I prefer the trio format for guitar

[black_doug]

The band I played in most (when we could back when) has the singer playing rhythm so that I play the fills on electric. There’s also a keyboard, bass, and drums. I’ve also played solo gigs where I sing and play an acoustic. I can’t really say which I prefer. It’s all fun, just making music.

 

[Twang Deluxe]

I prefer to play in a 5-piece band (vocals , 2 guitars, bass, keys and drums).

It's very difficult to get a full sound with just one guitar, bass and drums. Especially during the guitarsolos when there is no rhythm guitar.

IMHO even the Jimi Hendrix Experience sounded a bit empty during the solos.

But there are a few bands with 3 instrumentalists which IMHO sound great. For example Khrouangin and the Doors.

With a guitar, drums and a keyboardplayer who also plays the basslines with a Fender Rhodes Piano Bass you can get a great sound. With basspedals you can even have a second guitar.

 

[burtf51]

the most fun I ever had...there wasn't but 3 of us...oops wrong thread

 

[Mr Perch]

I like the clarity and space of a trio. But I also really enjoy two guitarists whose parts intertwine so much that they become one part, blurring the distinction between rhythm and lead. Examples of that would be Verlaine/Lloyd in Television, Richards/Wood in the Stones, and of course Zoot Horn Rollo/Antennae Jimmy Semens in Captain Beefheart's Magic Band. What Keith Richards calls "the ancient art of weaving".

Good call on the Magic Band. Of course.

 

[Mr Perch]

My preference is four pieces (guitar, bass, drums & keys) with at least 3 being able to sing some lead vocals.

I've done some three piece and it works but you have to play (guitar) a little differently to get a full sound.

In particular, you need to work chord arpeggios into your solos (or else have a genius bass player. Optimally, both at once.)

 

[CV Jee Beez]

I'm in a power trio now and love it. Prior to this my last two bands had four people with two on guitar.

Going back to a one guitar band was home for me because I know how to write and play to fill up frequency bandwidth.

In the two guitar bands I've been in, I was lead so I stayed in higher frequency space and provided sweetening and counter melodies along with leads.

I did have to change my rig to have more mids and low mids. Also, the singer in my band doubles on floor bass. That's a new experience.

 

[Old Deaf Roadie]

Trios are fine if I am playing bass. I do not find much enjoyment playing as lead or only guitarist. My favorite is quartet (lead, bass, drums) where I play the 4th role as multi-instrumentalist, and maybe add a piano player. I still get solos, but not nearly every song. IMO, guitars are more fun if there is another guitarist to interact with.

 

[RollingBender]

Most of the bands I’ve played in for the past 30+ years have had just two musicians, guitar and bass. We also have a drummer so there are three people.

 

[Muadzin]

There is something primal about a power trio that no other combination can match. And usually the more instrumentalists there are on stage, the less powerful and primal and more polished the sound becomes. It becomes a fight for frequencies, finding your own spot in the mix, having to tone down instead of cranking it up, increased chances of volume wars occur. Having a 2nd guitar player can be nice for guitar harmonies, but I can do that with a harmonizer too. Having someone go one while you do leads is nice, but having a good bass player should cover that too. No, keep it as bare and primal as possible. Only reason to add a fourth band member is if no one else can do vocals, or if you think keyboards might be a good addition. Pink Floyd was at their effin' best when it was just the four of them, before they started to add extra musicians and backing vocalists and all that jazz. I'll take Live in Pompeii ANY TIME over Pulse.

 

[Kevin Emmons]

I love Richard Thompson's work with Fairport Convention and his various bands in the 70s through the 90s. Then he started touring as a trio. I don't think he's ever sounded better. Of course his guitar playing just keeps getting better. There are still times when he has another guitarist on stage, and I don't think it adds anything to the sound. Talented musicians all and the trio format leaves space in the music so my ears don't tire so easily.

 

[trapdoor2]

Yup, perfect trio: banjo, fiddle, guitar...unless you have three banjoists.

 

[aeyeq]

My last band was an instrumental trio.

El perfecto.

 

[dreamsinger]

The role of rhythm guitarist is often maligned because so very few guitarists have the skills to be good at it. At the same time it takes more skill to be *the* guitarist in a trio than most have and the lockup between bass and drums is critical to the success.

 

[archtop_fjk]

I think it's natural for guitar players to gravitate towards the trio format. After all, the guitarist becomes the "hero" playing melody, rhythm and with no other instruments competing for sonic space.

However, if you can arrange your music for two (or more) guitars, I think it can sound a LOT better than the trio. In a multi-guitar format, the "lead" guitar would drop out or lay back until the lead solo part of the music, at which point the rhythm guitarist would provide the much needed backing to the lead. Leads without rhythm backing can sound very empty IMHO - well unless you're SRV.

 

[rand z]

To my ears, everything sounds ok with a trio (guitar, bass drums), till the guitar solo.

Then, imo, the bottom drops out... there's a big hole where the rhythm guitar sat.

I prefer a quartet (guitar, keyboards, bass and drums) as I enjoy keyboards.

Keyboards, especially organ, provide a foundation that everything else, especially guitar solos, floats on.

It's also nice to add a color instrument like sax/flute to help with the accents and solos.

I've played in many lineups over the decades.

The quartet, with sax/flute, was the most interesting, challenging and fun.

 

[mfguitar]

I love to be able to play off other people that know the value of a great pause. Right now we have a big band that has 2 guitars and a keyboard with a female vocalist. We also do an acoustic show where the drummer plays bass on some songs. My favorite combo though is to work with a piano or steel guitar.

 

[Ron C]

My preference is multiple vocalists that play something... 3 singers, who can sing lead as well as harmony, sounds incredible, when done right! This usually means 2 guitars, bass and drums for me. Bigger is not necessarily better, unless it improves the vocals (for me, anyway). I've yet to find a capable drummer who can also sing well. Otherwise, I'd be happy being the only guitarist. But it does lighten the "load" a bit to share guitar work. I like that.

Well put. Last cover band I played in was 2 guitars, bass drums, and everyone sang. All of us approached songs like arrangers and have good ears, so it was easy to mesh and the combination worked very well. We would alternate which guitar covered the solos, and since our styles were fairly different, that plus all the vocal combinations provided a lot of variety with a small group.

If the 2nd guitarist (or a keyboard player) doesn't think like an arranger, or has poor time, then no thanks, I'll take a trio over that any day.

Oh, and don't forget the other kind of trio: Hammond, guitar, drums. Rock, funk or jazz, it can work great if the players are strong.

 

[421JAM]

I’d probably be better in an organ trio setting than power trio. I find the sustained notes you get from keyboards to be a more helpful bed of support than a bass. I think I have a strong sense of relative pitch, and playing to sustained notes is more accommodating to my playing style than playing to moving bass lines, or worse, lead bass, which is common in rock trios.

 

[spud3]

I've been the bassist in a trio for a long time, and love the concept. IMO, for the format to be successful, you have to have three players who really listen to each other and are able to step up/back as needed. When my guitarist is playing a solo, the drummer and I need to be filling the rhythmic and melodic space just enough so that it doesn't sound like the middle dropped out. That usually means longer sustained bass notes, or two note chords on the bass, plus taking something off the attack of the drums. Simplifying, IOW, to provide support.

It also requires a guitarist who understands that you generally need to play leads that are chord-based, rather than just tweedle-tweedle'ing (thinking Townshend on Live At Leeds). I have found that to be exceedingly rare...

 

[kennl]

I cringe when I see one of those concert videos with 5 guitarists on stage