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Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 9 2014, 10:37 AM

Hey guys! Time to explore our sensitive side with a Soulful Ballad Collab! As you may have guessed, we are aiming for sweet melodies which should flow over the different parts you will choose to solo over. The backing is friendly and it will most likely inspire you to come up with tasty lines, so let's take a look over the collab details and then get to work!

Working and participating in collabs will give you the type of input you cannot achieve when practicing on your own - so even if you feel shy about this, you should give it a serious try. You will improve in unpredictable ways for certain!

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BACKING TRACKS:

Intro:  The_Soulful_Ballad_Collab_Backing___Intro.mp3 ( 737.12K ) : 359


Verse:  The_Soulful_Ballad_Collab_Backing___Verse.mp3 ( 1.24MB ) : 302


Chorus:  The_Soulful_Ballad_Collab_Backing___Chorus.mp3 ( 1.83MB ) : 258


Verse+Chorus:  The_Soulful_Ballad_Collab_Backing___Verse___Chorus.mp3 ( 2.84MB ) : 344

This collab is based on Jonathan Burgos' 'The Tasty Etude' lesson, which you can find here as a reference: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/The_tasty_etude/

Tempo: 70 BPM

Key: C major

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Here's everything you need to know about how to enter this collaboration:

1. Download the backing track and open it in your recording software
2. Record your part in the recording software and with your video cam (if you have the possibility to record video).
You can record anything - a short fill part, rhythm based ideas, or a full lead part (solo).
3. Render one track containing your recording only - 16 bit wave file 44,1 kHz
4. Render one track containing both solo and backing track in an .mp3 format
5. Send us your video (preferably in .mp4 format)

As always, you can send us the last 3 files mentioned, using a dropbox link, or any other transfer service you are used to, by posting them in this thread or attaching them to a private message.

If you can't submit a video, you can send us only the audio files and some pictures of you - it will work out great as well!
The more pictures you send, the better will it be for editing in the final video!

When attaching/sending the collab files, please include the source file of the video as well.

Very important: IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE A BEGINNER/ ADVANCED/ PRO/ GOD - all styles, approaches and all levels are welcome and you can even play just a short fill if you feel like it!

Bringing your contribution to this track and tribute to the GMC community is what really matters!

Collab tips:

As in the previous collabs, we want this one to stand out as much as possible, because this will give your playing and progress maximum exposure. So here's what we suggest:

Making short but polished and detailed lines will always give you better results! If you focus on a short part of the backing track, then you will most likely amaze yourself and others! No explicit need to play over the full backing track length, so just pick up any amount of bars you feel most comfortable playing over, as it's always better to come up with something short but catchy or memorable!

Check out these lessons for inspiration:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/The_Tasty_Etude_2/ - a lot of phrasing inspiration and articulation elements which will be invaluable in this context

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/The-Voice-Of-Your-Guitar/ - based on articulation control, this one will show you how to gain absolute control over your bends and vibrato

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/The-Voice-Of-Your-Guitar-2/

Scales you could use:

C major (Ionian)

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/scalegenerator

Chord progressions:

Intro : C –F –C –F –G

Verse : C –G –Am - G – F (x2)

Chorus : Dm – Em - F - G - Am – G - F - Am –G –Am/F# - F

Advanced tips:

If you guys want to dive a bit deeper into the possibilities offered by the chord progressions, you could try the D Dorian mode over the Chorus progression and you can also throw in an F# over the Am/F#. Also, the A minor pentatonic and A minor blues modes will work fine over the Am-G-F-Am sequence, for instance.

These are just tips, so experiment having these directions in mind, as I am sure you will discover a lot of interesting possibilities!

Remember - the only thing we require is that you participate and be yourself - there are no rules, and no limits!
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Deadline: October 9th

Participants: Cosmin Lupu, Gabriel Leopardi, Rhida, Monica Gheorghevici, bleez, Jeroen, Sensible Jones, Huargo, Caelumamittendum, Deleted, SirJamsalot, Kristofer Dahl

Posted by: Rhida Sep 9 2014, 12:15 PM

So Cosmin
correct me if I'm wrong but the deal with this collab is
to work on my sense of melody
to work on my phrasing
to share ideas with others
to progress in all areas of my playing
to get excellent feedbacks and support from you and Gab
in one word to have ultimate fun!

You guessed it bro:

I AM IN!!!!

Posted by: huargo Sep 9 2014, 12:35 PM

Nice backing!

Posted by: Jeroen Sep 9 2014, 12:49 PM

Sweet melodies starting to grow inside my head. Oh my God!! I'm INNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN !!

Posted by: bleez Sep 9 2014, 01:03 PM

so..... A Minor pentatonic?

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Sep 9 2014, 01:55 PM

I'm in and ready with the improv I will post my video Sunday

Posted by: Jeroen Sep 9 2014, 02:25 PM

This is an idea I'm working on for the intro:

https://soundcloud.com/jeroen-van-der-put/gmc-soulful-ballad-intro

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 9 2014, 03:43 PM

Nice idea Jeroen! Please be careful with tuning / pitch, since some notes are a bit (very little) out of tune.

Posted by: Sensible Jones Sep 9 2014, 04:00 PM

You had me at 'Collab'!!!
I'm definitely in!!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 10 2014, 07:43 AM

Hey mate! I love the note choice and the idea, but Gabi is right - polish it, focus on reaching the pitches and widen the vibrato, in order to really make it shine



It could work - read the advanced tips section, mate - There's a section where it could work very nicely I think, but you could also think in terms of the C major pentatonic scale - that's C D E G A C - and don't think positions, just invent some nice melodies that use these notes Share your progress here and I'll guide you through.



All the assumptions are correct! Welcome, welcome!

Lady and gentlemen! Welcome aboard! I'm glad to see that you guys are stoked about this, so let's rock!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 10 2014, 08:26 PM

I"m in!!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 11 2014, 07:49 AM

Welcome Todd! Alright gents, who else is in?

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Sep 11 2014, 09:37 AM

Since I was one of the ones suggesting a ballad, of course I'm in. Right up my alley this one!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 12 2014, 07:35 AM

Welcome Ben!

Posted by: Deleted Sep 14 2014, 05:37 PM

Here is my take of the verse + chorus file. First half contains a solo, second half is a rhythm part you could use to let somebody playing something epic over it.



 Solo___Backing.mp3 ( 2.25MB ) : 184


 Only_Solo.wav ( 12.55MB ) : 209


https://www.dropbox.com/s/k1wyi4ildv91716/Original%20Solo%20Soulful%20Ballad%20GMC%20Collaboration.mp4?dl=0

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Sep 14 2014, 06:07 PM

Awesome take and lovely tone!!!!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 15 2014, 11:07 AM

Hey buddy! Epic take! Melodic, articulated, catchy and with a nice tone! Congratulations and thank you for the files! Can you please send me the source file for the video, as well? Thank you in advance!

Posted by: Deleted Sep 15 2014, 02:01 PM

Thanks guys for your feedback!

@Cosmin: I inserted the link to the .mp4 after other attachments in the main post.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 15 2014, 03:04 PM

Thank you mate - I got it!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 16 2014, 12:23 AM

Wou!!! That's a very nice take. Thanks for joining this one.

Posted by: Nava Sep 16 2014, 06:04 PM

Its beautiful! Very nice tone and you really got feeling in this

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 17 2014, 08:03 AM

Hey Nava - how about joining us on this one, mate?

Posted by: Lester Sep 17 2014, 05:09 PM

I'm in!!

I never really used the Major scale before, so I'm going to try and use it and a part of the minor scale as well ofcourse, which I am more familiar with

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 17 2014, 05:33 PM

Hi Lester! Do you want to have more ideas for using Major scales??

Replay the first class of my improvisation course which is based on major scales and join my session today in which I will cover Three Notes per string major shapes!

Today's lesson notes: Click http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=42832&view=findpost&p=696362.

Week#1's notes & replay video: Click http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=42832&view=findpost&p=694411.

Posted by: Lester Sep 17 2014, 06:38 PM

Hi Gabe!

That looks very interesting, I didn't know it existed.
Is it Always on wednesdays? because I have athletics training on wednesdays, but from what I understood, I can look up the lesson and notes afterwards?

I will try and implement them in the collab!

Posted by: Nava Sep 17 2014, 06:48 PM

Hi there Cosmin

Yes, I think I will join this one. I have been playing it over and over again and I'm getting closer and closer to something worth recording

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 17 2014, 06:56 PM

Hi! yes, it's always on wednesdays but you can check the lesson notes, replay the video and we can also use a thread at my personal board to work on the exercises. Just let me know!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 18 2014, 08:15 AM

Hey Nava and Lester! Glad to hear you gentlemen are in Lester - aside Gabi's suggestions, I would like to suggest you to take a look at the lesson recommendations in the tips area of the collab text description and also try this lesson out of which you can steal ideas: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/major-soloing-no-4th/

Looking forward to see a first draft from you

Posted by: Lester Sep 18 2014, 05:17 PM

I will definitely check those out, thanks!

Posted by: Nava Sep 18 2014, 07:55 PM

I will try and get up a video in the weekend to come..
But its something like this

https://soundcloud.com/thomas-heino/the-soulful-ballad-collab-with

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 18 2014, 09:36 PM

That's a very tasty take Nava. I love it. I also enjoyed the tone that you used, what amp or soft are you using?

There only one details to mark, pay attention and adjust that fast lick at 00:19.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 19 2014, 07:40 AM

Perfect - let me know if you need help with anything



Aside that lick at 0:19 which needs some polishing, please focus on a smoother landing on the note at 0:20, right where the lick ends

Otherwise, very nice tone and phrasing! You, my friend, have evolved A LOT!! Congratulations!

Posted by: Rhida Sep 20 2014, 11:16 AM

Hey guys!
Lot of good things posted here already!
I will share my ideas now for the intro and the verse-chorus section where I put a bunch of phrases together with reaper but trying to keep continuity to make a long solo.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 20 2014, 04:11 PM

Hey Rhida - thank you for sharing your ideas with us, mate I think you are experimenting with some really nice lines here and I would like to point out a few details which will make them sound even better:

Intro - watch out for the bent notes pitch at 0:09 and 0:13 - they are not quite reaching the correct pitch

Verse/ Chorus - please focus on the same aspect as a lot of the bent note pitches are not reaching the intended notes at all.
- around 0:48 there's a lick that needs more work on the timing, as it sounds like you are a bit unsure in respect to it.
- the vibrato should be stronger and more defined in general throughout the take.

Please try to implement these suggestions in the take and maybe come up with something shorter on the Verse/ Chorus part, but having more concentration and a more thematic aspect. You don't have to solo over the entire track, but you need to focus on coming up with something strong, catchy, played correctly and with feeling. The ideas are good so far, but they need polishing

Looking forward to the next recording!

Posted by: Nava Sep 20 2014, 05:47 PM

Thx a LOT Gab for the positive response
The tone is from S-Gear, called "heaven". I tried with overdrive before hitting DI but I got this "screaming" noise.

Yes, that fast lick.. I really must work more on that one!



And now a big smile on my face
Thank You soo much for the nice words Cosmin! It feels very encouraging to get that kind of response. I bow my head in humbleness!

I will practise that fast lick + the ending part more. Thx for pointing out my mistakes




Sorry Cosmin, but I think you meant Rhida

Good work by the way, Rhida

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 20 2014, 06:50 PM

Hi Rhida! I've just gave you some feedback about Gab's Army and one of the main things to improve on your playing is the pitch/tunning that seems to be a problem with your guitar tuning but also with your bending technique. This is not the first time that this happens so we must to be sure to know what's the problem:

- Guitar tuning?
- Guitar calibration?
- Old strings?
- Too much fingers pressure?

Please check each of this possibilities and let us know if you can discover the problem. It's very important to get used to check tuning frequently while you practice to be sure that you are training your ear correctly while you play scales, phrases and lessons. So once you find the issue, let's fix it and then get used to check the tuning every 10 minutes (or maybe less), ok?

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 21 2014, 08:14 AM

That's right man! Sorry for the jumbling - I was pretty tired last afternoon when I wrote the response and it must've slipped me.

Anyway, I am glad to help out, so let's see the polished take Both of you guys

Posted by: SirJamsalot Sep 21 2014, 08:32 AM

I'm trying to carve out some time to contribute to this collaboration. The difficulty for me is using my time wisely given I have about 4 songs I have to learn for my next band practice. I spent about 1/2 hour this evening working on a solo idea - I recorded a rough take with my iphone and zoom so I won't forget it for when I go back o record it. I'll record them properly in separate files in my DAW

Here's the idea I'm going for - hope you can hear the guitar - may need headphones. No time to re-record it

Posted by: Rhida Sep 21 2014, 12:34 PM

Hey gentlemen!

Thanks Nava for your comment and Cosmin don't worry, no offense taken here!

By the way I love your idea SirJamsalot!

Anyway, following Gabe suggestions I checked my guitar and my finger pressure.
It seems that these 2 together are making me some big trouble. Consequence : I have some difficulties to trust my ears for bending now.
So I switched to another guitar of mine and I may send the other to the luthier.
I also played more relaxed and making the solo breathe more.
So am I on the right track?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 22 2014, 05:02 AM

Hi Rhida! The improvement is notorious but there is still work to do! The overall pitch is much better in most of the take. The intro section sounds perfect for me. The verse and chorus has good moments and some others that need adjustment.

00:00 to 00:17: I like how you managed phrases and silences now. The melody has rests and that make it cooler to listen. Pitch is ok,.

00:18 to 00:32: This section start with clear ideas but then the melodies become less clear like if your fingers wouldn't be sure of where to go. The last 2 licks are a bit sloppy. The high note at 00:22 sounds out of tune, and the problems seems to be again the guitar. Please check it out.

00:32 to 00:47: The pitch issues are more important in this section. For example, the bends at 00:39 are not there, you are not tight with tuning, and also the note at 00:44 is out of tune.

00:48 to 01:12: There are similar problems on this section. Mostly tuning and definition of the licks. I feel that the composition is cool, but the licks need more practice.

Please also be careful with timing.

I know that these comments could sound like a lot, but I'm being demanding because I can notice important improvements from take to take, so keep on the hard work!!

Posted by: Rhida Sep 22 2014, 08:23 AM

Thanks Gabe!
A lot to fix but it's all for the best and making me improve!
That's why I'm here in the first place right?
I already made some adjustements and applying your suggestions at Gab's Army but I will share it here also.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 22 2014, 12:27 PM

Hey mate! I have listened to your last take and indeed, it sounds better! It's great that you post these intermediary versions here, so that we may help out and you can get the best possible version for the collab! Here's what I think you should pay a little more attention to:

- 0:11 that note is a bit off pitch
- 0:18 - the timing could be a bit more precise in respect to the backing track
- 0:49 - this phrase begins slightly off timing
- 01:05 - that bent note should be a bit more precise as well in respect to the aimed pitch

Please focus on the little details and step by step, you'll have an amazing track done!!

Posted by: Rhida Sep 22 2014, 01:32 PM

Thanks a lot for your encouragements Cosmin!

I'm on it and I will continue to improve the takes till the deadline;

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 22 2014, 01:38 PM

Hi Rhida! I gave you feedback about the new take at Gab's Army. Please follow Cosmin's details because he marked very important details to fix that are a good way to start polishing the take. My comments are related to tone, pitch and bending technique. Please check them out and tell me if you have some more questions.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 23 2014, 09:57 AM

That sounds great, mate! I am glad to have been of help and I am sure that with patience, step by step, you'll get where you want Keep us updated and we'll take it from there!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 23 2014, 02:31 PM

Hey guys!! Who else is working on this one??

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 24 2014, 04:38 PM

Indeed - who else is at this? There's plenty of time available, but you know how fast it flies

Posted by: SirJamsalot Sep 24 2014, 11:50 PM

I plan on submitting a take.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 25 2014, 05:41 PM

Excellent, Jams! I'll sign ya up!

Posted by: SirJamsalot Sep 26 2014, 04:01 AM

I'm getting a little closer. I left my headphones at home so I can't send guitar tracks cause they have the sound track artifacts in them, but here's my idea for the first 3/4 of the song. i'll work on the rest over the weekend.

This was challenging coming up with a second solo - I came up with 5 different versions ... this one will do I think. Timing is a bit iffy and I hit 2 wrong notes on the end of a scale - but I'll fix those.

https://soundcloud.com/sirjamsalot/sirjamsalot-001

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 26 2014, 03:51 PM

Hi Sir! Thanks for joining this one! I really like your solo. It starts VERY good. You created some very tasty phrases there, I like the double string ideas as well as the way you managed silence between phrases. That let's your playing breath. I can say that the first half is excellent. The second part, starting at 00:30 is ok, but I think that you could work a bit more those melodies to make it sound even cooler. And off course fix those weird notes that you marked.

Once you improved those details, if you re-record this take, put more emphasis on dynamics, timing and vibrato.

Keep on rocking.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 26 2014, 06:06 PM

I'm with Gabi on this one From second 0:30 onwards, it seems like you moved the state of mind a bit too abruptly, so if you are to ask me, you should created a much smoother passage and phrasing for the second part. The first one is very, very nice and I have already listened to it 2-3 times so far Keep rocking and show us the next version, mate

Posted by: SirJamsalot Sep 26 2014, 08:45 PM

Okay, I'll tone down a bit. I was trying to move the mood forward because I like progressions in mood, but that was probably a bit too caustic. I'll rewrite the second passage. The funny thing is I spent about 2 hours coming up with the notes and phrasing for that solo - then recorded it without really practicing it, so it's rough, but I think with some practice I can smooth it out - I'll make personal version for myself to ponder

Thank for the feedback guys!

Chris!

Posted by: Nava Sep 27 2014, 02:54 PM

Here is my contribution to this collab

Only guitar: https://soundcloud.com/thomas-heino/only-guitar-collab-ballad

Guitar and backing: https://soundcloud.com/thomas-heino/the-soulful-ballad-collab

And the video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vPQttKAtFE&feature=youtu.be

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 27 2014, 08:18 PM

Always a pleasure matey Sometimes, some ideas we find may fit in a different situation than the one we initially mean to use them for, so that's why it's good to stash them up in a database. This is a way in which I came up with a lot of the GMC lessons in the past - I had a lot of ideas which weren't used for anything and I used them to develop the lessons.

But let's see how your solo goes - the first part, I must confess I listened to it a bit even now



Hey Nava! Thank you for the files! The playing is great and the ideas too and I think that aside that alternate picking lick which could've benefited a little bit more work so that it may have sounded cleaner, everything is very nice! Glad to have you in, mate!

Posted by: bleez Sep 28 2014, 02:29 PM

here's my efforts

Posted by: Nava Sep 28 2014, 05:50 PM

Thx Cosmin!
Agree on the AP part...need much more time with it but I know this week will be short of time for me to practise so it must be like this
Thx for being honest, I take it all with me when I sit with my guitar and trying to be more precise.
And-... Glad u liked it




That was some very nice playing my friend!
Really loved it

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 28 2014, 11:02 PM

Hi Nava! Thanks for your take for this one! I like your tone and all the melodic phrases that your provided on this one. It's a pity that the faster lick is not totally polished. It's the only detail that needs some work, the other parts are brilliant. Thanks!!




Wou! This is a very tasty take man. I enjoyed listening to the whole thing. Thanks a lot for this killer entry.

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Sep 29 2014, 06:30 AM

Awesome take Bleez, I enjoyed listening!!!

Posted by: bleez Sep 29 2014, 08:12 AM

thank you kindly folks very much appreciated.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 29 2014, 03:54 PM

Honesty is the only way in which you guys can progress and I too would like to receive it every time in life - even though it hurts in some cases. Pretty much a lot But it's always better to know where you stand, so please receive my compliments for your creativity and put it to work for more amazing things, while learning how to polish them in order to make them shine



Congratulations good Sir! I am amazed of your newly acquired feeling and soulful touch! Very nice themes and interpretation here! My sincerest congratulations!

Posted by: bleez Sep 29 2014, 04:27 PM

Thank you boss, that's really awesome to hear
all the peter green solos I've been listening to recently ( and trying to steal ) must be rubbing off on me a little!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 30 2014, 01:17 PM

Well, I was just being honest and I am glad you had some great stuff to share with us!

Anyway, gentlemen! We have 10 more days till the deadline, so who else is in?

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Sep 30 2014, 02:54 PM

Very cool stuff you have got going on here. I might give this one a go as well - it's been a long time since I tried singing over a ballad.

Keep the great takes coming!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 30 2014, 03:02 PM

Awesome!!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 1 2014, 09:18 AM

Ooo, Kris is on the boat - allow me to add you to the list, good Sir!

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Oct 1 2014, 12:59 PM

Hey guys, this is my take Million thanks to my brilliant instructor Darek

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Oct 1 2014, 01:26 PM

^aand yet a killer take. Well done Monica I love your touch sensitive tone and how your picking hand makes use of it!

I found this backing challenging, although very cool sounding. It somehow seemed harmonically static to me, although the chords obviously are there. I guess I must have been listening to too much heavy metal?!

Anyway here is my vocal attempt at the chorus/ending:  tasty_kris3.mp3 ( 1.71MB ) : 135

Posted by: Nava Oct 1 2014, 02:54 PM

Now this was very sensitive, Monica! Really mean it..
You took this piece and made it the way it was meant to be.
I saw this trainstation where her man was leaving for war and there was so much pain and love between them.
It was very emotional.. Very good and nicely played:)

Posted by: Rhida Oct 1 2014, 05:10 PM

I'm just speechless!
It's so beautiful...

Bravo!!!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 1 2014, 05:31 PM

Hey Monica! This take is fantastic. I love how you combined the phrases and the way you managed expression and dynamics. I'm impressed of how fast your guitar playing is evolving. This take is so tasty. Congrats and thanks for joining!!




is that Devin Towsend singing there?? hehehe your voice and melodies made me remember to the amazing album called "Sex & Religion". I think that this voices will make the final mix more musical and funny to hear. Great job Kris!

Posted by: bleez Oct 1 2014, 05:54 PM

awesome stuff from the girl in black
Great take, Monica. Very cool dynamics.

Posted by: Jim S. Oct 1 2014, 09:42 PM

Monica! I just listened to your track a few times and it's great. At first listen it seemed very Timmonsy, but after listening very carefully I got a lot of you. The note choices exceptional, the note that stood out most was the climax note 2 or 3 to the last that still held a bit of tension. I could feel it in my chest. There is something that happens around 18sec and I heard it 3 times not consecutively that seemed like a mini flatness but by no means am I one to judge on pitch.

What was that climactic interval at the end? Great job!

Posted by: huargo Oct 2 2014, 02:19 AM

Yes! great take!

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Oct 2 2014, 07:05 AM

Thank you so much Kris I'm happy you like it and I really appreciate your opinion
BTW I like your vocal track. It will be a new and fresh add for collab


Nava, thank you very much for your kind words You know if I close my eyes I can imagine your story over this song


Thank you Rhida I tried to make something emotional. I'm glad you like it


Gab, thank you my friend I'm happy that my evolution begins to became visible. I can't see this things as you because I want more and more and more and I can't realise exactly every step In my army schedule I'm behind I try to learn all things how fast I can but....time goes fast


Thank you Bleez You know my friends when saw this black video and heard this style of playing, they told me: Oh...you made another "cut veins" song


Thank you my friend Yes, it's a little Timmonsy Actually the main purpose was to manage some particular notes in his way (as example: 0:24-0:25). Many hours I made experiments and I put the pick in different angle to understand which is optimal position for a typical sound. After that it remains only to manage how hard or soft to pick (this was the easy part).

I don't know exactly what happened around 0:18. The funny thing is that on the guitar track alone and original video from my PC, isn't that mini flatness. Look, here is the guitar track only, listen it and tell me if you hear the same thing Sorry for the last 2 sec from the track, but I slipped the mutting and one string resonate Of course this thing can't be heard over backing

About interval, you mean at 0:54- 0:56? I overlay 2 notes leaving and pointing the third. I don't know if I explained it well in english but if you don't understand I will ask Cosmin to translate what I wanted to say

 Soulful_Ballad___guitar_only.wav ( 18.26MB ) : 123




Thank you so much, Huargo

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 2 2014, 08:47 AM

..control, melody, phrasing, touch and feel! Amazing take here! I am very proud and happy to see your evolution and I am thanking you for joining this collab, Monica!



I second this! You do sound like Devy Very nice lines, man!

Posted by: Jim S. Oct 2 2014, 05:31 PM

Thank you my friend Yes, it's a little Timmonsy Actually the main purpose was to manage some particular notes in his way (as example: 0:24-0:25). Many hours I made experiments and I put the pick in different angle to understand which is optimal position for a typical sound. After that it remains only to manage how hard or soft to pick (this was the easy part).

I don't know exactly what happened around 0:18. The funny thing is that on the guitar track alone and original video from my PC, isn't that mini flatness. Look, here is the guitar track only, listen it and tell me if you hear the same thing Sorry for the last 2 sec from the track, but I slipped the mutting and one string resonate Of course this thing can't be heard over backing

About interval, you mean at 0:54- 0:56? I overlay 2 notes leaving and pointing the third. I don't know if I explained it well in english but if you don't understand I will ask Cosmin to translate what I wanted to say

 Soulful_Ballad___guitar_only.wav ( 18.26MB ) : 123



Hey Monica I feel so silly, for some reason I kept listening for this thing that happened and I think for some reason my senses were reacting to the wobblyness of the notes around 17 sec on this slowed down version. Basically I made it up. Your take sounds pretty darn good slowed down half speed.

Posted by: Deleted Oct 2 2014, 06:15 PM

Beautiful take Monica!

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 2 2014, 07:28 PM

Is it still possible to join in?

Posted by: bleez Oct 2 2014, 07:39 PM

for sure, the official deadline is not until the 9th

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Oct 3 2014, 06:49 AM

Thank you so much Cosmin for your kind words I always appreciate your opinion and I'm really happy you liked my take


Hahaha, it's the first time when I hear a solo slowed down Sounds weird and funny I still not hear nothing wrong at 17 sec but on this slowed down version that note at 0:21 sounds unstable. Apparently I pressed a little too hard the string and the vibrato caught an unstable feel......


Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 3 2014, 11:08 AM

Ok, here's my quick contribution

 soul_collab.mp3 ( 982.06K ) : 73


 soul_collab_solo_only.wav ( 8.43MB ) : 96

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 3 2014, 11:34 AM

Hey matey! Thanks for joining us I see a lot of interesting phrases and I admire the fact that you used little gain. It usually helps you in achieving very good control over the notes, even though it makes playing a bit more difficult - just like in your take on the Intervals Etude I can see a slight possibility of having more accuracy in the alternate picking lick around 0:24, but otherwise - nicely done!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 3 2014, 02:23 PM

Hi mate, thanks for your contribution for this collab. I can hear really interesting phrases here, your solo has a good sense of melody and the overall structure is defined and consistent. The weak point here is more related to interpretation and the main reason is surely the fact that this is a "quick" contribution as you said. I think that this solo would gain a lot of power if you would put more emphasis on expression tools.
Which are the main expression tools that we have available?

- Bending: You used bends, but some of them are not precise.
- Dynamics: Using dynamics as an expression tool can give your soloing a new dimension. This is a good lesson to train it: Click http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Blues-Dynamics/.
- Other phrasing embellishments: There are some other stuff like micro bends, slides, pre-bends, harmonics that would make your phrasing richer. Check this lessons:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Phrase-Book/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Phrase-Book-Pre-Bends/

By the way, your solo is very interesting, I'm commenting these things because I consider that you even have much more potential to give and it would be really cool to see it reflected in your recordings.

Thanks again for your take, keep on rocking.

Posted by: Rated Htr Oct 3 2014, 03:13 PM

Thank you for the wonderful feedback, I'll be sure to check those lessons out

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 4 2014, 07:07 AM

Hey mate, your take has a lot of nice phrases inside and your playing has evolved a lot since we last heard you writing - I for one never heard you play ballad/feeling oriented stuff before, so I think you are on the good path. But as Gabi said, things need polishing and the lesson suggestions he gave you are a great tool for that At your pace, most likely you will have them nailed pretty quickly Keep us updated on the progress please and let us know if you need any help!

Posted by: Rhida Oct 5 2014, 08:29 PM

All right gentlemen

Here's my new take with a lot of challenges I tried to overcome (and there are many !):
bending on pitch
incorporate more vibrato
make the solo breathe and flow
Not an easy task!

Happy to see and hear your solos guys, you are awesome!

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 5 2014, 09:34 PM

Hi Rhida! It's great to see you working so hard on your playing. This take has improvements on all the topics that we suggested. I can notice that your pitch is better on both bends and phrasing, your vibrato is there, and your timing is getting better and better. There is still more room to improvements, but we are working on it at Gab's Army as well as through REC program.

There are basically two thing to improve that will make a very important impact in the quality of your take:

- Tuning / Pitch: There are still pitch problems when you are playing single notes (without bending). It's a pity that this issue that seems to be more related to your guitar adjustment keeps on giving problem.

- Tone: Your guitar tone is lacking some bass and mid frequencies. It would be good to work on this a bit at Gab's Army.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 6 2014, 09:11 AM

Hey buddy!

It's great to see that you are always implementing our suggestions and that evolution is occurring

Gabi is spot on about the guitar issues and I would like to add that there are the following possibilities here:

- your strings are old
- your guitar's intonation has an issue and it should be checked out
- you are pressing too hard on the positions when playing, thing which usually alters tuning, unfortunately

Please let us know if any of the above is occurring, so that we will know how to assist further

Posted by: Jeroen Oct 7 2014, 01:50 PM

Hey Cosmin, Gabriel,

I re-recorded my contribution for this collab.

Video
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qjzw4iz4owxf986/SoulfulBallad%20collab%20Jeroen.mp4?dl=0

Backing track + solo
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dzsgnemq0yprxy8/Soulful%20ballad%20intro.wav?dl=0

Solo only
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yv759dks7l02ykn/Soulful%20ballad%20intro_solo%20only.wav?dl=0

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 7 2014, 03:54 PM

Hey Jeroen! Thank you for the files! The phrase is very nice, but that bend around 0:05 could be executed a bit more closer to the intended pitch. I have noticed that you release your thumb from the neck when bending - you should grab the neck when bending, with the thumb, in order to offer yourself the necessary support for your wrist to work properly. Have you noticed this aspect so far?

Posted by: Jeroen Oct 7 2014, 04:18 PM

Hey Cosmin,

This is new, I never noticed doing that. Very interesting,

E

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 8 2014, 02:45 PM

I don't remember very well if I've ever shown you this video:



Check out 0:08 to see exactly what I mean about using the thumb to support the bending/vibrato technique.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 8 2014, 10:44 PM

Hi Jeroen! It's a pity that the bend doesn't reach the correct pitch since the idea is very short. I also note a little pitch issue in the last note. I think that it's something related to your fingering and the pressure you do on each fret. Is there any possibility of re-recording it?

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 9 2014, 08:33 AM

I"ve spent some time coming up with a patch from scratch to work with this solo and I think I finally have something! It's taken a couple of weeks but by combining two signal paths for the first time in TH2, one semi clean, one accoustic simulated and blending them, I've created a layered sound with attack and sustain with low tube sounding gain. I gotta say it was really a lot of work. Anyone using TH2 give it a whirl

*P.S. Using the split single neck pickup.

 SoulfulPatchTH2.xml.zip ( 2.25K ) : 292

Here is a sound demo from my lead in progress
https://soundcloud.com/techniqueswithtodd/overloud-th2-free-semiclean-lead-patch-demo


Using the RGT42 for this and the Neck Thru Body is giving it killer sustain. I'm gonna miss this guitar but I've already got my eye out for the next one so she's soon to be on the block!!

Posted by: bleez Oct 9 2014, 08:59 AM

Todd, that is a fantastic sounding patch, I really like that big time
excellent solo as well, dude. I was hoping you would fire up a take for this one. Its killer!
I snagged your patch for this, Im probably gonna get th2 so I'll definitely be using it.

I forgot to add my files earlier for this, here they are
[attachment=39189:soulful_collab.mp4]
[attachment=39190:soulful_full.mp3]
[attachment=39191:soulful_geetar.wav]

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 9 2014, 09:42 AM

Glad you dig it! Going for a "plexi" with Analogue Delay, type of sound. Harder to get than I thought. DON"T FORGET!!! With TH2 the trick is INPUT GAIN and how much or how little you feed in to the plugin. It changes the dynamics of the entire sound. So trim up or down with your input level on your soundcard/interface, depending on what you want, trim up for more bass/girth/gain, trim down for more sparse/clean/gritty.

Posted by: Nava Oct 9 2014, 06:49 PM

Yeah Yeah!
I like it to! A matter a fact, I love it!!
Really in my taste of sound..need to check it out!
Thx a bunch Todd

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 9 2014, 07:44 PM

Hey Todd! I like this take a lot! It's very different from your usual playing and it shows a very sensitive side I would make the tone sound a bit larger, as that little delay, makes it sound too much like a box. I don't know how to put it into words, but, I think you understand what I mean

Posted by: Rhida Oct 9 2014, 07:48 PM

Hi my friends

It's been a great month working on this collab and I have been enjoying your takes a lot.
I tried my best and gave it all to this one.
I have still a LOT of work to do (it's a lifetime experience!) but you are all very inspiring people.
And Gabriel and Cosmin you're like family now, actually I have more contacts with you than some members of my own family !
Can't wait to hear the mix. It will be awesome for sure!

Posted by: Sensible Jones Oct 9 2014, 09:01 PM

Am I OK to post my files tomorrow please?
I have Audio done, just need to make video in Vegas (I've not used it yet so I need to figure it all out!!!)

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 9 2014, 09:14 PM

Hey Rhida! Thank you for the files! I can hear a lot of nice and melodic phrases and the articulation elements are more polished than before. it is an honor to be called family and I am glad that i can help and that I can see your progress every day!

Keep this rhythm up and it can only be well

Hey Neil, of course

Should we extend the deadline until Monday - October 13th? I do believe that there's a lot of folks who would like this idea

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 9 2014, 10:26 PM

hahaha so thanks brother for taking this seriously and working hard to give the best for this collab. You have a great attitude and energy so I'm sure that your playing will become better and better in the nexts weeks and months, keep on rocking!!



Awesome take Todd!! I enjoyed a lot your melodic phrasing, you are a very tasty player when you go for the melodic side! And that fast passage in the middle, wou!! It's a fantastic take, and the tone fits great with the backing. Thanks for joining friend!!

Posted by: SirJamsalot Oct 9 2014, 11:38 PM

That would be awesome. I came up with the last half of my solo idea and rehearsed it last night, but didn't have time to record it, let alone come up with a video for it! haha. I'm juggling band duties with this collab, and as such, I have 3 others depending on my being practiced for our sets which takes a precedence - but I have the weekend available !

Chris!



nice take Todd!
I spent a good deal of time dialing in a tone on my Peavy Amp - I'm mic'ing it - had to reposition mic about 5 times, dink with the knobs 20 times+ - what you hear live is a lot different than what you hear coming straight out of the speaker (via mic), so had to adjust. One of the upsides of using plugin's ! I'm old school... haha.





Kris ~ you have a great voice ~ well done

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 10 2014, 12:27 AM

Per COSMIN I updated the TH2 patch to make it BIGGER and a pinch more articulate Let me know if you like this one better!!!

NEW ONE!!!
 SoulfulBalladTH2Final.xml.zip ( 2.91K ) : 77
(new download)
https://soundcloud.com/techniqueswithtodd/updated-patch-ballad-overloud-th2-test

OLD ONE!!
https://soundcloud.com/techniqueswithtodd/overloud-th2-free-semiclean-lead-patch-demo




Good idea!! MONDAY The 13th sounds much better!!!

Thanks!!! Stretching in to an area of melody and medium gain is more rare for me but very fun and good challenge.
It's good to push one's boundaries!

Todd



Thanks!! Sure thing I have been tweaking the patch a bit to try and make it bigger, I've got three versions of that patch so far, but I'm going for number4!!!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 10 2014, 07:46 AM

Todd - I like much more like this And I would certainly say that you need to experience with this tone and direction in your playing, because it sounds very nice!

Jams and everyone else - yes, we can go for the extended deadline, so go ahead and use the following 3 days as best as possible to be able to send me the files on Monday

Posted by: Jeroen Oct 10 2014, 09:28 AM

If you need any help with Vegas, please let me know. I'm a pro when it comes to editing in Vegas

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 10 2014, 10:13 AM

Thanks for the suggestions!! I think you are right It does sound better a bit "bigger" and less "in the box" as it gives more "articulate" sounding playing and emphasises the picking!! I'm sharing the patch so anyone can try it!

Pushing my playing here to a new area in line with Al Dimeola "ISH" influence which I had yet to incorporate. Always good t push the boundaries of one's playing style!!

Posted by: Sensible Jones Oct 10 2014, 06:06 PM

Thanks for the offer Jeroen!! I'll PM you if I get stuck!!!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 11 2014, 02:12 AM

SOLO PREVIEW!!! ( You've heard the first part, but,listen for the Al Dimeola Solo Crazy section in Part II)

https://soundcloud.com/techniqueswithtodd/guitarmasterclassnet-soulful-ballad-collab-project-solo

SOLO ONLY STARTING AT ZERO WITH SILENCE OVER "VERSE/CHORUS" CLIP
 Verse_Chorus_Solo_Only.wav ( 12.25MB ) : 64


SOLO WITH BACKING OVER "VERSE/CHORUS" CLIP
 Verse_Chorus_Solo_WITHBACKING.wav ( 12.25MB ) : 80


DOWNLOAD LINK TO VIDEO FILE ON DROPBOX
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2761041/Soulful%20Ballad%20Collab%20Youtube%20Preview.mov


*Dedicating this solo to my Dad who is back in the Hospital yet again tonight, spending the night for observation due to his heart. Hopes/prayers/positive thoughts appreciated!

Youtube Preview (M.C. Escher Version)

Posted by: Deleted Oct 11 2014, 01:21 PM

Killer take Todd !

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 11 2014, 04:55 PM

Your extended solo is fantastic Todd. I keep on thinking that your melodic side combined with the shred stuff are fantastic. Keep on experimenting with this combination!

I hope your father gets better soon. Cheers mate.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 11 2014, 05:34 PM

Thanks man!! Really trying to push the phrasing and melody and balance some shreddy bits while keeping the gain low and articulate and so far it's working!

Thanks for the thoughts on my Dad. He's still at the Hospital today so we are hoping for the best!!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 12 2014, 09:29 AM

Todd, this is really great, man! It's sad how one always has to relate to difficult moments in life to come up with amazing songs

Thank you for the files and guys, remember that tomorrow is the last day in which you can submit the files for the collab! Let's go!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 13 2014, 04:15 AM

Agreed. As I was writing my take, just thinking about losing my father to his heart condition started distracting me and I realized I should just let it happen and play guitar through it. Sure enough, it comes out sounding sad but hopeful which is exactly what I was feeling at the time.

Posted by: SirJamsalot Oct 13 2014, 09:24 AM

I created the video for you and will send you a link to the video in my drop box. No video is complete without a bunny rabbit, so I threw one in there for kicks.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 13 2014, 10:52 AM

Hope that everything will turn out well, Todd! My thoughts are with you, mate



Hehe, thank you for the video Chris! I received and downloaded the file I just found in my Inbox

Gents, remember, this is the last day you can submit your files, so please send them to me in due time! Thank you very much!

Posted by: Sensible Jones Oct 13 2014, 04:21 PM

Here's mine:-
Intro:-

https://soundcloud.com/neilwaller/soulful-collab-intro
https://soundcloud.com/neilwaller/soulful-collab-intro-nbt


Verse:-

https://soundcloud.com/neilwaller/soulful-collab-verse
https://soundcloud.com/neilwaller/soulful-collab-verse-nbt

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 13 2014, 05:55 PM

Thanks for the amazing videos and takes friends!! This collab will be epic. I'll also enjoy a lot working on the edition and mix of this one. There are lots of killer takes! Thanks everybody!!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 14 2014, 02:30 PM

Howdy Neil! Thank you for the takes mate! Please make sure that the Soundcloud tracks are set on downloadable I can't download them from there right now..

Posted by: Sensible Jones Oct 14 2014, 05:30 PM

Sorry Cos! All sorted!!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 14 2014, 07:56 PM

Thank you good Sir!

Alrighty everyone! The entries are closed officially, now, I will need the takes from three folks

Monica Gheorghevici, Huargo, Caelumamittendum - please send me the files - I know Monica posted her amazing take, but she forgot to send me the files How about the other two gentlemen?

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Oct 14 2014, 08:16 PM

Look in your email from 2 weeks ago and you will find all my files

Posted by: Sensible Jones Oct 14 2014, 08:18 PM

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Oct 14 2014, 08:23 PM

I must skip this one. Haven't focused at all on it and haven't really played around enough with it.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 15 2014, 06:57 AM

My bad, got the files right here So I must ask your forgiveness

So, Ben - too bad you're not joining us I gathered the files from everyone and I'll send them towards Gabi today! Thank you guys once again!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 16 2014, 07:03 AM

Can you give us a rough idea on when it might be ready? One week? Two weeks?

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 16 2014, 07:25 AM

Howdy Todd! I have no idea yet, Gabi has received the files yesterday so he will tell us, but most likely not less than a week, as it's a lot of work involved It'll be here nonetheless and we will keep you updated with the progress along the way

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 21 2014, 08:09 PM

Hey guys! Gab her just to say that this collab is turning amazing!!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 22 2014, 03:57 AM

Any idea when it might be finished? A week? Two?

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 22 2014, 07:43 AM

I have a hunch it's going to be happening soon

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 22 2014, 05:01 PM

We are getting close...

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 22 2014, 05:34 PM

This weekend maybe?

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 24 2014, 02:02 PM

Ladies and gentlemen, without any further comments, here is the final mix!!



Big thanks to everyone who made this possible and it was an honor and pleasure as usual! Also, big kudos to Gabi for putting the mix together!

Now, here are our comments on your FULL takes - we thought this would be useful as usual, eventhough we have used only parts of your entries, due to compositional and time/space related reasons!

Bleez:

Hi friend! Thanks for your amazing take.
The first thing that captured my attention has been the groove of your take. I love how you combined rhythmic stuff with tasty melodies. You could add some funk influences to a fusion ballad and that made your solo very unique and nice to hear.

I only have great things to say about your playing. You managed dynamics very well and you could do it even with that amount of distortion, which is not an easy thing. Your bending technique is so precise and the way you reach the notes gives the overall solo a very cool vibe. Your vibrato goes great with the groove of the song as well.

Regarding the composition, I’ve already talked about the combination of melody and rhythmic ideas. I can add that the solo evolves very well. Maybe you didn’t think too much on it, but it starts quiet and calm, it starts to grow in the middle, keep growing and finally relax again, the evolution of notes, phrases and dynamics is perfect.

The only thing that I’m not totally in love with is your guitar tone. I would have gone for a warmer EQ for this backing and phrases. I also think that the reverb (or maybe delay used) doesn’t fit very well with the backings.

That’s all, keep on rocking Bleez!
Gab.-

Deleted:

Hi mate! Thanks for this tasty lesson!
As soon as your solo starts I said, that’s the tone that this backing is asking for! Your guitar sounds so good over the backing, and it’s not only because of the guitar tone, your playing is very tasty and melodic.

The first phrases show that you manage vibrato and bending really well. The feeling of your take is the most notable thing (with the tone off course). I like the way you managed dynamics, and the use of pinch harmonics to give the notes more intensity.

I could divide your solo in two sections. The first one is full of fantastic melodic phrases that evolve naturally with the backing track in a very creative way. Then, the second half, you solo becomes a bit more monotone and there are very clear idea and direction like it happens in the first part. As this is maybe an improvisation, the way to solve this would be to work the second half a bit more to make it as interesting as the first part.

Finally, I’ve already said, that your tone is killer on this one. I believe that it has a EQ that fits great with this style and the perfect amount of sustain. Top level!

Keep on the great job!

Gab.-


Jeroen:

Hi friend!
Your solo is short but very intense. It’s as intense and cool that we decided to use it to open the track. I can say that they way you started the solo is very promising and that you should create an extended version for your youtube channel!

We’ve been talking about vibrato and bending many times at REC, Army and other parts of the forum. I can say that both techniques are evolving well, but there is still room to master them. Your bending is not totally on pitch, and the vibrato is weak, mostly when you add it to bending. Keep on working this two techniques.

As I said previously, this short idea is a great intro for a full track. It’s melodic but also very deep thanks to that long bend, and the repetitive bends that come then.

Your tone is very good. I like it, it works very good with the backing track. It has a good EQ balance and sustain allows you to keep that long bend sounding. I can note an extra effect like delay that makes the solo fit even better with the track, very well set! Good job!
You are a very creative person and also a very hard worker guitarist, the world will know about you soon. Keep rocking!

Gab.-

Nava:

Hi friend! Thanks for your beautiful contribution.

The is a very cool energy in your guitar playing. This solo is very powerful, it’s saying something. I can see your soul talking through your hands and that’s not a small thing. The fact that I noted technique issues is a proof that you focused on expression instead of perfection, and let me say thumbs up to it!

Your technique is advanced. You can go from melodic passages to faster section in a very smooth way. In this solo I note some imperfections here and there, nothing too serious but to have in mind. That fast alternate picking passage is not totally precise, mostly reaching the last notes of it. It has some little timing issues, and there is a weird sound happening at 00:22. Besides that, I can also notice some unwanted noises that appear in some sections. I think that the tone is not helping to play everything clean but I would put some attention to muting the strings that you are not playing. Besides this, I can say that you vibrato technique is very good, you can play both wide and smaller vibratos and always fit great with the groove. I also like how you use pinch harmonics and slides as expression tools.

Your solo evolves well until the fast AP lick. That lick is cool but appears there alone, to then go back to similar ideas to the first part. So it’s like a tourist there. The solo need more variations in the second part, something that makes it even more intense close to the end.
I like your guitar tone, it has a very nice to hear EQ balance, and the thing that I liked more is the ambience that the effects give to it. It makes it sound epic, as your video.

Keep on the good job!!

Gab.-

Sirjamsalot:

Hi Sir! Thanks for rocking this one.
That’s a very nice amp! And you really know how to use it! As soon as your solo starts, I can’t discover why I like it so much, is it your warm guitar tone? Or are those catchy slides?

The best thing of your performance on this one is the way you managed dynamics to give this solo a very melancholic feeling. Your vibrato technique is very consistent and goes very well with the groove. I only note some timing problems in some slides, for example in the section between 00:19 and 00:23. Pay attention to it. These timing issues appear here and there and make you solo a bit less consistent, I think that it needs some more practice.

Your solo keeps quiet and slow but for any reason, maybe the beautiful feeling it keeps my attraction during the whole take. I can’t find a reason related to structure or evolution, it’s just that it is perfect. I would add or quit any note to this composition.
Another strong point if off course your guitar tone. I think that it’s perfect to what you decided to play over these backings. It’s clean and warm, and your soloing is also clean and warm. It has been a great decision to go for a sound with no distortion, just some little drive.

So again, thanks for the magic friend. Keep on the great job!

Gab.-

Monica Gheorghevici:

Hey Monica! As I said when I first saw this take, your playing is always

evolving and your very thorough approach on practicing in general is always showing off great results.

Now, I have to point out the great stuff first:

- you started having great direction when soloing - your phrases are not just wandering around, but really going somewhere with a very serious sense of musical purpose!
- your touch and dynamics are VERY expressive and you tend to hit the strings harder or lighter in respect to what you want the music to transmit - that's a great asset which a lot of people are neglecting!
- another important aspect of your direction, would be the tension building around 0:51 - that's a great way of drawing the listener's attention!
- you have used my favorite interval - the 6th - in the phrase around 0:39 wink.gif

Now for the things that you could work on, in order to take your phrasing and playing at the next level:

- vibrato - your vibrato has clearly evolved in time, but still, there are moments in which you tend to lose control and rush it a bit - see min 0:07 for instance.
- you tend to move your left hand fingers a bit too much and sometimes a bit disorganized - this is something which can be fixed with the aid of some technical exercises, which focus on left-right coordination and especially on left hand finger economy, which comes in extremely handy when you will need to play faster. Please trythe following lessons, but don't worry about the speed, focus on moving as little as possible:

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guit...picking-thirds/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/solo-guit...upstroke-focus/ - you don't need to reach top speed on this one, but focus on finger movement economy smile.gif

Congrats once again and keep this pace - it shows a lot!!

RatedHtr:

Hey man! Great take here as well - as in Monica's case, above, your direction is solid and your execution as well!

I will try to have the same approach regarding your take as well:

- your conceptual phrasing mixing long note phrases and more tehnically advanced licks - min 0:21 - 0:25 and 0:28 - 0:32 creates a well balanced atmosphere throughout the take
- your use of slides reminds me of Steve Vai somehow - good going here!
- your vibrato is round and well balanced and the execution in general is very clean and in great timing

There's one thing that I would see as a little setback - though it's something very personal - the phrase around 0:39 gave me a sensation of losing the rhythmic balance in the take. But hey, it's a very personal thing, so it might be just me smile.gif

Keep up the good work, mate!

Rhida:

Hey amigo! I enjoyed this take a lot, because it's clear you have put in a lot of effort, especially knowing about it's evolution as I followed it closely in the collab thread.

You have showed improved control over your vibrato especially, pretty well and solid directed phrasing, even if you haven't employed a great number of notes - you know how they say that a good melody doesn't need to be exaggeratedly complicated? It's very true you know smile.gif

Around 0:08 there was a bend that you could've pushed a bit more in order to reach the desired pitch, but the following vibrato around 0:12 was excellently timed and interpreted as well as the ones in the following phrase.

Now, the most important thing that you might want to focus on in the future would be the timing - especially in these slow paced musical pieces, where each note is heard very well. For instance, you have played the note group starting at 0:27, a bit off beat - the phrase in itself is good as a musical idea, but the notes seem shaky because you should've played them in a more precise timing.

At 0:42, the bend could be a bit more in pitch and at 0:48, the same thing withthe timing - you are playing the first note in that group a little bit off beat and it can be felt.

The ending phrases at 01:01 are a great way to finish off your take, so I must congratulate you on your hard work and let's keep working together in order to improve your timing!

All the best and keep rocking!

Sensible Jones:

Howdy Neil!

You have provided two separate takes, which feature short but nice theme based ideas! The one in the intro is very nice and fitting, balancing a faster phrase with a more melow one - the things which I would see here as a possible fix, would be the timing of the first set of notes which is a bit unsure - the legato ones in the very beginning and the vibrato which is rushed - remember our little thread in which you had that bluesy lesson to tackle? biggrin.gif Well, that one can serve as a good exercise for your vibrato mate!

Now, for the Verse video - GREAT way to start it - good bluesy feel and that bending and vibrato showcase good skills here, alongside with the nice quiet not at the end of the phrase wink.gif After that, the more scalar phrase that ends at 0:19 could've been played in better timing.

The next phrase - starting at around 0:20 seems to fit nicely, though around 0:23 the timing could be improved a bit, as well, while the last note ends the take nicely with that bend!

All in all, I think you needed a bit more time to practice the takes, because you surely have what it takes to execute the phrases more accurately wink.gif As an exercise, I would totally recommend Ben's legato lessons and a vibrato one as well - I bet you know these, but they're great exercises, so why not spend some time with them?

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bens-Vibrato-Odyssey-5/
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bens-Land-Of-Legato/

Congrats!

All that being said, congratulations to everyone once again and we'll see you in this thread right here

http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=53185&st=0&start=0

Posted by: Deleted Oct 24 2014, 02:57 PM

Beautiful composition! The vocal part is perfect for the take. (By the way, could you share the lyrics?)
Excellent job guys!!

Posted by: Rhida Oct 24 2014, 03:06 PM

Congrats everyone!
Very cool song indeed.
And though I didn't even make it to the final mix (feeling a little disappointed I must admit...), I learned a lot working on this collab.
So thanks for your comments.

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Oct 24 2014, 04:00 PM

Nice collab result and great job everyone!!
I must say that the vocal part of Kris make this collab to shine. His voice was an awesome addition
Thanks for your words Cosmin Haha...I knew that the 6th interval will get your attention

Posted by: MasterofPuppets Oct 24 2014, 06:03 PM

Congratulations guys, all of you played awesome! Well done.

Posted by: SirJamsalot Oct 24 2014, 08:29 PM

A special thanks to Cosmin and Gabriel for putting in so much time and effort into this. Video editing/mixing and mastering takes a *lot* of careful listening and creativity to assemble all the pieces into a video that flows from take to take. I'm sure many hours were spent moving things around, and I'm sure a great deal of trial and error went into to getting this wonderful final end result.

I would also like to thank the instructors for listening to each take individually, and then composing an obviously cared about, constructive criticism on each one. This is a very wonderful aspect about these instructors - they point out time codes, which means they took the time to listen to each track carefully as if it were the only one they were paying attention to. That is a personal touch that shows their dedication to seeing us improve. So thank you for that. It means a lot to those of us wanting honest feedback.

Now for a little constructive criticism! You guys left out a critique on Kris!
"So get off your ass!" lol.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 24 2014, 08:41 PM

Can you guys put the links to the individual takes in the notes? or even the link to this thread that has most of the takes in it? I saw someone ask for that on youtube and it seemed like a great idea

Congrats on another great collab guys and gal!

Todd

Posted by: Nava Oct 24 2014, 09:02 PM

Thank you all for this fantastic collab! I enjoyed every moment of it

And a Big thank to Gab and Cosmic for getting this done! With out you this would not happen!

And thanks for the best part Gab;) Your constructive critic! Awesome and I will take all that you say and even more
work on some parts of my playing!
I'm forever grateful for this opportunity to be in this community


And Mr. Kristofer Dahl

That voice of yours is great Nice lines and melodies!!

Always great to hear your creations:)

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Oct 24 2014, 09:50 PM

It's obvious you guys are improving quickly, and it's so cool to follow! Remember the winners are the ones who participated, and it doesn't matter how much/if your take made it to the final medley. As long as you keep exposing yourself to new musical challenges you will be going in the right direction!

Here's what I sang:

So get off your ass, it will do you well
If it pays off in cash, only time will tell
And you know who's to blame if it goes to hell
but then a different life is heading towards you can't you tell
To unlock you from your cell, and free you from that dying smell…

Its gonna do you well


I wanted to sing about making a change in your life, I think that's a key element to real improvement. Try to identify the behavior/thought processes that slow you down. Perhaps you have some negative thoughts about yourself that don't do you any good and that keep you 'locked in your cell'?

Posted by: SirJamsalot Oct 24 2014, 10:21 PM

thanks Gabriel.

For those who might be interested in how I went about choosing my tone & overall recording (I like reading about other's recording experience to learn, so I'm posting mine in case you're also curious)...

Getting the tone:
The tone was achieved using my Peavy Classic 50 - cranked to 4 (yes, that's loud). The reason being, tube amps require tube-saturation to "come alive" - give an organic sound, which requires a decent amount of flow through the tubes). I mic'd my amp with an SM57, aimed parallel to the speaker wall angle, at the cone-wall seam, about 1 1/2 inchess away from the mesh. I angled it to get rid of some tinny (trebbly) overtones I was getting from the center.

I used a slight pre-and post gain on the clean channel (4 & 5 respectively), and an http://goo.gl/pA2wuS at about 1/4 turn. No other effects except perhaps a little reverbe from the Peavy.

Finding a decent recording tone took more than an hour of experimenting. The amp was on the floor, so from my seated position, it sounded deeper than what was actually going into the mic. This became very apparent after a play back, so the rest of my time was spent trying to dial in a warm tone to get rid of the sizzle on the high end.

I had to play with the tone knobs & mic position, while listening through my headphones.

Recording

The mic was plugged into my http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlett2i2. I adjusted my incoming signal so that it was between -6 and -10 db on Reaper's peak meters. I knew I was going to use a mastering plugin (Ozone) to do some signal maximizing so I wanted to give it plenty of headroom to do so.

I played back the backing track into my headphones, and double tracked the guitars (played the solo once for the left channel, then a second time for the right channel) and panned them about 45% left and right in the final mix.

Video
Since I knew I was going to be doing take after take after take... I'm just not that good at accomplishing a one-take recording, I decided I would just have to "lip-sync" my guitar playing. So I mounted my iPhone on a tripod, played back my mix through my nearfield monitors (so the audio would end up on the iPhone video for later syncing), and recorded myself playing through. Then I moved the iPhone to another position (closer view of my fretting hand), and did the same thing.

I exported the final mix from Reaper into a .WAV file, then exported both videos from my iPhone onto my hard drive, found a bunny video that was laying around, and imported everything into Adobe premiere. I didn't have to do much with the audio since it was already to my meager expectations

I placed the audio onto the time-line, then I placed my secondary (closeup) view on the first video timeline (track2), then my primary view on the outer track (3). Doing this allowed me to simply cut out the chunks of track (3) where I wanted track 2 to be visible on the time line. Then I added some built in fades to the beginnings and endings of each "splice".

http://goo.gl/Th6faY

Hope that was helpful for anyone.

End Product
Not sure if Gabriel used only one of my double-tracked takes to use in his video composition, but you can hear the mix I created using both in my http://goo.gl/1nNgcX.

Now for me to go back and try to correct my timing issues!

Thanks Gab-

*Edit* - I forgot to mention that I'm using a iPhone app called http://goo.gl/PDD08 . Reason being is it allows you to better control the actual framerates you record in, and has some other nice features you can read about.

Posted by: HiimAlex Oct 24 2014, 10:23 PM

Congratulations everyone, I think all of you did a totally amazing job with this collab and hopefully I will feel enough self confident to join next collab

Posted by: bleez Oct 25 2014, 11:05 AM

Thanks for the comments, I really appreciate it. This collab was a blast I really enjoyed working on it. Such awesome takes and tones by everyone!

Posted by: Sensible Jones Oct 25 2014, 12:10 PM

Brilliant editing job Gabi!!
Thanks for the words Cosmin! It is true, I wish I'd have had more time to work on it. I'll be back working on our thread this week!
Congratulations Guys and Gal for all the brilliant takes and Kris' vocals!!!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 25 2014, 05:52 PM

KRIS: Trying again on this one As I think it's worth it, ANY CHANCE ON LINKING THIS THREAD OR THE INDIVIDUAL TAKES IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THE VID? That way folks can either click through and see this thread and learn how spiff gmc is Or if they get the links to takes, they (and we) can see the full takes of each and what goes in to editing something like this.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Oct 25 2014, 07:12 PM

Hi Todd - links to individual takes/this thread can be found in this video's description:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXtE_Mcmcy8

Thanks for a great suggestion

Posted by: SirJamsalot Oct 25 2014, 07:45 PM

I updated my video description to link back to GMC and the full video.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 25 2014, 07:53 PM

Hehe! Looking forward to it!

Once again, congrats to everyone! And Rhida, I sent you a PM mate - we'll fix things

Posted by: Rhida Oct 25 2014, 08:44 PM

The final mix is great as it is with great vocals and guitar parts.
There is nothing to fix.
I worked hard on it trying to make every note count. I progressed a lot in all areas of my lead playing. Be a part of the final mix would have been a big achievement for me.
It was a great time and I don't regret any second I spent on it.

So again congrats to everyone! The clip is very well done and the song and music are top-notch!

I just want that Bogdan remove the link to my take in YouTube as it has no purpose for those who watch the video.

I am glad that it wasn't because my playing sucked or anything like that.

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Oct 25 2014, 09:22 PM

Rhida, this was a mistake on our end and we feel really bad about it considering how hard you worked on this one. We should have it fixed by next week. Sorry for this - and thanks for your patience!

Posted by: Rhida Oct 25 2014, 10:43 PM

It's no big deal Kris.
I was a little upset but it's over now. As I said to Bogdan errors happen sometimes. It's a part of human being.
GMC is a must and I'm proud to be a member of this community.
You really care for your customers no doubt about that!
Just give it a rest. This collab is excellent as it is.


And you know me I 'll be back in REC, collab,...

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 26 2014, 05:38 AM

Hey guys!! Thanks for all this amazing feedback. We worked really hard on this one and I have to say that I'm amazed of the final results. We could create an amazing song together. I always talk about the importance of putting music on the first place, as the main goal, and this song shows that GMC is going on the right track! You guys rock, you make fantastic melodies, beautiful guitar solo and put all your effort on making great things. Congratulations to everyone!

Hey mate, I just get back from a short tour with Cirse, found out this and have to say that I feel very sad about it. I'm so sorry of this error. We wouldn't let any GMCer out of a collan in this way! This has been my fault, and I'm really sorry about it. I'll talk with the guys about how to fix it.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Oct 27 2014, 06:14 PM

New, updated video is on

Check it out:

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 27 2014, 07:38 PM

Posted by: Rhida Oct 27 2014, 08:20 PM

I don't know how you did this but you managed to improve a tune already excellent!
Well done!

Maybe a magical ingredient here and there?

Posted by: Sensible Jones Oct 27 2014, 09:05 PM

Posted by: Phil66 Oct 27 2014, 10:25 PM

If there's another one I'll have a go at a few notes if I'm allowed
Cheers
Phil

Posted by: Jeroen Oct 27 2014, 11:08 PM

Magical, and thank you very much for the honour of opening this one. Nice singing Kris! Killer job on editing Gab! Collabs are getting better and better! So proud to be part of this!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 28 2014, 08:05 AM

Allowed? Hey man, it's jammin' Everyone is not only allowed, but invited by all means

All you need to do is participate! So yes Sir, we are looking forward to having you along for the ride!



Looks like we have someone else in for the ride

Glad we could make this one happen!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 29 2014, 03:21 AM

AWESOME!! It was actually a suggestion by sirjamsalot but I gotta say it seemed like a great idea!! I"ll link my solo take to the main video as well. Hopefully they will cross pollenate

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 29 2014, 02:25 PM

Congrats to everyone once again!