It's not all about GAS.....

blobb

I occasionally see posts on here lamenting the lack of actual guitar playing. ROTM is often cited as an opportunity for all of us to get involved in playing, rather than continually discussing which is the best this, that or the other. More of us are getting into home recording / home studios etc... to the extent that guitars, effects, amps, whatever can feature in a more complete 'production'.

I belong to a small FB group which is based on like minded musicians putting together tracks and encouraging / criticising each other so they can develop their techniques and styles.

So, in the spirit of trying to encourage 'more playing and less buying'  I thought I would share something I put together over the bank holiday.  There's no ego in this, as I say it's a continual development thing and if it encourages others on here to start thinking about making a recording and sharing it with this great community, then that would be a good thing to see happen.

For the gear nerds out there, the track is based on a 4 octave synth arpeggio with a DI bassline, (tarted up with guitar rig + a cab IR). Over this is twin guitar semi picked rhythm and a lead guitar to carry the melodic movement. None of it was written down, it's all on the fly stuff. All guitars are miced up as I wanted to experiment with recording valve amps. The only software sim is on the bass and Superior for the e-drums. I used my Manson Merlin for the guitar sounds via a MATAMP for the jangly picking and a VC30 for the lead. Interface is a NIKA6 and assembled in cubase elements.

I guess this could be posted in 'Studio & recording' but 'Making Music' is just as good. As I say, the aim is to share some of the end results of all this GASing we do over guitars. I'm unlikely to fiddle any more with this as it has served it's purpose from a learning viewpoint for me. It could have developed in many ways and two days is a challenge to get everything you want do done, without getting tired. Which explains some of the sloppy guitar playing!

So over to you, add your tracks below or start a new thread. There is no wrong answer here. Looking forward to hearing what you all get up to.

cheers m'dears, Nick...

https://soundcloud.com/ziraph-1/fiture-cities-check-in

kin

Nice idea, I always find it difficult criticising others efforts. I'm not qualified to make a judgement regarding recording technique/musicianship etc.

So I'm left with, do I like it ?  Would I give it another listen? 

As it stands, your track needs a defined melody , a focus ( actually thinking about it, it doesn't have to be a melody, it could be just an interesting noise reapeated ,  just something to catch the ear.)

 I enjoyed it but I wouldn't seek it out for repeated listens ( that also stands true for 99 per cent of the history of recorded music as far as I'm concerned, so, don't take it personally.)

Encouraging others to make creative use of their equipment is always a good thing.

Jalapeno

blobb said:

It's not all about GAS.....

(PS. your Soundcloud's vanished)

AustrianJohn

Good post. I recently realised that if I spent as much time actually playing and practicing guitar as I do building (or planning builds) for guitars, amps and pedals I would be a much less crap guitarist than I am. So I've set myself the challenge of learning 10 solos this year, one each from my favourite guitarists. I haven't worked out which solos yet, but I have picked 9 guitarists: Akkerman, Clapton, Gilmour,  Green, Hendrix, King (BB), Knopfler, Moore and Sanata.

What are your suggestions for number 10?

blobb

Ed Wynne or Andy Latimer

Recording yourself is a great way to develop. Post here if you get anywhere, would love to hear what you come up with.

AustrianJohn

blobb said:

Ed Wynne or Andy Latimer

Recording yourself is a great way to develop. Post here if you get anywhere, would love to hear what you come up with.

Ed Wynne's not really my cup of tea, but Andy Latimer is a good call. That reminds me - I must go and listen to Snowgoose, haven't heard it for years.