Whenever possible, I like to have the sound-person record my guitar so I can go back and critique myself later on. Only my Blackstar and my Marshall VS265 have the capability to do this without muting the speaker. The DSL40C can only perform this function when I am running the Weber Attenuator.
So, recently, I stood-in for a 80's cover band on rhythm guitar, playing everything from memory by song title. I was able to get the soundman (in this case) to record my guitar direct from the amp, one track, on center, and cut me a CD of it the next day.
The song I picked for this demonstration was the Scorpion's 'Rock You Like a Hurricane.'
ok, so the fact of the matter is, sometimes really outstanding songs don't sound that great when you hear the isolated tracks. Some of my beginning students get discouraged when they don't get it 100% right everytime, so I like to remind them of how Randy Rhoads never played the same phrase twice in many of his songs. A good example would be 'Flying High Again' where he is constantly adding little things to his phrases.
I found a video of Scorpion's performing this song at the Oakland Coliseum on 08/31/1985. It's a very cool video, but not for the reasons you might expect. Rudolf totally blows his rhythm parts at 0:13 - 0:15 playing D# - F - F# instead of the correct arrangement of D# - F# -G# and Matthias tuning openly between 0:36 - 0:47 respectively, but all in all, the song just rocks and goes off without a hitch.
I've included it here for your enjoyment:
Ok, so when we did 'Rock You Like A Hurricane,' the song came off really good. MY chainsaw tone (on my 1987 Squirecaster with 500T/496R) really cut through the mix and was not competing with the bass for it's place in the tonal spectrum.
However, having listened to the playback, I noticed a couple of places where my timing was a bit off and in one of those places, the drummer didn't come in at the right time and I feel like we all 'stumbled' a little. However, people listening to the show (other guitarists) didn't notice any of this when they heard it and they said it sounded really tight.
So, I would say not to be discouraged in the least, because live songs are not always perfect!!!
Here's my isolated rhythm for the entire song 4:22 long There is a silent interlude from 3:11 to 3:24. No effects were added to my guitar, but the 'bleed' from the other instruments was scrubbed for the purpose of clarity. (My NS-2 was in use)
Rock You Like a Hurricane - My Isolated Rhythm Guitar Track
I didn't realize I played two phrases differently until I listened to the playback, but you probably would never be able to pick the different parts out in the completed song, because the notes are the same, but in a different register.
I certainly do not expect you to listen to the entire (boring) 4:22, but hopefully this will give you a look into an other wise great song that, when broken down, doesn't sound that great!!!
Wishing you all the best...Robert
So, recently, I stood-in for a 80's cover band on rhythm guitar, playing everything from memory by song title. I was able to get the soundman (in this case) to record my guitar direct from the amp, one track, on center, and cut me a CD of it the next day.
The song I picked for this demonstration was the Scorpion's 'Rock You Like a Hurricane.'
ok, so the fact of the matter is, sometimes really outstanding songs don't sound that great when you hear the isolated tracks. Some of my beginning students get discouraged when they don't get it 100% right everytime, so I like to remind them of how Randy Rhoads never played the same phrase twice in many of his songs. A good example would be 'Flying High Again' where he is constantly adding little things to his phrases.
I found a video of Scorpion's performing this song at the Oakland Coliseum on 08/31/1985. It's a very cool video, but not for the reasons you might expect. Rudolf totally blows his rhythm parts at 0:13 - 0:15 playing D# - F - F# instead of the correct arrangement of D# - F# -G# and Matthias tuning openly between 0:36 - 0:47 respectively, but all in all, the song just rocks and goes off without a hitch.
I've included it here for your enjoyment:
Ok, so when we did 'Rock You Like A Hurricane,' the song came off really good. MY chainsaw tone (on my 1987 Squirecaster with 500T/496R) really cut through the mix and was not competing with the bass for it's place in the tonal spectrum.
However, having listened to the playback, I noticed a couple of places where my timing was a bit off and in one of those places, the drummer didn't come in at the right time and I feel like we all 'stumbled' a little. However, people listening to the show (other guitarists) didn't notice any of this when they heard it and they said it sounded really tight.
So, I would say not to be discouraged in the least, because live songs are not always perfect!!!
Here's my isolated rhythm for the entire song 4:22 long There is a silent interlude from 3:11 to 3:24. No effects were added to my guitar, but the 'bleed' from the other instruments was scrubbed for the purpose of clarity. (My NS-2 was in use)
Rock You Like a Hurricane - My Isolated Rhythm Guitar Track
I didn't realize I played two phrases differently until I listened to the playback, but you probably would never be able to pick the different parts out in the completed song, because the notes are the same, but in a different register.
I certainly do not expect you to listen to the entire (boring) 4:22, but hopefully this will give you a look into an other wise great song that, when broken down, doesn't sound that great!!!
Wishing you all the best...Robert
