another new track (miracle man bridge)

[CJ]

god i'm hoping you guys like this a little bit better. I'm still bad with drums so its just a straight beat throughout which might sound a bit boring. I tried adding an open hi-hat i think it was with my foot during certain parts, but thats kind of difficult. also, i think i kept in timing pretty well, although one part confused me. The main part, if you listen, to me atleast, it sounds like i'm in timing, but the one part comes on an offbeat. does this mean i'm out of timing or is this acceptable?

anyway, its the first song on top.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=733093&content=music

[wintersun]

Well, it's almost better :D

[CJ]

Well, it's almost better :D

timing, sloppy playing, bad riffs, tone, what?

[wintersun]

Well, overall there is improvement, not too much. Come on, its been only few days. You can't expect a massive improvement just yet.

[opprobrium_9]

it was in tune which is a big plus!  Otherwise, hit that metronome.  Your playing sounded a bit jerky and uncontrolled in parts.  There is, however, no comparison from what i heard a week ago and this.  I think the fact the drums were screwed up a bit hurt your guitar playing as well; it seemed to mess you up more.  Maybe use a drum machine?  That is almost better than a metronome.  I play almost entirely with a metronome, even when i am improvising.  Mind you, it is good to play without it sometimes to test yourself, but for the most part it is a great tool.

[CJ]

it was in tune which is a big plus!  Otherwise, hit that metronome.  Your playing sounded a bit jerky and uncontrolled in parts.  There is, however, no comparison from what i heard a week ago and this.  I think the fact the drums were screwed up a bit hurt your guitar playing as well; it seemed to mess you up more.  Maybe use a drum machine?  That is almost better than a metronome.  I play almost entirely with a metronome, even when i am improvising.  Mind you, it is good to play without it sometimes to test yourself, but for the most part it is a great tool.

yeah this was with a drum machine. just the open hi-hat i had to hit the button myself.

[wintersun]

Just keep practicing. In a few weeks, you will see a big difference!

[CJ]

Just keep practicing. In a few weeks, you will see a big difference!

well because of you two, or maybe just because i've finally started to like playing (i dunno) i've gone from practicing 45 min to an hour 3 days a week, to and hour and a half- 2 hours every day since those first clips i posted. I know my timing still kind of sucks, but i've personally noticed myself literally almost double my skills of just a few weeks ago. now just to work on timing, and tightening up the pick attack a bit.

[wintersun]

Dont forget one thing: you must learn to hold your pick wright. I must be locked between your fingers, and approx 90 degrees on the strings

[MDV]

A couple of tips on top of what wintersun and oprobrium have said (which is all true and doesnt need re-stating):

Slow down EVERYTHING until you are playing it at a speed where you are playing each and every note exactly how you want to. Be certain to pay attention to every beat and flinch of a string. If that means right down to where you are thinking about where to put each finger, so be it.

Then work up to the speed required with a click every step of the way. Play it at a speed that you feel close to able to play it at until you get it right, then keep playing it till you can get it right 10 times straight. Repeat.

Tip 2: drop your gain right down. No, further. Thats not it: FURTHER. Now layer it. Multitrack. 4 times, even more maybe. I doubt a single track of guitar has been used for a main riff in a well distributed metal album in.....ever. Its all at least double tracked. Most are a few different sounds added.

The lower gain lets the notes become more defined, and the layering gives thickness that you, as one guitar player with one guitar and one amp, normally use gain and big speaker cabs for. Layering at low gain really helps get that big sound out of small speakers (<12 inch! My speakers are 6.5 and 8 inch woofers and they cannot, according to the laws of physics, sound how a 12 inch guitar speaker does, let alone 4 in a cab. Work arounds are needed to get thick, heavy sounds out of smaller gear and layering is a big one),

But most importantly, in this case the act of layering it will force you to play it identically repeatedly, and encourage accurate picking and timing. At the very least play 2 tracks, pan one far left and one far right.

Recording is a big learning curve and a whole other dimension to playing guitar. It always comes with a learning curve. Recordable guitar playing is a cut or two above what sounds good to you when youre playing on your own. There are always suprises! Soon enough though, you'll listen to your playing with a much more accurate ear, trained by recording, and be massively better for it. Youre going in the right way: asking for advice and looking to improve your playing and recorded music  8)

[MDV]

Dont forget one thing: you must learn to hold your pick wright. I must be locked between your fingers, and approx 90 degrees on the strings

We know what you mean, sun, but that would be the edge against the string. Very odd technique!

Parralel to the strings, even  

[CJ]

thanks for all the tips guys, i'll work on everything. I'm pretty sure the techniques all good, just need to practice it. MDV, as of right now i can't multi-track, i think its a limitation with the computer i'm using. no matter what software i use, playback while recording isn't possible. I know every song is multi-tracked for that thick heavy sound, but i can't do that now. And also, i'm pretty sure my tone is a lot clearer and more defined than what is recorded. because of the bad computer everything distorts a good bit when it's recorded. i do agree with you on how recording helps your playing. a lot of what i thought sounded good sounds absolutely terrible recorded. helps you to kind of teach yourself, which is why i've been doing a lot of it recently.

[JDC]

you've deffo got better, practice with a metronome, slow stuff doing until you can play it 100% perfect then start speeding it up

you need to walk before you can run, with lots and lots of practice and another 2 years you can be a guitar god (if I can do it anyone can)

I also used to watch how people play and see how they did things, although it's a lot harder to notice the little things people do when you don't know what to look for

[wintersun]

Dont forget one thing: you must learn to hold your pick wright. I must be locked between your fingers, and approx 90 degrees on the strings

We know what you mean, sun, but that would be the edge against the string. Very odd technique!

Parralel to the strings, even  

Hahahahaha, well, depends how you look at it ahahaha :D just kidding, my bad, I was half a sleep :P

[Will]

I would advise that you try and get the pick parallel against the strings, however this is not vital.

Jake E Lee said he often uses it at 45 degree angle. and there is no way I am going to argue with his technique.

your clips are getting better anyway, good luck. damn I would be awful with recording stuff.