Kick Ass Shred In Memory of My Cat Romeo

[shredmonster]

http://www.mp3lizard.com/download.cfm?id=26059

Done using an Akai DSP16 and internal effects only.

No edits, 2nd take on the solo.

Dislocated my knee cap so have had some time to play with my toy (recorder that is).

[Wadester]

You got some pretty cool licks there!!! I like the guitar sound. It's just needs a little volume IMO.

-Wade

[shredmonster]

I am not very saavy when it comes to recording. I prefer to spend my time playing so I never get the best sound - except live!

Actually I have had this Akai for 4 years now and finally took the time to learn how to record and burn CD's. And I hate reading manuals but that is what I have to do with all this technical equipment.

I think in the future what I am going to have to do is run my Marshall 6100 with a speaker emulator right into the Akai - I think I can do that.

But in terms of volume I could always remix the CD from the recorder.

[Jayster]

cool - some interesting and unexpected phrasing ,but yep - you should've been more in the mix ( and imho maybe with some compression\but that could also just be the volume))

thankyou sir - you've inspired me to go and jam

[Soap]

Thou hast honored your feline romeo with shred, I thought I read that before the player popped up,
very cool. Good playing man, yep I noticed some tasty licks too.

[shredmonster]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

This was my first time actually burning a CD so I have a lot to learn - a lot about how to get tone.

Hell I did not even fade it out.

I don't want to mess with an isolation cab - and I don't need to record straight into a computer because I have all the things I need now I think….-

I recently got a Marshall 6100 with a speaker emulator so I can now plug right into the Akai using an amp and external effects - so hopefully that will work.

This recording was all Akai - so I had to crank the distortion and reverb just to get any kind of sustain going.

I basically just wanted to get something onto a CD to start learning the process.

As far as the playing - backing track is original - used a Boss Dr. Rhythm for drums and the bass on it as well.

As far as the solo - a bit different than usual. Usually I go balls to the wall 100 miles and hour. But lately I have tried slowing down and getting more phrasing and melodic. Also working on getting more tones and harmonics with various finger pressure and picking attacks.

And I cut out most of the shred apreggios I usually do -

Just tried to vary my style and progress I guess. Better to be somewhat tasty than fast I have concluded. I get sick of listening to most shred guitar after 2 or 3 songs but I never get sick of Schenker. So I guess I have concluded it is better to create emotional content as opposed to playing the notes so fast nobody can hear them go by.

I have always been a speed guy. Listening to stuff over the years - Francesco Ferrari, Rusty Cooley, Tiago Della Vega – the music seems to run together after a while. Its almost too fast musically and sounds like a bunch of machine gun notes with little expression or emotional connection to the listener. But that’s just me I guess. They are all fantastic technicians.


So to be different I have worked on a lot of alternate picking staccato stuff – varying the rate of speed between phrasing and notes – instead of playing them all at the same speed like most shred guys do. I go up and down in speed and picking attacks

Sort of like playing notes like different drum beats rather than at a single tempo and running them all together. I usually do a lot of various vibratos but just could not get enough sustain to make the notes ring out on the Akai.

I still do quite a lot of sweeps when I jam but I try not to overuse it.

So onto the Marshall next.

[Rupe]

Pretty cool. If you want some constructive criticism (if not, skip this ), here's my suggestions:

You've got the makings of some good chops but on the faster stuff your pick hand and fret hand aren't as in sync as they could be...work on that a bit and it will pay off.

Secondly, work on your bends. At this point your intonation is off which gives an "unseasoned" vibe to your slower melodic passages. Listen closely to those bends and make sure that you nail your target note with conviction. Once you've got that down, work on adding vibrato to taste.

Like I said, you've got the tools to do a lot, you just need to polish them up a bit. Good luck and happy practicing!

[shredmonster]

Rupe: Hey thanks for the suggestions. Actually, I was in a leg brace sitting on the couch at a 45 degree angle when I recorded all of this stuff. So yeah I know the vibrato is sub par.

I could not physically play like I usually do cause I could not get proper angles with my hands on the neck. And literally sitting on the couch at 45 degrees when playing I could not get my pick hand up to speed as I normally do.

I had one of my arms resting on a pillow cause my back was getting sore when doing this and it was my picking hand and the guitar body.

I was actually going to re-record the lead now that I can stand again but I liked the phrasing and the way it fit to the backing track and I am not so sure I could get it as melodic so I left it alone.

[Sixxpm]

Cool stuff man , nice playing ,It sounds a little wet to my taste but nice performance!!
Sixxpm