The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Congratulations to B2D, our latest Riff-Off champ! He will take on cyberBKP in the first ever Riff-Off Title Bout, which will take place between Rounds 1 and 2 of the February 2010 Riff-Off. (More details to come.)

Here are the contestants from this month's Riff-Off, in no particular order:

DankStar - Ungh, Son of Argh
B2D - Chumble Spuzz
Blue Calx - Spaghettibutt
dd12939 - Frankie Avalon
Ninja Monkey - O0o0O
Redmist - Spock
Jay 77 - Carlos Spicyweiner
cream123 - Manwich
tone4days - Strongstrings
DrNewcenstein - Inkvayvanhailstone
guitfiddle - Frizzle Fry
ratherdashing - Hillbilly Ocean
astrozombie - The Atomic Punk
Lazarus1140 - Roy G. Biv
PFDarkside - Stockholm Syndrome
daemon barbeque - Inigo Montoya's Revenge

- Keith

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

Oh, and here's the bracket as well:

 

[tone4days]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

congrats brendan - very happy for you - well deserved

you too pfdarkside - very nice showing

ok dd12939 - spill on your entry ... gear? chord voicings? when i can d/l your first album? when you're touring in my area

 

[DankStar]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

I liked your riff that dealt me the death blow t4d. the slide was very cool.

cream - please describe the recording and thought process behind your second riff.

jay 77 - you reminded me of trouble at one point.

pfdarkside: any thoughts on your riff in 2.2?

I didn't take a tally, but I think I voted for more losers than winners.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

I seriously though Spock was going to go all the way, but Stockholm ousted him in the third round, something like 70% to 30%.

- Keith

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

Congrats to B2D then! :friday:

Ok, so I guess I can officially re-post this then :lol:



The name I used came from an old Rik Emmett one-finger-chords lesson in GFTPM some years back, where he spoke of a fictitious guitarist of that name who hailed from a planet of one-fingered people. :lol:
I still refer to Yngwie and EVH both by that name :lol:


Thanks for all the votes, I was totally suprised to have made it as far as I did!

:friday: :notworthy


Ok, time for the Tone Report for each Riff:

Round 2.1:
Gamera mentioned it sounded like Sabbath?
You're absolutely correct! Heavily influenced by Iommi on that one.

Guitar:
The Halford Warrior: Basswood body, maple/maple neck, and 5 pounds of metal studs-n-spikes mounted on the body :lol:
EMG HZ-3, with Afterburner on about 3.
Digitech GSP1101 with a '77 Master Volume Marshall patch + ADA MP-1+Digitech TSR-12 combo using a beefy crunch patch I made (slight low-midrange EQ boost this time)


Round 2.2:

Inkvay
Inky plays to the cheap seats, wearing his most broken-in unitard. Somewhere Ronnie James Dio tries to take credit.

:lmao:

Thanks, but actually that was more inspired by Whitesnake than Dio

Guitar:
Charvel SoCal: Alder body, maple/maple neck, DiMarzio ToneZone (boo hiss), JCM900 GSP1101 patch with MP1/TSR12 patch from Round 1 (it's a really versatile patch - adds beef to the 1101 where it's lacking, and sizzle when it has enough beef).

Comment was made on the timing being a bit off. I agree. I was in a hurry, but shoulda done it along to a metronome at least. Normally that riff is dead-on with a double-tom hit at the end to accentuate the F#5 and G5.



Round 2.3:
Guitar: Jackson SLS3 (mahogany neckthrough/mahogany body/ebony board) with a P-Rails set.
I used a Strattish patch on my GSP 1101 (very slight breakup with the "Strat quack" EQ curve - can turn humbuckers into convincing singles) and my ADA MP-1+TSR-12 Clean patch, with the wah running into the front of both via ABY box. I think I may have baked the wah board when I removed the "Q" knob I had installed some years back - it's just never sounded the same since then.


Dressed it up with some Tube Modeled Compression in Audition to tame the peaks and boost the valleys, something I didn't do on the previous riffs, but I'm digging the results. Used it on the first version as well and really liked the clarity it brought to the riff.

Speaking of the original riff, something told me I shoulda left well-enough alone, but hey, I went from bombing in the first round of the first RiffOff to making it to Round 3 of the 2nd RiffOff, so that's an impressive comeback

And yeah, I also liked the original version better, but didn't think the timing would agree with most people.

And SRS was soooo close on the feel I was going for (sneaking in Cowboy Bebop): This riff was inspired by "the sneaking scenes" from Scooby-Doo :lol:


And how I voted for each round:
R2.1:
Manwich vs. Spaghettibutt - Manwich
Inigo Montoya's Revenge vs. The Atomic Punk - Punky
Frizzle Fry vs. Stockholm Syndrome - Frizzle
O0o0O vs. Inkvayvanhailstone - Myself, actually, unlike the first riffoff where I voted for my opponent
Carlos Spicyweiner vs. Hillbilly Ocean - Carlos
Chumble Spuzz vs. Frankie Avalon - Spuzz
Ungh, Son of Argh vs. Strongstrings - Strongstrings
Spock vs. Roy G. Biv - Spock

R2.2:
Spock vs. Strongstrings - Spock
Inkvayvanhailstone vs. The Atomic Punk - Myself
Chumble Spuzz vs. Carlos Spicyweiner - The Spuzz-man
Manwich vs. Stockholm Syndrome - Stockholm

R2.3:
Spock vs. Stockholm Syndrome - Spock
Riff-Off 2.3: Chumble Spuzz vs. Inkvayvanhailstone - Myself

R2.4:
Stockholm Syndrome vs. Chumble Spuzz - Stockholm

R2.5 Showdown:
Stockholm Syndrome vs. Chumble Spuzz - Stockholm

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

Yeah, Redmist had the best entry for my taste, but I liked the whole competition.
Congrats Brennaux! You deserve it
Congrats PFDarkside. Your entries where a desert to my ears!

BTW, Astrozombie, you kicked me out of the competition, but your entry was definetly better than mine. It's not going to happen again tho!

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

BTW, the Fake Name creativity of Jay 77 needs special attention. My favorite battle name so far!

 

[JustWendell]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

I think I let a lot of voting pass me by on this contest, and it looks like I missed out on some cool riffs. Definately not going to let the next contest go by without giving it my full attention.

 

[B2D]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

Oh man... i can't believe I won it!

Listening to the entries from round 1 and 2, I thought Spock was gonna win it all for sure!

My congratulations to PFDarkside for a valiantly played riff-off. He was a toughie! In all honesty, If I was someone else in the round 5 showdown, I might've voted for his riff too. I liked his a liiiitle bit better than I actually liked mine, but the people have spoken on that one. Next time we meet up again I may not be so fortunate. Well done! My sincere congratulations to him.

Also, my apoligies for a mediocre riff in round 4. :laugh2: That riff was the toughest to play technique-wise and had the most theory going compositionally behind it, yet it was without question my weakest one. Funny how that works out, huh? Plus, I was getting this horrible buzz through my guitar and couldn't eliminate it, hence the heavy gating that just sounded awful. Lesson learned on my part.

In case anyone is interested, For rounds 1-4 I was using my Music Man Silhouette Special with a JB8. The showdown round was my Music Man Axis Super Sport with Blackouts. Both guitars have .010-.052 Daddarios. I used my POD 2.0 for all amp/EQ and Garageband for recording and reverb/delay.

Hey GoDrex... I'm comin' for ya, biznatch!! :laugh2:

 

[LesStrat]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

BTW, the Fake Name creativity of Jay 77 needs special attention. My favorite battle name so far!

I liked many of the names. Hillbilly Ocean was an awesome name, too.

I had forgotten about the Emmett column with the imaginary alien guitarist.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

I would like to thank all the loyal fans who buy my CDs and download my music. Without your continued support I could never enjoy this lavish lifestyle and all the finest vices money can buy!

To B2D and PFDarkside - You guys totally rocked!
 
Redmist, I want to congratulate you for your decisive first round victory and continued success through the second round. You dared to bring something new to the table and and made a tastey presentation of it . You and I are destined to be inducted into the SDUGF Riff Off record book together …….. albeit on different pages. I find delusional solace in knowing that it took the overtime runnerup to beat the guy who hammered me!

Thanks to Adam for the giving birth to riff off concept and to Keith for his excellence in hosting it! In spite of my overwhelming loss, I am pleased to have achieved a very important goal. I learned to record. It probably seems like nothing to those who are more seasoned and computer literate, but it is something I’ve had the desire and need to do yet have struggled with for almost a year. My commitment and eagerness to participate in the riff off were the motivating factors that pushed me to overcome every last obstacle. I downloaded lame and learned to convert media files to mp3 format just 3 days before the deadline for entry! By the way, although I hoped to at least get into round two, I was primarily in it for the fun and never believed for a moment that I would kick anyone’s butt!  

I am thankful for all who left helpful and merciful comments. I know now exactly what I should have done to improve my submission. If I had been completely satisfied with my entry I would probably be crushed by such a devestating loss, but wasn’t so I can only say that I anticipate a more favorable outcome should I decide to step into the fire once again.
 
Finally, I want to thank the only person on this forum who knows that I didn't vote for myself. Your vote came early enough in the polling to suggest that it may have been sincere and not a mercy vote. Thanks again!  

 

[Redmist]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

 Huge congratulations to B2D on winning and also PFDarkside. There really was very little between you on those last rounds.
Great input from you guys.

Cheers for any of my votes and the encouraging comments lads, I'm really chuffed some of you got the emotion in the riffs
(I must be doing something right)

I ended up snowed-in, away from all my gear over most of this Tourney. 
Fx in the first couple were only thanks to the iPhone voice recorder in an empty living room, with a broken accoustic in the first and an old stereo hi-fi and an old guitar with a 59n in the second one. Lo-fi as it gets (apart from that lovely 59 of course).  

 I got 3 hours to write and record rounds 3 and 4 at the bassist's house. Plugged straight in to Garage Band, this is not how my rig normally sounds.
 
I gambled the worst riff against Stolkholm and underestimated him.
Never was great at poker

 Big thing for me is to use no metronome or drum timing of any kind. 
Keeps it free for me to use the right hand for inventing the timing whilst hearing the beats in my head.

This riff-off has given me a couple of new riffs to strum out with the band,-the first round riff is now well on it's way to being the new song in our set.
 
 Cheers Keith for the whole shebang! 

I'll be Back!

 

[tone4days]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

i played my two riffs this tourney with my tokai tele clone with SD vintage stack for tele set ... i had it tuned to drop D to get those low notes in the key of the riffs

same as last time ... line6 toneport UX2 into sonar homestudio

s'a lotta fun .. i'll be back

thanks to all who make it go by playing, administering, and voting
t4d

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

Well, I have sound now - but I can't open the links. How do I get to hear the last two riffs.


And congrats B2D... I think I already had the chance to compliment you on your playing before. I'm not surprised you got where you did in the riff off.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

Well, I have sound now - but I can't open the links. How do I get to hear the last two riffs.


And congrats B2D... I think I already had the chance to compliment you on your playing before. I'm not surprised you got where you did in the riff off.

I changed the folder names. I'll post updated links after I've got the current Riff-Off underway.

- Keith

 

[cream123]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

cream - please describe the recording and thought process behind your second riff.

lol here it goes. I was REALLY tired...party the night before....forgot about timezones...and forgot to clip to the two earliest hits that I did to check volumes...

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

Well, that was fun!

Congrats to B2D, I bow to your riffing! And congrats to everyone that participated, it's much easier to sit behind a computer screen and post than it is to write, record and present your own ideas to our little world. Thanks to everyone that voted for me, its really cool when other people like what you come up with.

My recording setup was a POD X3 into the line-in of my computer soundcard. All patches were based around the Citrus D30 model, with more or less gain and sometimes a Tube Screamer in front. This had worked well for me in the past on my previous computer, but this stock soundcard must be awful. I was getting dropouts and latency issues all over the place. I definately need to look into getting a dedicated recording soundcard! My battle name was obviously chosen in reference to the Psychological Condition of the same name.


On to the Riffs!

2.1:
This was me getting my feet wet, I definately was right in my comfort zone. I'm amazed how similar mine and guitfiddle's riffs were! Guitar was Mike's Clone #002 tuned to Drop C. with an EMG 85. I tried to keep it nice and fat and greasy on the bottom string bends.

2.2:
After hearing reactions to all the drop chugga riffs, I decided to lighten it up and blues-rock it out a little. I'm actually surprised people didn't like it. I get the impression that if Cream123 would have taken round two a little more seriously I would have been booted! So, I guess thanks for staying up too late and forgetting about the submission deadline! Based on your first submission it would probably have been pretty cool. Guitar was the old trusty Epi Les Paul with a neck '59.

2.3
I knew that Redmist was bringing some serious mood and attitude to the party. (Your submissions were all awesome!) So, I decided to crank things up a few notches and really try to get some instensity going. I think the riff worked really well, unfortunately, that intensity translated into a lot of pops and clicks! I appologize for that... I didn't realize how bad it sounded until after Keith posted it. Guitar was the Black Clone #002 again, although much higher on the neck.

2.4
Only some of you guys really "got" this riff. I intended for it to sound all fuzzed out and nasty! Some of you must have thought I was recording with a My First Sony! The amp model was the same, but I added the Fuzz Face model in front to get it nasty. I'e got to tell you, when I sent it to Keith I asked if he could make a note for everyone to listen at 110+ dB. It sounded huge when I recorded. I wrote this riff on my real amp and Big Muff, and tried to translate it over to the POD. I definately need some practice dialing the POD in. Maybe someone like Adam that understands the idea I was going for could provide some tips. Guitar was the infamous Warmoth P90 Frankenstein.

2.5
I have to appologize for this one, Work was crazy this week and without a weekend to work on it I was definately pressed for time. It definately suffers from some compositional issues that I could have worked out given more time, but hey, B2D was under the same time restrictions too! So congrats on a fine performance. I knew that I cuoldn't "out thrash" him so I decided to go the other way. Then he come in here with a darn near textbook example of a blues rock progression! I really liked your note choices in the OT riff round. Guitar was the Epiphone Les Paul with the '59 neck split.


So there you have it. Tons of fun, and congrats to everyone especially B2D! Thanks again to everyone that voted for me.

One special request:
Everyone kind of backed off on comments this month, and while it may benefit the voting in some way, I'd really like some constructive criticism to improve my writing, recording and playing. So if you could go through and leave honest comments I'd really appreciate it!

 

[Jay 77]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

So cool to see who's who... It really is a great thing we've got going here. Congrats to everyone!

 

[Tor]

Re: The Great January 2010 Riff-Off Contestant Unveiling!

Cheers to everyone involved for awesome playing, and a special thanks to PDF and B2D for some fantastic contributions and competition between the two!

Congrats, Brendan!