NeilES335

Good progress @Adam429 Speed is good, but clean, clear notes are really more important. Focus on that, and with repetition and practice the speed will come, and your playing will sound much better. Keep it up... N

So, let's hear some more songs in February folks. If you're hesitant, there's no need. This isn't really a,'competition ' per se, but for (as Mandy says) an opportunity for your development. The gear isn't that expensive (an interface for plugging guitar and/or mic into your computer, some headphones and DAW software, like REAPER). Go on, give it a shot 🎸

@grzyman12 There is no "hard and fast rule" for this, however, I would say with 1/8th notes you should be getting accustomed to "alternate picking" (down and up ) as you do this exercise. One string or different strings... no matter. Later when you play at quicker tempos, you'll want to be used to alternate picking. You can also experiment with "all down" picking too, as this does provide a slightly different tone. All the Best! N

It was my privilege to play this "virtual duet" with the great jazz guitarist and teacher, Frank Vignola. This is part of a student ensemble collaboration in production by Frank's and student's at the "Jazz Studio" on Truefire.com. This ensemble will likely appear on YouTube in the near future. I played the melody. Frank provide the excellent rhythm part and solo. A popular 1920's "Jazz Standard" , "If I Had You" is a 1928 song by "Irving King" (Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly) with Ted Shapiro. Early hit versions in 1929 were by Rudy Vallée and Al Bowlly.[1] Many other artists have recorded the song over the years. More modern recordings were by such greats as Frank Sinatra, Diana Krall, Sarah Vaughan, and Nat King Cole. A classic! In case your wondering this was recorded direct into Reaper DAW through my Scarlet 2i2 interface, with my Gibson ES335.

@Nutty 1On behalf of the Guitar Gathering "Family", I wish to THANK YOU, MANDY, for your contribution to our site. I'm sure many folks looked forward to hearing the "Recording Challenge" you administered, and are very appreciative too. God Bless; Neil Welcome to our friend @Wim VD1 to the post! I'm sure you'd do an excellent job!

@MrStig91 Welcome back! Going back to the start and going through the lessons is a great idea. Chances are you've forgotten some things, or missed some important skills. You're coming up on some critical sections which will involve some study, time and effort. Don't let it deter you! Create a daily practice routine, and stick with it. You'll see excellent results over time. Once Steve recovers from illness, tune into Live Lessons regularly. All the Best; Neil

All Benedetto Guitars are "custom made" to order, in a sense, although they do occasionally have a few "professional series" guitars in stock vs the very high end totally made to order "flagship " series. The Pro series has a laminated top for greater resistance to feedback and is designed for discerning players or gigging musicians. The "flagship" series is a totally solid wood top guitar, in several models. (ranging in price from $12,000 to $40,000 USD. The absolute finest of materials, and superb workmanship, every one is a work of art. Personally I'd be quite happy with a Pro series model. I think I might have some mop inlay work on the ebony tailpiece and or headstock, a custom nameplate truss rod cover, and possibly some small custom mop inlay fret markets, as these are made without fret markers except the 12th fret and side dots. The hardware is already gold and tuners with ebony buttons so there's not really that much to do to the existing models. They start at about $6500. USD Thats about $10k for me, plus delivery. hmm... https://benedettoguitars.com/guitars/professional-series/bravo-deluxe™/ https://benedettoguitars.com/

Well here it is going on a year from when I started this thread.. I still have the 4 guitars I had then. One of them, ( a 1968 Ovation),I've owned for 51 years:-! It doesn't get played a lot but sounds better than ever. I rotate the others, but lately I play my ES335 the most. A new one? The g.a.s. isn't very strong at the moment... unless... maybe you're talking about a Benedetto custom made to order jazz guitar...;-) (with eye watering 5 figure $$$ price tag)

Well, its' been about 2 yrs or so, since I started on the recording journey, and this topic. (hard to believe) I've recorded about 15 songs now, many of which are linked here on this site, and on my SoundCloud account. I've been using my Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 Interface, with my guitar, which is plugged in directly to my PC computer, using the headphones I got with the "Kit" and "Reaper" as a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). There are lots of choices for gear, like interfaces, and headphones, and monitor speakers and DAW's, so it can feel a bit daunting at first, BUT, take heart... you'll get it in the end. And the gear cost is quite reasonable too...you can do it for under $300CDN or about $250USD. for good gear. With Focusrite, a lot of the software, DAW's etc are included. (Reaper is a free download, with a "suggested" license fee of $80 +/-) I tried a pair of Macie "studio monitor" speakers, but didn't like the sound, so I returned them and just use the Focusrite headphones. I can use and produce songs in multiple tracks, (I play my own rhythm track and play the melody over top of it), edit the song and render it to a format that can be used on music players, SoundCloud etc. (.wav, mp3 etc...) And it's not just about recording songs. It's an excellent practice tool too. But in no way am I an expert at it! There are hours and hours of really good training videos on their site however, which make the process pretty easy to understand. It does take time and some effort like most good things... I'd say without reservation, it's one of the best things I've done, as far as learning and playing guitar is concerned. If you're considering it, just DO IT!

Thanks for the comment and the tip Wim. Much appreciated 🙂 Neil

Well said Henk... thank you. Re; timing, I did find the 3/4 " jazz waltz" timing on this song quite challenging, requiring numerous 'takes'. Using the metronome usually is best, but in this case it hampered the 'groove'. So, I just tap the foot and count and it sounds better.

For my theme of ' Hope, Peace, & Love ' this month ... "What the World Needs Now Is Love" is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. First recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon, it was released on April 15, 1965, on the Imperial label after a release on sister label Liberty records the previous month was canceled. It peaked at number seven on the US Hot 100 in July of that year.[1] In Canada, the song reached number one. (Wikipedia) My cover of this very popular song, that I think is just as appropriate today as it was in 1965. I hope you enjoy it! All the Best! Neil ps the back story for the song makes interesting reading; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_the_World_Needs_Now_Is_Love

Yes @Jay.A this one; https://gx169.infusionsoft.app/app/storeFront/showProductDetail?productId=5 Be sure to get the Bonus Book too; https://gx169.infusionsoft.app/app/storeFront/showProductDetail?productId=13 Yes I would agree that FOCUS is essential to learning guitar well, and you should stick with this program and NOT divert from it too much. Steve does say that you can use other "resources" like Song Hits, or Easy Pop Melodies https://gx169.infusionsoft.app/app/storeFront/showProductDetail?productId=45 for example, BUT the MAIN FOCUS should be the core course. You can supplement this with Live Lessons. Some of our graduates like Collin Hill have gone onto professional /semi-professional careers in music. With the discipline you're accustomed to, you should do very well. All the Best! Neil

Welcome @Jay.A ! You picked a great guitar family for your 🎸learning journey👍. Your experince of a long hiatus and return to guitàr is like many folks here including me. For a course of study I highly recommend Stdve Steve Krenz's Learn and Master Guitar program.. As a graduate of the course, I started about 9 yrs ago basically from scratch and am now playing at an advanced level. You can too. THE course is available in our store here. Dont forget to check out Live Lessons with Steve , on our You Tube channel! Enjoy the journey; Neil

Hey, Thanks @IanD I appreciate the comment😊. I did try to blend the 2 styles a bit... Once you play 🎸Jazz, you never go completely back!

Old Gibson amps are quite sought after... I've wondered why they got out of the amp business years ago. I guess they couldnt compete with Fender. Mesa has a good reputation and it's a good fit business wise. Not my style of amp, but I hope Gibson make a go it.

Some would say, "What? Neil playing a pop song. Not Jazz? " Weil, yes. This one was a request from my dear wife, who is a big Bee Gee's fan. " How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" was the Gibb's first BIG hit in North America. It is the longest song I've recorded to date; over 3 minutes of continuous playing. I played both the rhythm and melody. The Bee Gees rarely performed the song the same way twice! This one is as close to a live performance as I could get, including what seems to be an extra bar on the last chorus. I used my ES335 direct to Reaper DAW, with very little effects added ( a touch of reverb, that's about it). I hope you enjoy it : - )) All the Best! Neil

Hi @Triple-o Congratulations on your progress to Session 18 in the Learn and Master Guitar course! This is an accomplishment in itself, as it's the very dedicated students who make it there. I recall a quote (author unknown to me) about Jazz... "Jazz is... MORE". What does this mean? Well, I found it means exactly that. More chords, more melodies, more harmonies, more scales, more arpeggios, and best of all, more Songs! Don't let this intimidate you... its a wonderful world of discovery! Your guitar playing will start to sound like something special, something others will want to listen too! In this area, and at this level, the best thing you can do for yourself and your guitar playing, especially Jazz, is; LEARN SONGS! Enjoy the ride! All the Best for 2021; Neil ps. You could also describe Jazz as "Colours" (Canadian spelling!) As in "colour tones" like 9ths, 11ths. 13th, #9's, b9's etc...

Well done sir!

Congratulations @V7#5b9 ! Yes, it's true. There is nothing like the real deal. I've had mine since 2011 ( ' 63 Memphis ReIssue Heritage Cherry figured top, dot inlay) and I've Never regretted it for a second. It is just so good, so versitile, It's hard to put it down. (Most of my posted recordings on this site and SoundCloud are played with it) Initially I was a bit shy on th cost too (especially in Canada where we pay at least 25% more CDN$ in USD exchange rate plus 13% tax) , but I also reminded myself that these guitars not only retain their value, but tend to go up in value over time. (The replacement cost now is almost $1000 higher. ) Quality instruments are meant for a lifetime. Enjoy! Neil

@3rdwaveriderGreat David! Some very mellow lines and improvising too... nice recording as well. N (one day I'll figure out how to insert a drum track in my recordings)

Hi Wim; thank you so much... I have worked at it, so it's nice to know that it's yielding some results. I haven't been much for using a metronome in the past, but I found especially for recording it's a real necessity and a valuable asset. I've really noticed your playing progress too... whereas I've focused on jazz you've branched out to all sorts of genre's which makes you a very good all-around player. Well done Sir! N

@3rdwaverider @Nutty 1 and others who gave me a Like; thank you so much for your kind comments. @3rdwaverider I especially appreciate the feedback. These points are just what I've been working on... clear articulation of each note, allowing the right notes to ring out, others muted as appropriate. I should also mention, credit for this arrangement goes to the great contemporary jazz guitarist, Frank Vignola, Truefire Jazz Studio. ps.@3rdWaverider I did post a Beatles song previously; "Till there Was You"

@Simira @Mike Hoodenpyle @Wim VD1 and those who gave me a thumbs up, Thank you for your kind comments. N

I realise this isn't the Beatles... but it is a Christmas Song. My little contribution to the Christmas season; a recording of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". I hope you enjoy it, and it spreads a little joy to you and yours. I'm Dedicating this recording to my Dear Mother, who went to be with the Lord, 4years ago this week. Mom loved Christmas so much and made it very special for all of us. God Bless; Neil (see MP3 attached file below) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas-003.mp3