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"Is 3 guitarists too much?"

Ok, so I'm in this new band. We're all experienced musicians and we all have the same influences etc., but we have 3 guitarists. As you would expect, most people who hear about us say "Isn't three guitarists overkill?", but i'm not sure, it worked for Iron Maiden, right? And Lynyrd Skynyrd (Sweet Home Alabama!!!), and the soloing possibilities are endless: Twin lead solos with chords, harmonizing with chords, three guitars harmonizing!!! It would sound great, but what do you do for the rest of the song? Its damn near impossible to write a riff for three guitar parts, so we'll probably end up with one of us just having to miss out a bit of the song while the other 2 player. So anyway, three guitarists: Rock and roll, or bordering on Busted?

Just write one and have them all play it.


No but seriously, most of the time you'll probably end up with two playing the same thing, it's gonna be virtually impossible for the same set of people to write many riffs for three guitars that are going to sound different.

just had our first full band practise and found that writing riffs for three guitar parts is an absolute git. any advice from talented songwriters?

This is true, but we all wanted to play in the band, so we ended up with three guitars! the only embuggerance is writing riffs for verses, and all trying to fit in our miniscule recording studio.

I said 'normal' in inverted commas.

There's no real 'normal' band. If music followed such strict rules it would be boring. I was just saying that it is a more common convention to have two guitarists.

Well if two guitars is normal then im glad we've got three, coz it means we're not conforming!!! Plus it makes us semi-original, which is also a good think to be in the music industry.

Travis have 2 guitarists and a bassist, which is the more 'normal' set up.

Doesn't Travis have about 3 guitarists or something? I dunno, either way I'd say that's fine. Just the right amount.

> pb wrote:
> What do you call a group of guitarists, though?
>
> A string? A pluck?...

Twenty or thirty years ago, it would have been a hairyness of guitarists.

pb wrote:
> What do you call a group of guitarists, though?
>
> A string? A pluck?...

A vainandinsecure

They're one saving grace is that theyre kind of like a 'gate-way' band. kids get in to them and through them somehow discover PROPER rock music. like how cannabis is a gate-way drug, except with music.