6 replies to this topic

[Slim]

This is nothing special and not original, just me playing over a backing track. I recorded it about a year ago and liked it more than I remembered when I heard it again today while looking to clear out space in there, so I thought I'd post it.

 

https://soundcloud.c...er/smoothfunker

 

 

EDIT: quite like this one I'd forgotten about as well, the guitar is mixed a bit too hot though

 

https://soundcloud.c...ler/upbeatblues

[Slim]

This is a bit of nothing really, but I'll share it anyway.

 

I recently bought a  Digitech Trio Plus pedal; a device that will make up drum and bass parts for your guitar parts. So what you do is: plug a guitar into it, click the "band" footswitch and play a few chords - a verse part perhaps - then click the band switch again, and it will loop a rhythm section part to match for you. There's also a built in guitar looper so you can strum your chords into it and it will loop them over the drum & bass parts.

 

So yesterday while familiarising myself with it, I made up a two chord ditty based on minor 9th barre chords, to see what it would come up with. I set the Trio Plus to "jazz" and fiddled around with the styles while it was playing back until I found something I really liked. But instead of looping the same chords over it, I busked a little solo refrain instead, with the following result:

 

https://clyp.it/ybrav3gl

 

By the way if you've heard the first five seconds, you've heard the lot. It just repeats.

 

I tried to make something from it by improvising a sparse lead part over it but I couldn't come up with anything I liked. But I rather like the loop, so there it is.

 

I must say the Trio Plus is so much more fun and useful than a regular looper. Apart from providing a synthetic rhythm section for you, it will get the timing right for you as well. So you don't have to be deadly accurate with the footswitch - you won't end up looping over 12.03 bars like you could with a standard guitar looper; the timing of the rhythm loop it comes up with will always be spot on.

[Three Eyes]

Hey man, you're a really smooth lead player!! I've listened to about 6 or 8 of the tunes you have up there and they all jam. I like "Done Got The Blues" in particular.

 

https://soundcloud.c...e-got-the-blues

 

"Funky Gibbon" is really chill too.

 

https://soundcloud.c...er/funky-gibbon

[Three Eyes]

This is a bit of nothing really, but I'll share it anyway.

 

I recently bought a  Digitech Trio Plus pedal; a device that will make up drum and bass parts for your guitar parts. So what you do is: plug a guitar into it, click the "band" footswitch and play a few chords - a verse part perhaps - then click the band switch again, and it will loop a rhythm section part to match for you. There's also a built in guitar looper so you can strum your chords into it and it will loop them over the drum & bass parts.

 

So yesterday while familiarising myself with it, I made up a two chord ditty based on minor 9th barre chords, to see what it would come up with. I set the Trio Plus to "jazz" and fiddled around with the styles while it was playing back until I found something I really liked. But instead of looping the same chords over it, I busked a little solo refrain instead, with the following result:

 

https://clyp.it/ybrav3gl

 

By the way if you've heard the first five seconds, you've heard the lot. It just repeats.

 

I tried to make something from it by improvising a sparse lead part over it but I couldn't come up with anything I liked. But I rather like the loop, so there it is.

 

I must say the Trio Plus is so much more fun and useful than a regular looper. Apart from providing a synthetic rhythm section for you, it will get the timing right for you as well. So you don't have to be deadly accurate with the footswitch - you won't end up looping over 12.03 bars like you could with a standard guitar looper; the timing of the rhythm loop it comes up with will always be spot on.

 

That's a cool loop, man. Yeah, soloing over it might be hard without some trial and error but there are other cool things you can do with it like, say, a guitar lead harmony or counter melody....maybe some small licks and chord splashes here and there, etc.

[Slim]

Hey man, you're a really smooth lead player!! I've listened to about 6 or 8 of the tunes you have up there and they all jam. I like "Done Got The Blues" in particular.

 

https://soundcloud.c...e-got-the-blues

 

"Funky Gibbon" is really chill too.

 

https://soundcloud.c...er/funky-gibbon

 

Really appreciate you taking the time to listen to those and the nice comments, and not to be ungracious but I listened to them back and cringed a bit. The first one was really done on auto-pilot without much thought - it's not much more than muscle memory blues licks that I've played a few thousand times too often.

 

The thing about these improv challenges - they were done for another forum where someone posts a backing track and everyone has a go - is that unless you're Carlos Santana you wouldn't normally play a four minute guitar solo, and you run out of ideas quite quickly unless you put a bit of thought in. Often I'll run through one and really like what I'm doing, then I'll record on the second or third go and by then I'll be bored with it and the mojo has just drained out of me.

 

But at the same time if you record on the first attempt you invariably stumble a couple of times from lack of familiarity.  Sometimes you can get a bit of inspiration by trying something off-piste like a diminished scale or playing "outside" the key. But I clearly just contented myself with the usual hackneyed pentatonic wank on the first one.

 

One the second one I can actually hear myself not quite knowing what to do.

[fenderjazz]

Marking this to listen to tonight.  I play around like this too.  It's a good way to practice improvisation and soloing.

[DaveG]

I listened to these earlier and got sidetracked before I could post. Very nice playing! That last Digitech loop is hypnotic...I sat there and started to zone out.