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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: erwinrafael on January 12, 2017, 01:59:42 AM
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The past weeks, I have been listening to a lot of my favorite guitarists. Criss Oliva, Brian May, Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt, Eddie Van Halen, just to name a few. While listening, I realized that if I had a blind listen to a song one of these guitarists played in, I could recognize who the guitarist is because I can hear a distinct "voice" from the guitar playing.
The same can not be said for Petrucci, though. I love his guitar playing, but I can not hear a unique voice, a distinct style from his guitar. He's a great guitarist, but for some reason, he never developed a signature style that would make me say, "Oh, that's John Petrucci" when I do a blind listen.
Is there a distinct Petrucci style that you can pick up from his playing?
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I'm too much guitar-ignorant to answer in specific terms, but when I hear Petrucci playing, I know it's him. When I hear DT's voice, James, on other projects, I clearly realize that, style aside, the guitar player is not the same of the band that made me know James. And while I'm not fully invested in his solo projects, I've heard some of them and I recognize that it's him playing.
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He definitely has his own style, it may not be as distinct as the guitarists you mentioned but it's there.
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He definitely has his own style, it may not be as distinct as the guitarists you mentioned but it's there.
I agree with this. Petrucci does have his own style, although it's not one that is as clearly recognizable or distinct as an EVH, or Brain May, Blackmore etc. But these guitarists are rare standouts who helped define whole periods of music.
I think I could pick him out in a blind test though. There are plenty of elements that combine to create his own sound.
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I agree with this. Petrucci does have his own style, although it's not one that is as clearly recognizable or distinct as an EVH, or Brain May, Blackmore etc. But these guitarists are rare standouts who helped define whole periods of music.
I think I could pick him out in a blind test though. There are plenty of elements that combine to create his own sound.
Pretty much this. JP does have a certain feel that comes from his fingers and his own batch of go-to phrases or runs.
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JP most certainly has a distinct style...
as a die hard DT fan since 2001 and a guitarist of 20+ years there are plenty of things that stand out about his playing especially when he improvises...
first he has a unique way of playing melodies i.e. the end of 8vm, the end of The Count of Tuscany and Illumination Theory just to name a few... he tends to lean on certain lines when he constructs a solo and improvises... anyone that knows all of his solos from beginning to end would be like O... that's JP being JP... and the main thing that sets him apart from every other guitarist where you are like yup that's JP is the way he plays his fast scale patterns especially lives... just listen to the end of Live at Budokan Beyond this life jam solo... typical JP going to his tried and true arsenal of tricks...
I could go on and on, but for the sake of this thread I'll stop here :)
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first he has a unique way of playing melodies i.e. the end of 8vm, the end of The Count of Tuscany and Illumination Theory just to name a few...
His excellent taste for melodies is what I like the most about him. I may not be crazy for everyone of his fast solos, but when he's there playing in a slow and melodic way, like for example during the intro to The Spirit Carries On in the ADToE tour, I could go on forever listening to him.
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I agree with much of the above - JP to me has some quite distinctive characteristics to his tone and phrasing but when someone like say Eric Gillette tries to ape him then it is possible to get pretty close to the real thing.
Try as you might it is basically impossible to sound the same as EVH , May , Vai etc.......or even Lynch as their fingers move/communicate in unique ways that are beyond just tone and phrasing.
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I agree with most people's sentiment that he doesn't have a super-distinct style that makes him immediately recognizable like Vai or May. At the same time, I actually think that's a good thing, because many of those distinct players have a maximum amount I can listen to them until their idiosyncrasies become annoying.
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I could easily distinguish JP playing if blindly matched against any of the other guitarists you mentioned. I think he most definitely has a distinct style.
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I could easily distinguish JP playing if blindly matched against any of the other guitarists you mentioned. I think he most definitely has a distinct style.
I do think he has a distinct style (I see him as a blend of Hetfield, Lifeson and Steve Morse) but I think he has more of an identifiable tone as well, specially now with Ernie Ball (although I prefer his tone that he had back in the 90s with the Ibanez).
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His excellent taste for melodies is what I like the most about him. I may not be crazy for everyone of his fast solos, but when he's there playing in a slow and melodic way, like for example during the intro to The Spirit Carries On in the ADToE tour, I could go on forever listening to him.
Here's another one. This is epic. I love the way he plays these type of solos with the keyboard chords underneath. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq7HJmiRUm8
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One of the "problems" with JP is that he's an excellent "imitator" as well as doing his own style. So he can do a solo that really sounds like, say, Allan Holdsworth (on Trial of Tears) and because of this versatility his own sound is less clear than maybe other guitarists are. But take songs like Under a Glass Moon or Glass Prison or what have you. Those are very distinctive sounding.
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His excellent taste for melodies is what I like the most about him. I may not be crazy for everyone of his fast solos, but when he's there playing in a slow and melodic way, like for example during the intro to The Spirit Carries On in the ADToE tour, I could go on forever listening to him.
Here's another one. This is epic. I love the way he plays these type of solos with the keyboard chords underneath. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq7HJmiRUm8
Yeah, exactly! that kind of stuff, I love it so much about him.
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Of course he has a distinct style. Every player does.
It's much easier for guitarists to notice it just like it's easier for drummers to tell other drummers apart. You take the same guitar/amp to every guitar player and have them each play "Mary Had A Little Lamb" or have them noodle for 30 seconds and it would be quite easy to know who is playing, at least to other guitarists. Allow them to use their own rigs and each player is instantly recognizable after only a few notes.
If I had to say one thing to non-guitarists that he does more than anyone else is that he picks almost every note.
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JP has a unique style. Like others have already said, his taste for melodic solos is unmatched. Also, you'll notice JP uses the wah a lot, but on creative ways, not just for noodling (Kirk Hammett, I'm looking at you). The problem with JP's style these days is that he doesn't sound that unique anymore because TONS of people have been so inspired by him that they've copied most of his signature tricks. But, yes, JP has a very distinctive style, tone and phrasing, just not as "mainstream" as guys like Satriani, Vai, EVH, etc.
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His excellent taste for melodies is what I like the most about him. I may not be crazy for everyone of his fast solos, but when he's there playing in a slow and melodic way, like for example during the intro to The Spirit Carries On in the ADToE tour, I could go on forever listening to him.
Here's another one. This is epic. I love the way he plays these type of solos with the keyboard chords underneath. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq7HJmiRUm8
God that was such a good live era for the band.
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I don't understand how anyone could say or think that JP doesn't have a unique style or "voice"...to me it's pretty obvious that he does. I can always tell when it's JP, as there are a lot of things that give it away. His phrasing, for one, and his tone. Just those two right there are dead giveaways. Aside from that, his pick attack, vibrato, note choices (the way he blends different scales over a passage) and his rhythmic groupings (the way he often does different subdivisions of the beat during his solos, providing a lot of rhythmic variety).
He also has a unique way of blending linear / interval phrases. Meaning, he doesn't always just play in step-wise motion. There's always a nice blend between linear and skipping, and his use of arpeggios is pretty signature sounding, too.
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I think he has a distinct style but not as strongly as some of the other players mentioned in the thread.
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I don't know any other players who can time warp
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I think he does. A good example is the G3 jams with Vai and Satch where you have three of the biggest names in guitar playing together, and all three have distinct ways of playing. His style may not be as distinctive to non-players as someone like SRV or Zakk Wylde, but there's things he does that automatically make me think "Petrucci".
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He has a style, it's just not as narrow as most other people's.
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He definitely has his own style, it may not be as distinct as the guitarists you mentioned but it's there.
I agree with this. Petrucci does have his own style, although it's not one that is as clearly recognizable or distinct as an EVH, or Brain May, Blackmore etc. But these guitarists are rare standouts who helped define whole periods of music.
I think I could pick him out in a blind test though. There are plenty of elements that combine to create his own sound.
I'm not a guitar player, but I've listened to DT for 25 years now (holy crap I'm old) and I could pick Petrucci blindly. He does have a style, it's called 'God Status'. Those other guitarists mentioned are certainly popular players that have relied on crafting a noise that is 'theirs'....but to my ears Petrucci is on another level than them...a higher one that included 'his' sound that can be singled out.
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The past weeks, I have been listening to a lot of my favorite guitarists. Criss Oliva, Brian May, Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt, Eddie Van Halen, just to name a few. While listening, I realized that if I had a blind listen to a song one of these guitarists played in, I could recognize who the guitarist is because I can hear a distinct "voice" from the guitar playing.
The same can not be said for Petrucci, though. I love his guitar playing, but I can not hear a unique voice, a distinct style from his guitar. He's a great guitarist, but for some reason, he never developed a signature style that would make me say, "Oh, that's John Petrucci" when I do a blind listen.
Is there a distinct Petrucci style that you can pick up from his playing?
"The same can not be said for Petrucci"
Is that an absolute?
I have heard stuff on Pandora in the past with his playing I had never heard before and found it easy to say to myself, "hey that's John Petrucci"
Guitar sound like May and Van Halen are signature but playing style is an element not to be overlooked.
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Of course JP has a distinct style. I can pick him out of a sea of guitarists. :p
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He has a style, it's just not as narrow as most other people's.
To me this is the best answer in the thread. John is a very versatile guitarist who can do almost anything, but he does have a certain sound that makes him recognizable.
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Of course JP has a distinct style. I can pick him out of a sea of guitarists. :p
Yeah, the Petruc...sea!
:neverusethis:
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One of Petrucci's strengths, and part of his style, is how well he blends musicality and technicality. Aside from being very well rounded stylistically, he's always been a very lyrical player. That's probably my favorite thing about his playing.
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I actually hear a lot of Gary Moore in his playing.
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One of Petrucci's strengths, and part of his style, is how well he blends musicality and technicality. Aside from being very well rounded stylistically, he's always been a very lyrical player. That's probably my favorite thing about his playing.
This, this this.
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He has a style, it's just not as narrow as most other people's.
To me this is the best answer in the thread. John is a very versatile guitarist who can do almost anything, but he does have a certain sound that makes him recognizable.
Well, May and Vai covered much wider ground than Petrucci, but their style is still more distinct.
Anyway, after making this thread, I went back to Petrucci's discography and the funny thing is that I think I finally picked up the Petrucci-isms when I listened to his piece in Dragon Attack. :lol
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A good example (for me at least) of noticing petrucci-isms is his guest solo on Periphery's song Erised.
I also agree that his style is maybe not as distinct as that of Satriani, Vai or EVH but he definitely does have it.
And it is maybe most distinguishable in these situations. I didn't know he had a guest solo on this song when i first heard it, but when i did hear the solo it was instantly recognizable- not just because of his sound. Phrasing, picking style, etc. It is easier to notice when put in a different context.
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I think if all the guitarists mentioned in this thread walked into a room full of non-musicians, Petrucci would be noticed the most. The others would kinda blend together a bit
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I think if all the guitarists mentioned in this thread walked into a room full of non-musicians, Petrucci would be noticed the most. The others would kinda blend together a bit
How would Brian May, Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen blend together?
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I think if all the guitarists mentioned in this thread walked into a room full of non-musicians, Petrucci would be noticed the most. The others would kinda blend together a bit
That is wrong on about 399 levels. :P EVH has possibly the most distinctive guitar style ever, and that despite countless guitarists since emulating his style in some fashion or another.
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I didn't say anything about playing
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I didn't say anything about playing
So you were talking about the beard?
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I mean, image is definitely part of style IMO. I don't know any other player that resembles John (although I don't keep up to date so there could be...)
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I think if all the guitarists mentioned in this thread walked into a room full of non-musicians, Petrucci would be noticed the most. The others would kinda blend together a bit
Nothing against Petrucci but I think he would be recognized the least
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He has a style, it's just not as narrow as most other people's.
Yup, this is the biggest difference between JP and some of the other guys mentioned in this thread. Even a guy like EVH, who is obviously a monster player, has never been as versatile as JP, his playing is more narrow and defined, largely because VH plays a specific style of music that doesn't cover as much ground in stylistic variety as a progressive metal band like DT.
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Among the players I mentioned in my original post, JP is more versatile than Oliva, Bettencourt and EVH. But not compared to May and Steve Vai. Especially Vai.
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Among the players I mentioned in my original post, JP is more versatile than Oliva, Bettencourt and EVH. But not compared to May and Steve Vai. Especially Vai.
I'd say he is easily a more versatile player than May. Vai on the other hand is pretty versatile, so I'm not sure I could make that statement about him I guess.
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Define versatile in this context?
I've been a JP fan for years but I don't think he is a versatile as Vai or Guthrie Govan. He is a phenomenal player but he sticks to a lot of tried and true things that he is comfortable with, especially as he gets older.
That's not a blast on JP in anyway, every guitarist has their comfort zone but people like Vai and Guthrie tend to try new things out over the years.
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I guess the dictionary definition would apply in this context right?
"able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities."
I think all these guys get locked into a style to a certain degree, to me, it's just who moves around within that style more. Like I said, I don't think I can argue that JP is more versatile than Vai. But some of the other players mentioned in this thread like EVH, for sure.
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Among the players I mentioned in my original post, JP is more versatile than Oliva, Bettencourt and EVH. But not compared to May and Steve Vai. Especially Vai.
I'd say he is easily a more versatile player than May. Vai on the other hand is pretty versatile, so I'm not sure I could make that statement about him I guess.
How can he be easily more versatile than May who has done hard rock, metal, folk, pop, blues, acoustic ditties, with some jazzy licks in between? I'd grant you that Petrucci got May beat in the shred department. :lol
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How can he be easily more versatile than May who has done hard rock, metal, folk, pop, blues, acoustic ditties, with some jazzy licks in between? I'd grant you that Petrucci got May beat in the shred department. :lol
Because, excluding maybe folk, JP has pretty much incorporated all of those elements into his playing as well. Rock, hard rock, metal, pop, blues, acoustic, jazz, etc... all has popped up in JP's playing at some point.
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How can he be easily more versatile than May who has done hard rock, metal, folk, pop, blues, acoustic ditties, with some jazzy licks in between? I'd grant you that Petrucci got May beat in the shred department. :lol
Because, excluding maybe folk, JP has pretty much incorporated all of those elements into his playing as well. Rock, hard rock, metal, pop, blues, acoustic, jazz, etc... all has popped up in JP's playing at some point.
But he has not tried to play and sound like a full Dixieland jazz band. :lol
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Petrucci is easily as versatile as Vai...they both come from a similar background, and have a lot in common. Having said that, since his name was brought up, neither one of them can touch Guthrie Govan. All those years Guthrie spent teaching and transcribing turned him into a total freak of nature. He's essentially the pinnacle of versatility in electric guitar playing. Blues, jazz, rock, shred, country, bluegrass, fusion, slap guitar?! Fretless?! It's like, alright dude, we get it - you're untouchable lol. He definitely wins up against most in the versatility department.
That being said, I prefer Petrucci and Vai's music over Guthrie's, seven days out of the week. To my ears, they are way more lyrical, and their compositions are way more interesting to listen to.
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I disagree on the Guthrie front. I'm biased because Guthrie is my favorite player but his guitar work Steve Wilson and The Aristocrats is far more interesting.
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Petrucci is easily as versatile as Vai...they both come from a similar background, and have a lot in common. Having said that, since his name was brought up, neither one of them can touch Guthrie Govan. All those years Guthrie spent teaching and transcribing turned him into a total freak of nature. He's essentially the pinnacle of versatility in electric guitar playing. Blues, jazz, rock, shred, country, bluegrass, fusion, slap guitar?! Fretless?! It's like, alright dude, we get it - you're untouchable lol. He definitely wins up against most in the versatility department.
That being said, I prefer Petrucci and Vai's music over Guthrie's, seven days out of the week. To my ears, they are way more lyrical, and their compositions are way more interesting to listen to.
I don't think Petrucci is as versatile as Vai, with all the new age and Eastern influences Vai use in his records. Heck, he even did a full album writing songs in the style of the country the song is played in.
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I disagree on the Guthrie front. I'm biased because Guthrie is my favorite player but his guitar work Steve Wilson and The Aristocrats is far more interesting.
That's great man, good for you :tup
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Petrucci is easily as versatile as Vai...they both come from a similar background, and have a lot in common. Having said that, since his name was brought up, neither one of them can touch Guthrie Govan. All those years Guthrie spent teaching and transcribing turned him into a total freak of nature. He's essentially the pinnacle of versatility in electric guitar playing. Blues, jazz, rock, shred, country, bluegrass, fusion, slap guitar?! Fretless?! It's like, alright dude, we get it - you're untouchable lol. He definitely wins up against most in the versatility department.
That being said, I prefer Petrucci and Vai's music over Guthrie's, seven days out of the week. To my ears, they are way more lyrical, and their compositions are way more interesting to listen to.
I don't think Petrucci is as versatile as Vai, with all the new age and Eastern influences Vai use in his records. Heck, he even did a full album writing songs in the style of the country the song is played in.
Hmm...pretty sure Petrucci has used the harmonic minor scale (and has incorporated eastern influences) in DT and on his solo album. Honestly I haven't heard anything from Vai that Petrucci wouldn't be able to do. Vice versa...not so much. The only thing I can think of that might put Vai slightly ahead in the versatility game is the fact that he composes for orchestras as well. I'm sure JP could do that if he were interested, but who knows. If we are talking stylistically, maybe Vai is ahead, by a smidge...if we are talking technique, definitely Petrucci.
All this is really moot, however, as I've never really cared to compare players like this. Guitar playing is not a sport, at least, not to me. And, if it were, Guthrie would win. Hands down. Fortunately, music falls under the arts, and not sports. Here we were talking about whether or not JP had his own style, and now we've seemed to degrade into the inevitable "who's better than who" argument. Vai and Petrucci are probably my top two influences as a guitarist, so I really don't care who can out play the other. I doubt they'd care either, seeing as how they're close friends.
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Yeah, I'd say in terms of versatility Guthrie is a beast, but like someone else mentioned, I'd much rather listen to JP's music. Outside of his couple albums with Steven, none of Guthrie's stuff has really interested me that much.
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This turned into some sort of a 'who's better than who" argument when somebody pointed out that what made Petrucci distinct from the other players I mentioned in my original post is his versatility. I just countered in behalf of May and Vai who in my ears has easily touched on more styles in their discography than Petrucci.
As I said earlier, I think I sort of got now what makes Petrucci distinct after listening to his discography again after I made the original post. I think it is his phrasing.
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This turned into some sort of a 'who's better than who" argument when somebody pointed out that what made Petrucci distinct from the other players I mentioned in my original post is his versatility. I just countered in behalf of May and Vai who in my ears has easily touched on more styles in their discography than Petrucci.
As I said earlier, I think I sort of got now what makes Petrucci distinct after listening to his discography again after I made the original post. I think it is his phrasing.
Well I can tell you that wasn't my intent. I simply recognized that Guthrie is more versatile than JP, but I enjoy JP's music more. Not trying to pull the conversation away from the OP, just saying.
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Yeah, I'd say in terms of versatility Guthrie is a beast, but like someone else mentioned, I'd much rather listen to JP's music. Outside of his couple albums with Steven, none of Guthrie's stuff has really interested me that much.
Yeah, I said that. Guthrie is a chameleon, and superbly good at imitating - ever watch that old YouTube video back in the day? It was him playing "in the style of" all these different well known players. I can't recall who all was on the list, but it was dead on. Like I said, all those years Guthrie spent teaching and transcribing turned him into a monster. He's like one of those alien parasites you see in a sci-fi horror flick where he infiltrates the host and then replicates them lol.
I have nothing but respect and admiration for Guthrie, and I strive to be that well rounded as a player, even though I probably won't ever get there haha. I think Guthrie's strengths are for sure versatility (stylistically well-rounded), and improvisation. No matter what you throw at him, he seems to be able to comfortably improvise over it, and it's scary. But, all that said, I don't think he's anywhere near as adept at writing his own music, the way Vai and Petrucci are. At least, for me. His music tends to bore me, and while I'm blown away by his sheer skill, there's nothing there artistically that moves me, or that is memorable.
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Oh... Come on... GG's solo in Steven Wilson's Regret #9 is a piece of art, he can write a lot of beautiful things as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaH2C2Qe97Y
And talking about JP's style, I can recognize it miles away. It's very distinctive! On the other way, I can't really say when I'm listening to Steve Vai or Joe Satriani, maybe because I'm not really familiar to their work.
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Oh... Come on... GG's solo in Steven Wilson's Regret #9 is a piece of art, he can write a lot of beautiful things as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaH2C2Qe97Y
Yup, it's an amazing solo, but like I said earlier, his work with Steven (read - music he didn't write just contributed to as a session player) is the only stuff that really holds my attention. None of his other stuff has really ever had staying power with me.
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Oh... Come on... GG's solo in Steven Wilson's Regret #9 is a piece of art, he can write a lot of beautiful things as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaH2C2Qe97Y
It's all subjective, man. That's a nice solo, but it didn't move me in the way that Vai's or Petrucci's often do. But if it clicks with you, that's all that matters! We are all different, and connect with things differently. Like I said, I have nothing but respect and admiration for Guthrie. He's a monster player.
The other thing to keep in mind is, he doesn't have nearly the body of work that the other two guys have. Maybe with more releases, I'll start to connect more with his music. So far, I really only like a couple songs off his solo album (erotic cakes), and the third Aristocrats album. Everything else hasn't really clicked with me. But that doesn't mean it's not good or anything; just means I haven't really connected with it, for whatever reason.
As far as Vai, I can instantly recognize when it's him playing, but then again, I've been listening to him since forever, so that definitely helps. There are so many quirky things in his playing that really only he does, so it's not hard to tell.
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JP to me has a very distinct style. If I was blind folded in a room full of virtuoso guitar players taking turns playing solos, it would be easy to tell when JP is playing. He's got a great balance of technique and emotion, and a very unique tone. :metal
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That GG solo is one of the best solos I am aware of. It's top shelf.
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That GG solo is one of the best solos I am aware of. It's top shelf.
It is, it's really, really good. Just curious though rumbo, are you into other stuff GG puts out?
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I like Aristocrats as well, yeah. That stuff is really good too. Ok, maybe minus the squeeze chicken interlude :lol
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I like Aristocrats as well, yeah. That stuff is really good too. Ok, maybe minus the squeeze chicken interlude :lol
Hah, yeah I checked them out before and they didn't do anything for me. On paper, I should love them, in reality I didn't.
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It's probably a bit of an acquired taste, yeah. I particularly like this tune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3mNzPkCY_s
EDIT: And this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1yQPhGCjPg
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The last Aristocrats studio album is definitely my favorite. For those who haven't heard it and didn't like the others, I would at least check it out as it does have a lot more variety.
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Bad Asteroid is my favorite Aristocrats song. I'm disappointed they didn't play it live when I saw them.
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In terms of the Vai/Petrucci discussion .......well before I give my opinion they are both Top 10 guitarists for me of all time , so we're talking degrees of greatness. Having said that I would have Vai ahead on both diversity and technique, just IMHO.
I went and saw the two of them together in G3 with Satriani (must've been around 2005) and at that time in my life I was far more into Petrucci and Satriani than Vai. I had been a big fan of Satriani since Surfing and Vai since his time with David Lee Roth. But for some time (post Fire Garden) I had been finding Vai just way too "out there" and went along mostly to see Satch and JP. I walked out with renewed admiration for Vai. He absolutely slaughtered both of them with his technique, improvisation, stage craft ...you name it.
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JP does have a unique style. It's very scalar and arpeggio-based super fast alternate picking. Very melodic and moody, but with as much classical influence as blues/jazz. He does tapping, but not as much as Vai or EVH. He throws in a bit of sweep picking occasionally, but not as much as Yngwie. He plays horizontally on the neck (across strings 1-6(or 7)) at least as much as he plays vertically (lots of hammer-ons, pull-offs, etc.), and I think a lot of guitar players tent to play vertically a lot more. He doesn't repeat himself very much at all, and instead prefers to roam the upper and lower depths of the scale.
The tone he gets from his LiquiFire neck pickup is so smooth, fat, and sweet at the same time, and it goes really well with his harmonic and melodic playing.
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In terms of the Vai/Petrucci discussion .......well before I give my opinion they are both Top 10 guitarists for me of all time , so we're talking degrees of greatness. Having said that I would have Vai ahead on both diversity and technique, just IMHO.
Vai's alternate picking is nowhere near as proficient as Petrucci's. Not even in the same league, really. Just watch the G3 from Tokyo. When they're up there trading licks and having a blast, there are a few times where JP does a quick alternate picking lick, and then when it's Vai's turn, he tries something similar - but you can tell it's really a struggle for him. Petrucci can alternate pick up there with Yngwie, Paul Gilbert, Govan, etc. I wouldn't put Vai in that category though.
Vai's flashy fast stuff is mainly legato based, ala Satriani, as well as tapping...both of which Petrucci can do just as cleanly. That's why I said earlier in this thread - I haven't heard Vai do anything that Petrucci can't, but the same isn't true the other way around.
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No need to be sorry ;D Just my opinion , as someone who (back in the day) played plenty of material from both artists. There is such a thing as a left hand too :) I think these days that Vai has lost some of his right hand proficiency which is no surprise really. You can see Petrucci's accuracy coming off in recent years and Vai is 6 or 7 years older.
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And Vai's virtuosity and range of styles and techniques is incorporated in the compositions. Whispering A Prayer, for example, is an amazing composition showcasing different techniques over a singing beautiful melody.
No need to be sorry ;D Just my opinion , as someone who (back in the day) played plenty of material from both artists. There is such a thing as a left hand too :) I think these days that Vai has lost some of his right hand proficiency which is no surprise really. You can see Petrucci's accuracy coming off in recent years and Vai is 6 or 7 years older.
When Vai released The Story of Light around 2012, it was sobering to read Vai talking about his age and how it's changing his playing. I love that album, with Vai delving on some bluesy stuff and gospel. Then there's Creamsicle Sunset which is like an old 1950s Hawaiian guitar compositikn.
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I think these days that Vai has lost some of his right hand proficiency which is no surprise really. You can see Petrucci's accuracy coming off in recent years and Vai is 6 or 7 years older.
And there's also the fact that Steve went to that dodgy hospital in Argentina, where they injected coagulated blood into his right arm and messed up his picking. Basically the guitarists version of JLB's food poisoning...
I lost a little bit of the picking in my right hand. So I had to change my style a bit because I can’t do that fast picking scale kind of stuff anymore – which is good, because I don’t really like how fast picking scales sound. You don’t really hear it in my music, you know?
I’m not concerned about picking fast, I’ve done enough of it. I plan on continuing to evolve my playing, I just hope it’s not a life threatening situation that causes me to do so,
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Here is John trying a very distinct style.
https://www.facebook.com/johnpetrucciFB/videos/1383452105040131/
:lol
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that's some mighty fine shredding
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Just to clarify some of my earlier posts - I'm sure Vai could become as proficient with alternate picking if he wanted to. If he really applied himself, sure. When talking about all these incredibly talented individuals, I'm sure any one of them could learn to do what is outside of their comfort zone - they're all certainly talented enough. It's more a matter of what they're interested in doing.
I wasn't at all saying earlier that Vai isn't capable of being as proficient with his picking technique as Petrucci - I'm strictly coming from a "as of right now" point of view. Presently, his picking technique isn't in the same league as Petrucci's, and it never has been, simply because alternate picking isn't his forte. It's not a judgement, and it doesn't make him any less of an artist! It's simply my observation, as I have studied both of their techniques closely over the years. As I said, they're my top two influences as a guitarist.
As artists, they use techniques they feel most comfortable with to express their ideas. Petrucci is very much a "picker"; more along the lines of Steve Morse, Al Di Meola, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc. He comes from that kind of school of thought, and uses the "pick every note" approach. That's not to say he doesn't use legato or anything, it's just that alternate picking is (and always has been) his preferred picking technique.
Guys like Vai and Satch use the legato approach as their main way of phrasing melodic ideas. Unlike many, I consider legato to be a "picking technique", as the fretting hand fingers have to literally pick the strings to produce sound, and have to work harder. Petrucci is also very comfortable with this technique. The best example would probably be the unison from In The Name Of God, but another worthy mention would be the Trial of Tears solo. So, what I was saying earlier is that, while Petrucci can easily use legato just as proficiently as Vai, I have not as of yet seen Vai use alternate picking as proficiently as Petrucci. Not because he can't, but simply because it's not his thing. Also, the Vai quote posted earlier really helps putting that in perspective!
I too have had to suffer from arm/wrist problems, as I'm sure many guitarists have (due to wear and tear, and age!). It's a very humbling and frustrating experience, and it does force one to adapt. So, I definitely sympathize with Vai on that front.
Anyway, here are some more fun technique trivia (some more obvious than others):
-Petrucci taps using his middle and ring finger of his picking hand, just like Vai.
-Satch and Paul Gilbert tap primarily using their index finger of the picking hand, with the exception of Satch's two-handed tapping
-Both Paul Gilbert and Guthrie Govan prefer the string-skipping approach to arpeggios, as opposed to sweep picking. It's cool, but requires a lot of stretching! I guess that's fine if you have giant hands/fingers like they do lol.
-Yngwie is known for his sweeping and fast alternate picking, but did you know he actually incorporates a lot of economy picking into his playing? While he does alternate pick most of his lines, he uses economy picking when transitioning from one string to another (basically the Frank Gambale method)
-Zakk Wylde is also pretty damn good at economy picking.
That's all for now, haha.
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Here is John trying a very distinct style.
https://www.facebook.com/johnpetrucciFB/videos/1383452105040131/
:lol
:metal
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Oh... Come on... GG's solo in Steven Wilson's Regret #9 is a piece of art, he can write a lot of beautiful things as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaH2C2Qe97Y
It's a lovely solo. The buildup from Wilson's solo gave it a dramatic boost that enhanced its impact
For some reason, this solo always reminds me of JP's The Spirit Carries On solo. For me, the approach sounds the same.
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Stewie, I've been playing guitar for years and still don't know what economy picking is. Can anyone help me out with that?
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Is a way of picking in which everytime you change the string you are playing you do it picking in the same direction of the string you are going to.
So to go from a lower pitched string to a higher pitched string you always use a downstroke.
To go from a higher pitched string to a lower pitched one you always use an upstroke.
If you are playing in only one string you play regular alternate picking.
They call it economy because you have to move your right hand less to change strings. The advantage is that it is more efficient. The disavantage is that the physical sense of rhythm in the picking hand that you would have with strict alternate picking is lost.
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Thanks for the explanation, well done! I've used that technique alot. I'm just bad on some terminology.
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I find that economy picking is hard if you actually try to do it, but if you just let yourself pick naturally and not think about it, your hand naturally does this to save space and energy.
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Stewie, I've been playing guitar for years and still don't know what economy picking is. Can anyone help me out with that?
Pretty much what Siddhartha said, in short. To elaborate a little more on that - it's a form of sweep picking, where you use the momentum of the pick to "follow through" into the next string. Some people also refer to it as "directional-based picking", meaning; the direction in which you pick (whether down or up) is determined by the direction in which you are heading. So, if you are on a lower string and on your way to a higher string, you follow thru with a down stroke, as Siddhartha put it. If you are on a higher string on your way to a lower string, you follow thru with an up stroke.
It is very important, however, to note that economy picking really only works if we are dealing with odd numbers. Many people will refer to the "three notes per string" scale format to use economy picking, which is fine, however the actual science behind it is based on the odd number of plucks per string - not necessarily notes (because you could hold one note with your fretting hand and pick it three times, as opposed to picking three separate notes).
With strict alternate picking, a problem is encountered with "three notes per string" scale shapes. Because, you have to change picking direction and hop over the string to get to the next. So, lets say you start on the low E string and pick down-up-down; that puts your pick right between the low E and A strings, at which point you have to hop over the A string in order to pick up, to continue your pattern (since you left off on a down stroke on the low E). When you pick the A string, you pick up-down-up (opposite of how you started your pattern), and leave off on an up stroke. This means your pick is moving away from the A string, at which point you have to hop back over the A string, in order to get to the D string to continue your pattern. So, in a sense, you're working against yourself - constantly breaking the flow of the direction of your pick.
For this reason, the use of strict alternate picking with odd groups can be a nightmare for some. Obviously players like Petrucci, Steve Morse, Al Di Meola, Paul Gilbert - they have it down. For others, no matter how much time is spent practicing to a metronome, it simply is unnatural. Players like Yngwie Malmsteen, Frank Gambale, Zakk Wylde - they still pick a lot - the difference is, they use economy picking as a means to flow from one string right into the next, without having to change picking directions. Hence the term "economy picking". It's more economic, and you don't to move as much. That's why if you study Yngwie's picking hand closely, you'll notice that it barely moves.
Now, if we're dealing with even numbers, strict alternate picking is a breeze, simply because you never have to change picking directions as you transition from one string to the next. It's just 'down-up-down-up' (or vice versa), and so on and so forth. I myself use a mixture of alternate and economy picking, and have been doing it for so long that I don't necessarily consciously think about it; at this point I switch back and forth, and it's pretty natural for me.
When I first started using economy picking, however, it definitely took some getting used to. It's definitely a challenge to control the rate at which your pick rakes thru the strings, and to make sure that it is synced up with your fretting hand. But, as with anything, with enough time and practice, you can get it to be pretty smooth and seamless. Also, if you like playing fast, you can achieve tempos with the use of economy picking that are very rarely possible to pull off with strict alternate picking.
All in all, I'm not saying it's a better technique, but it certainly is efficient. It's pretty smooth and slick sounding, so if you want that crisp percussive attack, probably should use alternate picking instead.
Lastly, it's a very common technique among jazz players. Guys like Joe Pass, George Benson, Bireli Lagrene, Pat Metheny, Mike Stern - all great examples of economy pickers.
EDIT: Forgot to add that, aside from odd groups, it also only works when dealing with adjacent strings. It doesn't help with string-skipping, which is why it's still really important to practice your alternate picking :)
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I was going to say, the Erotomania quintuplet solo is a good place to start if you want to try economy picking.
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I was going to say, the Erotomania quintuplet solo is a good place to start if you want to try economy picking.
True, however JP alternate picks it - makes it even harder lol. But yeah, that's a good example of a phrase that lends itself nicely for economy picking.
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I was going to say, the Erotomania quintuplet solo is a good place to start if you want to try economy picking.
True, however JP alternate picks it - makes it even harder lol. But yeah, that's a good example of a phrase that lends itself nicely for economy picking.
I don't know exactly what I do. I mean, my strategy is just to pick fast and what happens happens, and if I miss a stroke, I just hope the ultra-low action on my guitar combined with the jumbo frets combined with the hot pickups combined with the Mesa Boogie distortion means I can fret a note with my left hand and it basically sounds comparable to a picked note. :lol
It's all I can do....
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Toss on some reverb and slight delay and that's what I do :lol
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I find that economy picking is hard if you actually try to do it, but if you just let yourself pick naturally and not think about it, your hand naturally does this to save space and energy.
that's absolutely not true; I spent a whole year overhauling my picking style to economy picking.
also, legato is best :tup
and in response to the thread title: yes.
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Stewie, I like your explanations overall. But this description kinda bothers me:
Unlike many, I consider legato to be a "picking technique", as the fretting hand fingers have to literally pick the strings to produce sound, and have to work harder.
I'm probably splitting hairs, but that description just doesn't feel right to me because picking is a different technique and attacks the string in a very different way than legato techniques (I use the plural because, really, legato really involves arguably multiple techniques). Picking causes the string to vibrate from striking the string from the side, which produces a different attack. Legato causes the string to vibrate in a different way, and produces a different sound. For instance, a hammer-on, by suddenly and violently fretting the string cause vibration simply by the sudden, sharp impact of the string against the fret, which produces a very different attack and sound from striking the string with a plectrum. It is a completely different action as well as sound. A pull-off is also different, although some pull-off techniques can sort of mimmick picking by slightly pulling the string to the side and releasing. But still different.
Again, maybe at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. But it still isn't really the same as "picking" in that the fingers aren't "picking the strings to produce sound" as you said in your post. The fingers are taking action that produces the sound, but it isn't a picking action.
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that's absolutely not true; I spent a whole year overhauling my picking style to economy picking.
also, legato is best :tup
If legato is your favorite, and what works best for you, that's cool. I myself try to avoid thinking in those terms; I like to keep an open mind, and try to avoid the "this technique is better than that technique" mentality. For me, it's whatever technique lends itself best for the melodic idea I'm trying to execute. Sometimes it's legato; sometimes alternate picking, or economy picking, etc. Just depends on the moment.
At the end of the day, techniques are nothing more than tools for us to use artistically. I think to believe that any one technique is superior to all others is a bit narrow minded, and can stunt one's artistic means of expression. It has always baffled me how some amazing players out there are so comfortable with openly speaking against this or that technique.
For example, a few years back, I got to attend an Al Di Meola clinic which was, overall, a great experience. When asked about his picking technique, and why he sticks with alternate picking everything, he responded, "because I'm not a lazy guitarist." There was an awkward bit of silence, and then he elaborated, saying that the use of legato and sweep picking was for guitarists who are either too lazy to practice, or for those who simply don't have the talent and potential to use alternate picking the way he does. He also had no problem saying that he's really an "exception", and that few can actually achieve his level of alternate picking proficiency - which I thought was funny, seeing as how we were at a clinic...where the artist should motivate the young players in the audience...not the opposite lol. But, that's Di Meola for you. I love his music, love his playing, but unfortunately he's very strong minded about his way of playing, and has expressed in numerous interviews that alternate picking is the one and only authentic picking technique out there. Seems absurd, and a little disrespectful to his peers, but oh well.
Contrary to that, I was at a Steve Morse clinic, where he got asked "how come you don't do much sweep picking?". His reply was basically "because, as much as I'd like to, I'm terrible at it!", and everyone laughed. He also referenced Yngwie and a couple others, saying how much they blow his mind, and how he's amazed at the technique. But, his way of saying "it's not my thing" was way more classy than Di Meola's lol.
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Stewie, I like your explanations overall. But this description kinda bothers me:Unlike many, I consider legato to be a "picking technique", as the fretting hand fingers have to literally pick the strings to produce sound, and have to work harder.
I'm probably splitting hairs, but that description just doesn't feel right to me because picking is a different technique and attacks the string in a very different way than legato techniques (I use the plural because, really, legato really involves arguably multiple techniques). Picking causes the string to vibrate from striking the string from the side, which produces a different attack. Legato causes the string to vibrate in a different way, and produces a different sound. For instance, a hammer-on, by suddenly and violently fretting the string cause vibration simply by the sudden, sharp impact of the string against the fret, which produces a very different attack and sound from striking the string with a plectrum. It is a completely different action as well as sound. A pull-off is also different, although some pull-off techniques can sort of mimmick picking by slightly pulling the string to the side and releasing. But still different.
Again, maybe at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. But it still isn't really the same as "picking" in that the fingers aren't "picking the strings to produce sound" as you said in your post. The fingers are taking action that produces the sound, but it isn't a picking action.
Well, you're absolutely right - legato isn't really a picking technique in the traditional sense, no. Obviously picking is traditionally a concept associated with the picking hand, and with using a pick. What I mean is, when you take into account that a pull-off isn't simply removing the fretting hand finger from the string - but that it requires a "plucking force" - from that angle, to me, it's like your fretting hand fingers are "plucking" the strings, by pulling off with force.
The reason why I look at it that way is because I do a lot of finger-picking (coming from a classical/flamenco background), and in that context, you pluck the strings using your fingers. So, when looking closely at legato with the fretting hand, it's kind of similar, because your fingers are pulling at the strings to produce sound; they just happen to be pulling from the opposite direction. If I were to look at my index, middle and ring fingers of my picking hand (using the p-i-m-a method), as they rest against the strings and pluck, they pluck in an upwards motion. The thumb plucks downwards, of course, but fingers i-m-a pluck upwards (unless flicking outwards to execute rasgueado, used frequently in flamenco).
By that logic, my fretting hand fingers do a very similar motion when executing legato. They simply tend to pull off the string downwards, instead of upwards. Perhaps I should've said that I consider legato to be a type of plucking technique, instead of a type of picking technique, as there is no use of an actual pick in the fretting hand. So, while you're right that the fretting hand fingers don't pick the strings (obviously not with a pick) in legato technique, they most certainly do pluck them. In that sense, legato is very much a plucking technique.
It basically boils down to terminology. Both plucking and picking entail striking the string, so we're basically discussing terminology. Plucking refers to striking the strings with your fingers; picking refers to striking the strings with a pick. Anyway, that's just the way I like to look at it.
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Great discussion on picking techniques. Alot of great musicians on this forum to learn from! I also have learned Alot of cool tricks on guitar just by watching John Petrucci play live and on the dvds. He has indirectly given me alot of guitar lessons and helped me to improve alot. Thank you JP for your inspiration! :metal
I've also learned Alot from Alex Lifeson..
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that's absolutely not true; I spent a whole year overhauling my picking style to economy picking.
also, legato is best :tup
If legato is your favorite, and what works best for you, that's cool. I myself try to avoid thinking in those terms; I like to keep an open mind, and try to avoid the "this technique is better than that technique" mentality. For me, it's whatever technique lends itself best for the melodic idea I'm trying to execute. Sometimes it's legato; sometimes alternate picking, or economy picking, etc. Just depends on the moment.
At the end of the day, techniques are nothing more than tools for us to use artistically. I think to believe that any one technique is superior to all others is a bit narrow minded, and can stunt one's artistic means of expression. It has always baffled me how some amazing players out there are so comfortable with openly speaking against this or that technique.
I can definitely see what you mean, and it was a little in jest as well. I economy pick basically everything I do, except for melodic line or solos. Those are (almost) always legato and slide for me. I just love the possibilities of legato playing, bending and sliding on a guitar. For me personally, legato sounds 'better' or more 'authentic' on a guitar, but this is completely arbitrary. Of course, it also depends on the situation and the style of music you're playing. And hey, I still play in a metal band; all the riffs I play are either downstrokes or economy picking :lol
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And this is where as a finger style bassist and a drummer the thread completely loses me.
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I find that economy picking is hard if you actually try to do it, but if you just let yourself pick naturally and not think about it, your hand naturally does this to save space and energy.
that's absolutely not true; I spent a whole year overhauling my picking style to economy picking.
heh
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nice catch!
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Oh... Come on... GG's solo in Steven Wilson's Regret #9 is a piece of art, he can write a lot of beautiful things as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaH2C2Qe97Y
This and the solo in Ancestral are fantastic. Would love to hear more of GG's playing like this.
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Don't forget the Drive Home solo
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Don't forget the Drive Home solo
True, that one is nice too. Honestly I can't believe it took me as long as it did to discover those albums. There's some fantastic stuff on them.
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The past weeks, I have been listening to a lot of my favorite guitarists. Criss Oliva, Brian May, Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt, Eddie Van Halen, just to name a few. While listening, I realized that if I had a blind listen to a song one of these guitarists played in, I could recognize who the guitarist is because I can hear a distinct "voice" from the guitar playing.
The same can not be said for Petrucci, though. I love his guitar playing, but I can not hear a unique voice, a distinct style from his guitar. He's a great guitarist, but for some reason, he never developed a signature style that would make me say, "Oh, that's John Petrucci" when I do a blind listen.
Is there a distinct Petrucci style that you can pick up from his playing?
Coming in late... as a huge fan of Petrucci's playing, I would say he not only developed a uniquely distinct style, but he inspired lots of modern guitar players, just like Van Halen, Malmsteen and Vai
did back in the 80s. Players like Marco Sfogli or Andy James have got some of that JP sound in their playing.
He has an extremely melodic, almost "vocal" approach to the soloing (IMHO his best examples are solos like the ones in Overture 1928, TSCO, most I&W solos and LITS) that he has managed to combine it with some crazy shredding (Best examples are in between Lie, Erotomania, As I Am... actually there's too many).
His way of building up the solos by the way of slow melodic themes, fast licks and great pacing/structure is also what I recognise first in his playing: as an example, the first time I heard the final solo in Erised from Periphery I knew it was him.
I definitely think he was a lot more "unique" in his 92-02 period, and his style got progressively less jazzy/fusion-y and more metal-focused since TOT. You can hear that jazz/fusion influenced style in any of his solos from the 90's, whether DT, LTE, the examples from Rock Discipline and the occasional solo song he played at clinics (gold mine here, there's even a Prince cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBV1GhbMYZ8&feature=youtu.be&t=20m6s).
Also, if there is a specific technique I instantly associate to Petrucci, it's alternate picking... even if he got that a lot from Steve Morse.
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Seriously? Two pages (three now :biggrin: )and not a single word about THE technique that only Mighty Petrucci can master? What about Wahybrido Pickingant? :lol :lol
JP does have a unique style. It's very scalar and arpeggio-based super fast alternate picking. Very melodic and moody, but with as much classical influence as blues/jazz. He does tapping, but not as much as Vai or EVH. He throws in a bit of sweep picking occasionally, but not as much as Yngwie. He plays horizontally on the neck (across strings 1-6(or 7)) at least as much as he plays vertically (lots of hammer-ons, pull-offs, etc.), and I think a lot of guitar players tent to play vertically a lot more. He doesn't repeat himself very much at all, and instead prefers to roam the upper and lower depths of the scale.
The tone he gets from his LiquiFire neck pickup is so smooth, fat, and sweet at the same time, and it goes really well with his harmonic and melodic playing.
I think it sums pretty well how I see JP's technique, and specially what I like about it.
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I definitely think he was a lot more "unique" in his 92-02 period, and his style got progressively less jazzy/fusion-y and more metal-focused since TOT. You can hear that jazz/fusion influenced style in any of his solos from the 90's, whether DT, LTE, the examples from Rock Discipline and the occasional solo song he played at clinics
I absolutely agree with this. I remember when ToT came out and I thought, "oh, he's doing a lot more chromatics, cool". He never quite returned from that though, and while he still has bluesy aspects here and there, the jazz/fusion part has entirely disappeared. Would love to see that again at some point.
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*double post, sorry*
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John's playing definitely was a lot more fusion-esque, or "jazzy" back in the day, that's for sure. I remember back in the '90s seeing him improvise over backing tracks at NAMM, and he was doing a lot more Govan-esque type playing. He gets a bit carried away with the shredding these days, but overall I still dig the solos he writes. His improvised soloing isn't nearly as interesting anymore, though. At least, not compared to his playing in the '90s.
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While there's no doubt that John is a master guitarist, the thing that makes him stand out to me is not his playing but his writing. He has written so many memorable guitar melodies and riffs and it seems that every solo he writes fits perfectly with the song. Look at the contrast between the solos in songs like As I Am and Under a Glass Moon. They're both great solos that are completely different styles and fit the song perfectly. Then you have his riffs. Looking at his solo stuff, he came out with Jaws of Life, a chugging metal powerhouse of a riff, and Glasgow Kiss, a string skipping melodic masterpiece. They are both so different yet both memorable and catchy. He's mastered so many styles and incorporates all of them into his music flawlessly. That to me is what defines JP a a guitar player.
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While there's no doubt that John is a master guitarist, the thing that makes him stand out to me is not his playing but his writing. He has written so many memorable guitar melodies and riffs and it seems that every solo he writes fits perfectly with the song. Look at the contrast between the solos in songs like As I Am and Under a Glass Moon. They're both great solos that are completely different styles and fit the song perfectly. Then you have his riffs. Looking at his solo stuff, he came out with Jaws of Life, a chugging metal powerhouse of a riff, and Glasgow Kiss, a string skipping melodic masterpiece. They are both so different yet both memorable and catchy. He's mastered so many styles and incorporates all of them into his music flawlessly. That to me is what defines JP a a guitar player.
Yea, what sets him apart is definitely his writing ability. You can find a million unknown guitarists who can play every DT song backwards and forwards, but will likely never write a great riff or solo in their lives. JP takes that immense skill and uses it to fully express his creativity.
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You can find a million unknown guitarists who can play every DT song backwards and forwards, but will likely never write a great riff or solo in their lives.
While I get what you're trying to say, I don't think that's a fair assumption to make. I'm not trying to pick an argument or anything, but there are so many incredibly gifted guitarists out there; it seems a bit silly to assume that just because they're unknown, their playing isn't as great. Fame shouldn't be the determining factor on whether or not someone can "write a great riff or solo". There's also no need to degrade unknown guitarists to put Petrucci on a pedestal - he's awesome regardless.
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You can find a million unknown guitarists who can play every DT song backwards and forwards, but will likely never write a great riff or solo in their lives.
While I get what you're trying to say, I don't think that's a fair assumption to make. I'm not trying to pick an argument or anything, but there are so many incredibly gifted guitarists out there; it seems a bit silly to assume that just because they're unknown, their playing isn't as great. Fame shouldn't be the determining factor on whether or not someone can "write a great riff or solo". There's also no need to degrade unknown guitarists to put Petrucci on a pedestal - he's awesome regardless.
I didn't do any of that. It just so happens the people I'm talking about are unknown. I never said all unknown people can't write.
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I'm pretty sure what was meant was, there are a lot of guitarists that can play Petrucci's parts note for note but in many cases they wouldn't be capable of writing something that comes close. Some people are very technically good at playing, but not so much with writing.
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Yup. I've met plenty of them. People who can go up and down the neck like it's nobodies business. Could sweep, and tap and shred and blow you away. Ask them to write a riff, and they give you the most cliche 80's background to a solo riff you've ever heard.
Obviously lots of super talented writers are also unknown. I'm living proof. :loser:
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John's playing definitely was a lot more fusion-esque, or "jazzy" back in the day, that's for sure. I remember back in the '90s seeing him improvise over backing tracks at NAMM, and he was doing a lot more Govan-esque type playing. He gets a bit carried away with the shredding these days, but overall I still dig the solos he writes. His improvised soloing isn't nearly as interesting anymore, though. At least, not compared to his playing in the '90s.
You're probably thinking of the exact same video I saw. He had some great soloing on there.
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Yup. I've met plenty of them. People who can go up and down the neck like it's nobodies business. Could sweep, and tap and shred and blow you away. Ask them to write a riff, and they give you the most cliche 80's background to a solo riff you've ever heard.
Michael Angelo Batio for instance?
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Yup. I've met plenty of them. People who can go up and down the neck like it's nobodies business. Could sweep, and tap and shred and blow you away. Ask them to write a riff, and they give you the most cliche 80's background to a solo riff you've ever heard.
Michael Angelo Batio for instance?
First thing that came to mind. I went to a clinic of his and it was awful. He didn't answer any questions because "He didn't have to and everything can be answer if you watch my instructional videos".
The only thing he did was shred, for 2 hours, it was miserable.
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Yup. I've met plenty of them. People who can go up and down the neck like it's nobodies business. Could sweep, and tap and shred and blow you away. Ask them to write a riff, and they give you the most cliche 80's background to a solo riff you've ever heard.
Michael Angelo Batio for instance?
First thing that came to mind. I went to a clinic of his and it was awful. He didn't answer any questions because "He didn't have to and everything can be answer if you watch my instructional videos".
The only thing he did was shred, for 2 hours, it was miserable.
How boring it must have been!
B.Lee
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I wouldn't say it was boring but I've been to a number of guitar clinics (JP being one of them) and this was the first and only clinic I went to where the tone was "Look at how awesome I am, you'll never be four necks on your guitar awesome. Oh by the way by Dean guitar's"
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Yup. I've met plenty of them. People who can go up and down the neck like it's nobodies business. Could sweep, and tap and shred and blow you away. Ask them to write a riff, and they give you the most cliche 80's background to a solo riff you've ever heard.
Michael Angelo Batio for instance?
Exactly. I can't listen to him. He's technically excellent but it's just plain boring to me.
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I'm not familiar with Chris Olivia and I've heard very little of Betencourt's playing. But I know all the other guitarists mentioned have very distinct TONE. And yeah it has a lot to do with individual playing style but gear plays a huge role too. If someone uploaded a track of one of them playing acoustic guitar, I don't know if I'd be able to tell who it was.
Edit: If I heard a random Petrucci improvised solo I'm not sure if I'd be able to tell it was him. I've been listening to Dream Theater since 2001 but my guitar playing is somewhere between mid level beginner intermediate. I think that's why guitar tone is the main element that tells me who is playing.
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Well, in the case of Brian May, most likely I would be able to tell him even when he's playing acoustic because of the style:
Love of My Life (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_tsJldYn1U)
Same with Eddie Van Halen:
Panama (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK5VvpIlV3Q)
And most especially Steve Vai:
Firegarden Suite (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWFA7aPUorM)
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Well, in the case of Brian May, most likely I would be able to tell him even when he's playing acoustic because of the style:
Love of My Life (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_tsJldYn1U)
Same with Eddie Van Halen:
Panama (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK5VvpIlV3Q)
Wow that acoustic version of Panama sounds really cool. Even Roth sounds all right.