January ’09 Solo Assignment.

[equator]

Hi guys, happy new year to you. :)
This month’s backing track is provided by GT's instructor Kevin Taylor.
My software detected the tempo of the backing track as 90 bpm. (not sure if that is accurate or not)

Fair use of the backing track: Please, make sure to give credit to the author in your description, comments and/or tags.

Download the MP3
http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/CMaj7MP3Song.mp3

Have fun. :)

[WrigglerUk]

Wow - this is a full production job! Thanks to Kevin for giving us this to have fun with, it's taken a lot of work, cheers!

It's hard to play to, there are no tempo changes to build 'sections', just subtle changes in dynamics... my first attempt is done already, will re-visit it over the next few days. First dibs on the "atmospheric slide guitar in the background" :D

Oh yeah, and copyright taken on the title "Taylor Maid" :p
Edit: Just to get that title down!

WrigglerUk, Taylor Maid for You (http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7213725)

[Superhuman]

As per usual, I'll do what I can to get back into my studio. My two year old dauther got pneumonia over Christmas so I haven't been able to do much of anything. Hopefully I'll get to record something but if I don't it's purely because I can't get to my guitar. Thanks to Kevin for putting something up, I'm sure it is excellent (can't listen to it here at work)!

[equator]

Hi guys.
Here is my take.
Title: Distant Love
Backing trak by Kevin Taylor


Right click and Save as...
equator (http://c.ilike.com/d/0000/376/0000376597.mp3?fn=Fredi+Bravo-Distant+Love.mp3)

WrigglerUk. I am going to listen to your take and I will comment on it after that.

Superhuman. I hope you can participate this month, we have not heard your music in a while, bro.

Thanks for listening. :)


.

[mpaq]

Hi guys.
Here is my take.
Title: Distant Love
Backing trak by Kevin Taylor


Right click and Save as...
equator (http://c.ilike.com/d/0000/376/0000376597.mp3?fn=Fredi+Bravo-Distant+Love.mp3)

WrigglerUk. I am going to listen to your take and I will comment on it after that.

Superhuman. I hope you can participate this month, we have not heard your music in a while, bro.

Thanks for listening. :)


.

MAN! you nailed it! Great job...im thinking, should i listen to Fredi's track before i do mine...ah what the hell, his style is way different than mine anyway....Big mistake, now im going to have to wait a few days to get yours out of my head!

Like your tone on this too, different from your usual sound. I know your a strat guy, what did you do differently?
I know this is not a competition, but still..... a tough act to follow....good job man!

[RickBlacker]

Equator... VERY NICE!!!!!
Only thing I might say is for my taste, the guitar may have been bumped up just a weeee bit more. But, again, that's just me.

[mpaq]

Equator... VERY NICE!!!!!
Only thing I might say is for my taste, the guitar may have been bumped up just a weeee bit more. But, again, that's just me.

Hey Rick...why not submit a solo? I listened to your sample track you posted....after only a couple months you are well on your way and this thread is a great way to build on your skills and get some good feedback. Re: your track...do those chords first then record that intro on top, add a drum loop and it would be kick ass!

[Silimtao]

First, Kevin- what a beautiful BT! This is my first take (had to strike when the iron was hot- TonePort was working; kinda). Didn't know I had the tune on "loop", so that's why it's so long. Anyway, I was trying to find my groove. Gonna try to find the sound I really want. Anyway, here it is:Schmanger (http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7221123)*


Backing Track by Kevin Taylor.

Oh, I thought the BT was the usual 2 mins.

[Silimtao]

2nd try, trying to tweak my sound and find my groove. Trying to get rid of that back-slap echo or whatever it is. I'm at the mercy of whatever sound I can get out of my TonePort. I realize I'm not attacking the strings as well as I'd like because it's a pretty clean tone. Will work on it more.


Kiana (http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7221936)

Named after my daughter, who's lots prettier than Kevin. :)

Backing track by Kevin Taylor.

[WrigglerUk]

Equator - that was beautifully done. Absolutely caught the mood and rhythm of the song. Just can't criticise it at all, great to listen to.

Silimtao - The clean tone was excellent, I liked the jazzy almost stacato style a lot - not your usual thing, very inventive. If you could get the balance right between BT and guitar it would be really cool. Don't let the toneport beat you! Its a good piece of kit when it works...

[Silimtao]

Silimtao - The clean tone was excellent, I liked the jazzy almost stacato style a lot - not your usual thing, very inventive. If you could get the balance right between BT and guitar it would be really cool. Don't let the toneport beat you! Its a good piece of kit when it works...
I assume you are talking about my 2nd take? I thought the guitar was a little too loud. I'm still trying to find the right sound I'm hearing in my head- wish I could add some chorus, but my TonePort doesn't work with any of my pedals (when it's working at all, as you know by now). There's some stuff I liked in my first take I'd like to incorporate. But I'm still trying to shape the sound properly. Hopefully, the electrical tape will keep the usb connection in properly, lol.

Input is much appreciated. btw, what model soundcard do you use? Do you plug straight in, or do you need some other type of interface?

[equator]

Thanks guys for all the comments.

Mpaq. I do not have the Fender Strat anymore, I traded it and bought a Schecter Diamond Series C-1 FR equipped with active humbuckers and a licensed Floyd Rose.
I used an Amp/Cab modeling combo which is based on a High Gain amp;
effects are: Compressor, noise gate, EQ: bass7 Mid9 High2; Ping Pong delay 2sec and Room Reverb.
Can’t wait to hear your take, man. :)

Rick. Thanks for listening and commenting, I couldn’t get the guitar any louder without the level indicators going to the red lights. Also, I purposely wanted the backing to stand out in the mix and let the vocals VST be heard.

WrigglerUk. Thanks, appreciate the comment. Glad you liked it.
I listened to your take as well and I thought that it sounds good overall.
The only constructive criticism I can give you is to not pan the guitars to hard to the sides, also I find it a little difficult to focus on the direction you are taking your solo because you have the two guitars going at the same time, and it is like one track is going somewhere and the other somewhere else. In my opinion, the guitars would sound better if you place them one after the other, kind of a call and response or use the slide guitar very sparingly . I hope you don’t mind me saying that. ;)

Silimtao. I downloaded both of your takes, and I must say that you played some really nice phrases in both.
I commend you for not giving up on this, even with all the problems your hardware is giving you.
I have a Line 6 guitar port, and it produced the same pops and cracks that I hear in your recordings, plus I never got that thing to have an acceptable latency for recording. I used to record my takes and then drag them to try to make them sound in sync with the backing. I got tired of it and I have never use it again.

There is an open source software that allows you to record your screen, (if you don’t have one already) it is called CamStudio.

Make a video of Audacity or whatever program you are using to record your music and make sure to show the preferences window, and all the things you do when you record your music.
Upload the video to Soundclick so we can see it and maybe we can help you resolve the problem.
Here is the link to CamStudio.
http://camstudio.org/


Thanks guys again.

[WrigglerUk]

WrigglerUk. Thanks, appreciate the comment. Glad you liked it.
I listened to your take as well and I thought that it sounds good overall.
The only constructive criticism I can give you is to not pan the guitars to hard to the sides, also I find it a little difficult to focus on the direction you are taking your solo because you have the two guitars going at the same time, and it is like one track is going somewhere and the other somewhere else. In my opinion, the guitars would sound better if you place them one after the other, kind of a call and response or use the slide guitar very sparingly . I hope you don’t mind me saying that. ;)

Silimtao. I downloaded both of your takes, and I must say that you played some really nice phrases in both.
I commend you for not giving up on this, even with all the problems your hardware is giving you.
I have a Line 6 guitar port, and it produced the same pops and cracks that I hear in your recordings, plus I never got that thing to have an acceptable latency for recording. I used to record my takes and then drag them to try to make them sound in sync with the backing. I got tired of it and I have never use it again.

There is an open source software that allows you to record your screen, (if you don’t have one already) it is called CamStudio.

Make a video of Audacity or whatever program you are using to record your music and make sure to show the preferences window, and all the things you do when you record your music.
Upload the video to Soundclick so we can see it and maybe we can help you resolve the problem.
Here is the link to CamStudio.
http://camstudio.org/


Thanks guys again.

I dont mind at all! I'm just having fun & feedback is welcome. The take was very rushed - half an hour between download and upload, the song was just that good... I'll do it again before the month is out.

Why didn't I think of camstudio... software support is my trade after all! :eek: Thats an excellent idea... really there should be no latency if the Toneport drivers are installed. Although Audacity needs to be told to use the Toneport explicitly. If its set up correctly, the Toneport actually becomes a second soundcard, replacing the onboard one. I'm sure we can beat it into submission...!

[Silimtao]

Thanks guys for all the comments.

Mpaq. I do not have the Fender Strat anymore, I traded it and bought a Schecter Diamond Series C-1 FR equipped with active humbuckers and a licensed Floyd Rose.
I used an Amp/Cab modeling combo which is based on a High Gain amp;
effects are: Compressor, noise gate, EQ: bass7 Mid9 High2; Ping Pong delay 2sec and Room Reverb.
Can’t wait to hear your take, man. :)

Rick. Thanks for listening and commenting, I couldn’t get the guitar any louder without the level indicators going to the red lights. Also, I purposely wanted the backing to stand out in the mix and let the vocals VST be heard.

WrigglerUk. Thanks, appreciate the comment. Glad you liked it.
I listened to your take as well and I thought that it sounds good overall.
The only constructive criticism I can give you is to not pan the guitars to hard to the sides, also I find it a little difficult to focus on the direction you are taking your solo because you have the two guitars going at the same time, and it is like one track is going somewhere and the other somewhere else. In my opinion, the guitars would sound better if you place them one after the other, kind of a call and response or use the slide guitar very sparingly . I hope you don’t mind me saying that. ;)

Silimtao. I downloaded both of your takes, and I must say that you played some really nice phrases in both.
I commend you for not giving up on this, even with all the problems your hardware is giving you.
I have a Line 6 guitar port, and it produced the same pops and cracks that I hear in your recordings, plus I never got that thing to have an acceptable latency for recording. I used to record my takes and then drag them to try to make them sound in sync with the backing. I got tired of it and I have never use it again.

There is an open source software that allows you to record your screen, (if you don’t have one already) it is called CamStudio.

Make a video of Audacity or whatever program you are using to record your music and make sure to show the preferences window, and all the things you do when you record your music.
Upload the video to Soundclick so we can see it and maybe we can help you resolve the problem.
Here is the link to CamStudio.
http://camstudio.org/


Thanks guys again.
Thanks for the input Fredi. I'm still going to work on shaping the sound I want. I'll try to get to CamStudio....sometime after I put my desktop together, lol. that crapped out entirely this week, and I've had to take it apart altogether. When things go wrong, they really, really go wrong.

There's fewer latency issues with the StealthPlug, but last time I tried it, I couldn't load ANY pre-sets; mayble I'll give that another try using my real pedals. I'm telling ya though, I'm spending more time trying to get the hardware to work than actually working on the tune. Thanks again.

[Silimtao]

Although Audacity needs to be told to use the Toneport explicitly. If its set up correctly, the Toneport actually becomes a second soundcard, replacing the onboard one. I'm sure we can beat it into submission...!
I didn't know that. Maybe that's why there's a latency "issue". I haven't had the time to learn the better recording software, and I just loaded Audacity, and read that it records whatever sound is coming out of the pc. Thanks for the tip. I'm going to eat, and if I have the time, will give it another go- or maybe give it a rest. I'm getting to the point where I'm thinking too much, and you know how that can get in the way...

[Silimtao]

Yet another one. Can't get the twangy tone out. I think the Tonport is plain defective.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7224588


Backing Track by Kevin Taylor

[light487]

Up till now I have been struggling to find a groove on this one.. mainly because the backing track has such subtle changes of the beat. It's a very nice backing track and I don't want to change it in any way really.. well yes I do.. haha.. but it would truly be a different beast if I did and would no longer be the original track etc..

So my alternative to this is to add a guide track to it, which I will remove before I render the track into an MP3. I have basically just added some standard 4/4 rock drums at 90 bpm.. and for some sections I've added extra high-hats hitting on the 16ths. By adding this guide track, I have changed the entire dynamic of the backing track so that in my mind I can hear grooves and things that were not there before.

I thought I would mention this now not because I consider it to be cheating it any way.. but because I thought it was a good method to consider when trying to record a solo over something you're not familiar with. Think of purely as a metronome but with a groove and you'll see where I am coming from. It helps me keep in time not just with the backing track itself but with my own groove that I am trying to put on top of the backing track.

I am trying to branch out from the standard solos I have been doing and try to make true music like I hear all my idols doing (Steve Vai, Satriani, Eric Johnson).. if you take away their guitar solo instrumental stuff, you're left with a really barren musical landscape that doesn't have a lot to it.. it's very much like this backing track.. there's not all that much to it.. it's like the edge of the water at a beach with the waves sliding up the sand, only to be sucked back into the water again.. it just rolls back and forth gently.. but there's not a lot to it.. So that's where the "lead" guitar comes in and makes it into a musical piece.

[mpaq]

Thanks guys for all the comments.

Mpaq. I do not have the Fender Strat anymore, I traded it and bought a Schecter Diamond Series C-1 FR equipped with active humbuckers and a licensed Floyd Rose.
I used an Amp/Cab modeling combo which is based on a High Gain amp;
effects are: Compressor, noise gate, EQ: bass7 Mid9 High2; Ping Pong delay 2sec and Room Reverb.
Can’t wait to hear your take, man. :)


will post soon, actually have it done but for some reason cubase gives me an error when i try to export it....may have to redo it if I cant find the problem.

[equator]

What’s up guys.
I remixed my take. I had to bring down the backing track just a bit and use compression on the master track to level and smooth things up.
The result: A louder track with more presence on the guitar.
Please take a listen and let me know what you think.

Right click and Save as...
equator (http://c.ilike.com/d/0000/376/0000376597.mp3?fn=Fredi+Bravo-Distant+Love.mp3)

Thanks guys. :)

Silimtao. Your 3rd take is a keeper. You got a good balance between the backing and your lead guitar.
Nice job my friend. :)

.

[mpaq]

This isnt what id really call a lead, i concentrated on practicing my phrasing and compressed it along with a little reverb so the guitar blends into the mix. Its an ambient track with a lot going on, so i wasnt really sure what else to do with it......sometimes, less can be more

Dreamland (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=789879&content=music)

[mpaq]

Yet another one. Can't get the twangy tone out. I think the Tonport is plain defective.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7224588


Backing Track by Kevin Taylor

Congrats man, huge improvement on the sound quality. Really like your playing too....some nice runs and good ideas in there.......makes me realize just how boring my track is, and needs to be revisited...

[Silimtao]

Congrats man, huge improvement on the sound quality. Really like your playing too....some nice runs and good ideas in there.......makes me realize just how boring my track is, and needs to be revisited...
Thanks, mpaq (and equator and Wriggler). I just wish I could tweak the tone of my guitar. But it's hard re-creating the feel. There's a few clunker notes in there, and I'm fretting out on some bends, I'm still trying to clean it up, but I don't think I can recreate the feel. If I can't, I'm afraid it will be my final submission. After I butchered your BT last month, I really wanted to put up something half-decent. Maybe by this weekend.

Hey, I wonder if Kevin will put up a solo? That would be cool.

[light487]

Well I still have a long way to go on this one but thought I'd share where I am up to with it so far. It's more or less in the stages of fleshing out the ideas I have for it.. I think I have a decent tone, though I welcome feedback on the tone (as well as anything else) if you feel that needs something..

RightClick and Save As.. (or LeftClick to listen in browser) (http://music.lukeparsons.info/GuitarTricks/Jan_2009/GT_Solo_Jan_2009.mp3)

EDIT: I replaced the file with a more up to date solo.. it's getting there but still needs a bit of work. I'm actually playing my acoustic guitar for the solo here.. trying to find the right tone, so I tried it with distorted acoustic :)

[WrigglerUk]

Decided to completely re-do this one. This is the final version, again it's just a single take with no particular thought or direction, but it's better than the previous one. No duelling guitars clutter... :o

I used the Waves GTR guitar sim software ( free download from Waves, very good for no $ ) to see what it sounds like, so I may experiment with the tone settings but the song wont change.
The link is the same,

WrigglerUk - Taylor Maid (http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7213725)

I'll take some time to listen to the other takes now... :)

[mpaq]

Well I still have a long way to go on this one but thought I'd share where I am up to with it so far. It's more or less in the stages of fleshing out the ideas I have for it.. I think I have a decent tone, though I welcome feedback on the tone (as well as anything else) if you feel that needs something..

RightClick and Save As.. (or LeftClick to listen in browser) (http://music.lukeparsons.info/GuitarTricks/Jan_2009/GT_Solo_Jan_2009.mp3)

EDIT: I replaced the file with a more up to date solo.. it's getting there but still needs a bit of work. I'm actually playing my acoustic guitar for the solo here.. trying to find the right tone, so I tried it with distorted acoustic :)

Well done Light.... Really cool hook at the intro, the delay makes it. I like the tone youve got going as well, a lot more interesting than a clean tone, but not overdone. Throw in your usual excellent phrasing and this track gets my vote so far....

[Julian Vickers]

Hey guys where the hell have I been?

I DONT KNOW

How are you guys

[mpaq]

Hey guys where the hell have I been?

I DONT KNOW

How are you guys

Hey Julian, welcome back. Theres a few of us still hangin in there, trying to keep this thread going....not what it used to be, thats for sure. Most of the better players have moved on to other things i guess....im really surprised though that there arent a lot more novice players wanting to get in on this, its a really good thread and i know has helped me a lot...

[mpaq]

so i guess everyone has given up on this thread...shame really, time to move on i guess. Ive been really busy with a new job as well but have been checking back and see nobody is posting anymore so i havent bothered...

[Superhuman]

Been away for ages too - surprised too see the monthly assignment has died... I played on a few myself and did a few backings too. It was good fun but I think the way it was structured may have contributed to its downfall. The really experienced players may have been in the minority but I think they scared a lot of the beginners away. Some of those BT's were awesome but after Maestro Shaz or some other shredder posted a take it almost became the end of the thread (unless another high level player posted too).

There really should be 3 streams: beginner, intermediate and advanced - with voting done accordingly. And by right the instructors should be posting takes every single month too. This is an instructional site after all, surely the instructors should be showing off their talents on the monthly assignment and giving tips and advice etc.

I gave up participating because of the lack of interest - haven't been by the site much since and I see things have gotten pretty quiet. It would be a shame to let this go, I see a lot of the other top class players have gone since this thread went quiet. For me it was one of the key features that kept me coming back to the forum.

Selection of the BT's is another thing - I always thought there should have been a vote taken over what BT gets chosen. That would probably have more submissions made too, all helping to increase participation.

If the users of this forum are interested in keeping things going I can provide hosting of the tracks and a facility for comments etc - I should also be able to include a better voting system on the page too - but only if there is any real interest... Post if you want it.

[mpaq]

totally agree Dave.
Backing tracks should never be an issue, there are lots available all over the net, many that are really very good and are in the public domain. But this thread seemed to prefer that the track was homemade and I think that may have turned some people off...
Ive posted a couple tracks aside from the monthly contest thing, and was dissapointed with the lack of feedback, not that i need the ego stroke, just that the only value of this site for me is the feedback.......yes the lessons are great, but without high speed I cant take advantage of them.
I am in favour of keeping this going but without restrictions on the backing track (provided they are not copyrighted of course)........at least that way there would be many to choose from and we could post a choice depending on the style. That way there'd be somethin for everyone, might attract more contributors......

[FingerSpasm]

I am all for it. This was pretty much the main reason I visited this site. I did not participate in the last couple of months due to work. But I would like to get back into it. I agree with all the points that you made about how this should work. I was always surprised that the backing tracks were created by the person hosting the thread. I always thought there was an abundance of tracks for free on the net. And like you said several could be posted and then a vote taken in advance. Maybe post the possible tracks a month early and then the votes would be tallied at the beginning of the new month and the new track posted. Then the process could start over.

[mpaq]

I am all for it. This was pretty much the main reason I visited this site. I did not participate in the last couple of months due to work. But I would like to get back into it. I agree with all the points that you made about how this should work. I was always surprised that the backing tracks were created by the person hosting the thread. I always thought there was an abundance of tracks for free on the net. And like you said several could be posted and then a vote taken in advance. Maybe post the possible tracks a month early and then the votes would be tallied at the beginning of the new month and the new track posted. Then the process could start over.

I guess the only downside to that would be people will show up just to scoop the tracks without contributing anything or participating. Then again, since they'd actually be hosted somewhere else maybe theres a way to limit access....I think we need at least 6 committed players to keep this thing alive....other boards dont seem to have any problem, maybe its the higher skill level of theplayers ...funny i would have thought their would lots of novice players that would jump at this.

[WrigglerUk]

I've also been absent for a while... in a bad place at the moment, my wife's undergoing treatment for cancer, she had surgery this week...

I'd also hate to see this thread die, like others it's what brought me here in the first place. I'm not really fussed about format ( in fact the voting part is not important to me at all, the feedback of others is ) and I don't look at it as an 'assignment' so much as an excercise in developing improvisation ideas and technique etc. and for a bit of fun. There ARE plenty of BT's out there, but one thing I have noticed is that many are for well-known songs. There are'nt many ( outside of bluesey stuff ) that are aimed purely at improvising. But if someone has a fund of such things then :) One aspect of people contributing tracks is that we have had wonderful variety in the past, I dont want to head down the path of just hard rock/metal tracks. This ain't helpful, Im just rambling...

Thanks to Superhuman for his offers of space & effort, I hope there IS enough interest to keep us going.

Peace to all...

[Razbo]

...funny i would have thought their would lots of novice players that would jump at this.

Speaking as a novice player, I would be quite shy about participating and posting my efforts. Perhaps that is one of the hurdles the idea faces if I am not unique in that feeling and only those already confident in their abilities would post.

Just guessing.

The other poster's idea of beginner, intermediate and experienced levels would help.

[mpaq]

Speaking as a novice player, I would be quite shy about participating and posting my efforts. Perhaps that is one of the hurdles the idea faces if I am not unique in that feeling and only those already confident in their abilities would post.

Just guessing.

The other poster's idea of beginner, intermediate and experienced levels would help.

Razbo - thanks for your honesty. Thats what this site is though...a learning site. I know of no better way to learn than to get feedback on your efforts so you know how to take corrective actions. I understand why you might be shy, some boards can be hostile or "clubby" but i never got that sense from this one. We dont "rate" each other or pit one tune against another...its not a contest, but more of a forum to share ideas and get constructive critique on how you could have made a track better. The lessons on the site are much the same...everything from how to hold a pick right up to complicated theory and advanced playing techniques. Something for everyone.
Besides its all virtual, if i suck, why do i care...its not like anyone knows me :)