i recorded this weekend + weird question?

[SKATE RAT]

i recorded 14 songs with my band this weekend. i'm pretty stoked on how it came out.my first time digital.i used my '92 Les Paul bass with a Rat pedal.i brought my SVT but i used this little Mark bass amp instead.1oo watt 1X15.sounded really good,i had never heard of them before.i also used a Manley DI.we went in to do about 8 songs for a demo but ended up doing all but one of our songs.gonna mix and master in like 2 weeks.so i'm a little anxious.now the weird question.i'm not too crazy about my guitar player.he's a good player and a super nice guy but not really who i want to play with.i'm not crazy about his songs or his tone (too much gain/too metal)over all i'm just not too int his style.but i joined their band.i would love to play with the other two dudes.but i'm the "new guy",even though 75% of the songs are mine.i'm not really sure what i wanna do.it would be hard to quit since they are really nice dudes.maybe i'm being a snob,i don't know.we still can't decide on a name so we haven't played live yet even though we're ready.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

I would go forward & start giggin'...talk to the guy about the things that bother you & try to work it out.
If you try it for awhile & it doesn't work out, it's easier to get a new guitar player than to start over.
Generate some income playin' LIVE & see what happens....
You just recorded a demo....it's JUST a demo....
Maybe by the time you record for real your guitarist will sound the way you want him to.

[Bass VI]

I dunno...............

I know it sounds cliche',  but everytime it's " worked " for me it all clicked from the get go. Anytime I/we went with someone we had misgivings about it hasn't worked out. Having said that, sometimes I've been the guy who didn't click! Perhaps R&Bs' suggestion would be more prudent! Post the tunes when you get them mixed I've liked what I've heard from you in the past.

Best of luck with the whole deal,

S.

[Chris P.]

It's a hard decision...

Two possibilities.

I once had a project and I didn't liked the gutarists sound and things. To 'virtuoso metal' for me. I said another style would fit the project better. I believe he played an Ibanez, but he had a battered Epiphone SG at home and I suggested he brought that. I'm no guitar player, but I do know what I like and what i don't like. I helped the guy getting another sound for that project....

I started my first band with a friend on drums and a local guitar player. After two months we recruted a second guitar player and he was way better than the first one. A very hard decision, but we asked the guy who started the band with us to leave, cos it didn;t worked out...

[Barklessdog]

Life is to short, I would start looking elsewhere. You don't need to be doing something you are not happy with.  Stay with them till you find something else and try to maybe suggest trying a different style for the music. If he is a open minded guitarist, he might change some, if not and he gets defensive, it just re-enforces you need to move on.

[Freuds_Cat]

Asking people to play other than their natural style because its what you want to hear is hard.  I do it in the Crocs but its an easy gig for me and we have all known each other for so long and enjoy playing together that I just "find" ways of enjoying playing sometimes (to me) inane songs.

I prefer a more raw and rockier style than the Crocs and I have other musicians that I play with to vent that energy.

[Granny Gremlin]

The main problem is the guitard's tone then.  Talk to the other guys in the band to see if they agree that his tone is poor and then have a chat with the dude. Guitards can be sensitive about their tone if they are a diehard gearhead (or stuck in 80s hairmetal glory days - played with a few of those), but often they can be rather understanding about these things.   Sometimes they are just clueless about how to get a desired sound so they stick with whatever single setting they've come up with that they like.

About his songs - if 75% are yours, then grin and bear it as his are few. Again, talking to the others and see how they feel could be helpful - if they feel similar, try instituting a democratic policy for deciding which songs to do.  If the guitard's songs get voted down consistantly enough, he may decide to leave the band (all problems solved and nobody got the boot). If you do continue to play some songs that are his, you can make the tone dispute easier and let him use his preferred shazz tone on his songs and change it for the other songs where it is less appropo.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

There ya go.
Approach the guitarist with the idea that you're hearing a certain guitar tone in your head on your songs!
Then see if he can get that tone....maybe you can help him get the sound you want, by suggesting a Leslie cab like SRV or a certain stompbox or maybe even a certain amp.
Then once he achieves that tone & style for your songs, maybe he'll see the superiority of it for all the songs your band is doing.

If he still wants to play HEAVY METAL style, persuade him to go do that with some other guys once a week & get his ya yas out, or even do it seriously with another band.
I've got 2 bands cuz one is for diverse styles of music from Folk to Jazz to Blues to Rock & even some METAL & Funk & Punk, & the other is basically Hard Rock with a predominantly HEAVY 80s METAL style!!

Hey Skate Rat~
Maybe I can help you guys think of a name...Wait. Deja Vu!
Didn't we discuss this here recently?

 

[Andrew]

I would talk to the other guys and get a sense of how they feel about the guitarist. If they're happy with his sound and style I'd move on. If they agree with your feeling about him, I'd have a talk with him to explain that you hear a different sound/style on your songs but you really want it to work with him because you think he's a rad guy. If he's not receptive to change then I'd go back to the other guys and see what they want to do. Whatever happens, try to make the change not cost you a friendship. But address the issue right away, before anyone gets further invested in the band.