nikko18 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 okay you guys i am trying to start my first real band now (i have played one song with my dad and little brother before though, we called that band sons of dumb guy xD ). do you guys have any good band making tips? i know a bassist and another guitarist (i know alot of other guitarists actually). i think they might want to start a band but i'm not sure. if they dont how do i find other people? i still dont know any drummers, or any other bassist (everyone plays guitar!). also i am looking to upgrade to a slightly lowder amp. i would like something between 15 a 30 watts (my current amp is 12 watts). and i want it to be at least valvestate but preferably all tube. i have been looking at the balckheart amps, i think retro surfer or surfpup might have one of those (one of the surfers ) what do you guys think of them. and also do you have any more suggestions of good amps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSG_Standard Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 suggestions: 1) Buy a drum machine 2) Don't cheap out on the amp, buy the best one you can afford, try as many as you can. A good amp will be with you for years. The discussion about what amp is best will be like discussing the Isral - Arab conflict, everybody will have a STRONG opinion. I love Mesa amps!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homz Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 IMHO Find band mates that you can get along with. Always take personality over ability and experience. You can always grow as a musician and help those grow with you, but a **** is always a ****. I never enjoyed personal bullshi* when it's time to jam. If your lucky you can find people with good personalities that also can rock. If you were older then perhaps you can give some latitude on this, but since your lucky enough to just be starting... do it right. Take one of your guitar playing friends and make him a bassist. Good bass players are hard to find. As for drummers post a note at school on a bulletin board. Or perhaps check the bulletin board at your local music emporium. Have your dad / parent vet any unknown person from the bulletin board. Lastly, have fun or don't do it. That's not to say you wont have to work hard and do some songs you don't like so much, but if the over all results aren't fun it wont be worth the effort. I don't necessarily speak from a position of a successful musician, but I am still playing and it's just as fun (if not more) today as it was 30 years ago. That's successful to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homz Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 OH and get a bobble head Thundergod to ride your amp.. Use velcro to keep him securely in place. Don't use superglue, he chafes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanner1994 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 i use a 15 watt spider 3 line six amp. it is a great little amp for $100.00! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Nikko, there's a multitude of amps in the 15-30 watt range. Fender makes some good ones. Check out the Fender Deluxe Reverb. I saw one on Craigslist for $600 and it was hardly used at all. The Vox AC50CP2 is rated 50 Watts. My cousin plays one and likes it. http://www.voxamps.com/us/classicplus/ This guy plays one too. And here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhWvulzhgTs&feature=related I play a Fender Master Built Two-Tone. It's a 15 watt amp with a 10" and 12" speaker. It's got reverb and a fat switch. Here's one. http://www.jacksonsrareguitars.com/fender-two-tone-c2001-custom-shop-amplifier.html Don't be fooled by the sticker price here, they're talking Australian $$$. I bought mine used for $800. There was one on ebay two weeks ago. Good luck. Rock on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 My Blackheart is the Killer Ant so it's small only 1 watt it has a good sound and tone but not enough volume for what you want. My newest amp is the Egnater Rebel 20 watt head with two 1x12 cabinets it has a variable power of 1 watt to 20 and both 2 EL84 and 2 - 6V6 power tubes so you can dial in both the British and American sounds it's a fun smaller tube amp. As for starting a band others have already given some some good advice especially about having fun at your age. I'd add something though decide what kind of sound you want to play and build from there especially with vocals and the player mix, it makes a real difference and maybe most importantly make sure you all want the same thing from the band it can be really hard if your serious and trying to get gigs and others just want to party or get girls. nothing worse then a band made up of people that are not serious or dedicated if you are. If nobodies serious and if it's just a party band for friendship and fun cool but the level of commitment is crucial otherwise especially when your young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckledzepplin Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 to answer your amp question, you should get an old fender twin, you could get them for about 400-800 dollars and see if any of the guitar players know how to play drums, i mainly play guitar, but im a pretty good drummer aswell and are you going to sing or are you getting a singer? and lastly sell your epi and anything else you can and buy a real les paul, and not a studio, not even a VM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikko18 Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 OH and get a bobble head Thundergod to ride your amp.. Use velcro to keep him securely in place. Don't use superglue' date=' he chafes. [/quote']dude i totally want one! where do get it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 If oilpit shows up for an audition... Kick him square in the nut sack... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikko18 Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 oh and thanks for the great tips you guys. luckily most of the musicians i know i consider my friends, so i dont really have to worry about them being dicks or anything. alot of them like the same kind of music as me to so that is pretty much taken care of. i will definately check out the amps you guys have been suggesting but i think my limit for cash is around 400 to 500ish (more like my limit on how much i would be able to save before having to get something ) but ckledzep i wont ever sell my epi, i know it's just an epi but it was so nice to begin with and i have put so much work into making it as good as a gibson (my opinion). i could never sell it. i'm going to try and sell my skate boards though, my mom says i cant sell them cause i spent to much money buying them but i'm gonna try anyways. oh and i sing, so i dont need to worry about a singer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikko18 Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 oilpit can audition, but only if he plays drums. and he has to be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homz Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 dude i totally want one! where do get it??? It was an x-mas gift (2007) from my sister/broter-in-law whom excel in the art of irony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:oilpit: Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 oilpit can audition' date=' but only if he plays drums. and he has to be good.[/quote'] I know one drum beat, and I dominate at it. That's about it. Did you know that living where you do your first band legally has to be a grunge band? It's true, Washington State law Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikko18 Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share Posted January 11, 2009 once again thanks for all the advice you guys. it looks like this band is actually gonna happen. i have a couple of friends who play guitar and bass, and one of them has a brother who plays drums. he also has a place to practice, and my dad says we are welcome to use his studio when ever we want, it's quite a drive though. now we just need to get our **** together and start practicing, i also need to get the sing up forms for my towns annual battle of the bands. on the other subject of amps the one i like the most out of all the stuff you guys have told me is the egnater rebel. it seems to be really cool with the tube mixer and the watt control. it's perfect for me because it's the kind of sounds i like the best, and i can mix those different sounds together or have them sepperately all in the same amp. and with the watt control i can make it bedroom level too, that way it wont bug my mom. and it is around my price range, a but more then i want to spend but still cool enough to work for it. i have found some stuff that i can put on craigslist that would get me about half of it, and i can save up for the other hald, my dad might help me too. also my dad has told me that i need to check out the fender blues jr amps, and the fender hot rod deluxe amps while i'm at guitar center tommorow. he says that in his opinion the hot rod is the best bang for the buck. do any of you know if guitar center carries egnater rebels (i guess i'll find out tommorow anyways, but i still want to know early). thanks again for all the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:oilpit: Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 do any of you know if guitar center carries egnater rebels (i guess i'll find out tommorow anyways' date=' but i still want to know early). [/quote'] The guitar center in downtown Seattle has one It kicks *** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basshole Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 good luck finding a drummer, most of them are very unreliable. Im not saying all but most. You have a better chance pf teaching you little sister to play drums than finding a drummer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 I Find band mates that you can get along with. Always take personality over ability and experience. You can always grow as a musician and help those grow with you' date=' but a **** is always a ****.[/quote'] +1 Lastly' date=' have fun or don't do it. That's not to say you wont have to work hard and do some songs you don't like so much, but if the over all results aren't fun it wont be worth the effort.[/quote'] +1000 There are much more stable ways to earn a living so you'd better be having fun with your band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee_kim Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 good luck! i'm now starting a new band. it's hard to find a drummer. most of my friends play guitar and keyboard T_T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 IMHOFind band mates that you can get along with. Always take personality over ability and experience. You can always grow as a musician and help those grow with you' date=' but a **** is always a ****. I never enjoyed personal bullshi* when it's time to jam. If your lucky you can find people with good personalities that also can rock. If you were older then perhaps you can give some latitude on this, but since your lucky enough to just be starting... do it right. Take one of your guitar playing friends and make him a bassist. Good bass players are hard to find. As for drummers post a note at school on a bulletin board. Or perhaps check the bulletin board at your local music emporium. Have your dad / parent vet any unknown person from the bulletin board. Lastly, have fun or don't do it. That's not to say you wont have to work hard and do some songs you don't like so much, but if the over all results aren't fun it wont be worth the effort. I don't necessarily speak from a position of a successful musician, but I am still playing and it's just as fun (if not more) today as it was 30 years ago. That's successful to me. [/quote'] Excellent advice all around.... I'm gonna start a band now too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Some great advice already. I did it for about 10 years with various bands, ranging from jazz combos to rock to Greek music bands (that's where I learned to play in 7/8 time). It is a lot of fun but there WILL be days when it isn't fun. However, if you have good bandmates it'll make those days easier. Also look to get realistic in your goals. Is it something you truly want to do the rest of your life or just as a hobby to play once in a while? Your bandmates may have different goals so it's good to get everything known upfront. For example, the guitarist may want to practice 5 times a week because he/she wants to try to make it big, while the bassist is only doing it for a hobby and just wants to practice once a month. As far as an amp, what do you want to do with it? If you play only one style then find an amp that suites your style. Play a bunch of them until you find one that has the power/sound that you like. For me I like to play a lot of different styles, so I got a modeling amp (Line 6 Vetta II). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Mate, Homz knows all bout life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swmcv2007 Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 I'd get a nice Fender amp, other people on here are much more knowledgeable about amps. As for the band, start of having fun with covers and trying to change them up. Choose songs that your band wouldn't do stylistically and re-structure them for whatever type of music you guys choose to play. Then once you guys are writing originals and thinking about playing out, get together and have a big important talk about what your goals are, how to accomplish them, and most importantly how you guys want to sound. I've been in bands where everyone seems to be happy with where the music is going but then the guitarist will screw everything up because he wants to be the next John Mayer. Good luck, and remember: A band doesn't rely on one persons talent while everyone else sucks, thats a solo act, you're not a band unless you can suck together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagabond Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 As for amps, I just picked up a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Sounds so good I played until my fingers couldn't do it any more yesterday, and then played some more! 40w, all tube, two channels, fender reverb. It's fantastic, and I've decided the prettiest thing in the world is to look at the back of your amp after a few hours of playing and see those tubes glowing that wonderful bright orange. As for the band, I've always been lucky enough to know a bassist and a drummer, and another guitar player, and since I do vocals it's always been really easy for me to get together with people to jam. But I can't stress how important it is to have good mojo with the people you're playing with. I've known my guitarist and bassist since elementary school, and the drummers I've played with have always been friends of friends. I've heard horror stories of bands that don't get along, and the problems that causes, but I've never had to deal with that stuff and I'm sure it's because I've never had to play with random strangers that may or may not be assholes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homz Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 good luck!i'm now starting a new band. it's hard to find a drummer. most of my friends play guitar and keyboard T_T Welcome to the forum. Your the first person from Vietnam I have seen. What part of Vietnam are you from? My children are from Vietnam (15 year old daughter, 9 year old son). My son is from the Kien Giang Province city of Rach Gia. My daughter is from Hoi An in the central part of the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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