Just curious. A lot of game music is played on acoustic guitars, some on classical ones. I don't own an acoustic or even an acoustic simulator pedal or anything. I've gone from Jackson to Ibanez and finally to Schecter these days.
I use a Schecter C/SH-1 semi-hollow body or a Schecter C-1 Artist for clean tones, using the neck pickup (which happens to have replaced with a Seymour Duncan '59 on the C/SH-1, stock '59 on the Artist), with the tone knob turned all the way to the bass side and then backed off slightly toward the treble, played through a 15-watt Vox Pathfinder combo with the EQ (treble, mid, and bass) set to 12 o'clock and the reverb all the way up. The C/SH-1 has a deep, bassy tone and excellent resonance, similar to a high-end acoustic electic in sound, but without the top-end harshness found in a lot of acoustic-electrics. The Artist has a very Les-Paul sort of tone.
For the heavier stuff, like Mega Man and Castlevania stuff, I use a Schecter C-1 Exotic, using the bridge pickup (a Schecter Super Rock II), with the tone knob turned all the way to treble, played through a 20-watt Marshall AVT20 combo with the treble and bass EQ on 10 and the midrange scooped out (all the way up, though, for leads, which I sometimes play on a C-1 Hellraiser FR, with EMGs and a Floyd Rose) and the reverb turned down a bit. Just depends on the song and style. The faster you play, the more spring reverb tends to "blur" your picking nuances.
Anyway, I love my Exotic. It's one of the best bang-for-the-buck guitars out there. Mahogany body + flamed maple top + ebony fingerboard + massive pickups (seriously, the pole pieces on this guitar are TWICE the size of standard humbuckers) = excellent resonance, sustain, andbright attack. These pickups sound a lot like EMGs when you play them clean and they have a ton of midrange kick for soloing.
The Hellraiser FR is about the only real choice Schecter offers if you need to do whammy bar work, in my opinion. The C-1 FR and Damien FR use cheaper Floyd Rose-licensed tremelos where the bars screw into the trems. They work, but they don't stay in tune as well, the intonation and action are a pain to adjust (factory-set Schecter Diamond Series action is a bit high for most shredders' tastes), and the bars come unthreaded and loosen when you start doing some Steve Vai on them. But the Hellraiser FRs are great guitars. VERY similar all-around to ESPs KH-2 Kirk Hammet $3,000 signature model (same trem, same pickups, same scale), except this one's a set neck and has a carved top, so it's more comfortable to play and it's thicker in the middle, so you get more tone out of it without pushing your amp into the red.
Anybody else out there play Schecters? I'm curious as to what Chrono Cross acoustic pieces would sound like on a Schecter C-1 E/A electric/acoustic semi-hollow body with a piezo pickup. So what's everyone else playing?
(Yeah, I'm pretty loyal to Schecter. I'm gunning for an endorsement and I've got one foot in the door, already. I'm not trying to convert anyone or sell anything. Heh. They're just great guitars and versatile enough to do all sorts of game music on.)
I've played a few B.C. Rich guitars. One particular neck-thru Mockingbird with a Floyd Rose I got my hands on in Seattle once, I didn't want to put down. They're definately unique guitars. As far as Jacksons go, I wouldn't own a newer one, unless it were a USA model. I had a DXMG and a DK2 both a few years back. The necks just sucked on both. But then again, I was an Ibanez player back then, and Ibanez Wizard necks ruin your taste for everything else. They're just the fastest necks out there. Maybe too fast. I had a friend who scalloped the entire fingerboard on his RG3120 and the neck slowly split right up the middle of the back. Just too thin, I guess. The truss rod was adjusted properly and the string tension was fine. Weird. Those Jackson USA Warriors are wicked cool, though. Especially the ones with the "bolted metal" finish.
I want one of those Hello Kitty strats. Not sure why. I keep seeing them in catalogs and they're cheap. I want to shoot a music video someday when I'm a huge metal legend (yeah right) and just cut in a few seconds of me shredding on one. It'll catch everyone's attention. I'd have to route it and retrofit it with a Floyd Rose and something with more kick, like one of those new DiMarzio blade pickups. I can't remember the name. A DX2 or something like that. They're the highest output pickups DiMarzio makes, according to them.
I don't do heavy guitars. Well, heavy in weight. They have cut, generally, but I'm moving away from the alder and basswood and going more mahogany these days. My Schecter C/SH-1 weighs about half as much as a Strat. It's almost like an acoustic. But yeah, Seymour Duncans aren't the best for heavy (as in hard rock/metal this time) playing. Not sure why Jackson puts JBs in their top models. Distortions are better, Invaders are great. Very unique, compressed sort of sound. The only example of someone who plays them, though, is Synyster Gates, the lead player for Avenged Sevenfold. I've never heard them before, though. I don't listen to newer music much these days. Duncan '59s are the best neck pickup out there, in my humble opinion. I wouldn't swap them for anything else, except maybe a DiMarzio PAF Pro. I have no use for Duncan Designed pickups. I've met Seymour Duncan before at NAMM. He's a no-BS kinda guy. I can't imagine him designing those.
Good choice on the Crybaby and the Boss Digital Delay. I use a Boss DD-6. You can go to www.musiciansfriend.com and just browse through the effects pedals and listen to the mp3 sound bytes of each of the delay pedals on there to get ideas on different delay uses. Some of them actually note the settings used to achieve different delay effects. It's how I find inspiration for new songs sometimes. I've been using a Morley Bad Horsie wah for years and I love the switchless ease of use, but it doesn't "wah" hard enough for me. I got a Crybaby 535Q and it sounds fine, but I can't seem to get it "dialed in" to my soloing register the way I want it. I think I'm gonna ditch it in favor of a Crybaby Classic. And I use a Boss DS-1 Distortion. I like it better than anything else I've used, better than a Big Muff, Rat, Expandora, etc. Sounds super fat about halfway up. Too shrill on the high end when you crank it.
But wow, a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifer? That's a lot of amp. I have a '72 Marshall JCM 800 50-watt half-stack, but I can't get it to overdrive to saturation in my tiny apartment, even with a PowerBrake. I've been impressed with my little cheapo Vox combo lately and I'm considering investing in a Vox AC15 with Celestions in it. I'd have the same volume problem with an AC30 that I have with my JCM 800. Mahogany bodied guitar, Duncan '59 neck pickup, class A tube amp. Best sound I've heard in my 18 years of playing. Maybe someday I can afford a handwired Marshall Plexi. Like, after I retire, maybe. Heh.
Yeah, I keep hearing great things about Sonic Maximizers. I understand how they work. I think I'm gonna throw one of those Sonic Stomps or whatever they call them on my pedalboard soon and see how great it really is. Thanks for the reply. Always good to bounce ideas off of other axe-slingers. In a way, it's how we all got to where we are now, right?
Electric: Fernandes something-or-other. It's a basic Fender strat knock-off.
Acoustic: Fender DG20S.
One of these days I'll splurge on a much better guitar, and it'll probably be a Schecter. I've always thought they have some of the best looking guitars out there. Without reading the features, I'd still buy this one: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Schecter-Hellraiser-C7-Electric-Guitar?sku=513109
The C-1 Artist that maelstrom79 mentioned looks great, too: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Schecter-C1-Artist-Limited-Edition-Electric-Guitar?sku=518187
Yeah, I love my C-1 Artist. It's light, has a Les Paul-like bottom end, and they go for less than $500. I used to have a Fernandes that looked like a Strat. It was a Revolver Pro. Had one of those sweet Sustainer pickups in it. Great for doing Nirvana, Type O Negative, Machine Head, stuff like that. I know most B.C. Rich players prefer Warlocks, but Mockingbirds are just great. The balance is superb. They have a perfect center of gravity for stand-up playing. Slash used to play them until he got endorsed by Gibson. I'm working on an endorsement with Schecter. I just bought a custom C-1 with a quilted maple top that's stained with flesh, blood, and rust colored paints. Looks like something out of a Silent Hill film. I haven't gotten it in my possession yet, but here's a pic from the website I ordered it from. Comments? I totally dig the Wilkinson trem on it. Very unique for a Schecter. Speaking of Silent Hill, anybody heard that song "Sweet Nurse" by Katatonia? That should totally have been the song for the ending credits to the Silent Hill movie. Anyway, I digress.
I haven't actually posted any video game tabs, but I play a lot of them, cause I love a lot of the music ( im kind of a dork im guessing? )
I use a Taylor acoustic guitar, and a Fender FMT showmaster with seymour duncans.. I also played an old classical guitar with nylon strings that belonged to my great grandfather, but the headstock won't hold the strings in properly, and I have yet to fix it cause I'm a lazy bass.
Lookin' for a semi hollow electric, cause i love those things:-)
also an ESP viper or eclipse.
Nah, playing game music isn't dorky. It's some of the best-composed music out there. Anyway, nice guitars. I wish I had a Taylor. I'm hoping to get a Martin HD-28 someday, but I'd settle for a Taylor, no prob. And Showmasters are nice. I used to have on in cherry sunburst with gold hardware. As for a semi-hollowbody electric, you should check out a Schecter C/SH-1. They're light as a feather, have a deep, growling bottom end when you overdrive them, and the harmonics are exquisite. Plus, you can pick up a new one for under $600. They come in:
Tobaccon Sunburst, Vintage Trans Red - http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM04/Content/Schecter/PR/CSH-1-lg.jpg
Limited Edition Gloss Black - http://www.onlinestagegear.com/brand/Schecter/C/CSH1-Black.jpg
Or if you're really lucky, you might find one in the rare Natural Satin finish like I got. I have a pic of mine up on my MySpace page in my Pics. Just look for the folder called My Guitars. - http://www.myspace.com/the_homeless_romantic
For figuring out game music, I just use my 2002 Strat - USA guitar. All the music is in standard and this is the only guitar that I have in standard tuning. If the tabs don't have any open strings, then I play the stuff on other guitars.
I'm playing a Ibanez RG7321, with Blaze custom in bridge and stock in neck. I used to have a sixer but I smashed it once when I was drunk. I also have a Washburn WG587 (another 7) but the nut chipped off.
I play through a Marshall cab and a Peavey Valve King head.
I've heard nothing but good things about those Valve Kings. Pretty affordable, too. I need to check one out.
I just use a simple ol' Epiphone AJ-1 acoustic. it really isn't that fancy, but it has a great sound and it's easy enough to play. I have a Peavey (Generation EXP) electric, too, but I just don't use it quite as much as my Eppy. I've only been playing for about seven years though, so maybe I'll eventually make the switch to electric. I just prefer the sound of an acoustic to an amp, with or without effects.
I'm just a simple guy with simple tastes :D
i play my '84 epiphone sg through my 100-watt peavey transtube supreme half-stack. it's all i need. i occasionally hook up my crybaby but not very often. no effects, no other crap. just my guitar and my amp. it's got it's own power percentage knob so i can dial in a lot of different amp tones and some bad-ass reverb that don't sound like shit.
I play on my black Ovation Celebrity. Nice little acoustic/electric. I'm probably going to be picking up a solid-body electric pretty soon though (in addition to having my Ovation).
I got a RGT42DX
Does anyone here play the guitar? I have tried to tackle this a few times in life and I guess my fingers are just not quick enough. I would like to get into playing something even if it is not a guitar. What is something simple to start out with?
I own a Fender Strat guitar, given to me by my dad. He gave it to me as a birthday present a few years back. I love that thing!