i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

[guitfiddle]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

You can funk on a big fat hollow body, if like jeremy said, you learn the economy of notes.

A whole phrase in a funk band might go

da da da dadada da daaaa :|

but you might only play

da da da daaaa

while the bass/keys/horns fill in the rest

And one big thing is to lift your fingers just a pinch to mute those 16th note chords as you play...it makes it much more staccato, and you can make different patterns by pressing down again at different times while the right hand keeps the steady 16th note movement...that's the essence.

 

[jeremy]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

id go even further and say that maybe

da dada

would be funkier

 

[LtKojak]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

A Strat or Tellie would do the trick.

Listen to James Brown's guitarist... funk guitar was born with him!

HTH,

Pepe aka Lt. Kojak
Milano, Italy

 

[j9fd3s]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

either one of your guitars should be able to do it, it is a different playing style though, more like the drums

 

[LukeGilmour]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

its not about the melody or notes really. i just want it to be thinner and smoother, im using a fender princeton chorus for amplification btw. ill try using the knobs a little more and get back to you. (thou im thinking of getting that maple strat/tele)

 

[Blue_Fingers_Jay]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

I find a compressor helps alot, as for guitars I prefer single coils.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

its not about the melody or notes really. i just want it to be thinner and smoother, im using a fender princeton chorus for amplification btw. ill try using the knobs a little more and get back to you. (thou im thinking of getting that maple strat/tele)

i have owned and used various Princton Chorus amps over many years... since at least 1988 or so... i kept buying and selling them for no real good reason... the one i own now i have had for 10 years now... it is my go to practice amp in my bedroom... i even bought one of it's larger brothers the Ultimate Chorus amp for louder uses...

The clean channels on these amps are really clean... extremely clean... but a weird thing i've noticed about these amps is they seem to like higher output pickups and humbuckers on the clean channel...

The princton chorus's never had a lot of headroom.. the speakers crap out at 4 on the volume knob.. even lower if you use a lot of bass and neck PU's...

as much as i love these amps they may not be the right amp for you... you may want to try a Boss OD with a little bit of OD on thru the clean channel... not enough to cause distortion... just a little boost for more sensitive picking...

 

[alex1fly]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

A good funk technique is to pop the strings against the fretboard when you play. Doable with a pick, but sounds genuinely funky if you build up calluses and use your fingers. And +1 to a lift after chords for a staccato effect... very effective.

 

[j9fd3s]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

this is a cool thread, i listened to james brown all day yesterday

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Nolen

"The "chicken scratch" sound
Nolen developed a style of picking known as "chicken scratch," in which the guitar strings are pressed lightly against the fingerboard and then quickly released just enough to get a muted “scratching” sound that is produced by rapid rhythmic strumming of the opposite hand near the bridge. This new guitar style was affected not only by Nolen’s choice of two and three note chord voicings of augmented 7th and 9th chords, but also by his strumming straight 16th note patterns, as in James Brown’s "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Nolen’s choices of guitars and amplifiers also affected the sound for which he would be nicknamed. In his first recordings with James Brown, Nolen used a Gibson ES-175 and an ES-5 switchmaster, both hollow body jazz guitars equipped with single coil P-90s. He also relied on a Gibson Les Paul Recording model with single coil pickups, an Acoustic Black Widow, and a Fresher Straighter, which were also single coil instruments. The single coil pickups on these guitars produced a thin "chanky" sound; Nolen ran these guitars through a Fender Twin Reverb with the treble set at 8 out of 10. The result of these factors was a rhythm guitar sound that seemed to float somewhere between the low-end thump of the electric bass and the cutting tone of the snare and hi-hats, with a rhythmically melodic feel that fell deep in the pocket. A good example of such tone would be in James Brown’s "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "I’ve Got The Feeling." Nolen had been experimenting with the sound prior to his joining James Brown: it can be heard on an obscure 45 RPM single called "Swinging Peter Gunn Theme (Parts 1&2), released in 1960 on the Fidelity label, a subsidiary of Art Rupe's Specialty Records."

 

[eggman]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

Howdy,

Luke: It ain't the arrow, it's the indian! If the guy from your vid used either one of your guitars, he'd still be funky! This may sound a bit harsh, but I'm trying to help.
I'll bet my man Keith Richards could use a Rickenbacker 360 6-string live, and he'd still sound like Keef. YMMV. Good luck.

 

[scottish]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

+1 to re-eqing your amp and using the strat in notch positions. thats about as funky as it gets in terms of gear and not taking playing style into consideration

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

What is Hip?

Found it --- thread = over

 

[timorousme]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

Hohner is re-releasing Prince's Tele. There are two versions, the cheap factory-made maple one for $800 and a handmade custom swamp ash one from Czechoslovakia or something for $1795. From what I heard, they're pretty much amazing for funk.

http://jacksmusicstore.com/catalog/guitar/instruments/electric-guitar/ftd-ins-egt-l~hta490

http://jacksmusicstore.com/catalog/guitar/instruments/electric-guitar/ftd-ins-egt-l~artistelite

 

[LukeGilmour]

Re: i want a guitar that FUNKS!!!

i have owned and used various Princton Chorus amps over many years... since at least 1988 or so... i kept buying and selling them for no real good reason... the one i own now i have had for 10 years now... it is my go to practice amp in my bedroom... i even bought one of it's larger brothers the Ultimate Chorus amp for louder uses...

The clean channels on these amps are really clean... extremely clean... but a weird thing i've noticed about these amps is they seem to like higher output pickups and humbuckers on the clean channel...

The princton chorus's never had a lot of headroom.. the speakers crap out at 4 on the volume knob.. even lower if you use a lot of bass and neck PU's...

as much as i love these amps they may not be the right amp for you... you may want to try a Boss OD with a little bit of OD on thru the clean channel... not enough to cause distortion... just a little boost for more sensitive picking...

this is good advice... i love mega clean amps, and i thought mine had a problem when i couldnt play it louder than 4 without crapping the sound

is there anything you can do about this, speaker change maybe?