Solo of the Month (SotM) #120 - Challenge

stratman3142

The challenge is now open and ends at midnight 24th October 2025

Discussion:

Thanks to @fastonebaz for this backing track.

You can download the backing track from the link below:
https://app.box.com/s/wealauo2b4zurr72cuybqgswbueabzxa

You can hear the track below:
https://soundcloud.com/thefretboard/sotm120-fastonebaz-the-journey?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing&si=fe76f37c484240239913f86c168ab865

Track info:

Title: The Journey

Tempo: 48bpm

Chords/Structure

Em(add9) x4,  

Csus2 x2, Em(add9) x2, 

Csus2 x2, Em(add9) x2, 

Dsus2 x 1, Csus2 x1, 

Em(add9) x4

Description from @fastonebaz: A kind of expanding landscape to craft some soaring epic fantastical masterpieces with :-)

Record your solo over the top of it and then submit it (ideally in mp3 format) to solos@thefretboard.co.uk

Also, feel free to post on how you approached the solo on this thread, which will add a bit more interest and maybe we can learn something from each other.

There should be headroom to record your solo. Try to set a level without excessive master limiting, because we want to avoid loudness wars.

Voting will start soon after the submission deadline, with each voter selecting their 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice.

First choice gets 5 points - Second choice gets 3 points - Third choice gets 1 point

The order and scores of the top three entries will be announced soon after the voting ends.

No prizes. It's just for fun.

As people submit their entries, I'll post them below to hopefully promote some discussion on approaches used for the solo:

https://soundcloud.com/thefretboard/sets/sotm120-2025-10?si=80395765ea334904b9880ec8a8dd3333&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

flying_pie

Entry sent

I had an idea in my head for the first few bars with a view to starting with an acoustic then going to electric. I decided to record it before I forgot but ended up just doing the whole thing acoustically 

This is my wife's Ovation Applause through a SE V7 MK with compression and stereo delay in Reaper. It's got extra light strings fitted so that's why the bends sound less like an acoustic than you'd expect 

And I then popped into the last voting thread to see what I'd promised to call it and, yeah, that works as a title I guess

Lovely backing track @fastonebaz ;

stratman3142

flying_pie said:

Entry sent...

It's in the playlist, with possibly the longest title ever.

I edited the name of the file slightly, because I perfer the name of the entrant before the title of the track, and I don't want people going around doing their own thing and thinking for themselves

fastonebaz

That was quick @flying_pie !  I forgot about this one and having listened back to it am sat wondering what melody i was thinking of when I made it.  Time to get my creative thinking cap on and come up with something myself  

flying_pie

stratman3142 said:

flying_pie said:

Entry sent...

It's in the playlist, with possibly the longest title ever

If there ever was an unintentional challenge that could easily get out of hand....

digitalkettle

flying_pie said:

stratman3142 said:

flying_pie said:

Entry sent...

It's in the playlist, with possibly the longest title ever

If there ever was an unintentional challenge that could easily get out of hand....

A-ha...my entry for this month: "If there ever was an unintentional challenge (that could easily get out of hand)"!

flying_pie

digitalkettle said:

flying_pie said:

stratman3142 said:

flying_pie said:

Entry sent...

It's in the playlist, with possibly the longest title ever

If there ever was an unintentional challenge that could easily get out of hand....

A-ha...my entry for this month: "If there ever was an unintentional challenge (that could easily get out of hand)"!

Perfect @digitalkettle ;; I'm already looking forward to hearing how that sounds

And next month I'll do:

"Please stand corrected Mr stratman; I think you'll find that this is not just possibly but almost certainly definitely the longest SOTM entry title ever (as things currently stand and assuming semicolons are okay when naming files)"

stratman3142

BTW, I've run out of my stockpile of SotM backing tracks. Feel free to send any you might have.

Incidentally, I've been considering the idea of perhaps creating SotM backing tracks that are loosely based on fairly well known songs/instrumentals. Or perhaps I could do requests   Maybe do those every alternative month. Any thoughts?

fastonebaz

I've got a couple brewing that I could finish soon.

flying_pie

stratman3142 said:

BTW, I've run out of my stockpile of SotM backing tracks. Feel free to send any you might have.

Incidentally, I've been considering the idea of perhaps creating SotM backing tracks that are loosely based on fairly well known songs/instrumentals

That's pretty much every SOTM backing track I've ever sent you

I'll have a couple heading your way soon

RichAC

Looking forward to having a go, but I’m away for a couple of weeks so it might be another last minute improvisation!

maharg101

If everyone enters Riff of the Month then that would provide some more backing tracks..

stratman3142

maharg101 said:

If everyone enters Riff of the Month then that would provide some more backing tracks..

Good point. Some RotMs work as backing tracks (except the straight chord progressions), and I've reused some of my entries on occasions.

If I ever run short, perhaps I'll harvest some of the old RotM entries.

flying_pie

I've sent a backing track for future use

I also wonder if you would want to recycle SOTM tracks from a few years back. Even if we've recorded solos before it could be fun to compare the two playlists and see if we come up with something similar or radically different

stratman3142

flying_pie said:

I've sent a backing track for future use

I also wonder if you would want to recycle SOTM tracks from a few years back. Even if we've recorded solos before it could be fun to compare the two playlists and see if we come up with something similar or radically different

Many thanks.

Interesting idea about recycling old backing tracks.

Also, I'm quite taken with the idea of occasionally choosing a classic chord progression as a backing track. I've already got loads of those.

skullfunkerry

Just sent one in. Thanks to @flying_pie ;for reminding me that I said last month what I was going to call this one

stratman3142

skullfunkerry said:

Just sent one in...

It's in the playlist.

fastonebaz

Sent one in.

Upgraded to the latest BIAS X (AI).  Their amp skins are very cool looking, I think the one I used was covered in snakes.

I changed my picks, now I'm using Jazz XLs and I like them.

Charvel San Dimas, bridge pickup, adjusting the volume knobbage from 50% at start to 100% as it progressed.

84000 takes later I finally pressed save.   

digitalkettle

fastonebaz said:

…
84000 takes later I finally pressed save.   

I think that’s probably an excessive amount of harmony!

Axe2Grind

Sent errrr two in. 

My first attempt was really just any idea and thought there just might be too many notes played and didn't think I had actually recorded it, but there it was and then last night recorded a bit more chilled take. I thought I would chuck'em both in.

Usual rig of single cut into FM3, a plexi based sound and the more chilled version is flicking between neck and bridge pickup with the neck pickup having a bit less guitar volume. I've also changed picks. I thought I had settled on the Dunlop Peter Frampton picks but when I finally saw the new Flow nylon picks, I picked up a few of them in .88 gauge and really like them, sticking with these now.

Really good BT @fastonebaz.  

flying_pie

I've sent another backing track @stratman3142 ;