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HD500 / Warmoth-build recording


wolbai
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In the past months I have worked on my speed picking technique to increase my soloing tool box and to spice up my lead parts with some faster runs. But there is still a long way to go for me until I will be satisfied with the level and to execute it adequate on gigs .

 

I therefore have programmed a Jazz-Rock Fusion type backing track with my “band-in-the-box†software to practice 3-notes per string speed picking licks.

 

I am by far more a Blues Rock player rather than a shredder. But it generates an additional level of dynamic when throwing in some faster licks in between.

 

With the exception of the melody line, the guitar recording is completely improvised and recorded in one take and therefore “spiced up†with some minor errors :-)

I have recorded the guitar part with my Warmoth (H-S-H) build. This is by far the most versatile and best sounding guitar I have ever owned.

 

I have used my POD HD500 with the Marshall Plexi Lead Full Amp model. In front of the amp model I have included the Blue Comp Treble compressor and the Jumbo Fuzz distortion pedal in the signal chain.

 

I love this amp model: very versatile and it reacts nicely on picking dynamics. I consider this as one of the best amps models in the POD HD.

 

After the amp model I have used the Dimension chorus to get a nice and smooth guitar tone. Reverb and Stereo Delay was mixed with the Cubase Artist 7.0 recording software. The POD HD500 modeler was connected via XLRs to a TASCAM audio interface.

 

In the YouTube info section you can find the chord progression and some scale suggestions for improvisation.

 

For those who like the backing track to play along: there is also a link to download it in the YouTube info section.

 

 

 

 

Let me know what you think about it.

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Really like the guitar tone. Some good stuff in the melodies too.

 

Keep working at the fast picking techniques. It does get easier, sometimes. I personally kind of suck at it and it's also one the things that for some reason keeps eluding me. Watch some videos of Guthrie Goven about this. Not only is he a phenomenal guitar player but he's an interesting talking person because of his word and phrase choices. And accent.

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Really like the guitar tone. Some good stuff in the melodies too.

 

Keep working at the fast picking techniques. It does get easier, sometimes. I personally kind of suck at it and it's also one the things that for some reason keeps eluding me. Watch some videos of Guthrie Goven about this. Not only is he a phenomenal guitar player but he's an interesting talking person because of his word and phrase choices. And accent.

The speed picking technique is a challenging one, because it massively impacts the fret and picking hand motions. I even have changed my guitar picks (stiff and small). And there are unfortunately nearly no short cuts to speed up with the exception of constant, longer and correct practicing.

 

I have already gone through some frustration along this process. But I do see some progress in my playing style over the past months (could be more). I think it just needs the right amount of dedication, the knowledge of the right things to practice, time and patience. Some lessons from a good local teacher can give some guidance. I don't think this a question of being talented or not.

 

Guthrie Govan is a bright guy and great guitarist. I am highly impressed about his phrasing and vibrato technique. And I love his Suhr guitars  :D 

 

The Marshall Plexi Lead amp model works great for a lot of styles. The EQ-settings in the amp model needs to be tweaked to get a nice crunch / leadtone. For the recording (and for gigging as well) I have the following setting: Drive: 90%, Bass: 15%, Mid: 95%, Treble: 62%, Pres: 72%, Vol: 56%. 

 

For gigging I use the POD HD500 together with a DT50-head. Sounds even better to me.

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sounds great, nice tone...

Hi, thanks for your friendly feedback!

 

The Warmoth guitar with the Suhr Doug Aldrich (Neck+Bridge)-pickups contributes with a clear notes separation to the tone as well. 

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The speed picking technique is a challenging one, because it massively impacts the fret and picking hand motions. I even have changed my guitar picks (stiff and small). And there are unfortunately nearly no short cuts to speed up with the exception of constant, longer and correct practicing.

If you haven't already, try using the small Jazz III picks. They can really go a long way to helping you learn to grip the pick at the right depth so that the pick isn't going too deep into the string.

 

Also, very nice tone on the recording!

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If you haven't already, try using the small Jazz III picks. They can really go a long way to helping you learn to grip the pick at the right depth so that the pick isn't going too deep into the string.

 

 

Dunlop Ultex 1.14 sharp picks work really well. They last a really long time too. And they have a sticky like grip with a smooth texture.

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Dunlop Ultex 1.14 sharp picks work really well. They last a really long time too. And they have a sticky like grip with a smooth texture.

 

 

If you haven't already, try using the small Jazz III picks. They can really go a long way to helping you learn to grip the pick at the right depth so that the pick isn't going too deep into the string.

 

Also, very nice tone on the recording!

+1.

 

Changing the pick has helped me to improve speed picking technique. Before I never really thought that much about pick size, stiffness, material and their impact in the tone and speed.

 

I have choosen the Dunlop John Petrucci Jazz iii. The size is in between a standard red Jazz III and the XL Jazz III. The material is Ultex, 1.5 mm size which lasts for me around 3-4 weeks. This pick is great for me. For more funky / strumming Rhythm parts I changed the pick to a sharkfin which is bigger and has less stiffness (around 0.75 mm)

 

The small picks naturally bring you to grip the pick very close to the tip. That helps not to dive into deep between the strings and supports pinch harmonics very well too.

 

I would not say that bigger picks and picks with less stiffness wouldn't work for speed picking. At the end everybody should choose upon their preference. And there are some famous players which do not use small and stiff picks for speed picking like Paul Gilbert.

 

But I guess the speed picking technique is pretty much worth a new Thread - very likely in another forum :D

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Dunlop Ultex 1.14 sharp picks work really well. They last a really long time too. And they have a sticky like grip with a smooth texture.

I love my Jazz III picks (which are also Dunlop, but 1.38mm), but I'm always interested in trying new picks (which is apparent by all of the picks I have laying around that I will never use, including some "official" Vai picks I just bought to try out a few weeks ago :P) Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give them a try.

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:) Very nice.

 

The sharper point on pick can make big difference in speed and getting clean notes. I use Dunlop Tolex sharps for shred stuff. They are too hard and get too much of click to them for straight up rock. I might pick up some of those Jazz III's lots of people seem to like them, never tried them.

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I love my Jazz III picks (which are also Dunlop, but 1.38mm), but I'm always interested in trying new picks (which is apparent by all of the picks I have laying around that I will never use, including some "official" Vai picks I just bought to try out a few weeks ago :P) Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give them a try.

 

I read somewhere that the "official" Vai picks are nothing more than Ultex 1.0mm. Not sure if they the sharp kind. I used to use Dunlop Tortex 1.0mm (the blue ones) and recently switched to the Ultex and never even thought about looking back. Not only are they more grippy the I love the attack they produce on the string as compared to the tortex.

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I've used a boatload of different picks over the years, but for some reason I keep coming back to Fender mediums. Maybe forcing myself to try and stick with different picks will knock something loose and force me to try different picking styles. Challenge accepted! (Right after our run of 3 gigs over the next couple weeks) 😬

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If you haven't already, try using the small Jazz III picks. They can really go a long way to helping you learn to grip the pick at the right depth so that the pick isn't going too deep into the string.

 

Also, very nice tone on the recording!

 

Picked up some of these last night. I really dig this pic. Feels like a natural extension and has nice round tone. I thought the small size would be a problem, but I had not problem with it at all. 

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Hi cruisinon2,

 

thanks for your nice feedback and I am glad that I have given you some tweaking inspiration!

 

Looking back to my POD HD usage over the last 3 years, I have remarkably reduced my tweaking time and the pure amount of amp models and effects I am using today. Simplicity is more important to me than ever.

 

All the Line6 gear has the tendency to get lost in endless choices and tweakings. The Marshall Plexi Lead is one of 3-4 amps I am really using for recording and (most of all) gigging.

 

Having that said, I still find myself finding some amazing new features. The last one, which came along with FW 2.2, was the Master Volume control when connected to a DT-50 via the L6-Link.

 

I am also glad that you like the backing track. I think it's a cool groove, where I instantly can lock into the Rhythm. The chord progression itself gives lots of freedom for scales to choose on. And the 2 bar chord changes are ideal to switch between scales. I guess the challenging thing is to leave the right amount of breaks between the licks, so the groove really can breath.

 

Have fun - Thanks!

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Sounds very good, nice track too.

 

I am a huge fan of the Jazz IIIs. For me the trick is not gripping too hard, firm but not stiff if that makes sense. I find I can be a little more fluid with the picking hand by holding the pick more relaxed...your mileage may vary ;)

 

Anyway...funny as guitarists how much we wade through the details of every little thing...

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Sounds very good, nice track too.

 

I am a huge fan of the Jazz IIIs. For me the trick is not gripping too hard, firm but not stiff if that makes sense. I find I can be a little more fluid with the picking hand by holding the pick more relaxed...your mileage may vary ;)

 

Anyway...funny as guitarists how much we wade through the details of every little thing...

 

Thanks for your encouraging feedback! I cannot get enough positive energy on my speed picking guitar journey :D

 

As funny as it is:

 

Those little details you mention seems to me one of the most important angles to look at, when it comes to speed picking, because it's all about optimizing lots of little details. Coming from the pick you choose, the angle of the pick to strike the strings, how close you grip the pick to the tip, whether your picking motion comes from the wrist or your arm, how to minimize fretting hand and picking hand motions,  whether to use economic picking for 3 notes per string licks or alternate picking, ... and whether to grip the pick hard or loose.

 

As I am somewhere in the middle of that guitar journey, I am currently not 100% clear how hard I should grip the pick. At the moment I tend to grip somewhere "in between", so that the pick is in a fixed position, but not too firm to get tension in my fingers.

 

Although I am sold for the last months to the Dunlop John Petrucci Jazz iii, I am continuing this work on the little details with the picks. And the good thing when it comes to picks: they are so cheap compared to amps :P

 

I have therefore yesterday ordered a few different Dunlop picks to check how they behave compared to the JP Jazz III which is currently my favorite pick. I am going to test the Dunlop ULTEEX 427 JAZZ III, the JAZZ III STIFFO BK and the BIG STUBBY 2.00 mm. They all are small picks, stiff and thicker than normal picks. I will see what happens.

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http://www.winspearpicks.com/productsI wanna try some of these ..... I do A LOT of fast picking, and was using the jazz IIIs forever, but I grabbed a buddy's Big Stubby 3mm one day and wow, thicker pick makes it so much easier to lessen the grip and relax!

 

I like that jam track! Great tone on that. I like that model as a platform for the drives and fuzz.

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Funny, the Big Stubby I take to gigs for if/when my hand gets tired. I like them *but* I find the lack of edge on the pick changes my articulation of notes.  Dumb stuff to worry about, may be all in my head. :blink:

 

The other thing that is weird is I have nights when I play and it all comes easy...from mind to pick...lovely. Then I have other nights when I feel like I am working every freakin' note...sigh...anyway I digress.

 

Anyway, interesting stuff...be curious where you land.

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Funny, the Big Stubby I take to gigs for if/when my hand gets tired. I like them *but* I find the lack of edge on the pick changes my articulation of notes.  Dumb stuff to worry about, may be all in my head. :blink:

 

The other thing that is weird is I have nights when I play and it all comes easy...from mind to pick...lovely. Then I have other nights when I feel like I am working every freakin' note...sigh...anyway I digress.

 

Anyway, interesting stuff...be curious where you land.

 

I doubt something like the edge of the pick is something only in your head. The pick edge can make a huge difference in how any given note sounds.

 

Every guitarist must experience the weirdness of playing. I too have days where I should know better and just set the damn guitar down and be done with it. Bad days are also a good way to pick up bad habits. Other days are, like you said, basically effortless to play.

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http://www.winspearpicks.com/productsI wanna try some of these ..... I do A LOT of fast picking, and was using the jazz IIIs forever, but I grabbed a buddy's Big Stubby 3mm one day and wow, thicker pick makes it so much easier to lessen the grip and relax!

 

I like that jam track! Great tone on that. I like that model as a platform for the drives and fuzz.

 

These (boutique) picks look promising to me. But the price and the shipment costs are too high just to do a blind order.

Would be great, if you can come up with a feedback once you have tested it. Based on the higher price of approx. 5£ I also would be interested in the durability.

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The Marshall Plexi Lead amp model works great for a lot of styles. The EQ-settings in the amp model needs to be tweaked to get a nice crunch / leadtone. For the recording (and for gigging as well) I have the following setting: Drive: 90%, Bass: 15%, Mid: 95%, Treble: 62%, Pres: 72%, Vol: 56%.

Wolbai, these are very useful settings! I've never been a Marshall guy, but your settings really work for me. I've probably always been too conservative, starting in the middle positions, and not digging what I heard.

 

Also, I'm pleased with the default 421 mic, which generally sounds like crap on anything but toms but definitely works for the Plexi - even better than the usual off axis 57 for a Marshall cab.

 

Thanks!

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Wolbai, these are very useful settings! I've never been a Marshall guy, but your settings really work for me. I've probably always been too conservative, starting in the middle positions, and not digging what I heard.

 

Also, I'm pleased with the default 421 mic, which generally sounds like crap on anything but toms but definitely works for the Plexi - even better than the usual off axis 57 for a Marshall cab.

 

Thanks!

 

Hi, I am glad that the Marshall Plexi Lead amp settings are beneficial to you :)

 

If I remember correctly, these are pretty much the recommended settings of the original amp. Especially the Mids turned up very high (to cut through) and the Bass turned down very low (to get rid of a muddy tone playing lower strings and powerchords) is important to me.

 

The Marshall Plexi is REALLY shining when played with a DT-50 / DT-25 IMO. The original amp (100 watts) starts to break up only at very high volume levels. With the POD HD Master volume control on FW 2.20 this could be done on pretty much lower volume levels without too much negative impact on the tone.

 

I play a wide range of songs in my Cover Band with this amp. It sounds fantastic on Stratocaster type songs from SRV / Pink Floyd / Eric Clapton to Gibson / Humbucker type songs from ZZ Top / Gary Moore.

 

It is always worthwhile to Google the manuals and reviews for the ORIGINAL amps for recommended amp EQ-settings. Doing so, I have discovered some good starting points for amp EQ-settings.

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I've been using regular Dunlop 1mm blacks for maybe 30 years, and they ain't failed me yet. I tried the new grippier ones, but they wear out too fast and are a little softer, so, although I dig the grip, I went back to my old standby. If you have to play in the cold, I do recommend the grippy ones - they won't fall out of your fingers as easily. BTW, I use reverse grip (pick angled up towards the neck, instead of down) a la George Benson, so my experience is prolly a little different from most.

 

When it comes to speed, there's nothing like practice (and coffee!) But keep in mind that speed without taste is lame. Make sure no matter how fast you play, you can still sing your lines as you play them. That will keep you in the melodic world instead of being robotic.

 

BTW, you sound like a very melodic player, and that communicates so much better than a bunch of high speed wanking IMHO. Still,a pro must have speed cops as part of their skill set.

 

For building up speed and flexibility, there's nothing like practicing scales and scale patterns up and down in every position (CBABAGAGF, CBAGBAGF, CABGAF, etc. etc.) and arpeggios. These patterns will develop all the many different picking combinations that will come up in creating a great solo or playing intricate melodies. And don't forget chromatic and diminished. They add flavor, like olives in your salad!

 

And practice your lines both slow and fast. And the old datum that you need to be able to play 20% faster in practice to be able to play at tempo on a gig.

 

You guys prolly already know all this lollipop, but I just had 2 espressos, so my thumbs can type a mile a minute on my ipad. Now, for some practicing...

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I've been using regular Dunlop 1mm blacks for maybe 30 years, and they ain't failed me yet. I tried the new grippier ones, but they wear out too fast and are a little softer, so, although I dig the grip, I went back to my old standby. If you have to play in the cold, I do recommend the grippy ones - they won't fall out of your fingers as easily. BTW, I use reverse grip (pick angled up towards the neck, instead of down) a la George Benson, so my experience is prolly a little different from most.

 

When it comes to speed, there's nothing like practice (and coffee!) But keep in mind that speed without taste is lame. Make sure no matter how fast you play, you can still sing your lines as you play them. That will keep you in the melodic world instead of being robotic.

 

BTW, you sound like a very melodic player, and that communicates so much better than a bunch of high speed wanking IMHO. Still,a pro must have speed cops as part of their skill set.

 

For building up speed and flexibility, there's nothing like practicing scales and scale patterns up and down in every position (CBABAGAGF, CBAGBAGF, CABGAF, etc. etc.) and arpeggios. These patterns will develop all the many different picking combinations that will come up in creating a great solo or playing intricate melodies. And don't forget chromatic and diminished. They add flavor, like olives in your salad!

 

And practice your lines both slow and fast. And the old datum that you need to be able to play 20% faster in practice to be able to play at tempo on a gig.

 

You guys prolly already know all this lollipop, but I just had 2 espressos, so my thumbs can type a mile a minute on my ipad. Now, for some practicing...

 

Hi billorentzen,

 

lots of good stuff to me in your post :)

 

There is in general not a right or wrong what picks to use as long as you do not have any speed or accuracy problem. The same applies how to angle your pick.

But for beginners or any player which run into a serious speed or accuracy problem with their current playing technique, it is widely accepted to point to the overall widely accepted standards.

 

I belong the this second group and I had to heavily reinvent my playing technique in the last months, affecting the picks I use and the complete fret and picking hand motions. And I am still at the beginning I feel so ... I angle my pick therefore standard (down to the floor) and I use stiffer and smaller picks.

 

I have tested some new ones the last days. And my current favorite pick (JP Jazz III) has got a serious competition: the Jazz III Ultex, 1.38 mmm. In short: the tone is the same due to the identical material and similar shape. But the Ultex Jazz III which is smaller (same shape as the standard Jazz III) fits even better to my fingers. It forces me even more to grip very close to the tip. That helps me to be more fluent without getting caught on the strings. The tip gluides even more fluently over the strings to me.

 

I always wanted to play solos like a singer. That is how I try to phrase my lines. The shredding technique, which is very popular under younger players, is just a tool, like a good vibrato, bending or slides. I pretty much agree, that shredding by itself has no substantial musical content. The art is to mix it up with all the other tools in the right amount. Then it can shine, otherwise it can soon gets boring (or lame as you say).

 

As far as practicing, I am with you: I practice scales, scale patterns, spider figures, 3 notes per string fingering in an intensity I never did before. And there are nearly no short cuts to improve with the exception of longer practicing, the right things over and over again. The right picks help, but this is not 50% of the game. It is more 5% IMO.

 

The most frustrating thing is the time I need to bring it to a satisfying level when gigging. I remember another technique I learned in the past. It took me 1 year from the rehearsal room to the stage to perform it in a good way :D

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Since you need to move fast on increasing your speed, I might recommend really working on your penatonic scales. They are very versatile and can be pretty quickly built up to significant speed, and will make do for some flash if not overused.

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Since you need to move fast on increasing your speed, I might recommend really working on your penatonic scales. They are very versatile and can be pretty quickly built up to significant speed, and will make do for some flash if not overused.

 

Thanks for your ideas to speed me up :D I appreciate that!

 

Yes, pentatonic scale runs are less challenging as 3 note per string runs IMO too. Played in all its positions they generate versatile licks. Some famous players (if I remember correctly Zakk Wilde and even Jazz oriented players like Mike Stern) have mainly based their fret hand fingering on it.

 

They often go along with hammer-ons and pull-offs. But the licks are different and sound different, because of the limited scale notes and the different fret hand technique (mainly 2 notes per strings and alternate picking), compared to 3 notes per string licks played with economy picking. Currently I am after these 3 note per string runs, which leads automatically to major scales and their appropriate modes.

 

So I will put the pentatonic scales on my list of techniques, I need to work on. There is also already a very demanding one, which I like to improve and that is my vibrato.  :(

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In regards in learning speed, I'll add one more thing that hasn't been mentioned yet. One of (if not the) biggest killers of speed is tension. The whole entire reason for practicing very slowly to begin with is to train your fingers to have muscle memory of the part you are playing with no tension.

 

On the other hand, if you just practice it slowly, you never really learn how to properly make the very smallest movements that are needed to play fast.

 

So it's a combination of playing slowly and speeding up gradually without adding any tension, while still practicing fast once you've got the muscle memory to keep from having big swinging movements of the pick that tend to happen when practicing slowly (because those big sweeping motions cause slow downs, too). Combining those two things (along with getting the right thickness of pick) were the biggest help to me.

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In regards in learning speed, I'll add one more thing that hasn't been mentioned yet. One of (if not the) biggest killers of speed is tension. The whole entire reason for practicing very slowly to begin with is to train your fingers to have muscle memory of the part you are playing with no tension.

 

On the other hand, if you just practice it slowly, you never really learn how to properly make the very smallest movements that are needed to play fast.

 

So it's a combination of playing slowly and speeding up gradually without adding any tension, while still practicing fast once you've got the muscle memory to keep from having big swinging movements of the pick that tend to happen when practicing slowly (because those big sweeping motions cause slow downs, too). Combining those two things (along with getting the right thickness of pick) were the biggest help to me.

 

Very true!

 

When I started learning E-guitar several years ago, I didn't really understand these "play slow to get fast"-statements. So I tried to do the natural short cut in playing always fast as possible in the naive hope that I will become faster with good accuracy overtime.

 

Since I have dealt now on a detailed level with the speed picking technique over the past months, I start to understand and see that the swing between slow and fast playing (with a metronome or drum machine) is vital to built up a solid muscle memory and to adapt those minimal finger motions to faster playing. Didn't thought about your point with the tension and its coherence to muscle memory as well.

 

The thing with the tension pops up generally when you start practicing speed picking seriously and IMO, because it usually leads to more practicing time and faster 16th note based runs which brings you very soon to your current existing physical limits as well :D

 

Depending on how long and how good or bad your hand, arm and finger motions are, you will be confrontated with various tension issues:

 

I have now tension to deal with in my fret arm as well, because of more challenging fretting hand exercises where in strengthen my weak ring finger and pinky. Depending how you do your picking motions, you may also be confrontated with picking arm tension when doing the motions out of your arms and not out of your wrist and so on.

 

And there is a real potential problem to get seriously injured with wrong speed picking practice.

 

 

 

As this Thread turns more and more to a little "speed picking booklet" I also like to add something which wasn't mentioned so far which I consider as very important too:

 

There are tons of details which may potentially prevent someone to play very fast and with accuracy. And these details can very heavily vary from person to person depending on their experience and current playing style. Therefore everybody needs to carefully analyze his current playing style, before moving into practicing to "right things".

 

Some articles from Tom Hess (an online guitar teacher, which IMO is very knowledgeable and dammed good in marketing; I would not buy expensive lessons from him, but some free of charge stuff can really help to find the right direction) have helped me in the last weeks. He actually overs a 14 days free of charge mini-course on speed picking. I recommend this one. Especially that you start to examine where your current speed is AND most of all to carefully look what prevents you from getting faster.

 

Here is the link to his first lesson of the 14 days mini course: http://tomhess.net/HowToIncreaseGuitarSpeed1.aspx

 

Once you have registered (remember - he is good marketing guy !) you will get a free lesson every days.

 

In MY case it turns out that my fretting ring finger and pinky is too weak to have a 100% fretting hand and picking hand synchronization. I therefore have add some special exercises to strengthen them.

 

Another option I also would recommend to have some dedicated speed picking lessons with a good local guitar teacher. This teacher can help to identify the most critical points in the current playing style which prevent you being fast with great accuracy. And he can more objectively monitor your progress along this process.

 

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wolbai posted earlier:

The Marshall Plexi is REALLY shining when played with a DT-50 / DT-25 IMO. The original amp (100 watts) starts to break up only at very high volume levels. With the POD HD Master volume control on FW 2.20 this could be done on pretty much lower volume levels without too much negative impact on the tone.

 

 

Hi @wolbai,

 

1)  With your POD HD500 patches, when you go from recording with a patch to playing live with your HD500 and DT50, do you change anything in your patch?  For example, when recording do you use a "full" amp model and then for the use with the DT50 alter the patch for "pre-amp only" (since the DT50 provides the power amp portion)?

 

2)  Regarding the DT50, firmware 2.20 and DT50 Master Volume (for nice breakup at lower volumes):  When you use your POD HD500 with your DT50, what setting do you use for your Master Volume on your DT50 (and Volume setting on your HD500)?

 

Thanks!

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wolbai posted earlier:

The Marshall Plexi is REALLY shining when played with a DT-50 / DT-25 IMO. The original amp (100 watts) starts to break up only at very high volume levels. With the POD HD Master volume control on FW 2.20 this could be done on pretty much lower volume levels without too much negative impact on the tone.

 

 

Hi @wolbai,

 

1) With your POD HD500 patches, when you go from recording with a patch to playing live with your HD500 and DT50, do you change anything in your patch? For example, when recording do you use a "full" amp model and then for the use with the DT50 alter the patch for "pre-amp only" (since the DT50 provides the power amp portion)?

 

2) Regarding the DT50, firmware 2.20 and DT50 Master Volume (for nice breakup at lower volumes): When you use your POD HD500 with your DT50, what setting do you use for your Master Volume on your DT50 (and Volume setting on your HD500)?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi egkor,

 

to question 1:

 

I generally use the pre amp models of the POD HD500 together with my DT-50 Head. Also the Amp Equing might be a bit different but not totally different when recording. This is something I adapt at the rehearsal room. Bare in mind that a playback has different sound characteristic / frequencies than a real band. Therefore some adaption has to be made at rehearsal room compared to studio presets.

 

I somteimes also change the standard Voicing settings on the DT-50. The Marshall amps (default setting is Voicing II) sounds with more balls (if you need some) at Voicing IV.

 

I also mix modulation, reverb and delay effects with my recording software to the recording and NOT with the POD HD500 preset. The reason for that is simpel: once you have recorded a track with mod, reverb, delay effects, it is nearly impossible to change the amount of the mix in that respect later on. This what professional studios normally also do when record guitars. You can mix these effects on the monitor (headphones) so you have a real tone feel during the recording

 

to question 2:

 

I have a fixed Master volume setting on my DT-50 head at 60% (1 o'clock). For all the amps I am using, this is a good overall value where all amps (even for those who getting saturated at higher volume levels. e.g. PARK-75 and Marshall Plexi) come into power section saturation. Very clean amps like the BF Double (Twin reverb) let them stay clean with lots of headroom.

 

I vary the POD HD500 Master volume setting, depending on the gigging location somewhere between 40 - 60%.

 

 

regards, wolbai

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Hi egkor,

 

to question 1:

 

I generally use the pre amp models of the POD HD500 together with my DT-50 Head. Also the Amp Equing might be a bit different but not totally different when recording. This is something I adapt at the rehearsal room. Bare in mind that a playback has different sound characteristic / frequencies than a real band. Therefore some adaption has to be made at rehearsal room compared to studio presets.

 

I somteimes also change the standard Voicing settings on the DT-50. The Marshall amps (default setting is Voicing II) sounds with more balls (if you need some) at Voicing IV.

 

I also mix modulation, reverb and delay effects with my recording software to the recording and NOT with the POD HD500 preset. The reason for that is simpel: once you have recorded a track with mod, reverb, delay effects, it is nearly impossible to change the amount of the mix in that respect later on. This what professional studios normally also do when record guitars. You can mix these effects on the monitor (headphones) so you have a real tone feel during the recording

 

to question 2:

 

I have a fixed Master volume setting on my DT-50 head at 60% (1 o'clock). For all the amps I am using, this is a good overall value where all amps (even for those who getting saturated at higher volume levels. e.g. PARK-75 and Marshall Plexi) come into power section saturation. Very clean amps like the BF Double (Twin reverb) let them stay clean with lots of headroom.

 

I vary the POD HD500 Master volume setting, depending on the gigging location somewhere between 40 - 60%.

 

 

regards, wolbai

 

 

Hi @wolbai,

 

Thanks for replying, very useful information!

 

I understand you to say that:

 

1)  You record with a "dry" guitar track, which can be "wetted"/tweaked as desired after the original recording.

 

2)  You run 60% on the DT50 Master Volume, and choose a Topology IV/4 (rather than default Topol. II/2) for the Marshall Plexi.

 

I did listen to your track in your OP, I really like your tone and the flavor of your music!  :)

 

I have a POD HD500 and DT50 (I updated all to latest firmware) and am just starting to explore all the possibilities.  I first happened upon the Park model (in the POD HD500), and after a bit of tweaking was impressed at the tone of that model. 

 

Thanks again for your help!

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Hi @wolbai,

 

Thanks for replying, very useful information!

 

I understand you to say that:

 

1)  You record with a "dry" guitar track, which can be "wetted"/tweaked as desired after the original recording.

 

2)  You run 60% on the DT50 Master Volume, and choose a Topology IV/4 (rather than default Topol. II/2) for the Marshall Plexi.

 

I did listen to your track in your OP, I really like your tone and the flavor of your music!  :)

 

I have a POD HD500 and DT50 (I updated all to latest firmware) and am just starting to explore all the possibilities.  I first happened upon the Park model (in the POD HD500), and after a bit of tweaking was impressed at the tone of that model. 

 

Thanks again for your help!

Hi, I am glad to be beneficial to you!

 

Regarding the whet/dry recording issue: I tend to have distortion pedals, compressors being part of the POD HD-preset for recordings. If you call that dry - that is fine to me. The other mentioned effects should be added via your DAW-software. With a good audio interface and low latency you should have a good monitor signal.

 

I like to play melody oriented solos. That is what great, heartful solos are all about to me (the real reason: the girls like it more ;) ) I just want to spice up around the climax point with some shredding licks or like to set attention-signals in between  (for a lack of better words). Ongoing shredding is initially impressive, but boring latest after 1 minute to me.

 

 

Now I have to watch football: Germany - Portugal - sorry !!!

 

regards, wolbai.

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