Not Dead Yet

Well, I ended up taking an unexpected two month break from guitar. A bunch of things were going on and I just lost a desire to play. Thus, my "Road to Freaking Awesome" ground to a halt. A little over a week ago, I got the desire back. I've put down sweeping for a moment and have been learning George Lynch's solo on "Breaking the Chains." It's relatively easy for a Lynch solo, but requires lots of precision bending. I'll be getting back to the sweepy goodness soon.

Four String Sweeps

I started working on four string sweeps today. The good news is that I seem to be picking them up more quickly than I anticipated. I suppose now that my fingers are more used to sweeping semi-properly, it's only a matter of adding an extra string. Hopefully this isn't a one-night phenomenon.

Exercise 10 Clip, Take Three

I know I've been working on exercise 10 a long time, but I felt that there was no point in moving on until I could play it in a way that sounds not too terribly unlike sweep picking. So here it is; tell me what you think. Exercise 10, March 11th edition.

By way of comparison (and so you don't have to scroll back through the blog), here's what it sounded like on February 24 and February 21. At the very least I think you can hear a noticeable improvement. I think it's time to move on!

Exercise 10 Clip, Part Deux

Here's another bash at Sweep Pick Mechanics Exercise 10. It's definitely getting smoother. I wish I could play the whole progression like I played the first sweep. My main issue now is getting my hands in sync for the beginning of the sweep so the notes aren't quite so cut off on some of them. Nevertheless, progress!

Exercise 10 Clip

OK, here's the first semi-decent clip I've been able to get of me playing Sweep Pick Mechanics Exercise 10. Some of the notes don't ring out as clearly as they should and there is a minor mistake at the end. I hate it when I have an otherwise decent take only to screw up at the end.

80s Metal Settings on my AD30VT

I added an Eminence Ragin Cajun speaker to my Vox Valvetronix AD30VT because I wasn't happy with the stock speaker at anything other than low bedroom volumes. The RC made the clean amp models sound nothing short of glorious. The high-gain models are a different story. The RC has so much extra low end that the amp almost sounds like it's got a blanket on it. I've been trying to get a decent 80s metal tone out of it but with only limited success. In the past day or two I may have hit on a solution.

I use the UK70s (aka Marshall Plexi) model with the gain, treble, and master volume dimed, the volume and mids at noon, and the bass all the way off. I also add a bit of delay. I can only imagine that it would sound absolutely nasty with the stock speaker, but it's great with the RC. For a little more edge or as a solo boost, I add the overdrive channel on my Thesis 96 overdrive. I've got the tone and level at noon and the gain all the way off. The switches are set for normal TS-808 mode (silicon diode clipping with mid-range hump). It adds a nice bit of snarl and some helpful compression. The Thesis 96 has so much more output and is so much brighter than a stock TS-808 that those settings brighten and punch things up quite a bit.

I hope these settings keep me happy for a while because quite frankly I was getting sick of searching. I was thisclose to getting a metal pedal.

New Gear (Since I Last Posted)

I know it's been a long time since I last posted. This summer I made some gear acquisitions, one of which will seem very strange given the previous post. I sold that Floyd Rose DST-3 and my Fender Showmaster Celtic H in order to get a Jackson DK2M in Inferno Red. Here's a pic:



I added a set of Schaller strap-locks, a fourth spring, a Floyd Rose trem stop, and a Ping-made arm. I've had this now since the middle of June. Let me tell you, I love it dearly. It's like I've finally found my match. I thought for sure I'd miss my old guitars, especially after investing so much time in the Floyd, but I really don't.

I also got a new overdrive/boost pedal, custom made for me by my friend, Duh Voodoo Man. It's a modified version of the BYOC Overdrive 2 with original artwork. Here's a pic:



The Overdrive 2 is a TS-808 circuit at its heart with all the popular mods. Mine has the ability to switch between three different tone settings and three clipping modes (TS-standard silicon, MOSFET, or no clipping diodes) and a Burr Brown OPA2134 op-amp. There's also a classic JRC4558D op-amp that I could swap in if I wanted. The op-amp is socketed for just such an occasion. Inwardly there are trim pots for maximum and minimum gain. Mine is set to have roughly double the gain of the stock TS-808.

So for much less than the price of a TS-808 reissue, I got an overdrive that has all the classic features plus a ton that the original doesn't have. And it's got a clean boost on top of it. It's a seriously cool pedal.

Completed DST-3 Mods

I think I've finally put the finishing touches on the mods to my Floyd Rose DST-3. Here's the run-down and cost of everything I did. Basically, everything connected to the pickguard (including the pickguard itself) was changed. All three pickups are new. A push-pull pot was installed for a neck-on mod. The five-way switch is new too. The only part of the wiring that is stock is the jack and the leads going to it.

Here's the total cost. Applicable taxes and/or shipping costs are included.
$149 Floyd Rose Discovery DST-3
$25.27 for the switch, 500K push-pull pot, knob, and switch tip (all All Parts)
$92.83 for the Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon
$125.98 for two Dimarzio Area '61s
$11.29 for black pickguard
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$404.37 grand total

Naturally, I did not charge myself for doing all the soldering. I suppose you technically could add another $11.29 because I bought another pickguard that looks just like it, except for two humbuckers, in case I want to do something that way in the future. For the price I figured, why not? I also added Schaller strap locks, but I do that to all of my guitars. I don't remember what I paid for them, but it wasn't much. Not a bad price overall when you consider that the original sale price on these guitars was $399. So basically for $5 more I got a guitar that looks a lot better, is more flexible, and sounds cooler to boot.

Here's a picture:


Here's what it looked like before surgery:

IMD Final Lick Pt 2

Even though I haven't posted about this in a couple of weeks, it doesn't mean I haven't been practicing. I've really been working at that fast descending lick. I think I finally have the notes under my fingers properly. Unfortunately, it's a struggle to even play it at half speed right now. I used Audacity to drop the speed by 75% just so I could figure out the timing better. It sounds ugly slowed down that much, but I could figure it out. My birthday, aka my goal date, is less than a month away . . .

IMD Final Lick

I began work on the final lick to the "In My Dreams" solo tonight. It's a hyper-fast descending lick. Right now I can't even play the notes in the right order, to say nothing of playing them quickly. That time will come, but I can already tell that this will be the hardest part of the solo by far. OK, maybe when I try to learn to do the tapping part with only one hand, that will be harder but there's a way around that. There's no way around the last lick other than serious woodshedding.

IMD Update

Even though I haven't been posting, that doesn't mean that I haven't been practicing. As a matter of fact, I still haven't missed a day. I can feel my speed and accuracy increasing. Those are all good things. Today all of the sudden I could play the tapping part in the solo at almost full speed. I was somewhat shocked, actually. On Monday I'm going to start learning the final lick which is going to be very interesting indeed. I thought I was crazy to say I would one day know the solo to In My Dreams but that is looking more and more likely with each passing day.

Minor Breakthrough

As of today, I can basically play the first half of the In My Dreams solo at 100 bps. It's a bit sloppy, especially at the end, but it's a definite improvement. I think I've got that little hammer on-pull off lick in muscle memory now so I can work on building up speed without having to stop to think, "OK, let's see--I hammer on 10 now right?" I listened to the first part at full speed, 120 bps, and while I can't really do that yet it definitely seems within my reach.

The neat thing about this solo is that it has just about every major guitar technique in it. There are hammer/pull runs, harmonics, lots of bends, slides, some blazingly fast runs, and some more deliberate bits. I've always considered it to be a classic and now that I'm really digging into it, I'm realizing that that is more true that I originally imagined.

I also seem to be falling in love with my Fender Showmaster Celtic H again. It's just a really nice guitar. I don't want to put it down.

A Week's Worth of Effort

It might not sound like much to stick to a goal for a full week, but with me and guitar that's major thing. Usually by this time my boredom circuits would have kicked in and I'd be looking for something else to do. That's why I chose the solo to "In My Dreams." I like it so I figured I'd be more likely to stick with it. So far that seems to be true. At this point I have all of the notes for the first half of the solo under my fingers. A little better timing and some more speed (especially towards the end of the first half) will do the trick. Now that I think about it, that's not back for a week's work. Of course the second half of the solo has all of the really tough stuff.

Once I get the whole thing down except for speed, I think I'll record is at various speeds until I reach full speed. Maybe start out REALLY slow and go up in about 10 bps intervals until I hit 120. I guess I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Another Day, Another . . . Something

I began work on that second lick today. Wasted a lot of time trying to figure out the hammer/pull lick right before the main tapping lick. All I managed to accomplish today on that is get the notes in the right order. The syncopation is way off right now. I'll have at it again tomorrow.

On a positive note, I can definitely tell that my callouses are building up nicely and my picking continues to improve. I'm reaching the point where major breakthroughs will be few and far between. Improvement will be measured in small bits. The good news is that the daily practice promise continued.

Time Isn't on My Side

Today is one of those days that make keeping a guitar goal hard. I had meetings pretty much constantly from 11 this morning until 9 tonight. After the last one was done, I just wanted to grab a beer and watch hockey, not run through dexterity exercises on my guitar. I know that if I just skip today, today becomes two days then three and so on. It's like any exercise; you need to keep at it to see any improvement.

So I just told myself I was going to play. I can definitely see improved speed and accuracy in my drills. I played through the parts of the solo I know already. It wasn't as clean as I'd like, but it was better than yesterday. I can already see how my fingering and picking techniques are improving--partially because they need a lot of improvement. I'm cutting down on wasted motion and choking up on the pick more.

Tomorrow I want to start working on the next lick. It's not that I think I've got the first one nailed, it's just that I need something new so I don't mindlessly go through the same thing day after day. It's hard to keep that delicate balance between challenging yourself and overwhelming yourself.

First Several Day's Progress

Here's several quotes I put up on TheFret.net about how I've been sticking to my plan to learn the "In My Dreams" solo.

From December 8

Well, I kept to my word today: two days in a row--whee! Anyway, I got the second lick under my fingers finally. What I mean by that is that I've got the notes and the timing. I just have to build up a bit of speed. I had to listen to one part over and over because I just wasn't getting the cadence right. I also worked on the tapping a bit. I don't think it will be hard to get that part up to speed two-handed. I don't even want to think about it one-handed.

From December 9

FWIW, the dexterity exercises I've been doing are pretty simple, but seem rather effective. I do one that I got from Metal Method called "02132432" That's the fret order when you start. After that you go to "03243543" and so on up the neck. It's easier to do than to describe.

Another is going 1234, 2345, etc., alternating between the E and A strings and then the reverse on the way back down the neck.

Another is sliding up and down one string like this: 1234 5432 3456 7654, etc. Once again, easier to do than to write.

I like playing these while watching T.V. or some clip on YouTube since they are pretty mindless. The key is playing them cleanly. As dopey as these are, they do seem to help.

*Update* Give it up for day three! Anyway, I have the first lick down pat (I consider the first lick to by 2:09-2:16 of the official video. I can play it cleanly at 100 bps and pretty decently at 120 bps (aka full speed). I know seven seconds doesn't sound like much, but it's seven more seconds than I knew before! And since the solo is 30 seconds long, I suppose I'm almost 1/4 way there! Of course, the hard stuff hasn't started yet.

Audacity has been a big help. I took the pitch-corrected version of the solo and hacked that first lick off and slowed it to approximately 100 bps (technically it was 99.6 if you want to be pedantic). I looped it over and over in Amarok (my media player) until I nailed it. Very handy tool--and you can't beat free.

And now an update from yesterday, December 10, not posted to TheFret:

My fingers decided to get stupid on my last night. I struggled with the dexterity exercises. The stuff that I could play cleanly the day before, I couldn't. Two steps forward, one step back, I suppose. Nevertheless, I pressed on and stuck with it. This is will be a big test of my sticktuitiveness.

"In My Dreams" Solo Project

Hello, is this thing on?

I thought it was high time that I actually do something with my guitars rather than just doing something to them. That was the inspiration for this post on TheFret.Net which is reproduced below. Rather than clog up that forum with regular updates on my progress, this blog fits the need perfectly.

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Well, I feel that basically I've been in a rut in my playing for a long time, so I decided that I needed to set a goal. I wanted to learn a more serious solo, but the problem is that unless I really like the song I have a hard time finding the motivation to sit down and learn it. Since I always wanted to play George Lynch's solo in Dokken's "In My Dreams" (and I consider it one of the finest solos of the 80s), I set that as my goal. I'm typing this so that I can be ridiculed and shamed should I fail.

In order to reach the goal I have done the following:

1. I broke the solo down into a series of licks, saved as separate MP3s.


2. I slowed the licks down 40% in Audacity and corrected the pitch to make it closer to 440 (The song is almost tuned down 1/2 step on the CD, although they play it in standard tuning live. I assume this was some twiddling done in the studio.)


3. I've already got a backing track and the tab from an old guitar magazine.


4. I decided I will play the fast tapping part with two hands instead of one like George does it. When I get the whole thing to speed, I'll start working on doing it one-handed.

In order to reach the goal I will do the following:

1. I will practice some part of the solo every day. I'm going to work through it sequentially since the hardest stuff comes toward the end.


2. I have several dexterity exercises that I will also practice every day to help get my chops up to snuff.


3. I will work on my bending so that the whole step bends in the solo, of which there are several, will be whole step bends and not 0.9 step or 1.1 step bends.


4. Every pinch harmonic, of which there are several, will scream like Mariah Carey caught in a bear trap. For me that is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Lynch's style.

After I reach the goal I will do the following:

1. I will record myself playing all guitar and bass parts using the backing track I already have.


2. I will reward myself in some small way for the accomplishment. I'm thinking something along the lines of getting a good fuzz pedal or maybe a ZYS. As a matter of fact, I will buy no gear other than possibly strings (although I've got some spare sets already) or picks until I reach this goal.


3. I will commence working on my next goal: the "Crazy Train" solo.

It is my goal to have the solo learned by February 10.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the song, here's the video from YouTube.