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Well that certainly did suck now didn't it?

montesada

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
713
I tend to make a disgusted face when I hit a bad note, just an automatic reaction. After a set once, somebody came up to me and said, "You know when you hit that weird note and made a face like you didn't like it? Well, it worked for me. I liked it."
 

duaneflowers

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
2,522
I'm on the complete other end of the spectrum... I'm generally pretty dissatisfied with how I play, so I've kind of gotten used to that fact. But every once in a blue moon (a rare neon blue) I play something and think "hey, that didn't sound half bad". Unfortunately few people agree and it passes rather quickly... :dang
 

bigomw

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Messages
126
Have you ever picked up your guitar to play
and completely sucked?

I just did, Im no rock star but I can play
fairly well.

But today, total crap!

Ok I fell better now.

Jimmy

Yup, happens to me all the time. Sometimes I avoid the guitar because I KNOW it's going to happen that day......
 

TBR623

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2001
Messages
555
Wow, it just happened. In fact the suck was sooo great- I gently placed it back in the case and fired up the ipad.:dang But this to shall pass. But, its still fun after 40 or so years! Just remember how it felt when you struggled to play your first chords or even attempted to jam with your buddies! Bottom line,its about the music. Not all of us have been blessed with the talent of our guitar hero's-that said even a blind squirrel finds a nut....eventually.
 

J.D.

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
10,030
My playing is pretty dreadful by any reasonable standard even when I'm "on". But when I delve into complete incompetence it is usually from having a left hand death grip and picking too hard. I'll go back to acoustic to work it out, starting with very simple material.
 

jbzoso2002

New member
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
1,089
Nice to see Im not the only one that has a bad guitar day
once and a while.

Jimmy:salude
 

Justaguyinaz

New member
Joined
Jul 23, 2016
Messages
27
This thread must have been brought back from the dead just for me.
I suck all the time. But I have recorded myself on different occasions, and one thing I notice is I am always pleased with my tone. I just don't have the skills or talent to play even what would be considered at an intermediate level. But I do enjoy it, especially with this Les Paul. I do believe this is the guitar that was made for me.
 

Monroe

Active member
Joined
Mar 11, 2008
Messages
1,139
I think everyone has better nights and worse nights.
I also am convinced that sometimes there is some mysterious phenomenon sucking away the good tone.
Not sure if it's barametric pressure, humidity, bio-rhythms, etc.
But from one night to the next, with not a single knob being touched, my tone can go from golden to gaaaack.
Or from gaaaack to golden...
When I spend all my efforts trying to acheive my sound, my playing suffers.
But the worst thing in my case is when the rhythm section is off their game. It kills everything.
When my drummer is trying to text his old lady IN THE MIDDLE OF A SONG, the whole vibe falls apart.
Hard to relax and let it flow when a band mate is phoning it in (no pun intended)

DSCF0292a_zps50trxztb.jpg
 

johnnyslim

Active member
Joined
Oct 4, 2001
Messages
1,129
Yes...happens now and again. Unplug one day, plug in the next, touch no amp settings and any hint of mojo or good tone is gone. I also notice for myself that when low pressure sets in my guitars take on different vibe. The strings become a bit more slinky and the tone is usually better. As in, more woody and more mellow. I love playing guitar when it is raining. Raining the night of a gig...even better.
 

sonar

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2003
Messages
3,589
I embrace the suckage when at home. It's humbling and at the same time gives me incentive to improve as a player.

That said, 25 years of playing and I still cringe at my Johnny B. Goode riffing.

With the band or jamming I take suck to heart and occasionally get depressed over it, especially when I feel like I'm wasting other's time. Like some of you this can happen following a strong show, practice or jam... which makes it all the more disheartening.

Unfortunately, as I get older, things on the guitar that came easy to me (at an early age) are a little harder to achieve on a consistent basis nowadays. So I now have that dynamic to deal with... along with the suck.
 

corpse

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
The same thing happens to me with golf. It is a malaise- my attutidue. I am a good guitar player. Sadly that's it. I can play scales and swap pickups.
Like RevWilly VK says " wherever I go there I am".
The Suck though is a thing. It happens a lot when I think someone in my house would rather I not be playing- it is always when I play plugged in.
I have a whiteboard with a bunch of songs that were hard to learn on it - so I remember to practice them. One of my frustrations is not being able to think of anything to play. That leads to nonsense noodling and creates Suck conditions.
You are not alone.
I do sometimes really enjoy my playing though. With a particular singer I almost always hit it out of the park. He acts like he enjoys my playing. That helps.
 

AA00475Bassman

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Messages
3,769
Happens to me more than I would care to admit , most of the time its right of the bat I stop turn off the amp and shut the guitar room door and take at least 24 hour break .
 

GeraintGuitar

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2017
Messages
115
i try to learn more "stuff" like new scales , modes and shit but when im in the heat of momment at a gig i allways resort back to bashing out the same old pentatonic box ive allways used
the audience dont stand there and go "oo look hes using a flat 5th diminished 27 chord" anyway , thier all drunk and just wanna hear loud guitar playing ,they seem to like that string bending thing so i do that lots and they seem happy. so yeah fuck it
 

fakejake

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 3, 2010
Messages
1,274
Happened to me just now.... and I HATE that! Yesterday it seems I was on fire, today I sounded worse than 5 years ago :##
 
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