Well I uploaded a couple of things I quickly recorded at my girlfriend's house, thought I'd share. Just be warned, they aren't perfect, but I'd still appreciate some constructive criticism.

http://soundcloud.com/j_rockr91

The first one is a fingerstyle instrumental version of Piano Man by Billy Joel. The second is just something I recorded during practice. They have their flaws, and I'll probably re-record Piano Man sometime when I'm in a nice quiet space.

I also have an original song I'm working on, just need to work out the rest of the solo, then record the acoustic, electric, and vocals separately. But until I have that uploaded, give this a listen and let me know what you think.

-Jake

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"I don't care how good you are, how fast you are. You ain't good enough no lessin' you got the soul." -Hubert Sumlin

On the Piano man...2 repeats of the intro verse would have been sufficient.
Keep in mind that the Piano man is a story, a tale of a life spent entertaining.
Your rendition has to reflect that, so you must tell a story with your instrumental rendition.
Other wise it sounds like the 1st couple of paragraphs just keep repeating themselves.

On the Blues.....
I'm going to be a bit harsh here but that distortion is hideous. it sounds compressed, clipped and has none of the nuances that pushing a small amp would give you.
Blues is based on a human voice expressing sorrow, regret, opportunity..in short life's many turns.
That sounded like a technical exercise, there is no need to fill in all the holes just because you can, think of it as making a statement, breathing and awaiting a response....
I would suggest working on your technique so that you can bring out nuances of pick to string attack..
If you listen to the details of today's great players, they are quite expressive, instantly recognizable by their own particular sound, most are using small amps driven to max, not pedals. Using just the amp..its controls and just your guitar and its controls is challenging but once you find the sound, you may have to go to another amp, you will discover a wide ranging palette of sounds to use.Better than any pedal and a lot more controllable.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

I agree. The phrasing and timing on your Blues tune is a little rushed in places too. keep practicing, you're doing great. Just keep refining your technique, phrasing and timing.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Actually that was just my guitar and amp. My new American Deluxe Strat (still working out my tones on the pickups/S1 switch) and a Hot Rod Deville 4x10. No pedals. I did have the drive up way too high, and was using the wrong pickup selection for blues. It was rushed, and I usually play it differently, a little slower with some pauses. I'll try to upload some more clips soon, to give you all some diversity to judge me on. And I'll also work on recording some things with my voice. As for Piano Man, I didn't play the whole song through, that was more of a sample. But like I said I'll re-record and re-upload the song in its entirety.

But anyway, thanks guys for the criticism, I appreciate it. Will take your advice to heart and try and improve myself when I get time to play.

-Jake

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"I don't care how good you are, how fast you are. You ain't good enough no lessin' you got the soul." -Hubert Sumlin

Ah..An HR Deville, I have an HR Deluxe the Sam Ash Black and Tan, #55 of 125 series. different tubes and speaker setup . When I use the drive I have it set on 4 to 6 never more, as I prefer to rely on my guitars to give added gain.
Bear in mind that I'm always comparing the Deluxe sound or any other amp for that matter to my Magnatone or the Champ....So that is pretty much all Tubes, no drive or Gain..

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Doh! Just realized I meant a HR Deluxe, not DeVille just thought I'd correct myself on that one.

-Jake

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"I don't care how good you are, how fast you are. You ain't good enough no lessin' you got the soul." -Hubert Sumlin

The Deville is 60 watts, short of a 500 capacity venue that is more than enough punch to drive thru the crowd...

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Jake, you can play Bro. Tune your acoustic though.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Thanks man. And yeah, I know, couldn't keep it in tune for long. She needs a string change. That's what I get for putting slinkys on an acoustic I guess.

-Jake

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"I don't care how good you are, how fast you are. You ain't good enough no lessin' you got the soul." -Hubert Sumlin