Solo gigging with an electric guitar
 

Does anyone routinely perform solo gigs with just your voice and an electric guitar...maybe some loops added in? Can it work sucessfully for small venue gigs, coffee houses and such

It can work. I've seen Darrell Scott do it. :)

Not sure you need the guitar... :D



Just kidding. The answer is of course yes.

For reals though, the buildup can be a bit much. You may only get one song in, and folks may be more interested in watching you build, than play.:hmm:

Of course!

An electric guitar by itself accompanying a singer can sound fantastic!

As mentioned it can, and is, done but you don't see it nearly as often as a solo acoustic guitar ... at least not around here.

Jeff Buckley did it:



Gavin Rossdale of Bush did it at Woodstock:

I have been playing solo for years with an acoustic, and have recently started using a Stratocaster instead. It has opened up a new sound dimension for me, and has worked out really well. I still perform with an acoustic on occasion, but the audience seems to enjoy the electric gigs much more. I use a couple of effects pedals, which I used to be dead set against. I also run the electric through the PA, while I used to be insistant on a tube amp. For me, the key is to be open-minded and experiment with whatever achieves the sound that works for you. It has taken me years to adjust my thinking, being somewhat of a purist.

I like to switch it up. Sometimes I'll use acoustic and sometimes electric although with the electric I use an amp

I have a buddy down in the Monterey Peninsula area who works all the time using just an electric guitar with some backing tracks (that he writes... not "canned" ones). Works just fine for him and he doesn't even sing... nor does he play "The Blues", which is no mean feat nowadays!

There was a time when I'd take EVERY guitar I owned (4 of 'em) to my solo gigs; 6 and 12 string acoustic, and my two Gibson electrics - a ES-345 and a ES-175... I'd use the jazz box for some standards or jazzy-blues, the 345 for the more "rock" things and the two acoustics for everything else!

This was back in the mid-late 80's, and I was using a bunch of the Rockmodule 1/2 rack units that Tom Scholz designed; those things made it very easy to get a great tone from my 345, whether clean, half-blown or full-blown!

I just realized that it was a heck of a lot of work for a 3 hour gig that only paid $100, so I stopped doing it. Truth be told, there isn't much that I do that can't be accomplished nicely on my two acoustics.

A mate of mine does it, but he has a backing tape ... its basically electric karaoke.

Hate it.

Stephen Stills, For What It's Worth, solo with Telecaster

https://youtu.be/2Y16iDqQiVg

I did it for a few years then stopped. The sound just is not there. Its not a good idea to do a whole gig like that. No bass, scooped frequency curve, thin sounding high notes, no natural resonance of the guitar. Crappy background for voice. Do a song or 2 with em, sure, but then why haul the thing and its pedals all the way to the gig for 2 songs....?

A few really good jazz and blues singers pull it off, and I mean, really good singers, usually with a hollow body.

Really, not many audiences want to listen to a Strat jangle all night.

Again, I did it for years, Telecaster. Stopped and did not look back. Solo electric only works for jazz masters, just not enough bass kick for a sustained act.

As for loopers, really, most folks I know who experimented with them live, solo, stopped. The audience bores of them after one song. They get it. You are looping.

I use a hybrid Yamaha AEX500, blended piezo and mini humbucker, thru a Zoom G3 effects unit. Clean Fender amp modeling sound straight to pa. Think Creedence Down on the Corner sound. Is it acoustic? No, but it's a good, usable sound that goes good with vocal. Its taken me a long time and a lot of knob dialing to get there, but it goes over well, and I've gotten some nice comments about the sound. After 1 six hour gig and 3 four hour gigs in the last 4 days, the electric strings are a lot easier on the hands too.:)

Jricc, pretty sure I've seen your act at Klein's and we've chatted about custom guitars and your gear. I think that's you, correct? Your setup sounds killer and I can vouch for its effectiveness. Great tone and not thin or piercing by any means.

Looking forward to catching your act again.

Thanks Loudog99! Yes that's me and I really appreciate the compliment!