Every BC Rich guitar below the NJ line is the same thing, more or less - the $400 guitars are the same thing as the $200 guitars. The NJ line are nice. The higher end stuff isn't worth it. Vintage BC Rich guitars are great and both the USA and NJ (Nagoya, Japan) models have a large following. Some of their guitars (most of the lower end?) were made by a company called Class Axe from 1987 to 1993 and they were notorious for poor quality. The company was acquired by HHI in 2000 and things haven't been quite the same since then. I played BC Rich for years and I have a NJ Ironbird from the early-mid 80s, but I wouldn't buy anything they make now. The Bernie Rico era USA guitars (through '99) and many of the NJ series are really worth seeking out if you have patience and don't mind some repairs/customization if they need it.
Check out the forum at www.bcrichplayers.com if you're interested in them.

ESP makes some of the best guitars for the price they sell them at, IMO. The LTD series, especially the 400 and 1000 series, are the best thing available at that price. I've heard some complaints about the stuff below the 400 series more recently, though I have heard a lot of good about them too. My primary guitar has been an LTD MH-401 for a few years and I love it.

Gibson guitars are painfully overpriced. You're paying a lot for their name. They make some good guitars, but you can get a better guitar for the price at ANY price point with Gibson. I would avoid them. I have a standard Gibson SG and it's nowhere near the ESP LTD, which costs a bit less.

interdasting. . . I shall check this shit out for sure.

Modern ones are mediocre. Old ones, back when they were often hand-made, were quite nice. Can't really say they're better or worse than any other brand, as there's simply too many models, all with different strengths/weaknesses. Better than ESP? Depends, they have some nice guitars and some shitty ones. Better than Gibson? I would say no to that.

And on a more opinion-based note, I think the shapes of BC Rich guitars are just overdone and boring. BC Rich guitar shapes are the equivalent of an emo haircut. But that's just my opinion.

About Gibson, a used Les Paul Studio it's not that expensive and quite good. I have a 93' Epi Les Paul with Bill Lawrence pickups and it rips.

About BC Rich, I had a Warlock and it was very good, but not better than a ESP Eclipse at the same price. In fact, if you wanna go for something pro but not THAT expensive, ESP is the way. There are some very, very good LTD's too! (and basses, you need to change the electronics and voila!)

Hitting the road for a gig out of town tonight, then back home for another saturday. It's like a tiny mini tour.

I just broke up my grindcore band, because we had two demo tracks out of four or five, and the guitarist decides to leave and take "his" doom song with him to make into more of a traditional doom track.

My guitar style is so different from his that, in the absence of the song we'd worked forever on, I feel like I couldn't continue under my old band's name anymore.

So, onward to death metal with a new band. Feels so weird not being in a band at the moment, since I've been in them nonstop for the past couple of years, always busy... ugh.

Also, all this ESP worship is maddening. Jackson is where it's at.

Low end Jacksons are way better than LTD guitars. Had a Jackson RR Concept 94 once and it was a really great guitar. Sold it in favour of my RR1.

Hello!

I have quite lot of stuff going on nowdays. I'm rehearsing with my band a lot (I'm the drummer), because we have some gigs this spring. Last time we were playing live was over a year ago. I was the lead guitarist, but when our drummer left for studies and we couldn't find a new one I decided to become the drummer and I've been practising a lot. I don't consider myself as a real drummer, but I have to do what I have to do. After the gigs we are going to record a new demo.

I also released an EP of my one man thrash metal band 'Thrashapult'. It can be found on Spotify and on YouTube. I'm also writing new material for the next EP. I have five songs that need a bit work, but they already sound quite nice to me.

I also wrote a death metal mini album during 'February Album Writing Month' (the goal is to write 14 songs in February http://www.fawm.org ). The music is quite sloppy, filthy and raw. Everything is recorded except the vocals. The lyrics are done, but my throat is not feeling too good so I still need to wait until I get to record them. If you're interested here's an instrumental version of one of the 8 songs: Message Written in Blood.

Cheers.

It sounds decent, Thrashelot. Find someone to mix and master it for you, the mix is quite sloppy (way too much lows in everything, especially snare). Some songwriting advice: you had a passage where the guitar played long power chords only (the chorus?). Break down the drumming for such passages, it sounds awkward with semi fast drumming. If there's a second guitar, write a counterpoint for the chorus, it's simply too dull with mere long root-'n-fifths. The solo sounded excellent, I would've wanted to hear so much more of that.

Killer gig last night. Turn out was kinda low, but we got a really enthusiastic crowd. Sold a surprising amount of merch and we got paid decent by the promoter. Plus food and lots of drinks, which I've got a hangover to show for. Egads. But whatever, definitely our best out of town gig yet.

Anyway, today I'm gonna nurse my hangover and play my piano a bit. I just got the sheet music for the score in Twin Peaks the other day. Anyone else a fan of that show? The opening theme (plus a few other songs) is just amazing.

yeah after thinking I decided on a BC Rich Mockingbird. I like the shape although I only wish they came with a widow or beast headstock.

My guitars finally arrived! I'll start tomorrow with the final guitar recordings.

2 two drum tracks shall continue on tmwr hopefully getting another down.

did the final 2 vocal tracks for yzordderrex's new full length. I'll start mixing it tmwr as well.

I just got back from the gig that my band just played and I am very pleasantly surprised by how it went. A decent number of people showed up even though we were on the last band on, they liked our songs, we didn't make too many serious mistakes, and the new guitarist got some really great reactions. We're gonna spend the next week or so recuperating though I might work on some more songwriting if I get the energy...

Yeah, the mix still needs work. Now it just has a limiter on the master bus, but I'll work on that after I get the vocals done. I'll have to think about the drumming on the chorus. My idea was to keep the drums on pounding, but put the guitars on the background so that the vocals would become the main focus of that part.
I'm a slave of my mannerisms so the soloing will be found on the other tracks as well when I release the full album for download.

Thank you for your comment. I will take your suggestions into consideration.

New guitarist in the band = more riffs to chose from, melodies/harmonies, backing vocals...

My Nunslaughter worship band is either:
1) Going to sound like Bolt Thrower
2) Desolve completely (either initiated by or resulting in me kicking the vocalist in the pants)

both sound like great alternatives than being nunslaughter worship.

did 2 vocal tracks for Mob
wrote and recorded a Draug track
wrote and recorded a Uzumaki track
vocalist for 54R came down and did 6 tracks. started mixing the tracks for the next 54R release. a 20 song ep. probably will be 20-23 mins roughly.

Never understood what the point in being in an 'X-worship' band was anyway. If you're going to model yourself entirely after another band, why not just be in a covers band?

Hey there Mr. Original. Let's hear your stuff then.

I'm not claiming to be brilliantly original either. I just don't see the point of explicitly modelling your entire sound off a single other band.

You have to start somewhere. You pick out your favourite band(s), play something similar and take it from there. Eventually, you will evolve into something that is you.

I have no problem with it at all. nothing is original and as long as you aren't totally ripping off the inspiration band's riffs and songs I'm all for it.

Last pre production song done, ready to revisit the recorded guitars and make adjustments. Also, it's time for some fretless basslines.

We're not trying to make an exact copy of their sound here, it's more like we're using their sound as a template to work off of.

wrote and recorded 2 Uzumaki songs yesterday

broke sticks had to quit and go buy new ones.

Uzumaki is an interesting project and all, but I can't fathom why the name when a Japanese rapcore shithouse also calls itself that.

never heard of what you are talking about I named it because of these reasons:

1. it means Spirals in english and I felt that was very fitting of what the music sounds like to me
2. this manga: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzumaki absolutely weird and horrifying which also sums up the music to me.
3. I picked out using this name 3 years ago for a project and never really got around to developing the sound till now. have no idea when whatever you are talking about came out since I don't listen to garbage like that nor did it show up when I googled it to make sure it wasn't used.

I learned about the Japanese Uzumaki via last.fm. It's a good place to check if a name is already taken. If people listen to it, it's probably on last.fm.

i have never been to last.fm

honestly don't plan to start. basically if you don't show up on a plain google search with various words of band/music/metal whatever I'm not going to care.

You don't have to be a member of last.fm to check, just type www.last.fm/music/bandname to your browser and you get a page. There are over 1600 listeners of Uzumaki on last.fm, that's more than for Matricide, Lago or Infinitum Obscure...

oh well. sucks for them since now my project shows up on google for the first links with anything related to band/music/reviews

Eh, it happens. A group in the UK took the same as my band but they get buried in a google search. Mind you, we get buried by nature photos on a twitter search, haha.

hahaha yea I'm not concerned really. same as my long standing on again off again band the Nautilus would be buried under 20,000 leagues under the sea refrences and gym equipment.

Track #2 done in guitars. Doing 1 song per day I'll finish the album in saturday.

good choice, just sold mine that I'd had for years, great guitar... and be glad they come with a legit looking headstock instead of some goofy looking bullshit like the widow and beast headstocks!!

been messing around with some tunings i usually don't use lately, like drop A# and open C, and just having fun and trying to piece some stuff together. i'm hoping to start recording a rough demo soon of some of my originals with me playing all the instruments.

Drop A and Drop A# are probably my favorite tunings to use. For some reason I can always write easier and better when I play in drop tunings. It's not that I can't write in a standard tuning but usually for me it flows from my fingers easier when I play in a drop tuning.

I finished recording my 21st solo album by super famicom. it's not being released until july, though. it's not really metal either. more like experimental punk and doom influenced pop music.

Just wrapped up songs 4 & 5 for Forestfather on drums.

vocalist for 54R came in and finished up the last 9 songs for the 20 song ep that's slated to be released soon. and basically when I get back in town i'm starting on tracking all the songs I lost from the harddrive for the follow up full length and split with KP.