Crying For Ballad Collaboration, FINAL MIX & COMMENTS |
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Dec 31 2009, 06:47 PM
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Hey guys, here's the final mix and comments for this collaboration all in one place!
 Comments: Alex Lewis: Rhythm: Excellent rhythmical phrasing, with good sense for rhythm dynamics, syncopation and fluidness. Fast parts were blended nicely, although I have a feeling that the rhythmical structure was a bit loose with rhythmic phrases that were slightly scattered. Phrasing: Very nice legato playing with smooth phrases that blend into one another quite nicely. The area you should work on is note landing. Majority of phrases you played had landing notes that didn't quite accent the harmony in the natural way. Practicing more arpeggio patterns over the whole neck in parallel with corresponding chords beneath can fix this problem easily. This way you will get a good insight on what notes to go when finishing the phrases. Technique: Good bending and legato technique, smooth execution. I noticed there were some problems with muting and vibrato. Vibrato was a bit nervous and should be more controlled, slower and wider in order to really sound expressive. Sound: Good amount of reverb, and nice smooth tone. However, there was too much distortion, and it created a buzzy tone with a harsh top end. I think lowering down the gain a bit, and smoothing out the top end slightly will produce a better result. Skennington: Rhythm: Excellent elongated lines that sound really smooth and expressive. Great vocal-like solo. One thing you should be more precise with is timing. Not all notes were exactly on spot, and although some freedom is needed to allow expressiveness (like the way you played majority of your solo behind the beat to achieve slower feel), I believe some important notes in your solo should match a bit more with the kick of the drum to be more effective. Phrasing: Very nicely done solo with a main theme that was developed in a cool and natural way from the beginning. Phrases have logical progression and they follow the backing nicely. Although you used small number of notes, they were positioned correctly. The ending could be more effective I believe, I got the feeling it was a bit flat in that part. Technique: Excellent technique displayed, with precise bends and vibratos that are really expressive and well controlled. They really add another dimension to your soloing. There were only some very small string noise issues here and there, but that is a problem only when I listen the solo take. With the backing, the string noise is diminished a lot. Nevertheless, you should possibly mute the strings more tightly, because this will enable your signature tone to be focused and heard more effectively. Sound: Very good: smooth, balanced, cuts nicely. Good space, elongated, but not too loud. There is a slight buzziness in the upper range of your tone but it's not a big issue. Hammerhead: Rhythm: Good rhythmical figures throughout the solo. I liked the first couple of rhythmic phrases, they are well balanced and memorable. What I didn't liked that much is the way the rhythm is developed in the second part of the solo. Although there is one faster part, by itself it is not balanced well with it's surroundings, so the solo climax is a bit blurred. The ending itself would be more effective without the very last note. Timing was good in most of the solo, but in order to sound even more effective, you should really lock the important notes to the drums. Phrasing: Melody was nicely developed and harmonized from the main theme, and the solo has a nice natural flow to it. Phrases were nicely related to one another. The ending of the solo could be handled better, because you returned to the same phrase you started with, which made it sound a bit repetitive. If you stayed up and let the melody build an octave higher from the faster bit, you would get a more effective ending. Technique: Everything was well played in this solo. The faster bit lacked some note definition towards the end, and the bends could use some more tightening up as well. You haven't used that much vibrato on this take, and I think it would really add to the expressiveness. Sound: The sound was good, but the space effects were too prominent, which cause the lack of definition. I also think there were a bit too much distortion for this kind of style, specially because you used harmonized melodies which created harmonics that sound dissonant in some parts. Berglmir: Rhythm: Well used minimalistic approach with pauses as important part of the solo. I like the way you handled both pauses and notes, and that you put notes on unusual places within the bar. However, I think that not all pauses are placed intentional. Some were there because you lacked the idea of what to play next. Regardless of that, you always managed to continue the solo effectively, so they all played a solid role in this take. Phrasing: Very good phrasing with excellent melodic content. I like the way you form the melody using big intervals, which sounds very nice. In second part of the solo, you could make a better climax for the solo, there is one pause where you missed to finish the phrase effectively. I believe that by inserting more higher notes in the second part would solve this problem, and you would get a well balanced ballad melodic solo. This way, it sounds a bit flat, or even descending towards the end. Technique: Although all the notes could be heard loud and clear, you should work more on controlling the dynamics of your playing, depending on the part of the song you're in. More vibrated or bended notes could add a lot to this solo as well. Doesn't have to be too much bending or vibrato, but just some occasional small vibrated notes or half step bends could do wonders. Sound: The sound was very pleasant and mellow, but you can work some more on this preset to make it good. First problem is that because of the modulation it sounded detuned on some places. Second one is that the delay feedback value could be matched with the backing so you get a delay that will go along with the tempo of the backing better. Rik Veldhuizen Rhythm: Very nice rhythmical structure with same phrase being developed throughout the solo. This concept is a proven one and can be quite effective in most cases. However there is some work that should be done on this. First of all, although the rhythmical phrases were slightly altered, they still retain the same core structure. This can sound repetitive to the listener. Second thing is that the solo has to have some kind of a development that is not within the core structure you had. This could be anything - a long bend, a small run, an arpeggio, could of intervals, but played differently from the rhythmical core phrase. Put this component towards the end, and develop an ending from it, and you will see how the solo gets a good and effective ending point. Phrasing: By listening to your solo, I can notice that solo is starting on higher notes and finishing on the lower root note. This by itself is not a big problem, but I think the higher bit lasted too long and was too flat. Although the main theme of the solo sounded very interesting and catchy, after some time it got a bit repetitive. Technique: All the notes came out very nicely in the solo, and cut well through the mix. However, there are a lot of things that can be done to make this solo better in terms of technique. Bending - you can bend the center note of your solo (G) in the second part to technically detach the sound relative to the G notes from the first part. You can also vibrate that note. VIbrato you did was too fast and shallow to be effective, it has to be slower and wider to sound effective. Although the notes all sounded good, there were substantial string noise throughout the solo. If you aren't sure how to fix this, check out my muting tutorial lesson on GMC for some advices. Sound: OK tone with a nice degree of space FX included. It doesn't sound buzzy, but you could control your tone a bit better. I have a feeling all the notes sounded exactly the same. There are places in the solo where you can alter the picking attack to create a more mellow note sound, depending on the function. This kind of dynamic playing was allowed with the preset, but not used that much. Marek: Rhythm: The rhythmical phrases in your solo were very cool on their own, and contained some very interesting and catchy elements. The main problem was that the phrases were not connected in a natural way, and because of this lacked to form a good structure in the solo. In addition to this, structure became unbalanced because of the use of longer notes in the second part of the solo. Phrasing: Phrasing done in this solo could be described similar as rhythm. Phrases were detached from one another and lacked to create a smooth flow from beginning to the end. However, this is not the main issue IMO. The melody didn't do it's main function - accenting the harmony beneath. When building melody, it is important to use the chord notes that can be found behind the melody at the time. By accenting the chord notes and circling around the arpeggio shape within the key you are in, you can attach your melodic content more naturally to a harmonic content. Technique: Well played, but I think you can do a lot better than this. It was sloppy in some parts, and the extra string noise was quite audible. Sound: Overuse of overdrive made it sound too buzzy, and lack of mids disabled the take to cut well through the mix. By increasing loudness of your take, it only made the whole take sound boomy, and increased the reverb as well, which is now too pronounced. The essence of making a good guitar tone is not by increasing the overall volume, but finding it's place in the mix are given. edguy: Rhythm: Very nice rhythmical development in the first part of the solo, there is a small pause that is not needed in the middle, and the second part of the solo could be handled better. It seems like you lacked the idea of what to do next somewhere in the middle, and possibly made a small mistake there that disrupted your concentration. This leaded to finish the solo "the safe way", same way you started it. This is what caused the flatness in the second part. Phrasing: Very nice first part phrases, all 4 of them are nicely done, with the exception of the 5th one (the very last mini one before the pause). That one didn't quite have proper function. The second part was again flat with no real attachment with the harmony beneath it, and the ending of the solo, could indeed be a lot better. Technique: Nicely played, but with little dynamics applied. All the picking was flat, with occasional harmonics that could be used more carefully too. Bending was good, but I would like to hear more vibrato too. Sound: Good sound that cuts well, plenty of mids. The reverb was unnoticeable but it wasn't that needed anyway. You could smooth out the top end with a shelf EQ to remove the buzziness. Jones: Rhythm: Nicely done solo with pauses here and there that were quite welcome. The heavy use of 16th notes in the solo, specially in the second part leads to repetitiveness, and the connection between the rhythmical phrases could be better too. Timing is something you should look after too, because many notes in your solo were a bit displaced in relation to the drums or hihat. Phrasing: I can spot the logical connections between the phrases and how you build them. It sounds very nice, and I like how you made the melodies. One suggestion that I have for you is to try practicing some arpeggios and string skipping within the key. This will remove that up & down feel that I get from listening this take. Technique: Very good playing, with some string noise and flat pick attack. Other than this, it is nicely done. Sound: Although the tone is cutting nicely, I believe you used to much distortion, which led to decreased dynamic range of the instrument, and buzzing in your tone. Lowering down the gain will help this take to sound much better and more defined. -------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE
- Check out my GMC Profile and Lessons - (Please subscribe to my) YouTube Official Channel - Let's be connected through ! Facebook! :) |
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Jan 1 2010, 02:14 AM
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Thanks again Ivan for your time and dedication to help us all become better players. I enjoyed the final mix and Happy New Year to all of you!
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Jan 3 2010, 02:19 AM
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QUOTE (Berglmir @ Dec 31 2009, 07:44 PM)  As always I really appreciate your feedback - this time it´s even more detailed and has many hints in it for me to improve. Thank you very much - I´m looking forward to many more interesting collabs in 2010! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  Thanks mate, I'm glad I could help in any way. Happy New Year QUOTE (skennington @ Jan 1 2010, 02:14 AM) Thanks again Ivan for your time and dedication to help us all become better players. I enjoyed the final mix and Happy New Year to all of you! THanks a lot mate, appreciate the feedback! Happy New Year! QUOTE (edguy @ Jan 1 2010, 03:21 PM) Hey Ivan, thanks for this collab and your detailed comment. It was fun to participate here. Though i am a little bit sad that i didn't get a track down that i really like. I will work on your hints you gave me. Btw: Happy new Year Ivan and to all the others! Don't worry, plenty of time for more collabs. Happy New Year, and keep rockin!
-------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE
- Check out my GMC Profile and Lessons - (Please subscribe to my) YouTube Official Channel - Let's be connected through ! Facebook! :) |
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