Adam M's Thread, for Gab's Army Options

[Gabriel Leopardi]

Hi Adam! Great idea sharing here everything you know about this concepts. It's a nice reference for us at the mentoring program!

By now, it seems that your theory is ahead your guitar playing so it's time to start to apply all that content into playing and real music.

On a side note, we can work on the Holiday collab here as well. It's a good excuse to practice Pentatonic major scale. So, you have two tasks here:

- Jam video over the blues backing track.
- Jam video over Holiday Collab Backing.

What do you say?

[Adam]

Hi Adam! Great idea sharing here everything you know about this concepts. It's a nice reference for us at the mentoring program!

By now, it seems that your theory is ahead your guitar playing so it's time to start to apply all that content into playing and real music.

On a side note, we can work on the Holiday collab here as well. It's a good excuse to practice Pentatonic major scale. So, you have two tasks here:

- Jam video over the blues backing track.
- Jam video over Holiday Collab Backing.

What do you say?

I think I nailed today's exams just fine, all that's left for now is my thesis which is less time-consuming. That means, I'll have more guitar practice time now.

I still have 3 basics lessons to turn in. About the Pentatonic practice, I'd even say we can do more: 1 track in minor and 1 track in major for each Collab. I'll also record arpeggiated version of Winter Collab. That's a lot of work, so I'm off to practice now!

[Gabriel Leopardi]

I think I nailed today's exams just fine, all that's left for now is my thesis which is less time-consuming. That means, I'll have more guitar practice time now.

I still have 3 basics lessons to turn in. About the Pentatonic practice, I'd even say we can do more: 1 track in minor and 1 track in major for each Collab. I'll also record arpeggiated version of Winter Collab. That's a lot of work, so I'm off to practice now!

Great!! Congrats on your exams mate!

The plan sounds good to me. Enjoy your practice and keep me updated.

[Adam]

I came with another update. Much happened lately and not all of it was nice. It feels weird talking about it but I'll do my best to recover ASAP! A glass of whisky and a good sleep can work miracles. If the deadline for Collab is still 3 Jan, I could try submitting. I'll have some time in between work on 27/28, then 31th and 1st. Ideally I'll submit a take or two on the former and there'll be some time for re-take on the latter.

Edit: I took some time listening to Metallica for past 2 days. It's the best kind of therapy for me. I tried playing something my own over the backing track. I didn't check other's videos, so I wouldn't try to copy it subconsciously and then I realized I played something much similar to one of your demos from tips. Is this okay?



This post has been edited by Adam M: Dec 22 2018, 10:52 PM

[Gabriel Leopardi]

Hi Adam!

I'm sorry about the bad things happening. I hope that everything get better soon mate.

Your solo over the backing track is very nice. Those are very tasty phrases and melodies. I'm happy to know that my video helped with some ideas and inspiration!

If you want to polish this one, you could put some focus on expression elements like dynamics, bending, and vibrato. But those are elements that we still have to work here. I would go for this take!

[Adam]

Hi Adam!

I'm sorry about the bad things happening. I hope that everything get better soon mate.

Your solo over the backing track is very nice. Those are very tasty phrases and melodies. I'm happy to know that my video helped with some ideas and inspiration!

If you want to polish this one, you could put some focus on expression elements like dynamics, bending, and vibrato. But those are elements that we still have to work here. I would go for this take!

Thank you! It seems I needed 2 days to cool down a bit. It'll take some effort but hopefully things will work out fine soon.

I'd love to submit something more technical but I can't do it properly, so I chose to make it simple. I'm glad you like this take. I would go for this as well. I wasn't exactly in a mood for this and I'm happy I did this much at least.

It's not the last Collab, I believe, so I'll try working hard and improve until the next one is up. I'll try doing Bluesy one next.

[Gabriel Leopardi]

Thank you! It seems I needed 2 days to cool down a bit. It'll take some effort but hopefully things will work out fine soon.

I'd love to submit something more technical but I can't do it properly, so I chose to make it simple. I'm glad you like this take. I would go for this as well. I wasn't exactly in a mood for this and I'm happy I did this much at least.

It's not the last Collab, I believe, so I'll try working hard and improve until the next one is up. I'll try doing Bluesy one next.

Wise thinking mate. Yes, this is not the last collab. You'll be proud of being part of this one and your take sounds good so why would you miss it?

Let's move forward!

[Adam]

Wise thinking mate. Yes, this is not the last collab. You'll be proud of being part of this one and your take sounds good so why would you miss it?

Let's move forward!

I'll submit the audio files tomorrow after work. But I thought I could do something more here. I'll record arpeggios over the mix and then the lick I already posted again, twice. I was lucky to meet Andy James at GC where he was teaching home-recording basics. He said if you record a piece twice and pan one take to left and the other to right, it sounds like a wall of stacks or something like that. I want to give it a try and if it goes wrong, I still have my previous take to submit

[Gabriel Leopardi]

I'll submit the audio files tomorrow after work. But I thought I could do something more here. I'll record arpeggios over the mix and then the lick I already posted again, twice. I was lucky to meet Andy James at GC where he was teaching home-recording basics. He said if you record a piece twice and pan one take to left and the other to right, it sounds like a wall of stacks or something like that. I want to give it a try and if it goes wrong, I still have my previous take to submit

That sounds good Adam! Collabs are a great opportunity to try and experiment with new things, so go for it!!

[Adam]

That sounds good Adam! Collabs are a great opportunity to try and experiment with new things, so go for it!!

I've submitted the files in the Collab thread. I like the dual recording idea, turned out very nice. I also love the way one pattern becomes a background for another pattern. I could go on for another 5 minutes like this! I borrowed the idea from MF's Forbidden City. I want to play the whole piece one day!

[Gabriel Leopardi]

I've submitted the files in the Collab thread. I like the dual recording idea, turned out very nice. I also love the way one pattern becomes a background for another pattern. I could go on for another 5 minutes like this! I borrowed the idea from MF's Forbidden City. I want to play the whole piece one day!

Nice!! Thanks a lot Adam!

[Adam]

I thought I'd list all my equipment if we're to have lessons about finding the right tone
2 guitars, both H-H pups. One has volume and tone for each pup, the other has master volume and tone + a varitone mod.
My amps are Kustom Arrow 16 DFX and Joyo Zombie.
As for stompboxes: Boss DS-1 with and without Keeley mods (I have 2), TS 808 based overdrive, Behringer 7-band eq which I don't use because of the hiss, Boss DD7, Artec Vintage Chorus and ISP Decimator I.

I have my guitar controls at 6-7, not 10, as most of the tutorials suggested. Kustom amp needs Treble at 6-8 or it's too muddy. I have lows at 5,5 and mids at 4-4,5. For Maiden's kind of tone I roll back lows to around 3 and mids up to 7. I also raised the amp from the floor, as Darius' suggests in his 20 Tips video. Now it's on a chair and there was a noticeable difference.

[Gabriel Leopardi]

Hi Adam! Nice set up mate!

How do you record your guitar for videos?

[Adam]

Hi Adam! Nice set up mate!

How do you record your guitar for videos?

Thank you! For GMC vids, I use my combo because Zombie is too far away - moving it and hi-fi speakers is impossible since they are big and there's not much space otherwise. The combo is on a chair that's about the same height as the tablet I use for recording. Currently I record both audio and video with it.

I ordered a custom 1x12 cab for the Zombie and it should be ready within a week. I thought this is the most important upgrade, since the current speakers could damage the amp's power section or get blown up by it. I had to use it with Phones Out, which is nice only with clean channel.
Next, I want to get the Scarlett 2i2 and maybe Shure 58 for mic'ing the stack sometime later. I still don't like the idea of digital modelling but maybe that'll change over time.

Zombie has a fx loop and Kustom has built-in modulation effects, so I should be okay with playing live too. I think I'll just have to learn to use my effects correctly, so working here to improve my signal chain and order is a great idea.
Lastly, I'll maybe get a webcam if I feel I need one. As long as my current is good enough for GMC, I'll keep it.

Audacity turned out to be really nice when I was mixing the Winter Collab. It's very easy and intuitive


This post has been edited by Adam M: Jan 3 2019, 03:30 PM

[Gabriel Leopardi]

Hi Adam!

All those are great plans. I recommend you to get a SM57 since it's the standard for recording guitars. You won't regret it. I think that it's the best mix ever! (for the price).

Recording your guitar connected to a real amp and cabinet must be done with a mic. If not, you are missing a very important part of the sound. If you don't use mic, you need to use some kind of emulator. The easier way would be to use a plug in as I do in some of my lessons. I don't think that using phones output is a good idea for recording if you are planning to become serious about your guitar tone.


This post has been edited by Gabriel Leopardi: Jan 3 2019, 05:04 PM

[Adam]

Hi Adam!

All those are great plans. I recommend you to get a SM57 since it's the standard for recording guitars. You won't regret it. I think that it's the best mix ever! (for the price).

Recording your guitar connected to a real amp and cabinet must be done with a mic. If not, you are missing a very important part of the sound. If you don't use mic, you need to use some kind of emulator. The easier way would be to use a plug in as I do in some of my lessons. I don't think that using phones output is a good idea for recording if you are planning to become serious about your guitar tone.

I'm a bit confused, I keep mistaking these two. Both 57 and 58 are recommended but I guess there's a lot of time before I even save up for that.

I meant to say I'll use the Scarlett only until I get a proper mic. But for practice and jamming I'll probably use the amps. I keep using Phones Out in Zombie for listening only.

[Gabriel Leopardi]

I'm a bit confused, I keep mistaking these two. Both 57 and 58 are recommended but I guess there's a lot of time before I even save up for that.

I meant to say I'll use the Scarlett only until I get a proper mic. But for practice and jamming I'll probably use the amps. I keep using Phones Out in Zombie for listening only.

When using Scarlett.. what amp do you use?

[Adam]

When using Scarlett.. what amp do you use?

When I get both Scarlett and a mic, I think I'll be using the Zombie with a 112 cab. That way I'll use the amp's fx loop and probably get better results than stacking all effects before the pre-amp section.

[Gabriel Leopardi]

When I get both Scarlett and a mic, I think I'll be using the Zombie with a 112 cab. That way I'll use the amp's fx loop and probably get better results than stacking all effects before the pre-amp section.

Yes, that's clear, but my question is... How do you record your guitar for videos and collab? what are you using now?

[Adam]

Yes, that's clear, but my question is... How do you record your guitar for videos and collab? what are you using now?

Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood your question. Currently I'm using my tablet for both audio and video. The quality isn't the best but I don't have anything better right now.

Edit: Hi! Just a quick update. I've got a lot of work to do over the weekend but I wanted to tell you I've been playing over the Blues Collab backing track today as a part of practice and it doesn't sound so bad. I had no way of recording though, but I'll probably bring in some takes on Monday evening

Edit 2: I was wondering if you had a chance to try out Unidyne 545 mic or its model via some interface. As I discovered, Unidyne was being used by Iron Maiden in their earliest years. After some reading I found out it was a predecessor to SM57. Could you share your opinion on it, please?

This post has been edited by Adam M: Jan 5 2019, 07:49 PM