GT Solo Assignment: October '07

Equator, I am listening to your track right now; I felt that the first note was a bit rough but then it picked up pretty nice. The only complaint I have is that you seemed to be playing a little too fast for this track

I can't really explain, your part was good but it just didn't seem to fit for me. I hope you don't misunderstand me. I think you could try eq'ing it a little more, or you could try to do a more melodic take, but I don't really know; Overall I liked your track, solid playing, good licks, but it just doesn't fit for me ^_^

MKylman

Thanks for listening and commenting man.
I don’t understand what you mean when you say… the first note was a bit rough…I just played a slide from D to E, and both notes are part of E dorian.
I don’t think I was playing too fast for that track, many players do just that, sometimes when the backing is a little slow, you can contrast it with a few moderately fast lines. That is what I went for.
Don’t worry, I didn’t misunderstand you, I appreciate your input and I take it as a constructive criticism. :)
Regarding the EQ: I did apply equalization to my take and I can assure you that the wave form registers a balanced mix of frequencies ranging from 70 Hz - 14K.
Anyway, I am not trying to defend my playing, I participate in the monthly assignments just for the fun of it and to gain experience and a little of practice.
Thanks again bro. :)

A much more improved solo there, equator.. it still sounds a little dissonant/off-key though.. not sure why.. what scale are you using?

I played the E dorian throughout the whole thing.

Edit: Sorry about the short post. (it was supper time, you know)
Now I am sitting here, enjoying a glass of Irish Cream and about to listen to all the solos submitted so far and I’ll be commenting on your takes tomorrow.
Cheers.

Hey light487. How is your solo coming along?

I still have over a week!! :) lol.. looks like I need the rest of the week to finish this.. it's in its very early sketching-out point.. so I am starting to think that the solo I will be submitting this month is going to suck compared to last month.. although I have just completely changed my angle of attack.. Taking on board criticisms from last month about my tone etc.. So now I have the following setup:

- My strat with the active EMG pickups, playing using mainly the middle pickup with my guitar expander unit on full and the presence control on about 75%..
- ..plugged into my Jim Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal..
- ..plugged into my PC via StealPlug..
- ..modelling and effects handled by Amplitube 2.0
- ..recording/sequencing with Tracktion.

So yeh.. completely different tone now.. going for more of a bluesy feel with, hopefully, some wrong notes that I can make sound right.. hehe.. playing with fire.. :)

Listened to your take today Equator,I liked your track good use of the wawa the fast Trilling sounded ok was fast but I think in context it did fit.With deths comment on the first note it sounds weird I think because the tune starts on a different beat you obviously shortened it to a 1min which is cool.but the begginng sounds a little off due to beat difference in beginning.The overall mix sounds a bit over done,just not enough air in there compared to your other mixes .Good job if you are happy with it,good for you. ;) and for Light good to hear you had a break through with your tapping last month,there far and few between enjoy .

No chance to do a track this month, got a bout of tinnitus from mixing with headphones so I've been advised to ease off listening to music for a while. That said, I'm checking out the tracks to date - at low volume :(

Hope no one minds if I critique the tracks so far (especially as I am not submitting this month)...

Equator: I see you have another new girlfriend this month ;)
Nice take, it started out with a big change in tone due to the wah - sounds nice, pretty extreme tone shaping but then again , I sense you are going for a Vai influence here. I don't think you played out of key at all, right note selection throughout and I liked the pace. However, I do think you may have a tuning problem with one of your strings, I've noticed this before on your tracks, I'm sure you tune up before takes so it could be an intonation problem (in tune off an open string or 5th harmonic but out on higher frets). Re the solo, my favourite part is the second section, it had a nice flow and direction. The dissonant sound others refered to could be the intonation of one (or more) strings - sounded slightly sharp on some notes but perfect on others that's why aI'm thinking perhaps just one string.

Seazer: great take, had a touch of Gambale meets Gilmore to it in terms of structure. You definitely put some thought into this track - nice mix of tones and melodies. Great hook sections too. This track is leagues ahead of your previous months submission - good to see you planning the piece out as opposed to jamming a load of scales. Works very well, good job!

Deathmetal: Nice runs at the opening section and a good transityion to the more simple mid section. Slight tuning issue on either the low A or E string - either slightly sharp or you put a bit too much pressure on the fretted note pulling it slightly out of tune. Very minor complaint though - my only crit. Again, this track bears no resemblance to last months, a great improvement - another track with some nice thought put ino the structure. Tone works well as dry as it is, good job man.

ZoSo: Hope you like the Prophesy - I use mine now exclusively - my Mesa rig is gathering dust at the moment (will come back to her again some day no doubt!). Some nice experimental tones in there, in particular the volume swell section, also loved the Van Halen style rhythm chops you introduced - very nice! As you said the opening section had a few bum nots but the second section was really great - everything moves up a notch once you introduce the rhythm section and start experimenting with tones. Nice one ;)

Well seeing as though it's my birthday on Monday I thought I'd lose my virginity with a post for the October track. Hmmmm this could become addictive... With the exception of the clean tone (1st take) I wiped a few solos before I found something that was OK in the distorted section - I tend not to structure things and rather just hear and play. OK it's a bit sloppy but I'm kinda happy with it and it's growing on me. That was a great backing track. Took me back to the vibe of Jeff Beck's track (not sure of the name - something like "Because we've ended as lovers"). Anyway this part of the forum is really cool - I'll get around to listening to everyone's stuff and commenting soon. Until then, here's my 1st October and my 1st contribution to this thread:


October 07





Ahh it seems I found myself sitting at this desk a while longer than originally anticipated (curiosity got the better of me) so here are my comments... Apologies for the lack of technical - I wouldn't know Dorian from Phrygian from your aunty Mavis's steak and kidney pie but here's my "two bob's worth" (by the way that's 20c in Australia)...

Seazer:
Yeah cool, nice with different sections and different styles. Very tasteful indeed. My favourite so far with emphasis on your compositional skills...

Dethm3tal
Not bad playing, but a change of tone on occasion would help. You sound like you might prefer more chugging type stuff to me with that tone but hey that’s cool man. Keep cranking it out!

ZOsO:
Nice! Inventive rhythm section and harmonizer solos in this track. Very creative with this one. Well done!!!

Equator:
Well you are obviously a riffologist - let’s make no mistake about that. But you might benefit from taking a more “dynamic” approach. Nevertheless I was hooked from start to finish - when I listened to your October it seemed to be over before it had began - not sure if I was waiting for something to happen or if you are a genius. Great playing and nice wah control.

Hey guy's. This is my first submission, so go easy. I started learning hoe to play lead only three weeks ago. Anyhow, let me know what you think. I just through this together in about 10 minutes. I know there are some missed notes. However, I just wanted to go ahead and post it!

http://www.purevolume.com/jgpeeples

Joe-Gray Peeples

I remember Superhuman saying that it would be cool if we'd give comments, constructive criticism and even have a scoring system to “judge” the entries submitted by the participating members, so I’ll be giving some feedback taking into consideration the following criteria:
- Composition. (arrangement, harmonization, phrasing, direction, etc.)
- Performance.
- Technique.
- Tone.
- Recording and Mixing.
The idea is to give specific and constructive criticism; so we can benefit from it and improve as guitarists and musicians.

Seazer.
- Composition. (Good). Great phrasing, timing and excellent structure of the solo.
- Performance. (Good). You played with conviction and expressiveness.
- Technique. (Good). Just the right touch of Articulations.
- Tone. (Good). The changes of tone kept the solo interesting and was pleasant to the ear.
- Recording and Mixing. (Good) A very well balanced mix and good sound quality.

Deathm3tal.
- Composition. (Good) The solo has musical direction, melodies and good phrases.
- Performance. (Good) You managed to do a good take in spite of the tuning problem.
- Technique. (Good) The picking was accurate and clean. Good use of Vibrato and Legato.
- Tone. (Fair) The guitar tone didn’t stand out in the mix.
- Recording and Mixing. (Good) Good levels and balance.

Z0s0.
-Composition. (Fair) The solo sounded ok overall but I didn’t find a solid theme, hook, riff or motif. And a few notes sounded off key.
- Performance. (Good) You played with feeling throughout the whole piece.
-Technique. (Good) You used to your advantage techniques such as slides, hammer ons and bends.
-Tone. (Good) Interesting change of tones, and each one suited the backing well.
-Recording and Mixing. (Fair) The sections with the rhythm and lead guitar, needed some more panning, because they are fighting for the same spot in the mix.

Spedzar.
- Composition. (Good) Your solo had direction and melodic phrases.
- Performance. (Good) You have good Improvisation skills.
- Technique. (Good) The solo has all the ingredients to make a good solo.
-Tone. (Fair) The tone at the beginning was better than the second one. The distorted tone needed a Noise Gate and had a little too much echo.
- Recording and Mixing. (Fair) There seemed to be a buzzing noise, maybe from a bad cable or connector.
And the track is clipping due to the volume levels. You have an excess of (+0.5 dB to the Left) and (+0.6 dB to the Right

Originally Posted by: jgpeeplesHey guy's. This is my first submission, so go easy. I started learning hoe to play lead only three weeks ago. Anyhow, let me know what you think. I just through this together in about 10 minutes. I know there are some missed notes. However, I just wanted to go ahead and post it!

http://www.purevolume.com/jgpeeples

Joe-Gray Peeples

Hey jgpeeples
Welcome aboard. Sorry I didn’t catch your post before.
I’m downloading your MP3 right now, and I’ll be giving you some feedback later.

Hi JG,
Man....If you've only been playing lead for 3 weeks then that was an awesome solo. Keep on practicing JG.
Doug

Originally Posted by: jgpeeplesHey guy's. This is my first submission, so go easy. I started learning hoe to play lead only three weeks ago. Anyhow, let me know what you think. I just through this together in about 10 minutes. I know there are some missed notes. However, I just wanted to go ahead and post it!

http://www.purevolume.com/jgpeeples

Joe-Gray Peeples

So, you started playing lead three weeks ago and you threw that solo together in 10 minutes. Then you are on the right path, man.
Ok Here is my review on your take.
- Composition. (Good) Some nice melodies and Pentatonic Sequences. The timing was good too. The only noticeable mistake occurred at the 1:34 mark, but you resolved it quick.
- Performance. (Good) You presented good control of the instrument.
- Technique. (Good) A rather nice and mellow vibrato technique. But you have lots to improve in the techniques area. Work on trills, tapping, tremolo, etc.
-Tone. (Good) A very crisp sound that makes one able to hear the picking attack.
- Recording and Mixing. (Fair) The sound quality is not bad, but you have an excess of (+0.7 dB) on the left channel.

I'm still learning how to record. Using Reaper. Hopefully, I'll get better at recording and my playing should get better as well. I like to play just by feel and not get to caught up on the technical side of things. However, learning some music theory would not hurt. Thanks for all your comments and look forward to conversing with you guy's in the future.

JGP

I'll listen to the ones I haven't listened to shortly because I think I now have all the pieces to my own solo puzzle.. and I have almost got them all together in the right places.. now I just need to record it.. hehe.. the hard bit :) I don't know why but as soon as I hit the record button my mood changes... I try not to think about it and just put it on loop-record so I can record multiple takes without stopping but I end up messing up every take.. lol :D

Ok so I have to go to bed now but I have a rough edit of what I have recorded so far. It has the basic structure there and the melody is happening.. it's just a bit of a mess at the moment.. and I'm still trying to chain it all together.. It's looking like I might actually make the deadline after all..

light487

hrmm it sounds much better if you download the mp3.. even the hi-fi feeds on SoundClick aren't that great..

Better late than never I guess... this is a cool BT, and I felt that the less done to this the better. So I added some keyboards... :D

WrigglerUk

Truthfully, there's not much to crit here, the guitar playing's virtually non-existent... Just a few chords in the background and tried to get a theme running through. Not much cop though.

About to listen to the other takes now... after I make my ever-loving a cup of tea!

I'm listening to your takes guys right now.
I'll be commenting later.
Cheers.

No technical criticism here ( kettles and pots would spring to mind if I did! )
- just what I liked & heard!

seazer: that was VERY good. I liked the way you mixed tones and styles and it's different to your previous work - enjoyed listening.

Dethmetal: Some very good runs and phrases - I particularly liked what you had running through the 'chorus'. All I'd say is that the tone and attack didn't suit this particular piece, but you did it in your own style.

Zoso: Started out a bit 'off' and then worked up a head of steam! I didn't really like the 2nd part - it seemed to lack a 'focus'. I did like the 'chaka' chords you threw in over the first chorus, really set it off. Felt you drowned the BT out a bit though...

Equator: As usual I liked your playing, this time I just felt it was 'samey' all through - it lacked your usual sense of dynamics. Neat picture again though! A question for you - what tool are you using to look at peoples equalisations?

Spedzar: Nice tone and I liked the opening section a lot. It seemed very noisy to me though. And the outro was very cool indeed!

jgpeeples: 3 months? 10 minutes? Thats an impressive start! There were a couple of mistakes, I liked that it didn't faze you & you kept on playing. Keep 'em coming!

Light487: You seem to have spent a long time agonising over this one! I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was good! Really nice tone & sustain, some very inventive passages and smooth playing style. A little noisy at the start & end, but overall fine!

Thats all folks.

Originally Posted by: WrigglerUkLight487: You seem to have spent a long time agonising over this one! I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was good! Really nice tone & sustain, some very inventive passages and smooth playing style. A little noisy at the start & end, but overall fine!

Hehe.. I am STILL agonising over it.. :D lol.. It's basically going to end up as a tidier version of what is now on SoundClick.. I've listened to the track as an MP3 all day today.. probably about 20 or more times.. I burnt it on a CD with similar artists so I could switch back and forth.. I'm just getting ready to start playing guitar again for today.. hopefully I will get the final mix done tonight.

I find it interesting that I went through about 4 or 5 different grooves before I came to this one.. I'm still using the E Dorian scale for the first bit, the climbing melody bit is B Aeolian (relative/harmonic minor) and then the bluesy/jazzy section is in B pentatonic minor.. and that odd sounding blue note is an F... The reason this is all interesting is that I have ended up right back where I first started from.. In my original post I mention it makes me think of "Cryin" by Joe Satriani.. or at least that style.. and that is exactly the style I ended up playing.. but having said that.. I would not have been able to play what I am playing now back then.. it just wasn't in my soul at that point.. the idea was there.. and the emotion partially.. but it was a listener's emotive reaction rather than a player's emotive reaction like it is now.. Hard to explain really.. lol

Almost there now! Woooo! :p lol