General Music Chat

I just uploaded my demo and would appreciate some feedback from musicians and music fans alike. Everything was recorded and mixed by me on a Tascam DP-02 digital 8-track recorder using an Yngwie Malmsteen signature strat, Digitech RP-500 effects system, Boss Dr-rythm drum machine and a Casio keyboard.

I can hear your technical ability, and I like the general rocking format of the demos you have posted. Not a big fan of the mega shred style of guitar myself I know it's quite popular with the "younger crowd" still, several of these selections have some tasty parts IMO.
Well done.
Now for the criticism part of my critique.
The guitar tone is thin and "electronic" sounding as something produced by a cheap synthesizer. ( thank God for spell check LOL )
I don't know if this is a byproduct of the recording process. Or the Digitech effects. I would have to assume it's the effects.
Your composition as well as your playing deserve better.

I am not familiar with the set up of the YM Strat. But again I have to assume that plugging her into a low watt cranked tube amp would create a much thicker richer tone while providing you with the "scream" you seek as well without blowing you out of the house.
Welcome to the forum and thank you for posting some music for us.

Well, you've certainly done your Yngwie homework and it shows. Some good shredding going on in there. Gets a bit repetitious without bass and vocals, but I know you just put them up to showcase your guitar playing and writing skills. A couple of the songs start with the clean, almost acoustic sounding guitar, but then go into the same driving, shredding as the rest. I think you should explore doing the clean, acoustic thing all the way through those songs, as the song itself, with slow driving drums behind and then some tasty lead on top of it. Branch out on the rhythyms too, adding more changes. Most of your songs seem to be only 2 or 3 chord songs. This will get old to the listener after a while so do something different to keep them interested. Over all, good work. I'd like to hear these songs redone with a full band with bass and vocals.

Can you handle honesty? Remember you asked, and its just my OPINION. Writing ability: Very good but would like to hear more bridge work that is unexpected and appropriate. Guitar Sound: This is your downfall. That sound is cheesey and repeated on every song. Make an effort to challenge yourself and experiment with your sound. When presenting your work for opinion. Present in demo form witch is all basic sections like ( bass,drums,rythm guitar, lead and maybe initial vocal ). The form you have presented here is something for co-writers as an idea tape. Remember WE don't hear the whole song in our head the way you do. It is important when writing to think out of the box and sometimes go to an uncomfortable area that makes you guess and try things for the first time. This will create originality.

Not a sermon just a thought.

Hey Bane,

funny I use (or used) a lot of the same gear, with exception to the strat-

I'm using a digitech GNX3000 instead of the RP500 (I do have an RP50 though), and the Boss DR-3 drums and the Tascam DP-01 ...

So I listened to your demos, and hell.. I'm a huge fan of Yngwie and shredding in general, but I'm also a huge fan of tone and tasteful playing-

So my critique might seem a little sharp, but don't take it that way..

Overall, your skill speaks for itself.. Killer. You've got a gift with cleans as someone else mentioned..

The one thing I can't get past is that RP500, to me it sounds just like my RP50.. total crap. The FX are all over-bearing, and the tone, especially the distorted tones are very boxy and weak. The real beauty of those pedals are how well they integrate into direct recording... I know b/c I do that with my 3000 .. but even it barely does the job and I've tweaked the balls off that thing to get it to barely passable.

So to the meat of your recordings.. pretty much what the other guys said.. you need to tone it back and focus on melodies and less on the wanking.. instead of 4 minutes long of 10+ hot chops, where you end up repeating scale runs and pull-off's, you should maybe focus that into a bone-shattering rhythm with ONE really great run and pull off, so to speak.

Just a suggestion. But as much as I love Yngwie, I still get irrated at his lack of suppression in some songs. He definitely was more melody driven when he was in Alcatraz and the early years of RF than his albums after Trilogy.

Overall, You got some good skills, good luck out there.

My biggest problem with your stuff is your rhythm playing - or lack thereof.

Rhythm guitar has as many different techniques available to it as lead playing does. It doesn't sound like you've worked on your rhythm skills at all. It sounds like all you know how to do is palm mute power chords for rhythm work. I mean, every frikkin song is palm muted power chords... Talk about a one-trick pony.

I'd like to hear a lot more creativity with your rhythm work. I'd like to hear some really interesting chord progressions and arpeggios, integration of slides and open strings, octave chords, complex five and six-string chords (Alex Lifesong style), combinations of techniques, like using hammer-ons & pull-offs and single notes to create a chordal tapestry (the intro to Journey's "Lights" being a prime example of this sort of thing), etc....

There is a world of rhythm technique out there available to you to make your music really interesting and really stand out. But you seem perfectly happy to just palm mute your power chords all day. It makes every song sound the same. I mean, after listening to EVERY SINGLE SONG on your profile, I literally could not tell the difference between one song and the next. It's the same technique on every song...

To the rest of it:

The guitar tone is terrible. It's plastic, thin and just sounds cheap. It's actually quite annoying. I can overlook that though, if the actual music was any good and the writing showed promise. But since you're just repeating your limited set of skills on every song... the repetition combined with the bad tone just doesn't do anything for me.

Your 20 years too late for this style and sound. Might want to give Anvil a call. (okay, bad joke, but I still think it's way too late for this...)


Obviously, you have lead chops, like everyone said (although, again, I think you're one of the most limited rhythm players I've ever heard) - but it all sounds like wanking. There's hardly any melody to hang on to. There is just nothing for the average listener to grab on to; nothing memorable. And again, that speaks to the lack of quality in the writing. A great rhythm guitar for the verse or chorus line can be as memorable as anything in any song. You've got none of that, and then you've got nothing really memorable in the solos either.

I can listen to a Steve Morse solo, or a John Petrucci solo, a Neal Schon solo, or especially a Doug Ott solo and those solos stick in my head because every note is so carefully constructed. And every one of those guys I just listed can shred the pants off of you. So it's not just about speed and technique. It's about note placement - it's about constructing a solo in a way that builds tension and emotion. It's about using melody to create memorable lines that can stick into a listeners head. You don't have that. Whether you are capable of writing leads like that, I have no idea. But nothing in these demo tracks made me think you can do that.

Good luck. I think you've got a LONG way to go...

Wow Colors !

Great in depth review man.
I felt like you were talking to me .

This line:
A great rhythm guitar for the verse or chorus line can be as memorable as anything in any song.

This line:
It's about note placement - it's about constructing a solo in a way that builds tension and emotion. It's about using melody to create memorable lines that can stick into a listeners head.

Jewels.
Mantras for musical meditation:

Cool ....... THANKS !

Wow Colors !

Great in depth review man.

Thanks.

Just putting my thoughts into written word... Which I love to do...

Nice, bringing Steve Morse in there, Colors.

He's one of my favorites.

I was a Dixie Dregs fan from way back, so I've been an admirer of his for a long while now.

.

Nice, bringing Steve Morse in there, Colors.

He's one of my favorites.

I was a Dixie Dregs fan from way back, so I've been an admirer of his for a long while now.

.

Morse is da man. He's one of Petrucci's main influences. I love the alternate picking technique of Morse and Petrucci. Those two guys have it down.

You look like Yngwie Malmsteen..kinda. That's bad.. Yngwie is a pig.. lol

You have some great technical skills.

You should focus on song construction.

Sorry Bane, You may be on your way but you have to remember players like Zak Wilde [OZZY],Halen, the player from Scorpions, and even TOM Sholz from Boston. I said you were on your way, but I am afraid you are not comparing or learning from some of these masters of your style of music. One of the easiest ways to become better at your style of music is to imitate the great ones.
I am afraid also , that the music you are trying to play has already branched off into mainstream music. The guy I am thinking of.... his name started with a J. oh well whatever , good recordings anyway. Glen

I really appreciate your critiques. I totally agree with most of you about the sound issues.

I recorded everything direct, nothing was mic'ed. I had just purchased the DP-02 (digital recorder), RP-500 (effects), and Dr.rythm (drum machine). I told myself I had to have this all done during my vacation from work, which was the 1st and 3rd week of April 2009. I used the 1st half of the vacation to familiarise myself with the new equipment, program and record all of the drum tracks, and get all the guitar rythms recorded. I used the 2nd half to do the guitar leads and keyboard parts.

Besides all that, to say that I was an amature when it came to recording and mixing would be a kind understatement... I would be the first to admit that.

As far as the playing goes, I agree that the songs are a bit repetative in some places. In my defense, I wrote and recorded half of those songs on a 4-track over 10 years ago. I redid them for this demo and kept the rythms/leads the same for the most part. I deliberately repeated certain lead passeges slightly different to in some way mimic the way a singer repeats the same words in a song's chorus.

For the record, Dream Theater is one of my favorite bands and John Petrucci is one of my heroes (I saw them a few months back at the Beacon Theatre and they are awesome live). They are all great at what they do separately, and together they sound amazing. That is pretty much the type of band I aspire to be in. I cannot however do it alone. What you hear on my demo is not what I consider to be "finished". I would like other people to contribute, and that is the main reason I signed up for this website... to find people to jam with and hopefully start a band.

Thanks again.

Great playing!

You're very good at what you do, but I'm bored.

I'm not surprized at Sean's kudos for you, however. He aspires to do the same thing you do.

I was looking for a discernable melody, but failed to find it in the 1st 2 songs.

This is as attractive to me as the warbling of scales that I hear from American Idol singers. Yes, it's technically amazing, but it doesn't begin to touch on the heart & soul of MUSIC, which is melody, tone, tempo - everything that makes music memorable to the listener. Imho, this sort of playing really only has its place a very few times in any given performance, as its value to the listener decreases over time when it's overused.