What do you play right after you plug in?

[Chalupacabra]

So your plugged in, you've got your tone dialed and you're ready to play. You're feeling good, what do you play first? For me, I do pentatonic variations to death, and then I work on some staccato. I'm warmed up so I play "Shock" by Fear Factory. If I'm playing my six, I'll work on pentatonics and then fast chord changes. After warmup it's time for "One Armed Scissor" by At the Drive-in.

I'm interested to know what you guys do. Is it different on your six. If you have an eight, is your routine different on that.?

 

[Jason_Clement]

On acoustic I play random chords and arpeggios.

On my 7 string I start off by playing some generic low B riffs. Then I practice scales and other techniques with interludes of songs so I don't get bored.

 

[VBCheeseGrater]

I always play a d2 and Cadd9 at the open position to see how my tone and tuning is doing, i just find those two chords really tell me alot about my tone, especially distorted.

...followed by a pentatonic lick of some kind

 

[The Reverend]

In lieu of boring practice licks, I play three of my newest songs. I'm always writing shit just a tad outside of my skill level (goddamn you, GP5) so it's a great warm-up. I don't play them perfectly, but it's more about getting my blood flowing and my fingers doing something realistic. I don't play pentatonic or major/minor scales, so outside of practicing lead work, I don't like gaining great muscle memory with those over more practical movements.

 

[MFB]

Normally some pentatonic blues lick starting around the 12th fret regardless of string. No clue why, or if not that then its normally a Bb, A (rest) G, F#, F power chord progression. Either of those.

 

[Miek]

One of my own riffs
Usually one of the same two

 

[K3V1N SHR3DZ]

the first riff in "Symbiotic In Theory".

 

[metalocalypse93]

After I plug in, if it's my 7 I'm playing, usually I play Edgecrusher or Shock by Fear Factory. If it's my 6 string I'm playing, I go into Waking the Demon or Wasted Sacrifice

 

[Fiction]

A bunch of palm muted chugging as I adjust my seating position, and then I continue to spend the next 30 minutes playing random chords until I form a cool progression, then work out how to develop the progression to a melody.

 

[AliceLG]

6-string in D: Egoist Hedonist by Riverside
6-string in dropped C: Undertow by Pain of Salvation (a whole tone down, originally in dropped D)
7-string in A: either the intro riff to Illuminoid Dream Sequence by Scar Symmetry or the first 3 minutes of A Change of Seasons by Dream Theater (once again, a whole tone down)

I usually warm up playing songs, not exercises.

 

[Andromalia]

I usually play a left hand only piece called "What in the nine hells have the mediators hidden under this time".

 

[Ironbird]

E5 powerchord, bitches!

No, seriously, E5 powerchord and a lot of triplets. You can tell if the tone is just right by the sound of them triplets!

 

[OfArtAndArsenal]

Typically I start by hitting my low-g really hard and letting it ring, just because I love that "bowwwwww" sound, and then I remember my delay is on and totally ruined what I was going for...
Then I play random M/m 3/6/9 chords to check tonality and tuning.
Then I usually play the tapping interlude from "Jetpacks was yes" because its so damn fun and makes me feel like I can actually play guitar...

 

[jeckert7]

"Stairway"...everytime the same thing..."Stairway".

 

[MikeH]

Usually a D minor arpeggio run.

 

[Blake1970]

Metallica's Seek & Destroy

 

[Lagtastic]

Bad Moon Rising

 

[jarnozz]

2 simple things.
on the 7, DJENT DJENT DJENT
on the 6, first the E note followed by a bend on the 15th and 12th fret on the high e and b string. that sound is so eargasmic

 

[Herb Dorklift]

Every Dream Theater song in 34 seconds. 8)

 

[Alpenglow]

On my six I like to do some Namaste by Veil of Maya or attempt Buttersnips by Periphery. Or my 7, I don't play anything because Carvin isn't finished with it so it's not here yet.
On my acoustic I pretty much always start off by playing the guitar adaption of Harvest Dawn by Jeremy Soule off of the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion OST.