I believe in a thing called love !

[doctorshaw]

Hi folks.

Just wanted to share some youtube footage of me playing the song 'I believe in a thing called love' by The Darkness. I did this using my AD120VTH and AD212 cab. It was set up to model the JCM800 at a fairly high gain setting, and there was also the tube screamer thrown in for good measure. I personally rate this combination as my favorite for playing rock tracks, especially in combination with a Les Paul.

You'll see me pressing a button on the amp before each solo. I was being lazy and didnt connect up the VC12 that day, and i was just pressing the next memory location which stored the same settings except for boosted volume and a touch of digital delay (nothing else). Had it at bedroom volumes (2x1) so she actually sounds even better than what you'll hear when she's cranked up. Guitar is a USA Gibson Les Paul Custom (Justin Hawkins spec) - silver sparkle burst, bigsby trem and abalone flame inlays.
Cheers, Steve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxUxvZdgMf0

[Voxman]

To think that's only at 2x1w!

Phenomenal playing - why can't I play like that? What HAVE I been DOING with my time all these years!

I love that track so I'd love to (try) & get my fingers round that* - any chance of getting that backing track Steve? Did you learn the solo purely by ear, or using tabs?

Rich

* But I might be too embarrassed to pick up my guitar for a week or so after listening to that!

[doctorshaw]

Haha - cheers Rich.

I'll email you the backing track. Its definitely one of my faves !

In reply to your comments on that posting about your own playing, I think you've touched on a really important point by the way ! I think we should share this with the others reading this post. Its not really about the vox's, so forgive me this once....

In my experience I would say that many of us guitarists have significant weaknesses, but sometimes it just doesn't show in a particular performance. I certainly know i've got mine - I wouldn't post a youtube clip of it, so you dont know about them right now. So we might often assume that the person playing is incredible, and that we ourselves are no way near that standard - but its probably just down to the fact he or she's played that same track a million times and has gotten slick at it. Importantly there may be many other aspects of guitar playing that you yourselves may be as good / even better than compared to that person. Thats the beauty of playing guitar - there are so many facets to playing well.

I remember being really intimidated when i used to go to guitar shops to try out a new guitar, because there would be all these people playing these fantastic sounding riffs in the shop and basically showing off with no intention of buying a guitar ! I'd pick up a guitar, my mind would go blank and i'd end up only being able to hit an A chord. Well what i've learnt over the years - is that LOADS of these people may sound amazing at first glance, BUT plonk them in a live setting with a band, - and then see how good they are. So many times i have thought someone was a brilliant guitarist, but later i've been stunned at how one dimensional their playing is. Incapacity to keep in time with basic rhythmical patterns / limitations to basic chords / unable to control the sound or adapt to other players mistakes etc is so, so common. Before long you realize that there are many facets to playing well and that fast licks are nothing more than the result of repetition practice.

Anyway, to bring the point home for the others reading this, Rich (Voxman) can clearly demonstrate himself as an awesome guitar player and following clip pretty much demonstrates this !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQyzg_0RBa4

All the best

Steve

[Voxman]

Lot of truth there Steve...but you're still a smoooth talking b*!$rd! ...but of all my clips on you-tube, you had to choose that load of old improvised rubbish!