Monster producers Steve Evetts (Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die) and Chris “Zeuss” Harris (Shadows Fall, Rob Zombie) share their secrets on gear, gain, pedals, layering, microphones, and more.
You’ve got the heaviest band on the scene, yet—when it comes time to record—it seems like that magic isn’t translating to the hard drive. Instead, you’re getting an anemic sound that’s a paltry representation of the carnage your band is destined to deliver. If this reads like a familiar scenario, you’re not alone.
To guide you along the path of capturing crushing tones on a recording, Premier Guitar has enlisted the aide of Steve Evetts and Chris “Zeuss” Harris, two of the most sought-after producers in modern metal. Evetts is the madman behind recordings by the Dillinger Escape Plan, Sepultura, and the Wonder Years, to name just a few. He also runs an online course called Studio Pass through creativelive.com. Meanwhile, Zeuss’ magic touch has graced the output of Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, Rob Zombie, and Queensrÿche, among many others. Both of these legends will take us through the various ingredients needed to first get a killer sound—offering their own personal gear preferences—then they’ll give us insider tips on properly recording these sounds and turning out a big-boned sonic masterpiece.
Gearing Up
Whether you’re a longtime recordist with a studio full of amps or a beginner looking to make your first big purchase, a good starting point is to check out what gear the pros use. This will give you an idea of some typical setups that always deliver. “It all depends on the sound you’re looking for,” said Evetts. “Generally Mesa/Boogie Mark Vs sound great, and so do original Peavey 5150s. Ibanez Tube Screamers are always a staple distortion pedal. But, the idea is to make up your own mind. If everyone used all the same gear, it would get incredibly boring!”
Zeuss also opts for some proven classics. “A go-to that always works is a Marshall and 4x12 cabs—most of the time with Celestions. It could be Vintage 30s or 75s,” says Zeuss. “I really love the JCM800s from 1986 and earlier, as well as the JMPs. But that’s not to say I don’t believe in the modern high-gain amps, too. I really love the new EVH head. I just had an Engl Ritchie Blackmore head in here, and I thought that was outstanding. I like the old VHTs … those are really cool.”
If you’re more an iPad-generation type, digital tools like Fractal Audio’s Axe-Fx and the Kemper Profiler, in addition to countless plug-ins, offer a practical way to capture gigantic sounds easily. It took guitarists a while to warm up to modeling amps, but now they are everywhere. They’re an essential tool and a first choice for many of today’s producers, including Periphery’s Misha Mansoor, a big proponent of the Axe-Fx who has captained albums for Animals as Leaders and Born of Osiris.
—Chris “Zeuss” Harris
For every new convert, however, there are many that still stand by the classic analog approach that’s worked for decades. “I’m not a fan of modeling amps,” says Evetts. “But I have mixed albums made with them and they sounded decent enough.”
Zeuss also defaults to a more traditional approach. “For me, it’s essential to mike an actual cab with an actual amp, and the guitar player’s pedals or whatnot,” he explains. “There are units like the Kemper and the Axe-Fx, and some guys prefer that—you can just plug into a box, and there’s your sound. But I’m definitely a microphone-on-a-guitar-cabinet guy—it could be a Crate or a Marshall or a Diezel. Sometimes the tone is awful and I don’t like it, but I’m, like, ‘This is that guy’s sound.’ I’m all about capturing the artist’s identity, regardless of what amp it is.” He adds, “If you can’t afford microphones, there are plug-ins, like AmpliTube, which I own and use here and there, and which can get you by.”
In addition to replicating the sounds of amps, today’s modelers offer excellent cabinet simulation and impulse responses, which model speaker profiles. But if you need to actually feel air moving from speakers, a good compromise some artists have used is to blast a modeler through a cab. Still, Zeuss isn’t totally convinced that that’s the best way: “I’ve tried those units through cabinets. If you’re emulating an amp and putting it through a power amp and a cabinet, something’s just not there, to me. It will get by and it works, but the point of the boxes is to not have to mike a cab.”
Low Gain, No Pain
It’s easy to assume that if you want the biggest tone you get the biggest amps. After all, there must be a reason for all those humongous stacks you associate with the heaviest bands on the planet. But that’s not always the best approach. Sometimes you’ll get better results with a lower-powered setup. “There are times when you want to push an amp and the cabinet will break up in a certain way and give you a certain push that you can’t get when the amp is quiet,” says Zeuss. “I’ve also found that amps break up differently with different wattages. For example, if I had a 25-watt amp, it’s going to break up faster before you turn it up. You start to turn it up and it’s already saturating, whereas with a 100-watt amp, it’s going to take a little bit more—although the higher-gain amps now, even at a quiet volume, sound pretty damn good. It really all comes down to how much of a breakup or push the cabinet might be adding to the sound, and it changes the tone as well. I just use my ear.”
Sometimes the best amp tones are driven by stompboxes like the Ibanez Tube Screamer and the MXR Wylde Overdrive—two of Zeuss’ favorite pedals.
These considerations particularly come into play when dealing with the extended range sounds of newer metal bands. “For some of the lower tuning stuff—7- and 8-string—having it at a lower volume with maybe a lower wattage amp sounds better,” says Zeuss. “When you have a guitar tuned really low, the frequencies are falling in a spot where the speakers can’t physically take it as well as a higher-up-tuned guitar. When the amp is at a lower volume you get the full spectrum of the tone. Turn it up, and the speaker can barely take it because there’s so much low frequency. It’s making the actual cabinet work harder, yet you’re not really hearing that extra extension of low end.”
And when you’re going that low, some precautions are needed to balance the bass against these guitars that are invading its sonic territory. Evetts says, “It all depends on the tuning and if the player plays with his pick or his fingers. Generally, in the metal world I tend to add a bit of distortion to the bass to give it a bit of bite and to help cut through super-low tunings.”
Okay, so we’ve deduced that you don’t need to always have the loudest amp in the studio to generate bitchin’ tones. But even if the amp isn’t an over-powered, beast, do you need to crank the gain to get that massive wall of sound? “If I work with a band that plays a lot of notes,” relates Zeuss, “I feel that a little bit lower gain would be beneficial because all the notes will pop out better in a mix and won’t be so mushy. With a band like Revocation or one of the more melodic, shreddy guitar players, a little bit less gain works better. But then there are other guitar players or other styles of music, like [sludge-metal band] Crowbar, where you want tons of overloaded gain that will glue together the whole riff.”
Chris “Zeuss” Harris warms up on his Jackson before a gig with his own heavyweight band, Doom Nation. “I like specific pedals to overdrive the sound,” he says.
Pedals to the Metal
The right amps or amp modelers are crucial to crafting a fundamental sound, but they’re not the only element in the tone-sculpting chain. Zeuss says, “I also like specific pedals to overdrive the sound. I always find a tone that seems to work to my liking that way. I’m currently using a Dead Horse Overdrive by Pro Tone Pedals that I absolutely love. Other ones that I like are the Maxon Overdrive Pro and the MXR Zakk Wylde Overdrive.”
The beauty of using pedals is that they can be either the sole source of dirt or used to push an already raging amp. There’s no single best way. “Sometimes with a lower-gain amp, you’re using that to create more of the distortion or saturation,” says Zeuss. “The pedal is creating most of the gain. I like this method because every pedal gives it a little different characteristic and gives you more of a unique sound. I could change to a brand-X overdrive or fuzz and it’s like, ‘Whoa!’—you’ve got another sound. Sometimes a pedal in front of the amp kind of compresses it a little bit and tightens it up.”
Once a core sound is established, a little processing can take you a long way in terms of fleshing things out. Zeuss notes, “Usually on a lead solo, I’ll have a little bit of delay and a tiny bit of reverb. If a guy is going to do a solo and be, like, ‘Give me some effects,’ I’ll put in a little bit of plug-in reverb and plug-in delay, and that works perfectly fine.”
Given how prevalent plug-ins are in studio environments, and considering their ability to precisely dial in parameters, are they the best option when recording? Or is your beloved Memory Man, for example, still viable? “I love pedal delays as well as plug-ins,” admits Zeuss. “But unless it’s something special, I’ll use the pedal. Like a brand-X analog pedal that has crazy flavor that you’ll never get in a plug-in—I’ll track it like that because the artist is actually feeling the part.”
The caveat with using pedal-based delays is that most don’t offer the ability to precisely calibrate delay times. At best, you’ll get in the ballpark. But Zeuss explains that it’s not necessary to always be clinically precise. “Sometimes that’s what makes it cool—you get as close as you can. I’m a very ‘it doesn’t have to be perfect’ type of person. On the best records ever—for example, a Led Zeppelin record—Jimmy Page would come out of nowhere with this sound, and if you heard that by itself, you be like, ‘That sounds like crap.’ But it made the part work. So sometimes it’s like the delay is barely repeating on the beat, but it’s cool.
“A lot of producers, new-school guys, are leaving it for the end,” Zeuss continues. “They’re recording direct from the guitar. I think that’s cool, and it works for certain situations, but to me, since I also just mix records, sometimes people hand me a direct signal and say, ‘Get me my sound.’ It’s like, ‘How do I know what you sound like? Why are you leaving it up to me to make you sound like how I’d want?’”
Spot-On Miking
Once you’ve got an amp and effects rig, the next step is to get a quality microphone. After all, that’s the device that captures your sound. An essential microphone for both Zeuss and Evetts is the workhorse Shure SM57, which can serve as a foundation, even as you add in other microphones.
“My favorites are a Shure SM57 and a Sennheiser MD 421,” says Zeuss. “Those are my go-tos.” But experimentation is always encouraged. “I have tried other microphones,” he continues. “Sometimes I’ve even taken a condenser microphone and pointed it, like, maybe two feet away from the cabinet and at the center, and I’ve gotten a great sound that way. These days, I find that less is more. If I just put one 57 on one speaker, I can get the tone in 10 minutes, as opposed to having 50 microphones on a cabinet and you spend three days looking for this sound that you could have gotten in 10 minutes.”
Evetts prefers to record with real amps pushing speaker cabinets. His own in-studio rack includes Friedman, Naked, Bogner, and Vox heads. He also likes Mesa/Boogie Mark Vs and original Peavey 5150s.
Microphone placement is critical in determining the sonic characteristic of a recording. Evetts offers several tips: “Center of the cone is obviously going to get you a brighter sound, and it gets darker as you go away from the center. But, again, like twiddling knobs, just move the microphone until it sounds good. Obviously if you’re doing it all yourself it’s a little more difficult, because you gotta move it, come back in and listen, and move it. If you have somebody there helping, you can have him move the microphone while you’re playing and listening to the way the sound changes, because every little fraction of an inch makes a difference in the sound. You don’t even need any EQ. You can get all the EQ you need by literally moving the microphone around and changing the angle.”
In addition to setting microphones at the right spots, there are several other things to take into consideration. “The phasing has got to be right going in,” Evetts notes of the sound phenomenon that occurs when recording two or more “versions” of the same sound via multiple microphones. Due to the different sonic qualities imparted by even minute positioning variances—even with two mics of the same make—the waveforms from both mics will not arrive at the listener’s ears perfectly matched (i.e., they will be out of phase), so careful attention must be paid to placing the mikes at distances and angles that strengthen rather than weaken the overall impact of the guitar performance. “You gotta check it. If you’re dealing with two microphone sources on two different speakers or whatever, they’re never going to be 100 percent phase-aligned. The idea is to move stuff around so the phase works for you. As long as it sounds good, there’s no right or wrong. I blend everything to one track anyway—even if I’m using four microphones. I don’t leave options open for later, because I grew up making records on tape and I’m used to having a limited amount of tracks—even though I have plenty now with Pro Tools or whatever. But it’s about committing: getting it right, getting it down, and not giving yourself 8,000 options later. That’s not a good idea.”
Listen Up
Gear and microphone placement are critical, but they are nothing without ears and savvy judgment—both of which develop and evolve over time, just like guitar playing. Evetts says, “You gotta check things on multiple sources to make sure they translate. It’s about referencing against something else so you’re not recording in a bubble. Compare what you’re recording against other records—and listen on the speakers you’re actually tracking with to see if you’re somewhere in the ballpark. You’re obviously not trying to rip off the sound, but you’ve got to at least be in the ballpark, in terms of quality, tone, and whatever. If you’re not, try something different.”
Zeuss adds, “The biggest mistake some engineers make is they put a bunch of microphones on a guitar cabinet and then they go into the control room and start listening to all of these microphones. But what does it really sound like? Sometimes it sounds awful and you’re miking up an awful sound. I’ve seen some A-list engineers do that and I never understood it. What I’ll do is listen in the control room to see how the microphone hears it. But my brain also heard it in the amp room with my ears, so I know what it really sounds like.”
The makeup of the room also has an impact on the sound. “You could have a tight room and your guitar sounds a certain way, or you could have a big open room and you’ve got a whole ’nother sound there,” says Zeuss. “The floor also has a lot to do with your sound. If it’s wood or hollow, you’re gonna get more of a low-end response. If it’s concrete or stone, you’re gonna get less low-end resonance.”
Zeuss hangs with Rob Zombie guitarist and solo artist John 5. “If a guy is going to do a solo and be, like, ‘Give me some effects,’ I’ll put in a little bit of plug-in reverb and plug-in delay, and that works perfectly fine,” he observes.
Double Up
There aren’t too many absolutes in recording, but virtually every producer worth his or her salt chooses to double guitar tracks in the studio. “I don’t think anybody just does one track on an album, except for maybe Eddie Van Halen. He’s the only guy that I personally know of that does one track. I still like two guitar tracks—left and right—for rhythm, double tracked,” says Zeuss. Evetts adds, “For the most part, we’ll double up the rhythm guitar if it’s a single guitar player. Sometimes you’re doubling up each guy’s parts [in a double-guitar band], so you’re making four tracks.”
When double-tracking, using different tones for the same parts is another way to get things to sound more multi-dimensional. “That will generally make the sound bigger,” says Evetts, “and each sound will fill in holes left by the other sound. Too much of the exact same sound can actually make things sound smaller once you start stacking things on top of each other.”
Bands with more than one guitar player can utilize several approaches in order to thicken things. The obvious course is to have both guitarists chunk away on the same part. You can also get creative and find different ways for both guitarists to express the same musical sentiment: power chords paired with octaves, high versus low registers, etc. “Have the different players try not to imitate each other,” says Evetts. “Sometimes you can split the voicings up between chords, which will make it sound bigger. You still want to play tight, but the variation between the two players will make it sound bigger.
Evetts also posits that dynamics—contrasts in volume, attack, double tracking, etc.—are hugely important, even in aggressive music. “Sometimes [having constant heaviness] can be a cool thing, but for the most part, you want to pick your spot to make the parts have impact.” Zeuss offers his take: “I’ve cut it back to where I’ll bring in some additional guitars in sections of the song to elevate them, rather than say, ‘Okay, do this three times for the left and three times for the right.’ It doesn’t really make the big picture any bigger if you have your left guitar and your right guitar for the whole song. [I prefer something like], ‘Okay, the chorus comes in here—so let’s bring in two more guitars, maybe with a little less gain,’ because it will elevate the part. Then, when it comes out of the chorus, it goes back to your left and right. I get more of an impact in the song when I do it that way.”
Evetts’ resume includes the Dillinger Escape Plan’s latest, 2013’s One of Us Is the Killer, and albums by Sepultura, Hatebreed, the Wonder Years, M.O.D., and Symphony X.
The Reduction Deduction
Many players have heard about guitarists who layer endless numbers of tracks to create a supposedly never-before-heard, massive wall of sound. But there is a point at which extra layers become a liability. First, there’s the obvious. “It can work,” says Evetts, “but it’s also very time consuming.” Then there are the unintended consequences of excessive layering. “If you’re going to layer parts, you need to be conscious about a lot of things: tone, timing, register of the notes you’re playing, chord inversions. If you’re playing everything in the same register, layering will usually make everything smaller because there’s only so much sonic space things can have.”
So how many layers are optimal? Zeuss suggests two. “One left and one right for rhythm sounds fine to me. I’ve done records where I’ve done six tracks with different tones and you try to make this monster wall of sound. Sometimes that works, but sometimes it doesn’t add anything in the end.”
The Final Cut
Despite all the facets of recording we’ve discussed—from guitar gear to mics, miking, and layering—in the end these two incredibly experienced producers agree on a point that simultaneously sounds empty and cliché and like a big “duh.”
“It’s got to be up to the player,” says Evetts. “Turn knobs and don’t be afraid to trust your ears. Don’t rely on a setting—like, ‘This setting will produce this tone.’ There are some guidelines, but for the most part, turn knobs until it sounds good. I have stated in many other interviews and classes that tone comes from your hands! The best metal guitarists will make a bad practice amp sound heavy just from how they play the guitar. And the other thing is, record until it feels right. Don’t look at the damn screen. That’s a huge thing and it happens constantly! Recording used to be about listening to what’s coming out of the speakers. Now it’s about what it looks like on the screen.”
YouTube It
Producer Steve Evetts and the Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ben Weinman explain effective microphone placement for guitars amps in the studio.
And if you still can’t get what you’re looking for, it might be time to call in the big boys. “Sometimes it takes a professional to do it,” says Zeuss. “I’m not against people doing it at home—that’s how I learned. What people forget is that an engineer and a producer lets you worry about your music and not worry about the technicality of it. People are cutting that out now, and that’s why you’re hearing bad songs and bad bands.”
PRS Guitars launches the CE 22 Limited Edition, featuring a 22-fret, 25” scale length, mahogany body, maple top, and vintage-inspired 58/15 LT pickups. With only 1,000 made, this model offers classic PRS aesthetics and a blend of warmth and bolt-on articulation for vintage-inspired tone and modern versatility.
PRS Guitars today announced the launch of the CE 22 Limited Edition. Only 1,000 will be made, marking the brief return of a 22-fret version of this bolt-on mainstay. The 22-fret, 25” scale length CE 22 Limited Edition combines a mahogany body and maple top with a bolt-on maple neck. The guitar is outfitted with PRS’s vintage-inspired 58/15 LT pickups, push/pull tone control, three-way toggle switch, and PRS locking tuners with wing buttons.
“This limited-edition, 22-fret model in our CE line offers classic PRS aesthetics and a voice that blends warmth with bolt-on articulation for vintage-inspired tone and modern versatility,” said PRS Guitars Director of Manufacturing, Paul Miles.
The original CE, with 24 frets, first appeared in stores in 1988 and offered players PRS design and quality with the added snap and response of traditional bolt-on guitars. It wasn’t until 1994 that a 22-fret version debuted, just a few months after the release of the Custom 22. Last in stores in 2008, this refreshed CE 22 Limited Edition marks the model’s return to the market.
With a unique combination of specs, the CE 22 Limited Edition is a different animal from the CE 24. These differences include the model of pickups, placement of pickups, and, of course, the number of frets. That is all while retaining the CE family’s combination of maple and mahogany, nitro finish, PRS Patented Tremolo and Phase III Locking Tuners.
The limited-edition model comes in Black Amber, Carroll Blue, Faded Blue Smokeburst, Faded Gray Black and McCarty Sunburst.
For more information, please visit prsguitars.com.
CE 22 Limited Edition | Demo | PRS Guitars - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Delicious, dynamic fuzz tones that touch on classic themes without aping them. Excellent quality. Super-cool and useful octave effect.
Can’t mix and match gain modes.
$349
Great Eastern FX Co. Focus Fuzz Deluxe
Adding octave, drive, and boost functions to an extraordinary fuzz yields a sum greater than its already extraordinary parts.
One should never feel petty for being a musical-instrument aesthete. You can make great music with ugly stuff, but you’re more likely to get in the mood for creation when your tools look cool. Great Eastern FX’s Focus Fuzz Deluxe, an evolution of their très élégantFocus Fuzz, is the sort of kit you might conspicuously keep around a studio space just because it looks classy and at home among design treasures likeRoland Space Echoes, Teletronix LA-2As, andblonde Fender piggyback amps. But beneath the FFD’s warmly glowing Hammerite enclosure dwells a multifaceted fuzz and drive that is, at turns, beastly, composed, and unique. Pretty, it turns out, is merely a bonus.
Forks in the Road
Though the Cambridge, U.K.-built FFD outwardly projects luxuriousness, it derives its “deluxe” status from the addition of boost, overdrive, and octave functions that extend an already complex sound palette. Unfortunately, a significant part of that fuzzy heart is a Soviet-era germanium transistor that is tricky to source and limited the original Focus Fuzz production to just 250 units. For now, the Focus Fuzz Deluxe will remain a rare bird. Great Eastern founder David Greaves estimates that he has enough for 400 FFDs this time out. Hopefully, the same dogged approach to transistor sourcing that yielded this batch will lead to a second release of this gem, and on his behalf we issue this plea: “Transistor hoarders, yield your troves to David Greaves!”
The good news is that the rare components did not go to waste on compromised craft. The FFD’s circuit is executed with precision on through-hole board, with the sizable Soviet transistor in question hovering conspicuously above the works like a cross between a derby hat and B-movie flying saucer. If the guts of the FFD fail to allay doubts that you’re getting what you paid for, the lovingly designed enclosure and robust pots and switches—not to mention the pedal’s considerable heft—should take care of whatever reticence remains.
Hydra in Flight
Just as in the original Focus Fuzz, the fuzz section in the Deluxe deftly walks an ideal path between a germanium Fuzz Face’s weight and presence, a Tone Bender’s lacerating ferocity, and the focus of a Dallas Rangemaster. You don’t have to strain to hear that distillate of elements. But even if you can’t easily imagine that combination, what you will hear is a fuzz that brims with attitude without drowning in saturation. There’s lots of dynamic headroom, you’ll feel the touch responsiveness, and you’ll sense the extra air that makes way for individual string detail and chord overtones. It shines with many different types of guitars and amps, too. I was very surprised at the way it rounded off the sharp edges made by a Telecaster bridge pickup and AC15-style combo while adding mass and spunk. The same amp with a Gibson SG coaxed out the Tony Iommi-meets-Rangemaster side of the fuzz. In any combination, the fuzz control itself, which boosts gain while reducing bias voltage (both in very tasteful measure) enhances the vocabulary of the guitar/amp pairing. That range of color is made greater still by the fuzz’s sensitivity to guitar volume and tone attenuation and touch dynamics. Lively clean tones exist in many shades depending on your guitar volume, as do rich low-gain overdrive sounds.
The drive section is similarly dynamic, and also quite unique thanks to the always versatile focus control, which adds slight amounts of gain as well as high-mid presence. At advanced focus levels, the drive takes on a fuzzy edge with hints of Fender tweed breakup and more Black Sabbath/Rangemaster snarl. It’s delicious stuff with Fender single-coils and PAFs, and, just as with the fuzz, it’s easily rendered thick and clean with a reduction in guitar volume or picking intensity. The boost, meanwhile, often feels just as lively and responsive—just less filthy—lending sparkle and mass to otherwise thin and timid combo amp sounds.
Among this wealth of treats, the octave function is a star. It works with the fuzz, drive, or boost. But unlike a lot of octave-up effects, you needn’t approach it with caution. Though it adds plenty of the buzzing, fractured, and ringing overtones that make octave effects so wild and distinct, it doesn’t strip mine low end from the signal. The extra balance makes it feel more musical under the fingers and even makes many chords sound full and detailed—a trick few octave effects can manage. With the fuzz, the results are concise, burly, and articulate single notes that lend themselves to lyrical, melodic leads and power chords. In drive-plus-octave mode, there are many hues of exploding practice-amp trash to explore. The boost and the octave may be my favorite little gem among the FFD’s many jewels, though. Adding the octave to boosted signals with a generous heap of focus input yields funky, eccentric electric-sitar tones that pack a punch and are charged with character in their fleeting, flowering state.
The Verdict
It’s hard to imagine adding extra footswitches to the Focus Fuzz Deluxe without sacrificing its basic elegance and proportions, and without elevating its already considerable price. Certainly, there would be real utility in the ability to mix and match all three excellent gain modes. On the other hand, the output level differences between fuzz, drive, and boost are pretty uniform, meaning quick switches on the fly will shift texture and attitude dramatically without delivering an ear-frying 30 dB boost. And though it’s hard not be tantalized by sounds that might have been, from combining the fuzz and/or boost and drive circuits, the myriad tones that can be sourced by blending any one of them with the superbly executed octave effect and the varied, rangeful focus and output controls will keep any curious tone spelunker busy for ages. For most of them, I would venture, real treasure awaits.
Why is Tommy’s take on “Day Tripper” so hard? And what song would Adam Miller never play with him? Plus, we get Adam’s list of favorite Tommy Emmanuel records.
We call guitarist Adam Miller in the middle of the night in Newcastle, Australia, to find out what it’s like to play with Certified Guitar Player, Tommy Emmanuel. Miller tells us just how famous Tommy is in Australia, and what it was like hearing him play from a formative age. Eventually, Adam got to open for Emmanuel, and they’ve since shared the stage, so we get the firsthand scoop: Why is Tommy’s take on “Day Tripper” so hard? And what song would Miller never play with him? Plus, we get Adam’s list of favorite Tommy Emmanuel records.
Adam’s newly released trio album, Timing, is out now.
Plus, we’re talking about new recordings from Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton, as well as Brooklyn Mediterranean surf party band Habbina Habbina.
Patterns can be viewed as boring or trite, but a little bit of creativity can turn them into bits of inspiration.
Chops: Intermediate Theory: Intermediater Lesson Overview: • Learn different ways to arrange scales. • Combine various sequences to create more intersting lines. • Solidify your technique by practicing unusual groupings of notes. Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation. |
I want to offer some food for thought on making sequences musical. Using sequences in our playing helps develop our musicianship in various ways. It can help us tune into the fretboard, develop melodic ideas all around the neck, and further our improvisation and compositional skills. So, spending time with sequences is certainly not time wasted. Please note that I sometimes use the word “rule" in this column, this is only a pointer to keeping on track of our exploration of these concepts. The intellect is very useful, but intuition is where the creativity comes from. When in balance lots of great things can be done. Let's get stuck in!
It's simple to play a scale from bottom to top, or top to bottom, but we can develop a sequence by shuffling these notes around. In Ex. 1 we have a C Major scale (C–D–E–F–G–A–B) played in thirds followed by a sequence highlighting the diatonic triads of the major scale. By following a “rule" we can develop many different sequences. The options are endless and a little overwhelming.
Click here for Ex. 1
Lets start by simply combining an interval sequence with an arpeggio sequence. In Ex. 2, the first two beats of the first measure feature ascending thirds. This is then followed by a triad arpeggio starting from the third note on the string. The next set of thirds then starts on the “and" of beat 4. The entire sequence is a seven-note pattern that is created by combining two thirds and a triad. It gives us a nice bit of rhythmic displacement as the phrase is now starting in a different place in the measure.
Click here for Ex. 2
Ex. 3 is a descending idea in A minor that basically flips the sequence we looked at in Ex. 2. Here, we are starting with two descending thirds before the triad. I'm using pull-offs and economy picking to articulate the triads. This one works well over D minor as well if you want a D Dorian (D–E–F–G–A–B–C) flavor.
Click here for Ex. 3
You can see the effectiveness of combining different sequences and groupings of notes to create interesting runs. It's also really effective for making phrases. In Ex. 4 we take a small fragment from Ex. 3 and change the rhythm. In the sound example I repeat this a few times over some implied chords in my bass line: Am, F, and Dm. It's great to get more from one line by seeing the different chord types you can play it over.
Click here for Ex. 4
In Ex. 5 we're going to start using fourths and fifths. It starts with an ascending A minor triad (A–C–E) before leaping to the 9 (B) and then hitting a G major triad (G–B–D). A similar pattern leads into the C major triad (C–E–G). Throwing in these wider intervals alongside triads is very effective for creating a dramatic sounding runs.
Click here for Ex. 5
For our next example (Ex. 6), we will take fragments from Ex. 5 and space them out a bit. I wanted once again to show how these sequence ideas can also be helpful for developing melodic phrases. Once we have a cool sequence or fragment, all we need to do is be creative with how we play it. We can change the rhythm, harmonic context, dynamic, and much more.
Click here for Ex. 6
Before we move on, it's important to remember that we can add colorful notes to our triads. Let's begin with some seventh-chord arpeggios. Ex 7 features are diatonic seventh arpeggios in G minor (functioning as a IIm chord) to get a Dorian sound.
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Ex. 8 is a little gratuitous of me. It begins with an idea made of several different concepts. First, we start with an Am7 arpeggio (A–C–E–G), then descend down an A5 arpeggio. I follow that up with diatonic thirds and end with a pedal-point sequence. If that's not enough, we then take this bigger idea and fit it around a chord progression. I move it to G7, Dm7 and then I break my “rule" slightly and outline notes of a C6 arpeggio (C–E–G–A). However, it does keep the same melodic contour of the initial idea. I used my ear and fretboard to guide me. It's always healthy to have a fine balance between intellect and intuition.
Click here for Ex. 8
We dig into C harmonic minor (C–D–Eb–G–Ab–B-C) for Ex. 9's monster two-measure lick. It sounds evil! In composing this phrase, I kept to the basic concept of finding seventh-chord arpeggios within C harmonic minor in the 8th position. I followed my ear as well as my slowly developing intellect. However, if you look closely you can see I was following a mini chord progression through this line. We start out with a CmMaj9 arpeggio (C–Eb–G–B–D) in the first beat, followed by a G7b9 arpeggio (G–B–D–F–Ab). Here we have a very strong Im-V7 movement in C minor. I then move back to our CmMaj9 arpeggio and in the second measure we start descending down an Eb augmented triad (Eb–G–B). This is then followed by more CmMaj9 goodness.
Click here for Ex. 9
Ex. 10 is now taking Ex. 9 and extending it into a cool flamenco-inspired melody. The rhythms in this were inspired by the incredible Paco De Lucia. I follow the sequence from the previous example almost exactly, but I use a bit of artistic license to repeat certain fragments to fit into a “top line" or “head"-style melody.
Click here for Ex. 10
My aim here isn't to give you one rule to follow but instead to encourage you to take the sequences you know and love and start getting more out of them. Enjoy and stay safe!