It sounds great either way! To me, the standout part is the very beginning, where you've got lots of harmonics and palm muted notes going on. The d# on top of the g (which I believe is a minor 6th) is a very nice interval, and I think it complements your solo well.

What kind of guitar and ampwere you using? You've got this really nice tone, and it would be great to know the recording process!

Thanks Taka, you know I can't believe this many people commented on this track. Feels good after so much practice. I'm still working on tone, I'd prefer a little cleaner but this setting seems to cut through most anything I throw at it.

For starters my strings are 11-48 and since the switch I've noticed more picking control and a bit more clarity from my reg 9-42 or something.

Active pickups in an older ibanez s prestige.

Direct into m audio firewire interface into Logic Pro.

I use Amplitube on 2 tracks. One panned left and one right.

On the two channel strips I have a compressor set 4:1 6db gain makeup. Sometimes I'll add logics reverb because I like it more than amplitubes. All depends I haven't experimented long enough yet.

In Amplitube I run 2 orange amps each have their own different mic positions and style of mics. Also there is a eq, distortion, compressor and a touch of chorus before amp processing. Each amp has the gain about 3/4 and the rest somewhere near halfway.

Post gain each one amp gets reverb one gets delay. Both get eq and tube compressor.

What I love the most which Todd Simpson helped me with is the arm for recording function now turns on and off my guitar processing. I just learned this after years and now I can have all the different guitars all set on different tracks and just pick any of them for different styles of guitar. Clean, lead, rhythm all on panned tracks and ready to go with the template. Any project I start the setting up guitar track days are over!!!

So when I record my goal is to record it twice giving a very very nice tone as long as timing is precise. If not copy paste and possibly nudge a track 1 tick so it adds some fullness.

I will say that using the setup I have takes up a ton of the audio spectrum so panning too hard may not be ideal.

So it was pretty much something that came natural That's absolutely great to know - I asked, because when a certain musical context provides the right inspiration, you will most likely come up with something nicer than usual, as a general situation.

Another important thing - if I got it right - was that you managed to incorporate knowledge you have gathered from studying lessons here at GMC - that's simply great, because this is their actual purpose - enriching vocabulary, teaching how to apply theoretical notions and concepts and developing technique! Good going Jim! You provided a good example for everyone!

Sounds like a nice signal chain you have happening there! I've never used Amplitube myself, but I am a big fan of amp simulators, and I believe it's quite possible to get some awesome tones out of them, as you've demonstrated!

When you say you're using two tracks panned hard left and right, do you have the same guitar recording on each track? I find sometimes helps thicken up a solo if you double track selected parts for emphasis. Just a suggestion, though

Hi guys
This is my approach to this collab.....how hard is playing guitar. Working in the last part too but not shure about it...
Thanks Taka for the backing.!

https://soundcloud.com/david-vico-2/fusing-the-genres

This post has been edited by huargo: Sep 18 2014, 07:29 PM

That's a very cool take Huargo! It sounds tasty and you tone is very warm. This collab final mix will be an awesome track! I've been jamming a bit over the backing and I can say that it's really inspiring.

Hey mate I also like the recording! Nice ideas and tone here for certain, but please focus a bit more on the part around 01:45 - that's a place where you tend to lose direction a bit

Oh my god! I was thinking it was the best part of the solo!!! Jeje i'll take a loock with fresh ears!! Thanks for coment. Cosmin and Gab!!!

Hey mate, always glad to help, but hey - that's my opinion Maybe other folks like it as it is - the most important part though - do you like it enough to leave it just as it is? If you think it can be improved, then it's 'back to the drawing board'!

Wow, this is really nice! I'm hearing some very nice progress on this backing track. The melody starting at 0:51 really stands out to, and I'm really digging the layering and flavor-notes you're emphasised throughout the solo! Can't wait for this whole collab to come together!

Somehow, I had the impression that the deadline was a bit earlier and I thought it would be tight for me, but then I noticed October 10th... pheww

Great takes and I think that the backing had a lot to do with it, as it offered a lot of inspiration! Let's keep rocking!

Tone! I worked our a completely new setup and I think it's pretty smooth. I took the original take on it and did some enhancements by using repeating phrases. 2 to be exact. Nothing flashy but id like to add 1 nice run or tapping lick somewhere in this to make something pop out. Any ideas where that might be?

How are you guys working out this tune?

Just had a listen through my crappy onboard speakers, but from what I heard, I really dig the use of the trem bar in your solo! I think this solo is a bit edgier and wackier, compared to the first one which was more melodic! I love both, and if you get the right combination of both, I think you would have a fantastic solo!

I need to submit my take as well School is finishing up this week, so I'll have plenty of time to get ideas down after that. I also picked up a nice ENGL combo on the weekend, so I'm gonna have some fun mic'ing that up

Jim - hey matey I dig the tone and the playing as well. The only improvement is the static feeling that could be bumped up a bit with some more dynamic changes in phrasing and in direction. For instance, the piece grows and grows and around 0:44 instead of exploding into a cascade of notes - could easily see a tapped theme based on 16th notes there - it still stays in the same spirit as before That's how I feel things, tho, so if my perspective helps, I'd be glad to know

Hey Taka thanks, I agree a mix of both would be great. In my Daw I have 6 different takes as I keep coming up with new stuff to play. One thing that I gave been doing is listening to my recordings for notes that are typical with my playing style and not going there.

I'm excited to hear your take with that new amp. Never played one but hear they are raw.



Cosmin you sneaky devil, I was just thinking that part at :44 needs to go. Whatever that phrase is seems to be very common in my playing and I'm sick of hearing it. Are there notes or phrases in your own playing that you seem to go to on autopilot?

I'm listening to a lot of my recordings and find many similar notes that I hang on common phrases. I'd like to eliminate the predictability aspect in my playing.

Hi Jim! Your tone seems to be very warm and has a killer sustain. I like what I hear but I will be more sure once I could here the recording instead of the camera mic. Regarding the composition, I'm with Cosmin, I feel that the solo need some more dramatic phrasing when it reaches around 30 seconds and from there to the end. Some more intensity, more notes, more bends, something that makes the overall sound less static would be a killer idea.

I would also like to say that I enjoy a lot your vibrato technique, it fits perfect with the groove of the backing track.

Hey Gab thanks for the nice words. I'll be sure to work on this a bit more. The tempo is holding me back a bit but incorporating some tapping would take some of the stress off picking. There are a few bends I have made in other takes that sound awesome. It implies a quick dip with whammy bar and a full bend after a hammer. Dip hammer bend

The take you hear is the recording straight from daw. Pretty sure I deleted the mic track from the video too. Idk???

Hehe Jim, well, I just let my ears do the judging The idea here is that yes, sometimes, if I play with my hands and not with my ears/head/heart, the outcome will be a mediocre one, because I haven't served the music, but instead, I played something that I already knew.

Usually when you pay attention and are generally aware of the musical context in which you find yourself at that exact moment, you will be far more able to create a genuine phrase/ improvisation if you pay attention to all of the important elements:

- harmony
- rhythm
- groove
- feel
- chords/notes relationship

I think you could use all these elements to create a great tapping line over that specific part, so I am thus throwing you a new glove for a challenge What do you think?

I'm accepting the challenge and already started working on some things. The first thing I've reworked is the beginning. Sat down and sang over and over again and finally came up with a creative way into that "tapping part" which from what I'm hearing is going to be a bit of legato with some cool bends. In both my takes I play these chords Emin and G these pass quickly but I'd like to keep the chords just playing legato lines in place of the chord.

This is the most time ever spent on a collab and it's pretty rewarding work making music with a semi blank slate.

Ah, I thought that this was the camera mic because I hear a lot of room reverb. So maybe the reverb is part of the patch that you used. If it's so, I would set the tone with less effect to let the amp sound closer and more defined. What do you think?