Voting for Solo of the Month (SotM) #61

stratman3142

Welcome to the voting thread for Solo of the Month (SotM) #61. Feel free to vote and comment in this thread.

This month's backing track was kindly provided by @digitalkettle

Vote for your top 3 entries. If you're an entrant you can't vote for yourself.

1st choice gets 5 points

2nd choice gets 3 points

3rd choice gets 1 point

Voting will end at midnight 31st July 2020.

The top three will be announced after the voting closes.

You can find all the entries the playlist below:

https://soundcloud.com/thefretboard/sets/sotm61-2020-07

Stinkfoot

Thanks @digitalkettle for the great backing track. Nicely done.

Some really nice ambient textures in all of these entries. Having a listen back to them all today I'm going for:

1st - @stratman3142 ; - really dreamy sounds and a great tone. Really enjoyed listening to this.
2nd - @digitalkettle -  great playing again. Really like the little open string section, and the Sonny Landreth-esque trills later on.
3rd - @Bellycaster -  nice use of auto-wah and I like the repeat of the phrasing throughout which gave the solo a good structure.

I did also like the mad delays and reverbs on yours @fastonebaz - sounds like that could be applied in the next one if it's going all movie-soundscapes!

Cheers!

digitalkettle

5 points: @Stinkfoot - Five points for the clam at 0'14"! Only kidding Sounds improvised...well paced with a good build up and lots of interesting lines...feels like I'm in safe hands...I like the clusters of muted notes here and there
3 points: @Bellycaster - Sounds composed: no chaff...in a couple of places, it went exactly where my ear wanted it to...boldly stuck with everyone's favourite effect: the auto-wah(?). What am I hearing in the unison bend section? Nice control if it's just the strings beating
1 point: @stratman3142 - Laid back with lots of sixths...bit dissonant...definitely channeled some of Andy Summers' more introspective moments...loved the tone but it meandered a bit

I hate it when there are only five entries...a brave entry by @fastonebaz...weirdly mesmerising and disorienting in equal measure...the only entry to snip off the count-in (which i meant to do)...I just ran out of points to give out...and it made me jump one too many times as it came up on the playlist

Bellycaster

5 Points @digitalkettle - Very imaginative solo, totally befitting the track. Love the tone and the mellow lines, very nice layering of phrases. Each part complimenting the other perfectly.

3 Points @Stinkfoot - I enjoyed the slightly more edgy and raw tone of this and loved those muted staccato licks. That doesn't take away from the rest though as it was all very flowing and full of lovely passages. The reverb and delay sound was perfect match too.

1 Point @stratman3142 - Nice chilled out vibe here, evokes images of sipping Cocktails at the Beach Bar during Sunset. Lovely lilting feel to it and somewhat haunting at the same time.

Shout out to @fastonebaz too. Nice shift to the quacky, wet tone for the second part. It was very mellow and sparkly at the same time.

................................................................

Re my recording @digitalkettle , Aye, it is composed. I tend to do that on most of my Solos. I kind of approach it as though I've been asked to do one for a band's song.

I'm OK at improv, but I'm no Larry Carlton I tend to be a bit Anal with detail as well.

I was aiming for a more Punky Reggae vibe that echoed early UB40 or a raw Grace Jones track.

The first part of the recording is from 0:00 to 0:33. I'll usually work out something to a point, then go have a Cuppa or a break and come back to it. I tend to design cut-off points, making them easy to follow on from.

Second part of recording is 0:33 to 1:00. I wanted to make that end Pent run from 1:00 to 1:02 sound a little overlapped and let the previous note trail for a while.

I just could note get it to sound right going straight to that run, there was always an annoying pause/gap, which is odd as the trailing note at 15 to 16 seconds manages to trail even when I'd removed my hand to play the double stops.

Re those Unison Bends, there might have been a bit of wobble on the bends, I kind of down picked with a stiff sharp attack. It was likely more down to the tone shaping though. I said I was anal, I must have spent 2 hours getting the whole tone and especially the Auto-Wah to sound right.

Oddly enough, the target "Wobble" sound was that Hammer On/Pull Off thing at 8 seconds, I wanted it bouncy and rubbery sounding. I found the tone and it suited the rest so I went with it.

I used Guitar Rig with the Mesa Model Amp, Autofilter, Psychedelay, Chorus/Flange(on Pitch Mod Setting), Light Compression and some Studio Delay.

You'll sleep tonight

fastonebaz

5 pts @stratman3142 ; loved the delicate intro and I just don't know how you get such a pristine tone recorded.  Top job

3pts @Stinkfoot my goto tone  I really enjoyed the story progression here,  felt like I wasin a club watching you perform it from the feels

1pt @digitalkettle excellent playing and creativity, the auto pan at the end was equally genius and made me feel nauseous. 

Not enough points for @Bellycaster but great playing and I really like the tone,  but the intro walking progression didn't stoke my fires I'm afraid. 

stratman3142

fastonebaz said:

...@stratman3142 ;;; ...just don't know how you get such a pristine tone recorded...

This is what I used
Played lightly with my finger tips (not nails)
Guitar: Neck pickup on my Telecaster Professional
Ampsim: A slightly tweaked Mayer'ish preset in Helix Native with a Red Squeeze compressor added in the Helix preset
Delay: Native Instruments Replika XT set to Tape mode with Wow & Flutter dialled in to give a subtle chorus. Also, set to Dual delay with 1/8th note delay on the left and 1/8 triplet delay on the right channel.

Fretwired

Waiting for some code to update so I thought I'd have a listen ... not sure why I don't enter this ... maybe I'm just lazy.

I actually had a clear winner ... but on another day I could have chosen a winner from any of the three tracks below.

5 points to @digitalkettle - from the humourous name to the guitar tone and the fact your parts followed the backing track and kept my interest. Great job.

3 points to @stratman3142 ;; - another good tone and a solo that followed the backing track .. very Andy Summers .. perhaps a little more variation but that could be me nitpicking.

1 point to @Stinkfoot - and yet another cool tone and I liked the note choice - I thought it was a little busy in places for the backing track but you can solo.

fastonebaz

@stratman3142 cool info cheers.   what's your interface and guitar cable? 

stratman3142

fastonebaz said:

@stratman3142 cool info cheers.   what's your interface and guitar cable? 

My interface is a Zoom UAC-2 and my cable is just a standard Whirlwind cable. I'm wouldn't expect them to have a significant effect compared to other options.

fastonebaz

stratman3142 said:

fastonebaz said:

@stratman3142 cool info cheers.   what's your interface and guitar cable? 

My interface is a Zoom UAC-2 and my cable is just a standard Whirlwind cable. I'm wouldn't expect them to have a significant effect compared to other options.

Splendid choices.   Yes it's all in the fingers apparently :-)

stratman3142

5 points : @digitalkettle : This one felt like it fitted the backing the best. Lovely feel, tone and ideas

3 points : @stinkfoot : Nice lines and good ideas. Perhaps a little busy in places

1 point : @Bellycaster : Nice use of autowah. Captured a reggae feel nicely

@fastonebaz as usual a brave entry but the delays were too OTT for my taste, which left a background noise type effect. I can hear some nice ideas through the effects though. 

stratman3142

Voting ends at midnight.

stratman3142

Voting closed.