GT Solo Assignment November 07

Hmmm, looks like there are only 5 of us who have put something together for November - including Superhuman who apparently didn't get a solo together (is there still time?) but whose backing track alone was an absolute killer! So firstly a big rap to him for such a masterfully tight and challenging backing track in the metal realm. :D

Equator:
Firstly my applause for those sweep arpeggios especially towards the latter half of the track (and for taking the time to put up the tab). Good to hear a variety of other lead techniques as well - string scrapes, cool "pick hammer trill" (for want of a better term) around 0:17 and the slide thing near 1:00, and finally some very good hammer-ons mixed into to the shred for the outro. Melodically your lines revolved around (and forgive my ignorance if I have this wrong) the E Phrygian Minor scale which suits the backing well - but I thought there was also potential for you to add some other flavours. It also seems to me that your sweeps were the recurrent theme more than anything and personally I like the "head" or the "hook" in a song to be something more melodic than a scale or arpeggio. So although technically much of your playing is very good in November, I feel it is compositionally lacking a little as far as melody goes. Also, your arrangement of the different sections also seemed to me to revolve around your technical variations in playing style and for me it sounded a little broken in sections - (meaning I thought there could have been more cohesion and flow throughout). Tone-wise I thought it was OK - a little dry for me personally but that also showcased your ability to play cleanly without errors (unlike my effort).
So in summary I would say good effort - but I enjoyed your playing far more than your composition.


Seazer:
Once again a great effort - I was looking forward to your submission this month after last month's. Nice intro mate - the pull-offs at the start, ending in that vicious bend set up some real tension in your opening. I love how you let the rhythm breath after that section in your November (Superhuman would be stoked). Then it went into some very groovy satchy melodic pentatonic playing with cool riffs and catchy hooks. Nice change of tone around the 1:27 mark :cool: I liked how you were pivoting off whole phrases in the phrygian section - this adds some real depth to your composition. The solo tone you switch to at 2:10 is so very sweet and smooth - it reminded me of Eric Johnson and that is very much a compliment. The phrasing in that particular section was excellent. The second employment of space for rhythm and the contrasting tone for the outro was also a good idea but I didn't like the outro solo as much and the note you ended on seemed choked or something - really the outro was the only thing I reckon you could have improved substantially and then I would have been saying excellent all round. But I love your playing Seazer and I look forward to hearing more of it. Good luck with November. ;)

Shaz:
Man, Killer tone - you are definitely the man with the golden sound this month - actually you may never been in to Suicidal Tendencies but some of your playing and those freaky legato runs and bends remind me of their lead player (can't remember his name) - and I used to absolutely love that band - hearing your playing has inspired me to get back into them. But enough of that, back to your November... Well can I say your playing technically and compositionally (as a soloist) is right up there with the likes of Satch and Petrucci as well. I don't want to go into detail about your effort this month describing everything I like because I might run out of space... The only (and it's a very, very tiny criticism and it's a personal, subjective thing) was that the arpeggios at 1:45 didn't seem to work and there may have been a bum note there - but hey, it's nothing really. Shaz in my opinion you were all over this month's BT and you are obviously spending a great deal of time on the instrument right now. Amazing stuff!!!

First off thanx for very Indepth and Inspiring analysis this month Spedzar I think you nailed all reviews perfectly FMPOV leaves little to say :confused: Superhuman should be up later today or tomorrow is cool by me His guitar time very limited for a while with the new baby and all :eek: I been there to man.

Equator: Just a few things like, when the main catch comes in first time your playing a continued line note was hanging from previous bar refering to past when properly stating new line for that would be better. Pick scrapes were cool but would be more effective as build ups to a change for tension's sake.the E F G part you stated nicely with repeating melodies then your sweeps entered and resolve nicely .Overall good but just a little bit more on orchestrating would be good.Well done

Spedshaz:Soon as I heard this I liked this one. Nice catchy melodies and hooks kept me there,the harmonized parts are very effective and the Wa Wa sounds great.The "dream sequence" starts at 1:05 goes to 1:24 (thats what it reminds me of) builds nicely to the fast runs with wawa, but then those sweeps I dont know, maybe wrong time wrong place. I know it must be hard because the tempo is really flying there.You redeemed yourself by restating harmonized part at end and ended it well.You seem like your just stretching your legs so everyone look out!Top job.

Maestro shaz:From the second it starts to the finish was a Trip! Cool heavy start has various cool riffs to many to name 1:26 to 1:50 really good stuff Malmsteen and rhoads for me there.Nice bluesy change in first backing change 0:45 was good.From 2.00 on 2:22 you rip it up then back to the phrygian and some fast tap trilling for killer finish.Although was fast most of way through it was kept interesting sign of good player. Outstanding hard to beat!

Well I kinda ran outta time myself, but I gave it a go. But only as much as to expose my lack of ability. I hit record a few times, but nothing much salvageable...I wouldn't want to torture anyone with my wankering. I did have one cool idea for the 1/2 time part around 0:45, that used my nylon string for a descending chord passage with a few pulloffs. I bet no one expected to hear an acoustic on this track eh? But the rest of the song pretty much called for cool shred licks...which I don't currently have in my "trick bag". Maybe if I had come across the thread earlier this month I could've committed more time to coming up with melodically strong phrases...but I didn't. But I'll still be having fun with it on my own time for awhile to come. If I ever do throw something together maybe I'll post it then.

Ok, my effort posted below in my sig file (click on track 'Phantasm').
Not overly happy with it but it was all I could muster between babies, wife, job and college thesis, however it has some elements I really like and I intend to completely rerecord it some day. Some parts don't really work but they're as good as I could do for the 3.5 hrs of playing/recording/mixing I did when the wife wasn't looking - would love to make a lot of changes and scrap some sections but I won't have the time to play again until the Christmas holidays :(

Half of the solo was recorded on my Prestige, the other half on possibly the worst guitar on the planet... my cousins 'Ninja Katana' (100 euro guitar with action about 1cm high, the lowest output pickups I have ever used and a neck that looked and felt like a bark encrusted tree branch with strings on it). Half was recorded in Cubase at my house and the other half through Reaper yesterday at my cousins while I was supposed to be at work... luckily I brought my Rocktron Prophesy with me otherwise I would have nothing to submit! Anyway, you can tell the difference in guitars on the legatto runs - took a lot of post EQ and VST effects to enhance the tone and add some sparkle and definition.
Tried not to play any pentatonics even though I was very tempted - so it's a little different to what I usually play but still has some of my signature runs in places.

On mp3unsigned ('Phantasm')
http://www.mp3unsigned.com/showmp3.asp?mp3ID=50357

On soundclick
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=5951605&q=hi

Downloaded everyones take now, will listen to it all when I get back home.

Spedzar and seazer, thanks for the crit guys...

Superhuman, heard yours already.... :)

Superhuman:

Glad you managed to get this together with what little time you have! Well done! Don't worry - my girl and I are moving interestate in about 7 weeks and between now and then have another week of house repairs, packing, organising, regular employment, job seeking interestate and a pre-planned 2 week holiday before X-mas thrown in for good measure - and man, I can only just imagine what having a young child in the equation would do to my guitar playing at the moment - that is dearly hanging by a thread (this one, actually - pardon the pun...).

So, as for your November - absolutely loved the intro/outro theme! Arpeggios around 0:28 were fierce and tight. Not so sure about the transition into the next solo but there was some really nice stuff going on around the 1:00 minute mark for sure leading into that very tight hammer and pull-off section that culminated around 1:25. The next few runs were a little standard scalar sounding to me until the stretchy part using the 3 string arpeggios around 1:50 - nice :cool: Yeah that tone on the other guitar towards the end is a little sick and the hum was very noticeable - I could tell that the action was also a fair way off the ground - it sounded about as smooth as trying to skip a rope on stilts but to your credit you still managed to shred on the old beast! But the question remains.. Why did you use that instrument? :eek:
However, still that intro/outro section is probably the most memorable and catchy riff in my opinion that anyone has put forward in this month's - I'm not surprised it belongs to the owner of the BT! So well done and once again thanks for the great BT.

Hey Spedzar, thanks for the crit. Some of the sections are pretty cringe-worthy allright and the stock scale runs didnt help much - the reason I had to play on a 'Ninja Katana' (seriously the name says it all!) was becuase I could get the Prophesy out of the house without the missus seeing it but not a guitar! Had to skive off work for an hour to my cousins house, so not a lot of thought went into it. Also re kids... I've got 4 (aged 4, 3, 1.5 and 5 weeks) :eek: kind of nuts in my house ALL the time! Thanks again, I'll be reviewing everyones track over the next day or so.

Knew you'd make it supa,
Wow caught me off guard those intro outro passages Sublime :cool: reminded me of john5's latest album similar effects he uses prophecy,really great display of shredding all round,arpeggios and I'm sure I heard a few penta's in there :D The scalar runs from 1:28 I liked I could see where you were comming from I was trying to get something like that in Sept track but you pulled it off well.I also liked those speed bursts comming in with some palm muting and also a phrygian lick for good measure very memorable track this month.I reckon you have ingredients for a top metal song here good luck with it....Show stopper :)

Spedzar : Your take was really nice to listen to, melody wise. You really nailed that melody down and it worked perfect for the BT. Loved the harmonised riffs especially. Nice dynamics during the wah section.. i liked that. What I think u could do to improve it, and dont think im putting u down, is just, clarity and articulation. Make your notes sound more clearer, but I can hear u do know how to play. I reckon if u found a good distortion with a compressor hooked up to it, u might find playing the notes much more easier. I dont know what u used, but it needed to be a bit more compressed... that's all. Great job Mate... PS: I see u from down under too mate ;)

Equator : I think u really have improved ur technique man, nice speed sections in there and i liked the sweeps (which I cant do) towards the end. That's what made me remember ur take. The tone towards the end with wah effect i think?? was much better than start and also nice licks in that part too. I think, though, u could use more of a plan with the melodies. I know u just seemed to improvise right? And that's how it sounded like, but I reckon u did good though technique wise...

seazar : I can hear u have some nice licks in there. What I really really like about your take is that it wasn't just a million notes crammed into the BT just to show howfast u can play. Your take seemed more mellower than the rest and I liked that.... I thought the delay on the 1st section seemed to be in mono right? It kinda got muddled up with the guitar sound, but the 2nd section, I think, u changed effects and the delay seemed to be panned a bit, which made it sound much more clearer. Nice tone mate... The track did seem a bit empty though with those free gaps of just the BT. But I liked your take a lot, it was really SMOOOOOTH man. :D Good work mate!

Superhuman : I loved your take man. The part that did it for me was the opening and ending themes.... It was so well orchestrated, can I use that word with this type of music?? Dunno what scales u used there, but it worked perfect and gave it a really EPIC feel to it, something which cannot be forgotton. I did hear some pentatonics there mate. I loved the 16th note triplet picking when the beat gets up tempo, although, and I understand ur situtation at home ATM, but u didn't seem to play up to ur fullest if u know what I mean... Dont get me wrong, your a great player, but i know u can do it better, If u had more time, which I know u did not. Yeah, could hear the difference in that Judo Katana guitar :p BTW, did u add sound effects to the track? I thought I could hear like a buzz or rattle sound sometimes.... I dunno. Anyways, great work

Shaz

Hey Shaz, thanks for the crits - just speaked a listen to your track at work - its awesome! Will do a full review on it tonight;-)
Re the buzz and hums on my take, the guitar I had to use had to be held in one position with the guitar lead held secure against my leg otherwise that buzz went all of the time -very nasty.... yeah it drifts in and out and you can hear the response from the pickups dropping just before it happened. Excellent tone you have, mostly attributed to brilliant technique, that a strat you use? What pups you got?

There isn’t much to say after the in-depth reviews given by you guys.
The only track I haven’t commented yet, is Superhuman’s.
Yeah, I’m gonna have to agree with the rest regarding the opening and closing sections. Very intriguing parts dude.
I think I hear the pentatonic passage around the 1:27 mark. But there is nothing wrong with playing pentatonic licks when they are well played like you did.
Great tapping and sweeping as usual. Loved the dive at the end followed by the echo.

Shaz. Thanks for your comments bro. A huge complement coming from a great guitarist like you.
I didn’t change my tone or add wah, I just switched the pickup selector to different positions. And you are right, I was just improvising, I don’t plan or write for the monthly assignments, I just listen to the BT and go ahead and push the REC button .
Hey Shaz, Are you working on recording a CD? If not, you should man, your music is really good and different to what everybody plays.

Good job everyone.

Superhuman : Those hums and buzz dont sound to bad... I thought u added western movie Sound FX hahaha.... I use a Strat, but not a Fender Strat... Im quite economical now, I admit, i use cheap guitars, well, living here and earning Thailand wages, it's really hard to get a Fender Strat here...

I use a Squier Stratocaster, (might I add 'By Fender' :p)

Neck pickup Dimarzio single coil, bridge Dimarzio mini-humbucker, and standard Squier mid pickup, which I never really use. (I think i get that from Malmsteen) :p

Equator : That's strange, i swear when I 1st heard ur take it was a wah, im gonna go listen to it again...

Thanks for the compliments about my style, an YES, Im currently recording my 1st complete solo album. Everything u hear are the ideas im up to, so please have a listen and give me some good advice to improve...

Thanks

Originally Posted by: maestro shazI use a Squier Stratocaster, (might I add 'By Fender' :p)

I love my strats.. they are both unique but I, naturally, like the one I bought recently. :)

Neck pickup Dimarzio single coil, bridge Dimarzio mini-humbucker, and standard Squier mid pickup, which I never really use. (I think i get that from Malmsteen) :p

I've never really thought about it lately but my preferred position now remains firmly locked into the 2nd option on the pickup switch. So I have the neck pickup and the middle pickup on. I have the neck pickup dropped down so far it is almost flush with the pick guard. The mid pickup is raised to about half the distance between the pick guard and strings. The bridge pickup that I hardly ever use these days is raised into the normal height, which is higher than the mid pickup. This gives me a dramatic change in the way the guitar sounds on each of the 5 different pickup switch settings.

I find the 2nd position that I have been using a lot lately provides the best dynamics for what I need, both in the rhythm section and especially lead. If I do change positions, I will usually still have the middle pickup active. So I'm usually in either the 2nd or 4th positon of the pickup switch.

I sometimes use the 2nd position, esp for clean guitar which I dont really play :p

4th position is really warm i think, not too bad for distorted ruthm tracks, though i prefer the 5th...

Standard Squier pick ups are pretty not too good, so i usually dont use it if i dont need too... my mid pickup is almost flush to the p-guard