Nation Demands More Mind-Blowing Guitar Solos

[DR DOOM]

So we all hate guitar solos now?

Jeez, most of them are alright. I dig a good solo. Fuck you pretentious cunts.

Damn straight.

Trent "the king of teen angst" Reznor or Kanye Fucking West??? are cool and somehow not fucking embarrassing?

[Iron MikeyJ]

If you're terrible at guitar and play through a wah pedal, what you're playing is still shite, it just has wah on it. It doesn't cover up your deficiencies in the way that autotune can make it possible for someone who cannot actually sing to have a career as a singer because they're aesthetically easier to market... I like autotune as an effect, used by artists as diverse as Daft Punk, Foxes, The Gregory Brothers, Avicii and Pure Reason Revolution, but you can't deny that it's given some absolute shitebags an easy ride to stardom in a way that they never could have if they were playing an instrument.

Tell that to Kirk Hammett. He's been shit for years and gets by solely by warping the fuck out of his classic solos with a wah pedal. Only the hardcores seem to care and call him out on it.

Yeah, obviously there are artists out there who abuse autotune or make an undeserved living from it, but there are just as many who use it as a legitimate effect to enhance a song. I'm not trying to defend the T-Pains and Jamie Foxxes, just the Kanyes and Daft Punks who actually use it effectively. To immediately discredit an artist because of their use of a vocal effect is completely asinine, and no different than writing an artist off because they use a guitar effect or production tool.

It's absolutely not the same thing. Autotune corrects pitches that are off or incorrect, a wah pedal sweeps through frequencies thus allowing the player to choose which frequencies (low or high) are to be allowed through the line; the quick changing of high-low and vice-versa produces the "wah" sound. Autotune is set in the studio on a computer.... a wah pedal is manipulated by the player, generally with a specific map in their head about when to push certain frequencies through the line depending on what notes/chords are being played. Proper, or quality, use of a wah pedal does require skill and intuition - autotune requires neither of those, it's actually opposite of skill and intuition. Some players have a computer control their wah, or someone else control it off stage - I am very anti-this practice, fortunately, Slash still operates the wah pedal himself, Jimmy Page did too. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, as this laptop can't play YT videos, but I'm pretty sure current GNR guitar players do not personally operate their wah pedals, at least most of the time.

The effect isn't identical, but it's comparable and there are plenty of guitarists who use it as a mask for their shit/deteriorating abilities, just as there are plenty of artists who use autotune solely to mask their shit voices and become stars regardless of lack of talent. Both have their exceptions. You gonna tell me that the practice of using a cool sounding vocal effect should be looked down upon simply because it doesn't require a Steven Tyler voice to pull off? If it sounds good, use it. It sounds good in certain places. Some abuse it, some don't.

FU man. I don't waste time posting posting gnr covers on youtube. I play in a real living, breathing rock and roll band. Inspired by our fore fathers, but I don't waste mine nor my audiences time covering any classic rock songs . Not because I don't love them, but because A. plenty of cover bands do a solid enough job, and B. because of little shits like you. We often play many songs from outside of the "rock" genre, but turn them into rock songs. Because a good song is a good song, no matter where its from, and talented enough musicians can make any song "rock". I'm not going to even waste my time naming some of the songs that we cover, because you are not worth my time. Your ignorance concerning the whole autotune vs wah peddle debate proves my point. (that was handled perfectly by others btw).

Yeah I was just being a dick there. I have no idea who you are, what you play, what kind of band you're in or what you listen to. All I'm saying is it's incredibly ignorant to call an artist talentless because they take advantage of a tool that has various legitimate uses. Do you honest to god believe that you're a more talented musician than Kanye West, simply because he's made a few songs where he fucks around with a vocal protool? How about all of his production and rapping skills? Even if you don't like the music, you can't deny that he's skilled at what he does.

808s (the infamous autotune album) was a complete blow-off. Just an hour of him fucking around with a machine. He wasn't trying to show off any talent, just air some feelings. He doesn't have a very good singing voice, but he's capable of writing a good song, coming up with a good melody, and has the technology to make it sound good, so why not? If you want to hear his talent, listen to The College Dropout, Late Registration or MBDTF.

Oh, and music doesn't need "legit" instruments to be good. That's just dumb and not even worth addressing. The rock four piece and the orchestra aren't the end-all-be-all in what makes something good.

I'm not saying he isn't talented at what he does, I never said that. It's just what he is talented at I find to be one of the least impressive talents. If that makes me a music snob, then so be it. That's why I compared MC's to David Lee Roth, they are all extremly talented at what they do, all very charismatic, good lyricists, good ear for melody, all know how to keep an audience entertained. Those are all very good skills. But imo the dude playing the sax solo on any street corner is a more talented musician. And at least in DLR's case, he can actually play the guitar also, so that does give him a leg up.

My biggest point in all of this is that these computer programs have made people lazy. Why spend years learning an instrument when I can learn a computer program and then let it do the dirty work for me? Don't you see the problem with this mentallity? We are becoming a society of mediocrity, but worst of all we accept this mediocrity everywhere. Now it's the music industry, movie industry is right on it's ass with all these remakes. What's next sports? Why play real sports when we can all play in some super online version of wi? We all get an avitar, meet once a week and play your soccer (football) match, collect all the fanatasy points then rank everyone appropriatly. No need for real soccer anymore, everyone can just play video soccer instead. And back to music, why play a real guitar, when you can just program some video game version? It's just as good, but only takes one day to master. Hell why even go to college, you can find the answers to everything you need right here on the internet, just watch the youtube video, it'll tell you everything you need to know.

[Dan H.]

So we all hate guitar solos now?

Jeez, most of them are alright. I dig a good solo. Fuck you pretentious cunts.

Damn straight.

Trent "the king of teen angst" Reznor or Kanye Fucking West??? are cool and somehow not fucking embarrassing?

Yes, they are cool and not embarrassing. But it has nothing to do with solos or lack of solos. They make interesting and brilliant music.

[Sixes]

So you can't make music with your voice?

You can't make music by clapping, by stomping, by whistling, by humming, by banging on a can?

You can music with anything you can. Whatever the choice of the instrument is, be it "standard" or not. And it constantly evolves. The tools we have today we didn't have 50 years ago, let alone thousands of years ago when music began. There were no guitars when music began. Making music can be many different things to many different people. Computers are the tool of the day. It's a new way of creating. A new form of instrumentation. It's people who say "today's music sucks because my generation was the best eva" is what kills creativity. "Back in my day...."...fuck your day, it's a new day.

To say some dude playing guitar is more talented than Luciano Pavarotti, for instance, is ridiculous. Pavarotti's choice of instrument is his voice.

Einsturzende Neubaten bang on machines for fuck sake and they make incredible music.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Sixes

[Snake-Pit]

nation+guitar solo

[mrandyk]

99% of guitar solos are pure shit. Thank god they died out.

Go listen to shitty pop and punk music

[bacardimayne]

I'm not saying he isn't talented at what he does, I never said that. It's just what he is talented at I find to be one of the least impressive talents. If that makes me a music snob, then so be it. That's why I compared MC's to David Lee Roth, they are all extremly talented at what they do, all very charismatic, good lyricists, good ear for melody, all know how to keep an audience entertained. Those are all very good skills. But imo the dude playing the sax solo on any street corner is a more talented musician. And at least in DLR's case, he can actually play the guitar also, so that does give him a leg up.

My biggest point in all of this is that these computer programs have made people lazy. Why spend years learning an instrument when I can learn a computer program and then let it do the dirty work for me? Don't you see the problem with this mentallity? We are becoming a society of mediocrity, but worst of all we accept this mediocrity everywhere. Now it's the music industry, movie industry is right on it's ass with all these remakes. What's next sports? Why play real sports when we can all play in some super online version of wi? We all get an avitar, meet once a week and play your soccer (football) match, collect all the fanatasy points then rank everyone appropriatly. No need for real soccer anymore, everyone can just play video soccer instead. And back to music, why play a real guitar, when you can just program some video game version? It's just as good, but only takes one day to master. Hell why even go to college, you can find the answers to everything you need right here on the internet, just watch the youtube video, it'll tell you everything you need to know.

So production and rapping skills aren't impressive? Alright then. I can see where you're coming from with the autotune thing. I don't find autotune prowess to be an impressive talent even if I often enjoy it, but Kanye is much more than just an autotune singer. Something I suggest you do is watch one of his live shows. The guy performs for like 3 hours every night, by himself. No hype man, no lipsyncing. Just goes out there and captivates the crowd for 3 hours with pure energy and charisma. Not much different than a talented rock frontman, really.

I understand your point with the computer programs, but really, it's bound to happen. As the human race advances, we'll always find easier ways to do once difficult things. It's evolution and it's been around forever. Do you think some cavemen refused to use the wheel when it was first invented because it made rolling shit around too easy? And besides, real musical talent lies in the brain. If someone has amazing musical ideas in their head, but lacks the proficiency on a guitar, violin, harp or whateverthefuckever else, why hold a grudge against him for using a medium that allows him to share his creations? Why does the difficulty of playing an instrument matter when judging how the music sounds? Just enjoy it for what it is.

[Sixes]

I once saw a woman playing a saw. She opened for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. That was her instrument. And it was interesting, creative and fucking phenomenal.

[PappyTron]

I once saw a woman playing a saw. She opened for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. That was her instrument. And it was interesting, creative and fucking phenomenal.

Was it a band saw or was it a solo?

[Sixes]

I once saw a woman playing a saw. She opened for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. That was her instrument. And it was interesting, creative and fucking phenomenal.

Was it a band saw or was it a solo?

just 1 woman playing a saw for 30 minutes

[Mansin Humanity]

I once saw a woman playing a saw. She opened for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. That was her instrument. And it was interesting, creative and fucking phenomenal.

Was it a band saw or was it a solo?

just 1 woman playing a saw for 30 minutes

WHOOSH

ps i'm out of likes pappy

Edited March 20, 2014 by Mansin Humanity

[Sixes]

I once saw a woman playing a saw. She opened for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. That was her instrument. And it was interesting, creative and fucking phenomenal.

Was it a band saw or was it a solo?

fuck me, that went right the fuck over my head :wow: :wow:

Edited March 20, 2014 by Sixes

[Chewbacca]

A faster scom? Ok, Bfoot can take it, but really? What happened to "we don't wanna shreddin, we want soul"?

[OmarBradley]

So you can't make music with your voice?

You can't make music by clapping, by stomping, by whistling, by humming, by banging on a can?

You can music with anything you can. Whatever the choice of the instrument is, be it "standard" or not. And it constantly evolves. The tools we have today we didn't have 50 years ago, let alone thousands of years ago when music began. There were no guitars when music began. Making music can be many different things to many different people. Computers are the tool of the day. It's a new way of creating. A new form of instrumentation. It's people who say "today's music sucks because my generation was the best eva" is what kills creativity. "Back in my day...."...fuck your day, it's a new day.

To say some dude playing guitar is more talented than Luciano Pavarotti, for instance, is ridiculous. Pavarotti's choice of instrument is his voice.

Einsturzende Neubaten bang on machines for fuck sake and they make incredible music.

It's all about the way you use your instrument of choice. And yes - some guitarists are more talented than Pavarotti. The problem this thread has, is that there's essentially two viewpoints on music 1). Music is art, and it should be artistically interesting, meaningful, and pure (as in no circumvention of acquiring skill or talent) and 2). Music is whatever you want it to be, and it doesn't matter what instruments/effects/sounds are applied because at the end of the day, music is music. Most people probably subscribe to the latter belief, but most musicians probably subscribe to the former. We're not going to solve this argument here, it's been debated in academia for many many decades.

So production and rapping skills aren't impressive? Alright then. I can see where you're coming from with the autotune thing. I don't find autotune prowess to be an impressive talent even if I often enjoy it, but Kanye is much more than just an autotune singer. Something I suggest you do is watch one of his live shows. The guy performs for like 3 hours every night, by himself. No hype man, no lipsyncing. Just goes out there and captivates the crowd for 3 hours with pure energy and charisma. Not much different than a talented rock frontman, really.

I understand your point with the computer programs, but really, it's bound to happen. As the human race advances, we'll always find easier ways to do once difficult things. It's evolution and it's been around forever. Do you think some cavemen refused to use the wheel when it was first invented because it made rolling shit around too easy? And besides, real musical talent lies in the brain.

There's no such thing as "Autotune prowess." Abusively using Autotune is not really that hard to do if you know how to use ProTools. I am not saying Kanye is a fraud for using it, I think he actually is one of the rare dedicated modern performers. Though I also think he's a dick - but some would say the same about Axl.

I see what you're saying about general human progress, and finding easy ways to do previously difficult tasks. Let me stress this point: learning an instrument is not a difficult task, it requires patience, dedication, and perhaps a bit of natural affinity for arts, but it is not difficult in the sense of human development - building the pyramids was difficult, travel was difficult for a long time, but learning the guitar, or the piano, or singing is not difficult. It's just time consuming. I'm all for using technology to make the world a more communicative and accessible place for everyone, but in terms of art, there's no satisfaction in having thousands of lines of code come up with the product for you. I don't even understand how some of these artists feel a sense of accomplishment about their "music," music has been bastardized by technology. Again: I'm not talking about Kanye here, while I don't like him or his music, he's an incredibly hard worker and is often taking chances with his art.

If someone has amazing musical ideas in their head, but lacks the proficiency on a guitar, violin, harp or whateverthefuckever else, why hold a grudge against him for using a medium that allows him to share his creations? Why does the difficulty of playing an instrument matter when judging how the music sounds? Just enjoy it for what it is.

If someone has amazing musical ideas in their head, it generally means they already have musical training of some sort. If you have musical knowledge/training, it's up to you to learn an instrument to communicate those ideas. Like others in this thread have alluded to, there's an emotional attribute to every single note a singer/guitarist/bassist plays on their instrument - the musician is literally producing and manipulating the sound themselves. You don't get that instantaneous satisfaction from pressing the space bar on your Mac - you may be really happy with the finished product, but the concept of "the performance" is lost.

Lack proficiency on guitar, violin, harp or whateverthefuckever else? Practice - it's really that simple. Pick up the instrument, and fuckin' play, a lot, until you're good. It's literally that simple (well not literally of course). The caveman/wheel example is irrelevant, we're not talking about making daily life activities easier, this is separate, I believe I adequately described why in the paragraphs above.

And your ending on "real musical talent lies in the brain"? I'm not opposed to that idea, but I'm also not convinced 100% by what you mean. Individuals probably have differing levels of natural talent, but I am unconvinced of how relevant that is. If you practice a lot, and you practice right, you will get good - it's that simple. Now in terms of creativity, you are right, not every single musician is blessed with good musical ideas, and of course, technically everything about us "lies in the brain," but is there a section of the brain that can be scientifically correlated to "good" musical ideas, or more specifically, "musical talent?" I'm not sure, it's an interesting discussion, hopefully someone here who knows a good bit about psychology could chime in.

Edited March 20, 2014 by OmarBradley

[Broskirose]

99% of guitar solos are pure shit. Thank god they died out.

Go listen to shitty pop and punk music

I don't listen to either.

[DR DOOM]

So we all hate guitar solos now?

Jeez, most of them are alright. I dig a good solo. Fuck you pretentious cunts.

Damn straight.

Trent "the king of teen angst" Reznor or Kanye Fucking West??? are cool and somehow not fucking embarrassing?

Yes, they are cool and not embarrassing. But it has nothing to do with solos or lack of solos. They make interesting and brilliant music.

The Emperor's new clothes, more like...

[Snake-Pit]

Give the nation what they want, something new?

[ZoSoRose]

Bollocks. Just what music needs eh, harking back to the past like a bunch of sad old gits pretending to be their own grandparents The guitar hero is an archaic and redundant archetype that, in 2014, is frankly quite embarassing. Rock n Roll is done, face it and move on.

Oh Lenny

[Johnny Drama]

Give the nation what they want, something new?

Did you seriously play the same lick for 7 minutes?

[AxlisOld]

Give the nation what they want, something new?

Please stop playing guitar. I don't mean this video, I just mean forever.

[sweetness]

[Johnny Drama]

Give the nation what they want, something new?

Please stop playing guitar. I don't mean this video, I just mean forever.

Learn your scales or this.

[bacardimayne]

That sounds like a really bad rendition of the Gary boss fight theme in Pokemon Red.

[Guest Len B'stard]

I tell you what, he's fuckin' miles better than me, i'd love to be able to play like that Actually, for a laugh I'm gonna post me playing the guitar, if i can figure out how to do it

[Johnny Drama]

As a way to support your point Lenny, just make up some bullshit power chord riff and odds are it will kick the shite outta Snake's cacophony.