Please Rate My Guitar Playing...

I’ve got several new toys…an awesome Schecter C1 Classic, thanks to a fellow Doper and chair lover, Amplitube 3 software, an Avid Fast Track Solo USB audio interface (includes Pro Tools Express), a pair of monitors and headphones.

I haven’t practiced guitar in over two decades, but this arrangement has inspired me.

I am going to drop (heh heh) a couple tunes via Dropbox in the hopes someone out there in the Doperverse will guide me.

Again…haven’t played in a long, long time. This is my first foray into amp modeling software and recording.

Please be gentle…or not…

:slight_smile:

ETA: these are large .wav files, so if your internet is slow, they will take forever. One thing I didn’t realize is just how big these files can be. Sorry!

This is the first time I realized that you can pan guitars in Pro Tools left and right in two tracks to get that “layered” effect". First attempt at recording ever.


Me with a ton of effects, soloing and being a noob. Still sounds pretty cool to me.

Download the shit, take the gloves off, give me advice.

Sounds good, especially after going for so long without practicing. Advice? Just keep going. Sounds to me like you’ve got all the right skills but just need to sharpen up the rough bits (strength in fretting hand, for example).

I play every day, usually for about an hour or 90 minutes. I’ve been playing for about 23 or 24 years now. You sound better than I do. :mad:

I agree with jerez: just keep at it. You obviously know what you’re doing, you’re just rough as hell from lack of practice. I bet within 6 months you could be band ready, ezpz.

Thanks guys. I tend to play better when I haven’t slurped down ten beers and decide it’s a good time to record my rambling noodling and post it on the internet…

:slight_smile:

And Bo, part of the reason it sounds good is Amplitube. I’m telling you, that software is tops when it comes to dialing in any manner of amp tones, effects, etc. I love the versatility of changing out cabinets, types of rooms, microphones, mic placement, the whole nine yards.

Between that and Pro Tools it’s been a pretty steep learning curve for me, but like I said…I haven’t played for years. Squeegee, wherever you are, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude for charting the course. I have started playing every day now.

What I really need are lessons. I need to learn how everything fits together pattern-wise with modes, scales, etc. I also would love to learn some elaborate chord structures.

Thanks again for taking the time to listen (and download…jeez .WAV files are enormous!) and post about it, I really appreciate it.

Your work is ingenious. It’s quality work, but there are simply too many notes, that’s all. Cut a few and it will be perfect.

But it has no more or no less notes than I require!

Bwahahahaha! When I listened to these yesterday, I thought “hmm, he seems a little sloppy and unfoucused, but his hands know how to do it.”

And really, even if you weren’t drinky, it’s not bad. The intro to ATBL could have been crisper, but it was recognizable. The rest was certainly good enough to get you into a bar band.

The clip of you jamming isn’t bad, either. You need to find the groove or song that’s somewhere in there, though. I think you’re right in saying you need a few lessons on theory, but that’s probably the easiest part to grab from the internet. Put those riffs all into one song!

Okay - it was a good week, I’m relaxing on a Sunday, and more able/in the mood to post than I’ve been in a long time. I’m listening to Thelonius Monk, Alone in San Francisco; life is good. I’ll take a shot.

  • **FGiE **- it’s a ballsy thing to do: hang your playing out there. I applaud that.
  • I hear “good bones” in your playing. You bring tone and technique to your playing.

Within that context, here’s my breakdown. If I say anything you don’t agree with or think I am not clear on - cool, no worries. The most important thing is to keep playing.

Everything I am hearing you need to work on at this stage in your playing is in your *right hand. * But you need to adjust a couple of approaches to your rig in order to focus on your right hand, so I am going to start there:

  • Tone - you know, I like your tone, effects-laden stew that it is. What all is in there? I hear overdrive/distortion, some flange, some phase, some delay, an octaver at times - how’m I doing? But when you hit the open G on the Van Halen, it resolves into a nice crunch. But here’s the thing - you’re leaning on your effects too much. Hearing you work to sync up with the delay limits your ability to groove. So, for a period of time every time you play, you get to play with all the effects you want, but for at least 10 minutes, you have to play clean. You can have simple overdrive/distortion, nothing more. No reverb. If you are into it, play acoustic. Just you.

  • Technique - I hear that you have light-gauge strings - maybe .009’s? I know that Jimmy Page and EVH played .009’s or so during their golden years, but man, light gauge strings require finesse. May I suggest that you go up to .010’s and experiment with digging in a bit more with your pick. This does NOT have to be a permanent thing - go back after one set of strings if you prefer what you had before (whatever keeps you playing) - but you can get a bit better of a feel digging in, and also have a better set up for setting up a groove, which I will speak to below.

Okay, so you’re down to the basics: simple tone, heavier strings that you have to work a bit more. Now you need to focus on your groove. Groove comes first. Nothing in the super-fast, dweedly-Yngwie world of riffery exists without a groove to lead on top of.

Two observations that should matter to you:

  • When Malcolm and Angus got started, Angus got pushed to lead because he couldn’t handle the groove required for the rhythm. So Malcolm stepped up, and Angus got competitive with lead. AC/DC for those of you who think I am being silly with the first names :wink:
  • Eddie Van Halen is, first and foremost, a *rhythm *guitarist. Go back and listen - does he *EVER *drop the baton of the groove? Sure, because he leaves the slop in his playing ;), but you get my point, don’t you? He’s just such a groove master that he can drop in the most ridiculous leads and keep the groove chugging. Same with Stevie Ray. Same with Jimi.

So - either get a metronome, or get your foot moving, or play along more with the record. And with the heavier-gauge strings, dig in a bit on the bass strings, and you should have a bit more bounce in the feel that you can groove with. Fuckin’ *chug *with your picking thumb, okay? You’ll overplay it at first; palm-mute and go for the chuggy feel.

With the Van Halen, you’ve got to palm-mute it a bit more and have enough pick attack to chunk out the tone. I’m also going to suggest you work on AC/DC’s Sin City - you start with the straight E B D A barre chords, but then set up a droning low E string that really can work to set up a groove. I can’t believe I am actually doing this, but here is a clip on YouTube, playing the Van Halen bit and the AC/DC - it’s from an iPad cam, so turn it up and dial up the bass :wink: I did it this morning, not quite awake - it’s clamtastic, but tap your hand along with the grooves I set up - you feel it? Make that happen in your playing.

If you hear the groove in what I am doing, cool; go for that. Work on the muscle memory of your picking thumb, get your foot moving, and earn a groove that makes it sound like you’ve got a drummer backing you. Play an unplugged electric in front of the TV while watching something you can have in the background. Play through the clams.

Thanks again. It’s good advice. Wordman, yeah, I do like to use effects, but I also play some clean stuff as well. You were pretty dead on in recognizing the effects too. The second link has distortion, stereo amp/cabs, a little delay and a pitch shifter.

And you’re absolutely right about needing to keep time better. That night as I said I was heavily inebriated which accounted for a lot of the meandering and slop, but also…I didn’t use my click track except on the “Ain’t Talking” link, and even then I got ahead of myself and you can audibly hear me have to slow down to match it in the first bar of the intro.

I think right now I’m really just enjoying being able to have sounds and effects I’ve never had access to before thanks to the software as I never in a million years could afford the pedals, rack effects, amps, cabs, etc that the modeling software emulates.

Speaking of effects…I love wah. I don’t know why…I’ve never used one before. The wah effects built into Amplitube are automatic so it’s kinda cheating because there’s no actual pedal to regulate it.

With that in mind, here’s me, same night, getting crazy with the wah and riffing on “Voode Chile”…badly. :slight_smile:

I do like the ending part and some of the riffs I’ve improvised, but as scabpicker says…I need to find a groove and I think part of my problem as Wordman kinda alluded to is that when I did play back in the day, it was just me, and I tended to always try to solo, so my rhythm playing leaves a lot to be desired.

Anyway, take two!

You’re at beginner garage-band stage. Keep it up, find a few friends who play, and after a good bit of practice you should be able to get a few local bar gigs playing for free. You don’t yet have the skills to hold a 3-piece together (nor do I!) so try to find another guitar player, ideally one better than you who would enjoy coaching you.

Consider attending local blues jams. You’re clearly not a blues player, but working on blues can help round out your skillset, and it’s a great way to meet other players and people who might be interested in playing together and/or giving you some coaching. Plus, blues is easier than music. :wink: Start working on learning specific songs (in addition to noodling – never quit doing that!) Play as regularly as possible with other people.

Of course, to play gigs, you’d need an amp, so start saving your nickels if that’s what you’d like to do. Amplitube is fine, but you don’t want to be playing your guitar through the PA only, at least, not at the starter band level. (Pro level players who understand the stage scene and especially whose bands are using in-ear monitors, sure they can do that.) There are other alternatives; let us know and we can help you burn that bridge when you get to it.

The world is chock full of talented guitar players. What too many of them lack is taste, objectivity, listening to the other players, and the ability to play at reasonable volumes. As an entry-level player, if you focus on the latter more than merely building skills, you’ll be more of an asset than a drawback, and you’ll stand out well compared to technically better players.

For perspective, here’s me on electric guitar:
'Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers me doing my best to channel Jeff Beck and not sucking too bad (that’s me on the other instruments too).

Cool Fever a jam track I downloaded from Les Paul Forum

Every So Often I’m the archtop guitar on left, the first electric that comes in.

As a guitarist, I’m far from up to being able to front a 3-piece. I could play second guitar in a local bottom-tier blues or rock band. I use the term “bottom tier” lovingly, including lots of bands that play locally but never tour, have occasional party gigs, and get at most a couple hundred bucks for a bar gig (after proving you can pull a crowd by playing for tips), playing in the smaller venues.

You’re closer to nailing the sound and tone for your genre than I am in these recordings. Honestly, that’s harder than picking up all the licks and cleaning up the articulation. (In your genre, good articulation is critical because there’s so much balls in the sound, the tiniest slop turns into super-magnified noise.) Getting the right tone is a lot more technique than equipment.

Anyway, go for it! Do your best (by listening, and working on having decent timing) to be the kind of player that players who are better than you are want to play with. Good luck!

Dude - you sound great! You’re selling your playing short. Nicely done. On the Beck, you playing a Tele-Gib? :wink:

FGiE, I’ll say it again and then will be done: Groove comes first. Not “I’ve got to work on my time-keeping” - this is the ONE single thing that will make the most difference in your playing. And it’s not time-keeping; it’s keeping a groove - one’s in your head; the other’s in your hips. Know the difference and you’re on your way .

I absolutely agree with Wordman…you’re selling yourself way short, particularly on this tune (I’ll need to listen to the others later). You’ve absolutely nailed the tone and play the song virtually note for note AFAICT.

I do appreciate the advice though. I really need to focus on the simple things, particularly rhythm playing to get my chops in order. I feel so limited right now and I just want to get to a point where I can actually play an entire song all the way through without too much digression.

I also want to get a microphone, as I’d like to take a stab at singing and learning to mix all this slop together in my little home studio. I still don’t know what I’m going to do about drums though…the Express version of Pro Tools I don’t think has percussion.

Thanks guys. The other two clips are more typical me; the Beck tune is the best I got and I’d have to woodshed to do that again. It quits early because I lose it after that! Believe it or not, the guitar on that is a 60’s “National LPC” short for Les Paul Copy – a really cheap imitation and the first instrument I ever owned. Here’s a pic:

http://learjeff.net/studio/NationalLPC-sm.jpg

That’s before I replaced the cheap pickups with a pair of 490’s a friend gave me. It was black when I got it but I stripped it when I first got it, back in 1973 or 1974. Complete with laminated top and zero fret!

Regarding drums, for starters consider Band In A Box, which Zzounds has for $80. That gives you backing tracks of a wide variety of styles so you can work on your groove. I agree with what Wordman says about that, but I also believe in practicing with a metronome as one part of getting there. I had truly horrible timing and have worked on it for decades; the good news is it can be learned even if you’re not a natural.

But seriously: find other people to play with and learn from. I made the mistake of playing alone and recording myself far too much, and when I started playing with others I had some serious flaws to fix before it worked. Even if it’s just another guitarist sitting in your man cave with you both wearing headphones playing through a computer.

DO any of you guys shop at Sweetwater?

Everyone shops at Sweetwater.

I meant to thank you for putting this up, and I appreciate the advice about finding the groove. Hopefully I can. I’m not certain everyone that’s ever picked up a guitar can or has.

Their customer service should serve as a model for every other business on the planet Earth.

I’ve also returned to playing after a 15 year lay off. Still trying to get my fingers stretched out and some callous on the fingertips. It seems to hurt more this time around. :smiley:

Unlike the OP, I’m focusing on playing acoustic guitar. Primarily country and 70’s hits. I played electric guitar in the 80’s. Glam metal like Poison, Guns N Roses, and Def Leppard. It was fun with my friends playing the other instruments. I got some hearing loss from the experience, but wouldn’t change a thing for those memories.

Playing solo I prefer focusing on acoustic rhythm with some bass line picking.

Overall, it sounds good.

IMHO you need to work on timing (especially the overall timing, what I think WordMan is calling the “groove”), fretting, and getting everything clean overall.

The effects are carrying a lot of the Van Halen “Ain’t Talkin Bout Love” song. But that’s ok. And the effects are fine for that song. IIRC, back then Eddie said he was using an MXR distortion and a flanger and a phaser through a Marshall amp to get his sound.

You’ve got the notes to the Van Halen song wrong. Basically, start with an A minor chord, and play the A string, the D string, then skip over to the B string, then back down to the G string, then hit the open E up on top. Then fret that to an F and go back down the strings to the B string then the G string (while still holding the A minor chord). Then hold down the third fret on the top two strings (E and B strings) and play those plus the G string (which is open now) from the top down. (Hope I didn’t confuse you by saying which string to play instead of the actual notes being played)

If you convert the .wav files to .mp3 files with something like audacity (free - a bit confusing and unintuitive at first but simple once you figure it out) you will drastically reduce the file size.

I don’t know if I agree with WordMan’s suggestion of playing heavier strings for a while. I’ve always played light gauge strings. I think the biggest thing is to develop your own style and sound and use what works best for you.

This is true - and why it is so important to work on. Figure out some riffs - Smoke on the Water, Day Tripper, Crazy Train, the Peter Gunn theme (got both of my kids started with that) - and work on those from a groove standpoint.

[QUOTE=engineer_comp_geek]
I don’t know if I agree with WordMan’s suggestion of playing heavier strings for a while. I’ve always played light gauge strings. I think the biggest thing is to develop your own style and sound and use what works best for you.
[/QUOTE]

First of all, never forgot Rule #1: Whatever keeps you playing! Don’t do anything that makes guitar feel like a chore or medicine. Lighter-gauge strings are a bit harder to groove on if you are still getting your picking hand mechanics down, so my suggestion is trying to compensate for that, but whatever works.

I agree. Light strings have their purposes, but the most common purpose among beginners is as a crutch for weak fingers. Just be sure you’re not using them that way. Light strings actually harder to play well than heavier gauge strings, once you’ve built up callouses and have a bit of finger strength.