What Are You Working On Right Now?

[Mikael Dez]

That was an excellent video - Matt is the only guitarist that makes me GAS for a Les Paul lol

 

[TSJMajesty]

That was an excellent video - Matt is the only guitarist that makes me GAS for a Les Paul lol

Idk why anyone would want to make playing hard shit on guitar any more difficult than it already is!

I have a Les Paul Custom, and lemme tell ya, the Majesty is orders-of-magnitude easier to play!

That's an old video. Does he still play one?

 

[Mikael Dez]

Idk why anyone would want to make playing hard shit on guitar any more difficult than it already is!

I have a Les Paul Custom, and lemme tell ya, the Majesty is orders-of-magnitude easier to play!

That's an old video. Does he still play one?

I think he’s always played one, he even has signature models. My PRS Hollowbody has a neck profile that’s very similar to a Les Paul and when I swap to the Majesty it’s like I’m taking a ride in a sports car lmao

 

[TSJMajesty]

I think he’s always played one, he even has signature models. My PRS Hollowbody has a neck profile that’s very similar to a Les Paul and when I swap to the Majesty it’s like I’m taking a ride in a sports car lmao

I can't play mine any more because of the TOM bridge. I'm now SO used the lower profile of the MM bridges. I especially like the one on my JR Cutlass 7. That cover on the Majesty seems to hinder my palm mutes, since I don't have a lot of flesh on that part of my hand. I'm overweight, but for some reason, there's no fat on my hands.

 

[Mikael Dez]

I can't play mine any more because of the TOM bridge. I'm now SO used the lower profile of the MM bridges. I especially like the one on my JR Cutlass 7. That cover on the Majesty seems to hinder my palm mutes, since I don't have a lot of flesh on that part of my hand. I'm overweight, but for some reason, there's no fat on my hands.

In case you’re curious, Matt talks a lot about his Les Paul choice in this article. The dude even uses the same Epiphone model in the studio and the stage: https://www.guitarworld.com/features/matt-heafy-trivium-epiphone-interview

The man can play and he’s not a cork sniffer, I can appreciate that!

I’ve taken that bridge cover off more than once lol

 

[Dave Lewis]

Currently working on Gary Moore's Parisienne Walkways
and all the techniques and chords involved
slow progress, but enjoying the ride

Easy to play but getting the feedback right takes some doing

 

[Sascha Franck]

Watching all you folks covering stuff and torturing yourself, I feel a big relief. I just never do any of these things but only play stuff that is comfortable with my hands and brain.
Absolutely nothing wrong with it, so keep going - but it's just not for me.

 

[Mikael Dez]

Watching all you folks covering stuff and torturing yourself, I feel a big relief. I just never do any of these things but only play stuff that is comfortable with my hands and brain.
Absolutely nothing wrong with it, so keep going - but it's just not for me.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

Watching all you folks covering stuff and torturing yourself, I feel a big relief. I just never do any of these things but only play stuff that is comfortable with my hands and brain.
Absolutely nothing wrong with it, so keep going - but it's just not for me.

Like you haven’t been than the same when you were younger.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Like you haven’t been than the same when you were younger.

I haven't. Outside of 4-5 transcriptions (transcribed myself, which was the tougher part) that I had to do while studying and a mere handful of (pretty easy) rhythm or solo passages, I never even just once played a transcribed solo.

 

[Mikael Dez]

I haven't. Outside of 4-5 transcriptions (transcribed myself, which was the tougher part) that I had to do while studying and a mere handful of (pretty easy) rhythm or solo passages, I never even just once played a transcribed solo.

Learning the solos to my favorite songs is a way more fun way for me to get to where I want to be (not that I don’t practice other exercises)

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

I haven't. Outside of 4-5 transcriptions (transcribed myself, which was the tougher part) that I had to do while studying and a mere handful of (pretty easy) rhythm or solo passages, I never even just once played a transcribed solo.

I sorta meant woodshedded.
And aren’t you also doing cover gigs?

 

[Sascha Franck]

Learning the solos to my favorite songs is a way more fun way for me to get to where I want to be (not that I don’t practice with music other exercises)

All fine, but it never had any appeal for me.

I sorta meant woodshedded.

Sure, been there. But I did it "on my own", so to say.

And aren’t you also doing cover gigs?

Sure. But the things I have to play 1:1 are nothing outstanding. It's stuff I can almost instantly play. In addition, I'm typically playing the kind of "corporate gigs" where there's little 1:1 covering required. IOW, we're usually allowed to at least kind of make things our own. Sure, there's always certain parts that need to be there, think the guitar pattern in "Le Freak", but that's nothing requiring any torturing.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Learning the solos to my favorite songs is a way more fun way for me to get to where I want to be (not that I don’t practice with music other exercises)

Absolutely! I fucking love seeing the tremendous progress I've made the past several years.

Hell, it makes me ecstatic to be able to rip a Gm, 16th-note lick @ 160 bpm!

Yeah, that's right. I said it- I love being able to play fast shit now. I never used to be able to.

Yes, it can be frustrating at times. Many rewarding learning experiences are. And it sure AF ain't torture!

 

[TSJMajesty]

Actually, playing a bunch of songs that don't challenge me..., now that would be torture.

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

To me, the very best part of playing is when I get over the challenge/learning hump and can start adding in my own attitude, inflections, etc. I do reach for plenty of low hanging fruit, but that stuff gives me a faster path to the part that I love the most! And I am not doing it to impress anyone (myself included) or nail a lick exactly as the original artist did, but rather to enjoy what I am doing ;~)) And I am having a BLAST!!!

 

[Mikael Dez]

Actually, playing a bunch of songs that don't challenge me..., now that would be torture.

Yeah I get real bored real easy in that case

 

[Sascha Franck]

Well, for me it's not about challenging or not challenging but all about playing my own ideas of whatever it might be, not someone else's.

 

[TSJMajesty]

And another part I love about learning challenging things on the guitar, is that I can play other challenging things on the guitar. Or to put it another way, I can do more.

Like that Trivium song Dez posted above..., I pulled that up and just played it. (Not the sextuplet riff, but the intro.) And I could play it because of the time I spent working on Overture 1928 (Dream Theater, of course. )

I could've just sat for hours on end practicing picking sextuplets on a single note, but it was much more fun using an actual song by my favorite band, to hone that picking instead.

And riffs/songs/solos come to me easier.

New things that I want to play come much more easily than they ever did. I'm more well-rounded as a result.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I could've just sat for hours on end practicing picking sextuplets on a single note

I never do any such things, either.