Re: The Great February 2010 Riff-Off Unveiling!
Wow...
Where to start.. Well, first off, thanks to every single one who voted for me..! I deeply appreciate the fact that you took the time to listen to my clips, and assess it in the polls.
I've been dying to make some small comments in each thread.
So here they are:
Round 1: that westernish riff was made with my Takamine directly into the Lexicon interface.
I like the harmonic at the end, I'd like to hear a few more throughout the riff too.
Yup, I agree! I originally had a central harmonic right before the second round of the riff, but at the time I felt the descending bass notes had to be there too... If I do something more with that riff later, I will strongly consider your suggestion.
Round 2: bluesy riff with my Takamine. The tuning was an open D tuning (I am not sure about that actually).
So, no 12-stringer. I think the fact that my ligthest string (D) was slightly out of tune with the next string (also a D) made it seem like it was. And B2D pointed out the sourness, and I just have to apologize for that - it was recorded just before it had to be sent to Keith, and I was so stressed to make the playing right that it sort of made me blind on the tuning issues.. When I listened to the clip after Keith had published it, I jumped back at the sour sound. Sorry!
Someone pointed out it was too similar to a certain song (and I found out through Keith that it was a Crowded House song). I am sorry if you felt that connection right away, but that was in no way my intention; I don't think I've ever heard the song (I am not even sure if I've ever heard Crowded House at all) - maybe subconsciously on the radio, but nothing more than that. That does not take away the fact that some of you made that connection, and if this riff (just hypothetically of course) should have gotten airplay in the US, that's a very valid and important point to consider.
Round 3: half-jazzy upbeat riff with the Parker Nitefly (Jazz neck) and the AxeFX.
A lot of people commented that it felt kinda empty, for instance:
I agree that this one is well-played and well-recorded, but it just doesn't grab me. I hate to say it, but I wanna hear more bells and whistles. Play around with the rhythm a bit, or add some more trills here or there.
And I agree wholeheartedly. I should have done more to make it stand more out.
So I think those that said it would sit much better in a band mix, are dead on. I guess I was a little too influenced by my band background (playing mostly funky gospel for three years - and yeah, I know it's an oxymoron!). But I would still keep the clean tone free from effects.
I'm cringing at the syncopated part though (especially the ascending part), it was soo not tight.. Oh well, next time!
Round 4: slow funky slidey thing with the G&L Legacy into the AxeFX.
I like this riff. I'd like to hear it about 15 bpm faster...
Yeah! I know. But this was due to bad planning on my part and limitations as a technical player. I had three hours of composing something, recording it and sending it to Keith (I had not forgot the whole contest of course, I had something else recorded from earlier in the week I could use as a plan B, but I didn't feel it was what I wanted to do for this last round). So this was the result. I wanted to go faster, but I didn't have the riff as a second-nature yet, which made me imprecise in sliding, so I turned down the tempo (the riff as a whole is still not really tight (transition from slides to chord strums), so I'm not too proud of it).. But I agree, it should definitely have been faster.
gonna be a very weird showdown between B2D and muzzy for supremo - very divergent styles
I don't know about that.. Personally, I want to play a lot of different styles - I'm not sure what I'll be shooting for yet....
I have gotten positive comments and criticism throughout this month. I'm happy when I see people liking what I can offer. I'm equally happy to see people taking the time to give me comments so that I can improve my guitar playing (or composing, or whatever). Thanks to all who voiced their opinions! And for everyone, I want to state this once and for all, when it comes to me, I appreciate brutal honesty. That's the only thing that will improve me as a musician.
