The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

gear overview!

i actually had a very low tech setup. first two rounds i used my mockingbird, last two i used my SG. the distorted sounds were a mix of sd-1>mxr classic dist.>little big muff on the bridge, with a cleaner tone mixed on top from the neck pickup with just the sd-1 and mxr, but also with a carbon copy. i mic'd my vox ad15(ac30 setting with some comp) with a friggin' jvc karaoke mic.

a karaoke mic!:lmao: how's that for your raw low tech punk tone?:naughty:
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

I was really, really impressed with Super Rad Stuff --- your riffage was awesome!

Especially considering you are a ska person, and your low tech setup. You are the MVP of the tourney in my opinion!

Also, as soon as I heard Monie's Ghost, I was like "DAT'S ADAM!" :laugh2:
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

There were a couple of riffers I thought I knew who'd they'd be, and I was totally surprised.

My setup was a Baja Tele on the humbucker setting with the volume rolled back a bit, into a Princeton Recording amp dimed and ran out of the DI. Bit of tweaking at the board, and it was done.

Well done, SRS for taking the first round...it was a close one!! :)
 
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Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

aw, thanks hunter:)

i was actually surprised i was able to get any sort of decent sounds mic'ing up with the karaoke mic, but it adds this nice midrange breakup that works perfectly for the style i was going for.

that final riff i came up with actually has some of that ska up-stroke style stuff going on in there, it's just as power chords on the up-beat rather than little jazz chords on the high strings. i was playing around with that one as ska after i recorded it. i figured everyone would figure out it was me if i recorded any reggae or ska style stuff:laughing:

edit: guitfiddle posted while i was writing my comment.

dude, i totally thought you were going to beat me the first round! everything about your riff seemed leagues above what i did the first round:dunce:
 
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Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

I thought I should reveal what I think was my secret weapon in winning this contest. After coming up with whatever riff I was going to use, I recorded it while playing along with a drum track that I adjusted to the speed that I needed for the riff. I then removed the drum track for my final mix. This made sure that my playing was rhythmically tight and on time with no drifting around. I think it made a big difference in the way each clip turned out.
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

i played my brian moore i88.13 on the bridge pickup (jb) into my line 6 toneport ux2 with pod farm (brit j800 model) into sonar home studio v4.0

i know a few guys mentioned it being fizzy, etc ... i guess i couldve tweaked the gain lower some .. but it really isnt fizzy on my roland monitors or my harmon/kardon computer speakers ... it is CERTAINLY a TON more gain than i am used to playing with being more of a classic/bluesy rock kinda guy ... i guess a little goes a long way huh? :D

some guys mentioned the 'unchained' similarity ... i had to go find it on youtube to compare ... aside from it being in a different key and with a different melodic and rhythmic pattern and not nearly as happenin as EVH's riff, i guess i see the similarity :D

like i said before, there was no shame felt in losing to cookie dough - his riff was happenin and i was glad to see him go far in the bracket

i really hope this continues for numerous tourney's throughout the year ... would be cool to have a tournament of champions after 8 tourneys

congrats again to all who jammed and voted and ran it

t4d
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

I thought I should reveal what I think was my secret weapon in winning this contest. After coming up with whatever riff I was going to use, I recorded it while playing along with a drum track that I adjusted to the speed that I needed for the riff. I then removed the drum track for my final mix. This made sure that my playing was rhythmically tight and on time with no drifting around. I think it made a big difference in the way each clip turned out.

I did this as well. Kept me centered and focused.
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

i didn't use a drum track necessarily.... but my mic'ing was so bad you could hear my interface's metronome in the background on the first two tracks:lmao:
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

dude, i totally thought you were going to beat me the first round! everything about your riff seemed leagues above what i did the first round:dunce:


Thanks...lol

That riff is one that didn't make it into the tune I wrote it for. In my signature, check out the soundclick tracks, and play Firebottle Boogie(demo--my guitar track is a throw-away here). You'll hear the pull-off thing at the end of the figure, but I thought this riff was a bit busy for the tune.
 
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Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

i didn't use a drum track necessarily.... but my mic'ing was so bad you could hear my interface's metronome in the background on the first two tracks:lmao:

well a metronome works too - -I just find having a snare drum to lock on to works for me.
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

well a metronome works too - -I just find having a snare drum to lock on to works for me.

i just go for a straight beep or click, anything other than that screws with my up and down beats since i've got ska up-strokes deeply embedded into my thought process when when playing.
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

I forgot to mention before that it means a lot to me that so many people liked what I came up with for this contest. This is obviously a place with people that love electric guitar and guitar music and gear and tone and all that stuff (like I do). I've had a love hate relationship with guitar and gear (mostly love) and have been enjoying it more lately than ever before. I'm still trying to learn and improve and this contest was definitely a part of that. I've never considered myself to be creative and I have to force myself to do it. I envy those that have a burning desire to express themselves and play music. The things I've recorded that I'm proud of are things that I made myself do just to see if I could actually create something that I would like to hear, because I don't feel creative but I love playing guitar. And I feel like making up a cool riff is not an easy thing to do. So many great ones have already been done! Anyway, thanks again to everyone involved.
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

Interestingly, the Round 1 battles averaged 71 votes each, the Round 2 battles 52 votes each, and the last two rounds 46 votes per battle. I would've expected the number of votes to stay about the same or, if anything, increase as the battles went on. Did people lose interest over time?

My goal is to average 100 votes per battle per round. I hope the riff-offs become popular enough for that to happen.

- Keith
 
Re: The Great December 2009 Riff-Off Unveiling!

I think the amount of time between each round might have had a lot to do with it. There was a lot of waiting around for each round and I think unless you were actually participating you could lose track of of the thing. Four weeks to finish a contest is a long time, though I don't see any way around it.
 
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