Hi guys,

Here's the final mix for the ROCK RIFF COLLAB!:

Click to view attachment

And here are some comments on your takes:

- Skenn: 0:00- 0:53

I loved the fact that you added those nice lead arrangements! They give a nice intricate feel to it. Specially the dive bomb at the beginning.

Great take overall. It could have been recorded perfectly without the small timing mistake at the end, but I'm glad it was fun for you.

Thanks for that take!

- Ulrik: 0:53- 1:49

Nice idea to leave the silences so that the melody on the keyboards would be clear!

On the mixing part I wouldn't leave the main rhythm panned to one side. Either leave it on the centre or record two takes and pan each one to either side respectively.

I think the tone you used could sound more mean and thick. That corrects by itself almost when you record two takes of the same part and pan them hard. Try it!

On the last part I think you used a weak interval in the scale in my opinion, you could have used something more strong. A way to try this out is to do the same lick but instead use other steps of the scale.

THank you for participating!

- K1R: 1:49- 2:43



Nice palm muting and chordal technique, it's there, you have it! Timing is good, which is the hardest part to nail actually, very good job on that side.

I have to tell you that you NEVER use major chords against minor progression of chords in the background. This is almost a rule because it's very hard to make that work.

In this case the keyboards are dictating a harmonic background so they are giving you guidelines to follow. I should have mentioned that they were minor chords in the intro thread, so that's my bad, I'm sorry about that. But the lesson you can learn here is to ALWAYS USE YOUR EARS despite whatever happens. This advice is useful with bands in a live situation or in the studio!

On that last palm muted part, you are falling behind the beat. Make sure you let loose your wrist so that you can play fast 8th notes or 16th notes. Also you NEVER leave the last chord on that note WHEN THE KEYBOARDS RESOLVE THE PROGRESSION. In this case the bass and keyboards resolved so it really doesn't make sense to stay on the previous note. Use your ears here again because the keyboards DO PLAY that note but then bend up to the resolving note.

The tone is good. I think it could use a little more high end, brightness.

Anyways great take nevertheless, and thank you for taking part!

- AslanMontaz: 2:43 - 3:36

I'm really impressed with your take. The tone sounds great! thick and full!

Nice ideas, I loved that third you put on the third chord. Also the melodic idea after the first part makes a lot of sense and it's quite musical, it goes along with the keyboards really well.

Great timing and mix!

Great job! Thanks for participating!

- Daniel Realpe: 3:36- ending

My take is really simple and didn't want to add anything complicated to it. Just power chords varied rhythmically on each part. The tone comes from the Guitar Rig 4.

THank you all for taking part and for listening!

See you on the next collab!

Thanks for the kind words Daniel and I'm glad you liked my take. Cool backing as always form you! Nice job to all you guys, enjoyed it!

THANKS! Daniel i mostly improvised to the backing track with my ears only so your comments make me happy because that tells me that i can trust my ears and that i improved. For a while i started to think am i good enough can i even play guitar ? hahah i almost thought that my take on the backing track wasn't that good but it turned out good finally! thanks again!

and everyone WELL DONE!

Thanks for useful comments Daniel, I will take note. I thought all chords were major, seems I should have used my ears, not my mind
Good job everyone, I enjoyed listening to the final mix

Me too, enjoyed it very much, have a great 2011!


Yes, you can play guitar, yes, it's better to go for what sounds better in your opinion

all the best for 2011!


I think you will be the one that's getting the most out of this collab. And that's a great thing, that's the whole point of GMC. To have these realisations so that we become better musicians inch by inch.

all the best in 2011!

Thank you for the feedback.
Very usefull especially on how to get a good sound.
I was aware it was kind of experimenting and not that good a sound.

On using a "weak interval" I hadn't thought about that at all.
I just had the idea and recorded it, I guess I could have experimented some more
and tried other licks or as you suggest somewhere else on the fretboard

Yeah, just try to be as cold and unbiased as possible when you listen to your own stuff. It can be harsh sometimes as you may think every thing sucks but once in a while you pull out some good stuff.