My most challenging track so far!

Hi guys,
I've just completed the first mix of my latest track 'Hellucination'. To date, this is the most difficult and challenging piece I've ever played and I'm pretty excited by the end result :)
The whole track is just under 3 minutes long, which is pretty quick but a hell of a lot happens. I used every technique I could imagine and drew on a few influences along with my own style such as Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen and Marty Friedman. There's also a deliberate nod to Mozart at 1.46 if you can notice it.
Normally I only spend about 2 or 3 hours recording and writing solos for a track but I have to admit this one took a bit of practice - about 3 hours per night for 5 nights to be able to get what was in my head out onto the fretboard.
Hope you like it!!

On Mp3unsigned
http://www.mp3unsigned.com/Showband.asp?id=4890

or on Soundclick at
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=5855616&q=hi

how many fingers do you have?? incredible.

Wonderful as usual.. however I do have a few suggetions.. haha.. I always have suggestions! :D

Ok.. in the first bit where you set up the melody.. I thought may be a tapping run there, just a short one.. or something similar would have really made the intro complete.

Also I see you are forgetting to put in the rests again.. Take a song by one of your influences as an example.. "Surfing with an Alien" by Satch.. notice all the rests at the end of each section of music? there's like a half a second pause to break it up and to start the next measure/bar.. but more importantly.. in the middle there is that sort of gap in the solo and a few "fly by" sound effects play? I'll see if I can find it on YouTube.. one sec...... Ok found a live performance which is even better because you see how it helps the songs even out of the studio.. the gap happens at 2:20 in this video..

Anyway you can see gaps and pauses and stuff like that to break up the phrases of lead. Think of each phrase like a sentence with a full stop at the end, or a long sentence with commas. Every time you reach a comma or a full stop, you have to pause otherwise the phrase does not sound quite right. They're all still the same words but without the pauses, it all just rolls into one loooong sentence.

And the same paragraph with no commas or full stops:

Anyway you can see gaps and pauses and stuff like that to break up the phrases of lead think of each phrase like a sentence with a full stop at the end or a long sentence with commas every time you reach a comma or a full stop you have to pause otherwise the phrase does not sound quite right they're all still the same words but without the pauses it all just rolls into one loooong sentence.

.... I though there were loads of individual melodies and phrases with counterpoints and trade offs between runs :confused: Kind of wanted to go for the breakneck pace from start to finish but I made very sure not to have everything the same picking speed throughout, it goes from triplets to quadruplets to drop beats in the same runs and counter runs. I also made sure to represent all techniques such as alternate picking, legato, sweep picking, finger tapping and that neoclassical anchor technique (don't know what its called!)... there are still a few mistakes in there alright but it pretty much came out the way I wanted it to. It's always good to hear some crits from another set of ears - I just thought the pace flowed nicely to me, at least it's what I want to hear! :) Thanks for checking it out!

ZoSo-jp I see you got a Rocktron Prophesy too, this is what I used for all tones including the bass on this track - everything direct to Cubase SX3, only a tad of EQ on the lead.

Yeh... I always wonder whether to criticise or not.. You play far better than me from a technical point of view.. and I enjoyed the track.. so don't think I didn't like those bits and pieces I critiqued because I do..

Not at all, it's always good to get feedback and I appreciate you taking the time to check it out and post! I only play the music I want to hear anyway, it doesnt hit the spot for most people but it puts a big smile on my face when I drive around with it on in my car :p

Really intense performance. It just doesn;t let up..keeps bombarding with notes and runs that are amazing!

Hey Dave.
I don’t think you have to comply to what other players do or stop doing, if they like to play really looooong bends; well, that is their style. Or if they introduce breaks to let the backing breath, that is fine too, but it doesn’t mean you have to do it.
I think you established a good phrasing by going for sustained notes, rather than complete rests and silences.
So here is my review for what is worth.
A very balanced mix overall.
Good tones throughout the track.
Good control of the whammy bar and vibrato.
Liked the opening verse, with a minor harmonic flavor, fallowed with Aeolian sequences mixed with shred runs; then going back to the minor harmonic melodies.
After that you showcased your techniques: Alternate picking, tapping, sweeping, legato; all of that while introducing triplets, keeping the beat and using vibrato. Just amazing.
Then you killed that heavy storm of notes with a Dive at the very end.
Maybe it is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I would like a second cup, thank you. :D


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Good Stuff! I do not have the skills to suggest any improvements on that track. I have all your stuff on my soundclick radio station. I am on the computer quit a bit for work and I have a ton of songs on there that I listen to while working and all of yours are on there. Keep up the good work and let me know when the CD comes out. :)

thanks for the feedback fellas, much appreciated!
Equator, I took your advice re the mix - I re-recorded the bass and EQ'd out some of the low end and brought the hi's down a tad. Thanks for the advice and thanks for checking out the track.

FingerSpasm, I just noticed the radio stations on Soundclick - great to hear you have my stuff on yours! Makes all the difference when someone other than myself likes to listen to my tunes, thanks again!

you have almost always replied to my posts so i thought it time to reply to one of yours!

a great peice, both technically and melody wise, i love the tone crunchy and thick, of a satch ball park. really great writing, and the chops were tight, i especially appreciated ur gargling of the trem to liven up your melodies!

Hi Dave, this is Karl from Newcastle (Australia). Cool tune man. I grew up on Satch, Vai, Yngwie et al and can certainly appreciate where you are coming from with "Hellucination". Smooth virtuosic stuff there definitely. My only suggestion is for you to add spice by incorporating some different effects or tones (eg, as in Vai's "Blue Powder") but that's a very small suggestion and one I'm sure you are aware of. :o