Layering Guitars and Effects Issue

[NihilistNixon]

I have been playing guitar for about two and a half years now and for the first time am having a real issue with my playing. I do my scales and arpeggios daily, learn songs from bands I adore, and when I get lucky come up with my own riffs and parts that I don't hate with every ounce of my body. But now I have come to an issue: I play lead guitar and have been teaching my lady-friend rhythm for about a year (she is picking it up pretty quick) and lately I've been struggling to piece together my lead riffs and her/my (if I come up with something she cant do yet I just overdub) rhythm parts. I'm sure there is a method to layering guitar parts and right now I just cannot find anything that works. If any of you have any advice or have this same "writing block" sorta issue, please let me know.

It should help to mention I use a lot of odd effects (chorus with od mainly), so that may have to do with why it is such a task to find out another sound to balance out my lead. I use my cousin/drummer's Line 6 multi-effects and recording unit, I forget the technical name as it is an older unit, but you can record, overdub, and burn what you've made instantly to a CD (it's killing me not knowing the name of it, it is a beautiful machine).

[madmax1012]

do you have a good looper? I learned a lot when I started fooling around with a DL4. simple and effective. Once i rebuild my board, I'm gonna pick up an AKAI Headrush. super simple is the best way to learn stuff. As for getting out of those writing block streaks, you just have to keep playing and try not to be so hard on yourself. Sometimes, just put the guitar down. When I'm ultra negative about my playing, I've found it's more therapeutic to just put the guitar down for a while and come back to it later rather than just get pissed off every 30 seconds

[Grrface]

do you have a good looper? I learned a lot when I started fooling around with a DL4. simple and effective. Once i rebuild my board, I'm gonna pick up an AKAI Headrush. super simple is the best way to learn stuff. As for getting out of those writing block streaks, you just have to keep playing and try not to be so hard on yourself. Sometimes, just put the guitar down. When I'm ultra negative about my playing, I've found it's more therapeutic to just put the guitar down for a while and come back to it later rather than just get pissed off every 30 seconds

+1 to all that. Looping has been especially fun playing at home. Still learning the timing for playing in a band situation, but looping at home has let me explore around the bass in this case, and it's actually led to me being more comfortable playing overall.

[NihilistNixon]

Sounds like I just need to fuck around with the looper we have. Its like a full recording unit with effects built in and all that noise. Yeah, I've just had like a week long block until today, so all is well.

[D.o.S.]

In a recording sense or a creative sense?

[NihilistNixon]

In a recording sense or a creative sense?

Both actually...mainly creative though. im pretty good when it comes to recording, its just the part before thats killing me.