I'd just like to step in here and tell Duke he's wrong - vibrato may have been an easier thing when he was younger, but his current vibrato is like a cross between early Freddy King and Hubert Sumlin, and I love it to death. I imagine once the shoulder heals and there isn't the constant discomfort, the vibrato will be the first thing to come back.
Again, nice! Maybe a little more space between phrases? Your playing fits over the changes and isn't "wrong," but a lot of those phrases might sing more if you give them an extra breath before playing them.
Nice! For maximum authenticity on the brow wipe, record yourself in a room with bright lights and no air conditioning! I like your vibrato and attack; it's got its own thing while being pretty true to B.'s vibe.
B.B.'s guitars in the Sixties often had the middle position out of phase, and he could get more or less of that phase cancelled sound by tweaking the individual pickup volumes, giving him a broad spectrum of tones to play with. Apart from that, it's pretty much down to his fingers and pick atrack - B.B. had a lot of diffferent guitar and amp tones, but the important stuff stayed the same, and that's the stuff that made the difference other than "warm, not too dirty, maybe some reverb. "
Yeah. I think a lot of the Regal sound is room mics and the guitar leaking into the vocal and other instruments' mics - the pictures from that show have him using a rare 335 with a Varitone and Bigsby (or, conversely, a 345 with a dot neck, I guess) through a tweed Twin, so any of that beautiful warm reverb is either the room or was added later.
It's amazing how much of a difference little alterations in technique can make. Charlie allegedly played with all downstrokes, but you know, he was Charlie Christian and I'm not. Everyone's hands are different, too - I know from playing with Duke that he and I sometimes have COMPLETELY different technical approaches to making basically similar sounds. It boils down to what works for you.
I put a quick video with that missing phrase above - hope it helps.
It's funny about the double stop thing; I've never been a note-for-note guy (so this experience was at least as instructive for me as it was for anybody), but I've heard so many versions of that song and played that song so many times that once I got in front of the camera, some of the note-for-note went out the window and I ended up playing it the way I thought I remembered it. Clapton definitely did the slide down, but I know I also heard Otis live versions with that part in it. If I do this video lesson thing again, I might not try to go AS note-for-note as I did here - it would give me a slightly wider margin of error!
EDIT: Huh. Just listened to the intro of about seven different Otis live versions, and he never does that (although sometimes if there's a rhythm guitarist, they're doing something similar). Must be a holdover from the Mayall/Clapton version. This is the humbling part of the experience, I guess.
Thanks! I don't know about the amp situation at Cobra, other than that Otis' amp was a Danelectro Challenger currently owned by a friend of mine in Chicago. It's possible that Ike Turner was playing through that amp or another like it, but one of the things most people don't talk about when it comes to gear is that a lot of amps sound basically similar.
The crazy whammy bar playing on "Double Trouble" is Ike, and Otis is playing with the finger vibrato. "All Your Love" has a pretty clear rhythm/lead division of duties, but a bunch of those tunes have two lead guitars, harmonica, and saxophone all winding their way through the sonic stew. It's a cool sound. In general, Ike's playing is more jagged and raw.
I don't have a bad word to say about Clapton - not only was he my earliest "lead guitar" influence, but a huge percentage of my music taste is directly traceable to a couple Guitar Player interviews he did back in the day where he brought up ALL the cool stuff (Muddy, Little Walter, Freddy King Sings, Ray Charles Live, of course Otis and Buddy).
Peter's playing had a vulnerability to it that's really moving, though, and he was probably deeper in the tradition than Eric was (actually, that's a tough call - Eric knows the tradition as well as anyone, but Peter probably could have fit in better in the West Side of Chicago). My favorite Peter Green playing is the early Fleetwood Mac before Kirwan joined - Peter had stepped out of Clapton's shadow and was exploring the deep blues as well as anyone. The later Mac records are great, too, but that early stuff is my favorite.
It's funny; I didn't hear Peter until I'd been playing for more than ten years and someone told me I sounded a little like him. When I heard him, I got it (in terms of style, not quality, anyway; he was better) - he was a guy who started out under the spell of Eric Clapton and loved B.B. King and Otis Rush as much as I do.
Nice! Yeah, what Duke said about that ringing open G (not the nicest note in the key of F#!) But the approach is good, and I like the way you're combining the different versions into your own thing. I also like the volume knob tremolo there - I might have to steal that for that part some times!
Also - one of the things I love about the Eric and Stevie versions is how much of themselves they brought to the table when covering it; Clapton streamlined that intro into a powerful, easily recognizable riff the same way he did with Robert Johnson songs, and Stevie just burst at the seams with raw energy, alternating the rhythm and lead parts so it sounded like he was playing them at the same time. It's a good reminder that once you know these songs - and both Clapton and Vaughan KNEW the Otis version - it's open to interpretation and your individual voice.
Yeah, I love the two sections. It's like getting to play two awesome songs in one. Have you tried palm muting the rhumba section? You've got the right idea, but muting those low strings gives it a really cool snappy sound.
I'd just like to step in here and tell Duke he's wrong - vibrato may have been an easier thing when he was younger, but his current vibrato is like a cross between early Freddy King and Hubert Sumlin, and I love it to death. I imagine once the shoulder heals and there isn't the constant discomfort, the vibrato will be the first thing to come back.
Yeah, like I said on your other video, I like your vibrato and attack quite a bit!
Again, nice! Maybe a little more space between phrases? Your playing fits over the changes and isn't "wrong," but a lot of those phrases might sing more if you give them an extra breath before playing them.
Nice! For maximum authenticity on the brow wipe, record yourself in a room with bright lights and no air conditioning! I like your vibrato and attack; it's got its own thing while being pretty true to B.'s vibe.
Yeah, he said it was slide guitar, Hawaiian steel guitar, and singers that inspired it.
B.B.'s guitars in the Sixties often had the middle position out of phase, and he could get more or less of that phase cancelled sound by tweaking the individual pickup volumes, giving him a broad spectrum of tones to play with. Apart from that, it's pretty much down to his fingers and pick atrack - B.B. had a lot of diffferent guitar and amp tones, but the important stuff stayed the same, and that's the stuff that made the difference other than "warm, not too dirty, maybe some reverb. "
Yeah. I think a lot of the Regal sound is room mics and the guitar leaking into the vocal and other instruments' mics - the pictures from that show have him using a rare 335 with a Varitone and Bigsby (or, conversely, a 345 with a dot neck, I guess) through a tweed Twin, so any of that beautiful warm reverb is either the room or was added later.
Hi, guys! Sorry I've been out of touch. I'm finishing up the backing track today and will have it sent to Mike C. by the evening.
It's amazing how much of a difference little alterations in technique can make. Charlie allegedly played with all downstrokes, but you know, he was Charlie Christian and I'm not. Everyone's hands are different, too - I know from playing with Duke that he and I sometimes have COMPLETELY different technical approaches to making basically similar sounds. It boils down to what works for you.
I put a quick video with that missing phrase above - hope it helps.
It's funny about the double stop thing; I've never been a note-for-note guy (so this experience was at least as instructive for me as it was for anybody), but I've heard so many versions of that song and played that song so many times that once I got in front of the camera, some of the note-for-note went out the window and I ended up playing it the way I thought I remembered it. Clapton definitely did the slide down, but I know I also heard Otis live versions with that part in it. If I do this video lesson thing again, I might not try to go AS note-for-note as I did here - it would give me a slightly wider margin of error!
EDIT: Huh. Just listened to the intro of about seven different Otis live versions, and he never does that (although sometimes if there's a rhythm guitarist, they're doing something similar). Must be a holdover from the Mayall/Clapton version. This is the humbling part of the experience, I guess.
Here's the missing phrase - sorry about that! Hope this helps.
That's terrific, Mike. Thanks a lot! Much appreciated.
Ah! I could have sworn I covered that phrase. Casualty of first time jitters, I guess. Sorry about that!
Thanks! I don't know about the amp situation at Cobra, other than that Otis' amp was a Danelectro Challenger currently owned by a friend of mine in Chicago. It's possible that Ike Turner was playing through that amp or another like it, but one of the things most people don't talk about when it comes to gear is that a lot of amps sound basically similar.
The crazy whammy bar playing on "Double Trouble" is Ike, and Otis is playing with the finger vibrato. "All Your Love" has a pretty clear rhythm/lead division of duties, but a bunch of those tunes have two lead guitars, harmonica, and saxophone all winding their way through the sonic stew. It's a cool sound. In general, Ike's playing is more jagged and raw.
Jerry - check out the Fleetwood Mac album Mr. Wonderful. It's my favorite.
I don't have a bad word to say about Clapton - not only was he my earliest "lead guitar" influence, but a huge percentage of my music taste is directly traceable to a couple Guitar Player interviews he did back in the day where he brought up ALL the cool stuff (Muddy, Little Walter, Freddy King Sings, Ray Charles Live, of course Otis and Buddy).
Peter's playing had a vulnerability to it that's really moving, though, and he was probably deeper in the tradition than Eric was (actually, that's a tough call - Eric knows the tradition as well as anyone, but Peter probably could have fit in better in the West Side of Chicago). My favorite Peter Green playing is the early Fleetwood Mac before Kirwan joined - Peter had stepped out of Clapton's shadow and was exploring the deep blues as well as anyone. The later Mac records are great, too, but that early stuff is my favorite.
It's funny; I didn't hear Peter until I'd been playing for more than ten years and someone told me I sounded a little like him. When I heard him, I got it (in terms of style, not quality, anyway; he was better) - he was a guy who started out under the spell of Eric Clapton and loved B.B. King and Otis Rush as much as I do.
Nice! Yeah, what Duke said about that ringing open G (not the nicest note in the key of F#!) But the approach is good, and I like the way you're combining the different versions into your own thing. I also like the volume knob tremolo there - I might have to steal that for that part some times!
Yeah, it's one thing playing simpler parts with all downstrokes, but that sixteenth note goes by FAST.
Also - one of the things I love about the Eric and Stevie versions is how much of themselves they brought to the table when covering it; Clapton streamlined that intro into a powerful, easily recognizable riff the same way he did with Robert Johnson songs, and Stevie just burst at the seams with raw energy, alternating the rhythm and lead parts so it sounded like he was playing them at the same time. It's a good reminder that once you know these songs - and both Clapton and Vaughan KNEW the Otis version - it's open to interpretation and your individual voice.
Me too! Glad you're enjoying it.
I think there's a recording of that set out there somewhere...
Yeah, I love the two sections. It's like getting to play two awesome songs in one. Have you tried palm muting the rhumba section? You've got the right idea, but muting those low strings gives it a really cool snappy sound.