[Fedoras of Salvation] - White Knights ITT

[zemanjaski]

Losing isn't necessarily contingent on playing poorly - I play poorly all the time and still win; I can play really well and still lose; I just want to play better; wins will come with time.

[zemanjaski]

They pronounce "Zemanjaski" even worse.

Still better than when I was aG.D3stroy3R...yeah I've grown up very slightly.

[Khaospawn]

"James Fazzo-something."

I have yet heard anyone in real life pronounce it right.

Only those who wrestle crocodiles may properly speak the Aussie tongue

[Jamie]

James Fazzojaski

[RedNihilist]

I've never heard "Fazzolari" pronunced wrong.
Italy wins.

[Col. Khaddafi]

Ditto, I don't see the problem about spelling Fazzolari, its like saying "Cazzo" lari and then replacimg the C by an F

[RedNihilist]

Well, we also have a good local player called Lorenzo Calzolari, you know?

[Valdarith]

I actually got into a conversation with someone a couple of weeks ago who said James' Treasure Cruise article was "stupid" and that they just need to let the format play out.

I mention James from time to time when an article comes out that I think is of substantial quality, but I have yet to meet someone that actually knew his name. I also live in the boonies.

[Kaitscralt]

I don't know what to ask for. What has it got for me?

[Tyrael]

I've had people come and ask for pictures with me or to sign cards. It's bizzare. I'm just slightly less bad than average.

You're known at my LGS as well since I pointed out several times that people who were bragging about their very own 'twist' on boros burn last season were just using a list they got from one of your CFB articles

busted

Btw guys, are any of you still testing U/B control? I'm still unsure whether the Prognostic Sphinx or the PLA/Vault version is superior

[Purp]

Put Hordeling Outburst in Jeskai, dope.

[Tyrael]

Put Hordeling Outburst in Jeskai, dope.

I saw the disgusting interaction between that card and foundry street denizen this weekend

the scrumper inside me cried a little

[Jedi_Knight]

Play drums instead? Don't know.

[Dechs Kaison]

Play drums instead? Don't know.

He wants to be a musician, though.

[Khaospawn]

Guitar people,

I play a bit but my knowledge is very limited.

I currently have a Les Paul Studio with P-90s in the neck and bridge (it's a stock 2011 Less Paul Studio 60s Tribute, if you need more info), and an Orange Dual Terror/Orange 2x12 cab.

The distorted tones I've been able to reach have always sounded a bit...muddy? I don't know the word to describe it. I've been doing a lot of reserch on pickups and pedals regarding tones and it's like trying to explain colors to a blind person. Fat, crunchy, bright, clear, dirty, tight, dark, heavy, crisp...any article or discussion about guitar tone will mention this jargon and it's all pretty meaningless unless you already know what those sound like. I've watched videos and those have helped to a degree, but I'm still really confused.

I play a lot of what I guess people would call pop punk. I'm sure those same people will say for such simple music the equipment doesn't matter at all, but lately I haven't been satisfied when trying to get, say, an older blink-182 sound or something like that. I'm sure most of it is because I'm trying to match a professionally produced track in my bedroom, but I'm sure there's something I can do to get closer.

I've been thinking of getting a new guitar lately, just because I'm occasionally irresponsible with money and will make big purchases when I'm bored. At first I was going to say fuck it and just get a Strat and go from there, but I have smallish hands and I think I'd like to try a smaller scale (stretching even just four frets can be uncfortable for me), which would put me more in a Jaguar or Mustang range.

I'm not sure what sort of technicians are in my area who could put anything custom together (I currently have maintenance done at Guitar Center, which could just be the problem from the start), but should I be so inclined, what Jaguar/Mustang + pickup combinations could I look into to get a more...bright? crisp? distorted tone?

How many watts is your amp? Sometimes you don't get the full spectrum of an amp's tone until it's been cranked really loud or for awhile (if it's a tube amp). Oranges have a nice Brit-stack tone to it, much like a Marshall, and again, much like a Marshall, sound better when it's pushed hard.

You say that you have a Les Paul, and I must say, I find that to be the perfect guitar for just about anything. I think it just boils down to your pickups. P-90's are single coil and passive, which are really great for clean and slightly dirty tones, but they feel underpowered when trying to channel high-gain sounds like NOFX, early Offspring, Blink 182, and early Green Day (Though to be fair, Billie Joe does favor a Les Paul equipped with P-90's, and you can hear it a lot on some Green Day's late 90's and early 2000's work, which is decidedly less heavy). My favorite pickups to use are EMG pickups - they're active humbuckers and are perfect for any high-gain music styles.

Lastly, what are the condition of your strings? Dead strings affect your tone in the worst ways. Also, certain strings can have a brighter tone than others, especially when they're new.

[hamfactorial]

Guitar people,

I play a bit but my knowledge is very limited.

I currently have a Les Paul Studio with P-90s in the neck and bridge (it's a stock 2011 Less Paul Studio 60s Tribute, if you need more info), and an Orange Dual Terror/Orange 2x12 cab.

The distorted tones I've been able to reach have always sounded a bit...muddy? I don't know the word to describe it. I've been doing a lot of reserch on pickups and pedals regarding tones and it's like trying to explain colors to a blind person. Fat, crunchy, bright, clear, dirty, tight, dark, heavy, crisp...any article or discussion about guitar tone will mention this jargon and it's all pretty meaningless unless you already know what those sound like. I've watched videos and those have helped to a degree, but I'm still really confused.

I play a lot of what I guess people would call pop punk. I'm sure those same people will say for such simple music the equipment doesn't matter at all, but lately I haven't been satisfied when trying to get, say, an older blink-182 sound or something like that. I'm sure most of it is because I'm trying to match a professionally produced track in my bedroom, but I'm sure there's something I can do to get closer.

I've been thinking of getting a new guitar lately, just because I'm occasionally irresponsible with money and will make big purchases when I'm bored. At first I was going to say fuck it and just get a Strat and go from there, but I have smallish hands and I think I'd like to try a smaller scale (stretching even just four frets can be uncfortable for me), which would put me more in a Jaguar or Mustang range.

I'm not sure what sort of technicians are in my area who could put anything custom together (I currently have maintenance done at Guitar Center, which could just be the problem from the start), but should I be so inclined, what Jaguar/Mustang + pickup combinations could I look into to get a more...bright? crisp? distorted tone?

There's a link between scale length and tonal character. Generally, a shorter scale length (Mustang, Jaguar, Les Paul) will be warmer than a longer scale length (Strat, Tele).

In my experience, pickup choice matters more than scale length so don't let that discourage you.

I have a Les Paul Standard which sounds undefined at almost any overdrive. I've tried different pickups, the kind I have now is a 57 reissue pair from Gibson. It sounds nice but I'm never going to sound like Clapton playing my Gibson. The humbucker pickup (two single coils wired together out of phase) naturally removes a lot of brightness from the tone.

My Am Std Strat, however, rings like a bell when it gets turned up. It's almost too bright at times, so I prefer to use the middle pickup. The bridge pickup is too twangy sometimes. I play mostly blues and rock.

I can't recommend good pickups for your style (Khaospawn is more of a gearhead than me) but I'd encourage you to look at single coil pickups. I still get Musician's Friend catalogs in the mail, and I see lots of fancy single coil pickups with blade magnets promising the world.

[Purp]

He's not a player he just crush a lot.

Much respect.

In the hot tub, poppin bubb-ly.

[Khaospawn]

ham is right - pickup choice is huge. You have to have the right tools for the job. If I wanted to play country, I'd play a single-coil equipped Telecaster through a Fender Twin amp. Blues? You'd better believe I'd start with a Strat. Death Metal? I'd use my ESP Eclipse and run that through something like a Mesa/Boogie.

[hamfactorial]

He's not a player he just crush a lot.

Much respect.

In the hot tub, poppin bubb-ly.

[Purp]

This old thread on reddit has officially BLOWN MY FUCKING MIND.

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/c ... ng_up_and/

[zemanjaski]

I actually got into a conversation with someone a couple of weeks ago who said James' Treasure Cruise article was "stupid" and that they just need to let the format play out.

I mention James from time to time when an article comes out that I think is of substantial quality, but I have yet to meet someone that actually knew his name. I also live in the boonies.

Now who's stupid lol.

[zemanjaski]

I've had people come and ask for pictures with me or to sign cards. It's bizzare. I'm just slightly less bad than average.

You're known at my LGS as well since I pointed out several times that people who were bragging about their very own 'twist' on boros burn last season were just using a list they got from one of your CFB articles

busted

Btw guys, are any of you still testing U/B control? I'm still unsure whether the Prognostic Sphinx or the PLA/Vault version is superior

I've been having moderate success with a list than combines ideas from both (no vaults).

[deck]UB Control[/deck]
Creatures
1 Pearl Lake Ancient
1 Prognostic Sphinx

Sorceries
4 Despise
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Thoughtseize

Instants
3 Bile Blight
4 Dig Through Time
4 Disdainful Stroke
4 Dissolve
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Jace's Ingenuity
2 Silence the Believers

Lands
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Dismal Backwater
5 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Radiant Fountain
5 Swamp
4 Temple of Deceit
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Sideboard
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Bile Blight
2 Drown in Sorrow
3 Jorubai Murklurker
3 Negate
1 Silence the Believers
2 Thoughtseize
[/deck]

PLA is a concession to beating Jeskai; it's worse than Sphinx everywhere else.

[Christen]

This old thread on reddit has officially BLOWN MY FUCKING MIND.

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/c ... ng_up_and/

People actually stand up while wiping?

[Tyrael]

I've had people come and ask for pictures with me or to sign cards. It's bizzare. I'm just slightly less bad than average.

You're known at my LGS as well since I pointed out several times that people who were bragging about their very own 'twist' on boros burn last season were just using a list they got from one of your CFB articles

busted

Btw guys, are any of you still testing U/B control? I'm still unsure whether the Prognostic Sphinx or the PLA/Vault version is superior

I've been having moderate success with a list than combines ideas from both (no vaults).

[deck]UB Control[/deck]
Creatures
1 Pearl Lake Ancient
1 Prognostic Sphinx

Sorceries
4 Despise
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Thoughtseize

Instants
3 Bile Blight
4 Dig Through Time
4 Disdainful Stroke
4 Dissolve
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Jace's Ingenuity
2 Silence the Believers

Lands
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Dismal Backwater
5 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Radiant Fountain
5 Swamp
4 Temple of Deceit
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Sideboard
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Bile Blight
2 Drown in Sorrow
3 Jorubai Murklurker
3 Negate
1 Silence the Believers
2 Thoughtseize
[/deck]

PLA is a concession to beating Jeskai; it's worse than Sphinx everywhere else.

This list looks very streamlined, thanks zem!

[LP, of the Fires]

Sphinx is infinitely better vs. Jeskai if you can get it to resolve and you want to bring in thoughtseizes vs. them anyways so...

[zemanjaski]

You need to kill them more quickly.

[zemanjaski]

PLA is very good against Jesksi IMO.

[LP, of the Fires]

Did not mean to imply that PLA is bad, just that sphinx is very good.

It comes down early, plays defense, and gives you card quality for the rest of the game while being mostly immune to interaction. It's basically what always kills me when I play against control.

[zemanjaski]

If you can resolve a Sphinx from parity or slightly behind it's very good yeah. PLA is more able to dig you out from behind / punish the "bring in PWs!" SB plan.

[zemanjaski]

Sometimes you play EOT PLA, then untap and Murklurker them out of the game.

[LP, of the Fires]

People bring in planeswalkers against you?

[zemanjaski]

Yeah
PWs and Keranos and counters, cutting most of the burn. It's a very terrible SB strategy IMHO; you mostly want to stick what what you're already doing.

[LP, of the Fires]

Yeah. Keranos is good for sure, but that's it.

When I play against control, I'm taking out like, Sarkhan, jets, and stokes, for more counter magic, dig, and maybe brimaz.

[LP, of the Fires]

Brimaz is randomly great for being immune to bile blight and drown in sorrow.

[zemanjaski]

Brimaz is a very real card against me, for sure.

[Purp]

This old thread on reddit has officially BLOWN MY FUCKING MIND.

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/c ... ng_up_and/

People actually stand up while wiping?

Right?! Never even occurred to me. Official reddit poll ended up being 58% are sitters, 42% are standers...

[LP, of the Fires]

Sounds equal parts dangerous and fake

[Purp]

Sounds equal parts dangerous and fake

Thats what i thought, until you read the thread... i found out 3 of my friends are standers/squatters since I read that today.

[LP, of the Fires]

I guess squatting is different then standing(Did it in the woods, it was...acceptable?). Straight up standing though? Just...NO.

[Valdarith]

That thread is hilarious.