shredmeister

Customized Rico Jr. Jekyll Only one of its kind ever made Reverse Angel Flame Maple 3/4" Carvedtop Over really really light resonant Mohagany from the same shop his dad got all his wood from WB Custom Firewater Pickups - can't get them anymore as he is out of business Ebony Board Maple Neck Neck was ordered with custom measurements and THEN I took it to Murkat so he could customize the carve to my hands Neck is D shaped Combination Radius Fretboard 24 frets Scalloped 22 - 24 frets Titanium Block to replace original Floyd Rose block Jazz Tuners Custom Headstock - Jr. made it according to what I sent a drawing to him of Stainless Frets 5 Bolt Neck Heel Custom wood shim between body and neck designed by Murkat Neck sprayed with Jackson custom shop sealer by guy who use to work at Jackson - nice Satin feel Real abelone diamond fret inlays Bernie's name in abelone signature on headstock but hard to see in this pic Coil splitter Tigerburst Finish This thing just sings.

I have been using these for so long I can't remember when I first got 'em. I have tried lots of different ones and keep coming back to the small pointed ones. I drill holes in them for a little better grip. And I wear them out. Takes a while but they eventually start wearing. I have gone through probably 15 of them. Each guitar I have has a couple in the case. Didn't know they had unbuffed. I will have to give one a try next time I order.

This thread again ? Sheeeeesh....... Just buy both and be done with it. It is personal prefernce anyway IMO. Biggest difference is the neck. Hamer more C shaped and Jackson more D shaped. Hamer neck feels quite a bit smaller as I think it is not as wide as the Jackson and has a 1-5/8" nut. Jackson has a 1-11/16" tupically. Also Hamer mostly used medium frets where Jackson used Jumbos. Finally Jackson had the option of 2 hums where most of the Calis you see have H-S--S. Then you get into the bolt on neck vs neck through discussion. And a lot of times it comes down to the individual guitar. I have had Soloist and Cali duds.

I should have mentioned to stress the locrian position after playing an F#min b5 chord which is a chord in the key of G maj. Try playing the F# min b5 arpeggio first then try a little solo using the same notes as the arp. Then you can experiment with adding other notes. Lets see if I can picture the arpeggio in my head ... Low E string play 14th then 17th fret Then A string play the 15th fret Then D string play 14th and 16th fret G string play 14th and 17th fret B string play the 17th fret High E string play the 14th and 17th fret Now use those same notes and just play a simple 4 or 5 note solo to give your ears the flavor of following a chord in a modal position For the F# min b5 chord play the 17th fret on the High E, the B and the G strings and the 16th fret on the D string. That is a simple F#min b5 chord. You can do the whole exercise an octave down also.

This is exactly right and it THE secret to figuring out the chords of any scale. Simple once you understand it. Once you understand this you can make 7ths or 9ths etc in any scale by adding an extra note or two..

Not really - he is just doing a climb and descent along the scale in a melodical passage. For your own development use a G major scale (which is the same as an E minor scale - just different relative positions of the same exact scale - same exact notes ). An interesting exercise is to use the Locrian position / mode. That is playing the scale from the F# on the low E string up to the F# on the high E string. Notice where the other F# is. Notice how different sounding this is. Yet it is the same exact notes as the G major position and the E minor position and all the other positions or modes if you will. The reason you are getting this sound is 1) You are stressing the F# note in the scale - in this case the G major scale and 2) Whatever "mode" or tonic note as I like to reference it as - right cause a mode is just based on one of the 7 notes of your given scale - whatever note you are starting from as the tonic or root note of that mode - the other notes in that scale are all at different intervals away from that particular starting note. So when you hear people say something like the Dorian mode has a flat 3rd for example - what they mean and what they are referring to is that a mode has a certain sound because in each mode all other notes of the scale are in different relative positions or intervals from the tonic or starting note you are using of that particular mode. Hard to explain #2 without diagraming it out. Modes are all the same notes just different intervals appart from the root note of that particular mode. Frampton goes a good job of using modes to get a cool sound. Lines on My Face is a great example.

I think of a mode as a just a position on what ever scale you are playing. It signifies that you are using and stressing a different note other than the tonic note as the root note in the position you are playing on the scale. So if in Gmaj (same as Em scale) and you are playing using the A as the root note - stressing the A note, playing from one A octave to another A octave - you are playing in the Dorian mode or position. Even though they are the exact same notes as Gmaj you are stressing the A as the root. Why would you be stressing the A note? Because the chord you are using in the Gmaj scale has the A note (as well as other notes of that Gmaj scale) as its root. Since the Dorian chord of any major scale happens to be minor the Dorian position is a minor sounding mode. It is minor because in the key of G major - going from the A in that key you have the notes A, B and C. If you view A as the tonic then C is a third away from the A. Since C is a minor third away from the A not a major third the sound of the mode is minor. Also note that once you learn the chords and modes the next step is to identify which notes the mode or scale pattern do not fit with the particular chord you are playing. This avoids dissonance. So that part of it can be complicated. Not all the notes in the mode necessarily fit every chord depending on the chord. If you run into a note that does not sound right use it as a passing note and quickly move on. Also, there are other possible scales that will fit the given chord you are playing. So say you are playing an Am chord but you are in the key of Gmaj (or whatever key) - you may try also using an Am scale, A minor pentatonic, A major Blues, A harmonic minor etc... for some added color - some will fit and some will not depending on the key you are in and the chord you are playing. This takes development and time and at first seems rediculously complicated. And it is complicated to a certain extent. But once you get into it you will get a feel for it over time. I may ascend in a minor scale, descend in a harmonic minor, ascend again in a major scale and descend in major blues and throw some chromatic or diminished or flat 5th stuff in there on top of it - all in 4 or 8 bars. This is what gives a solo originality, texture, color, charactor - whatever you want to call it. But the key is to learn your basic chords and their structure in the major scale - there are 7 of them - one on each root note and learn the corresponding scale position or "mode" on the root note of that chord. Next figure out how to play the modes across the fretboard and not just in a box position. Then progress to learn other scales and experiment throwing other scales over your chords. It can be a lot of work but this is what guys like Vai do and that is how they develop creativity and style and sound like they do.

I have a SigX which as you probably know is very versitile. I also bring my pedal board along for delay etc.. and have 3 pedals for distortion as well. Usually I just use my amp cause that thing can do just about anything. The pedal set up however gives me all kinds of flavors for distortion / gain. I have and SRB808 by effects pedal boutique that is double sided - like 2 gain boxes on one pedal. One of the most killer sounding boxes I have ever heard. Then I have a Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe with its regular gain stage and then boost that can be set to vintage or modern. Then I push either one of them or increase volume of the amp with one of those little single know boosts that everybody uses - can't remember the name off hand but it adds volume and grit. The little black one with one knob. I really don't need all of these options. I use my pedal board mostly for unfamiliar back lines. But when we gig out I bring it with my Siggy. You can get some good sounds with many combinations but the most organic and best sounding is pure amp by far.

Japanese Charvel 750XL or Dinky or Soloist. Case closed. Yamaha Pacifica is another outstanding value for the money.

I might have posted on this thread already - don't feel like going back through all the pages - MATTER OF PERSONAL PREFERENCE IMO. Jackson necks personally feel the best of any necks I have ever felt - particularly the Charvel models. For me it is all about the neck which translates to playability and comfortability. D shaped, Jumbo Frets, 1-11/18" nut and combination radius is what I prefer. Hamers TYPICALLY are more of a C shape, 1-5/8" nut, medium frets - their necks feel small to my hands. Amazing what small differences translate to when playing. But hey - there are some things about the Soloist that I don't like. Painted neck for one thing. I have also played a few Soloists that sounded terrible. Might have been the pick ups though. I actually prefer their Dinky over the Soloist. I also like Bolt On necks over neck through or set neck. They seem to have more of a percussiveness to them. My hand also feels cramped up at the 22nd - 24th fret if the neck is too skinny up there like most set necks and neck thrus. I find the right bolt on neck set up properly gives me an anchor to grab which spreads out my fingers more comfortably up on the higher registers.

Blackberry Brandy - Shit I puked and puked on that stuff one morning. Never again.

Eric ??? Bill ?????

I plan on being there.

Cracking up reading this shit. I went to one of his concerts with my girlfriend and I could not stand the music. Funk shit all night long. Fucking torture to my ears. He owned a night club at one time where he walked by me on something like a Monday when it was not busy as all up on the second floor. Little is not the word - he was about 5'4" in boots with heels !

Good music is good music. Has nothing to do with the speed, amount of notes etc.. Has everything to do with feel and communication and you do that by creating and relieving musical tensions based on intervals. When first learning to shred these cats don't mix it up they just play fast all the time. That is extremely boring. Some will be good in time some won't. It is a necessary step along the road. A good solo is like a conversation .... back and forth.. question and answer perhaps... Speed should be used sometimes, vibrato other times, slow down and let the music breath ..... variety is the key. Don't play all single notes or all triplets. Try some timing variations etc.... Mix in chords, arps, double stops etc... Play some 5 or 7 note riffs or passages to the timing. Play in and out of the box. Mix scales. Paralelism. Point counterpoint. Harmonics, scrapes etc.... Lots and lots of stuff a person can do and use. This is what a good player does whatever style they play. I get bored with slow stuff constantly also. Key is to learn how to express yourself, make it interesting and technically challenging. The hardest part but the necessary part is to learn all this shit and then forget about it and just play. Why learn it ? 1) Gives you more variety in your playing as you learn how to combine scales over various chord progressions 2) You learn how NOT to be dissonant in your playing while still being able to play in and out of the box 3) Exposes you to the things that are possible and things you personally like 4) Teaches you how to develop your own unique style and sound 5) Can't explain it but you don't have to think anymore - fingers and ears just take over. Anyway just some random thoughts on my personal approach anyway.