they develop these skills, but it doesn't necessarily have to be over a decade or more.  I've seen some young players that display a real maturity in their playing.  Picking with fingers or hybrid picking in between using a pick, and picking in different areas of the string length with different dynamics can lift ordinary playing into something special.  Having the experience to know how to set an amp so that the guitar knobs can vary the tone and amount of drive is something that is only discovered over time, or as the playing "matures".

I would say that in general older people have been exposed to a much wider range of guitar based music than many of the younger generations, and have probably picked up a wider range of guitar playing styles during those extra years, but I would also suggest that young people keen on playing the guitar probably seek out a lot of the older and more diverse guitar based music than the average spotify listeners of their own generations and have a wider scope of musical knowledge and styles to learn from.

There's definitely some psychology involved with guitar playing and genres of music as we get older.  Where many of us may have listened to and played heavy metal in our younger years (and many still do) it can sometimes seem a bit odd to see a balding, grey, rotund 68 year old guy with a dodgy knee replacement and dentures still be blasting out 70s and 80s metal music.  The "Is it not about time you acted your age and started playing The Shadows songs?" kind of attitude.  It's almost like people expect that when we reach a certain age we should all put away the purple banana headstock shredding machine, buy an acoustic, and start learning all the Gordon Lightfoot songs, or buy a Tele and join a Merle Haggard tribute band.

fretmeister

sweepy said:

Maturity usually means playing less, locking into the drummer and using your ears more 

Ironically at a time when ears don't function as well anymore.

roberty

I've gone exactly the other way and admittedly it does feel like a regression of sorts. In my defense I didn't play in any heavy bands until my late 20s so there was only one way for me to go. I did not know how to dial in a good high gain sound

I would say appropriate EQ and volume levels (including dynamics) are a better mark of playing maturity. There should be clarity and definition to your sound no matter what your gain levels are

Wazmeister

roberty said:

I've gone exactly the other way and admittedly it does feel like a regression of sorts. In my defense I didn't play in any heavy bands until my late 20s so there was only one way for me to go. I did not know how to dial in a good high gain sound

I would say appropriate EQ and volume levels (including dynamics) are a better mark of playing maturity. There should be clarity and definition to your sound no matter what your gain levels are

Good points raised here…

EQ is essential and the Two Rocks offer this in spades.

PolarityMan

hywelg said:

PolarityMan said:

I mean I'm joking but.....also....kinda not.

You likely won't get the chance now but what did it for me was seeing Matt Schofield live in a very small.club. Huge clean tone that you will never hear on a recording. And let's be clear gain, or more correctly distortion, hides many a poor player. When you play clean on a really good amp like the TR CRS you have nowhere to hide. 

And I challenge anyone to go see Matt  live and come back and tell us all that you don't like clean sounds. 

Again bullshit. Crank a 100 watt high gain amp, stand 2 feet in front of it and then see how good your muting technique and control really is. At bedroom levels distortion can mask sloppy playing but at gig levels it amplifies it.

TTBZ

Imo there's a big difference between the kind of high gain tones we probably all played with as new guitarists covering up mistakes, and proper high gain tones (and controlling them as @PolarityMan says!). 

Personally I don't like a completely clean guitar sound and don't even know what to play on it tbh, it's just not really used in any music I play or listen to. Edge of breakup can be fun but big chunky high gain is what I'm into and I can't see me "maturing" into playing clean I'd rather get an acoustic, at least there's some character to the sound. 

DefaultM

PolarityMan said:

hywelg said:

PolarityMan said:

I mean I'm joking but.....also....kinda not.

You likely won't get the chance now but what did it for me was seeing Matt Schofield live in a very small.club. Huge clean tone that you will never hear on a recording. And let's be clear gain, or more correctly distortion, hides many a poor player. When you play clean on a really good amp like the TR CRS you have nowhere to hide. 

And I challenge anyone to go see Matt  live and come back and tell us all that you don't like clean sounds. 

Again bullshit. Crank a 100 watt high gain amp, stand 2 feet in front of it and then see how good your muting technique and control really is. At bedroom levels distortion can mask sloppy playing but at gig levels it amplifies it.

One of my favourites was some guy coming up to me at sound check and asking if he could have a go on my stuff. I thought it was a bit odd but he must be good to have the balls to do this so okay.
I handed it over and he just started shouting "Arrrrgh why's it so powerful?! It didn't sound like this when you played it!".