Playing on an american deluxe fender stratocaster. Constructive criticism is always welcomed. Please rate and comment if you can Or subscribe if you like.

I might come off a little arrogant in this one, but that really wasn't my intention, I was just enjoying the music lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLwwljAI ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=864YP99f ... re=channel

Here's my channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Sean2112bd

Thank You very much. Oh and if you have any suggestions as far as improving sound-wise, guitar tone, the video recording, etc. Don't hesitate to tell me.

Arrogance is not too bad if you can back it up. I'm pretty arrogant on a lot of things myself.

You want some constructive criticism? Here it is.

Overall - great. You're a very good player, you nailed the tones very well, and most of the playing. You're better than the vast majority of players I see playing these songs.

Strong points I see...
- tone: i'm a tone freak. you nailed these pretty well.
- solos: you played these well, and didn't appear to be stumbling over most of the parts. you seem to know them well without much thinking.
- vocals: very good voice, and better than a lot of singers I see in local bands

Points to work on...
- for the satch solo, i hear some of the vibratos too fast. these should be controlled and the bending should be a little slower to add more feel
- towards the end of the satch solo, i hear some adreneline and some lines being played a little too aggressively. The high E-D-E bend (?) up at towards the end of the one solo part is a good example. Joe plays this a little more soulfully.

A good example of being able to wail then completely hold back and be soulful is George Lynch. Some of his dokken work has these amazingly fast, kick yer $@! lines then a super slow/sexy/soul bend that gives so much good contrast to the other parts. "Unchain The Night" is one that comes to mind from him that shows this well.

- for the clapton solo, the tone is good, the playing is good, but some of the bends don't sound "quite there". A little flat, a little sharp, or a little slow to hit the "sweet spot" so to speak. Blues is a simple style, but simple doesn't always mean easy. Some of the "hardest" things to plays are slow, soulful blues solos that just cry. You have the skill, you just need to use that to nail to bends and the emotional parts of soloing.

These are all things I'm sure you already know though. The things I noticed are nitpicky things. You have the difficult stuff down, some polish on the little things will make you great playing shine even more.

I'm pretty critical about other guitars players, and ever more so about my own playing. If I saw you in a band playing, my thought would be "Great guitar player, much better than most. I want to hear more". As a producer, I'd note the things already listed and maybe a few other minor things. Nothing that you probably couldn't nail on the next take or two though.

Great job, great playing, great vocals. You! You're good, you! (Deniro voice). Keep jamming, keep recording and keep it up. If you never "improved" you'd be far better than most of the guys I see making a good living playing music, and that includes many pros you hear on the radio and on TV.

One thing to keep in mind: What's worse than a talented musician that's arrogant? Someone that can't play worth a crap that's still arrogant You have nothing to worry about

Lol thanks. Yeah, my bending and stuff has improved since my last vid. As far as "emotion" it's really hard for me to tap into that. For the Clapton solo I was in a moment of complete nirvana, where I didn't even know what I was doing, but for me to do that and play emotionally I really need an audience lol. Playing in front of a camera to me just kind of saps that desire to play, 'cause there's no one there. Idk, I think a person's ability to feel emotion in someone else's music is really a personal thing. Some people have told me that I put great emotion into my playing, some have said I need work. And so I'm trying to figure out where this mixed attitude lies, the only conclusion I have come up with is it's not the artists. It's the listeners. Like for example, I can't stand listening to Yngwie, in many cases I would say he's an unemotional player, but the reality is is that he does put emotion into his playing, we just don't feel it like the one's that praise him. Or we can look at MJ, I like some of his songs, but I never connected extremely well with his music, whereas I listen to Jeff Buckley, and I become completely infatuated. So to play with emotion and to feel emotion from it are two separate things lol sorry for the rant. But thank you. Actually I'm gonna post this idea on another thread.

You could help me with a ton; but I am going to help you with one note.

The last note on the Sunshine of Your Love lick between the verses. Listen to Clapton get more vibrato out of the last note in the line. I get that "shake" by anchoring my pointing finger on the note and shaking my other three fingers in the air at the desired vibrato rate. I learned it by listening and watching BB King. If you check out any of his vids, you will see what I mean.

Fantastic playing!! Specially like your Cream Cover "Sunshine of your Love". You sing really well. You in a band??

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

I know what you're saying. I actually use that technique a lot, where you dangle your other three fingers and then shake them so that the index finger shakes the string. But I think what I need to work on, as far as what I'm hearing from here, is controlled vibrato. I can do by vibrato, but it might actually be too intense and I might need to tone it down a bit. There is a time and place for certain vibratos so I'll keep that in mind. My bending...I don't hear any drastic flatness or sharpness, and if it is it is very subtle, either that or the tone itself might be a little warble. Anyway thank you, I will work on that

Edit: Also for the Satch solo, you'll notice when Satriani does the song live, it is much slower, and that makes a whole lotta difference. Especially with a song like Always with me Always with you, I remember when I was doing the song I found it to be way too fast, so I was like trying to forcefully push all the nuances from the original recording which is probably why it might have come across to others as a little sterile. So I think if it were slower it would be much better

dgonz to me hit everything on the head,by the way dgonz are you moonlighting for guitar mags because that was like a pro review my brother. lol blaqdog I had mentioned about the bending issue in Sunshine a while back and you addressed what my issue was with the Satch number right before I posted so you dont need to hear that you were rushing ahead of the beat. Hey play for you, to be honest the remark about not getting up for it if no one is there - you have to reverse that thinking, to you were not happy with that pass. Blaq you have everything working for you the chops and the voice but dont get to comfy as I used to think that there were hundreds of guys still playing when I stopped- and there are.lol You have to be your biggest critic and if you are happy with what you do and others like it too thats the bonus and what being a player is about. I really think you can make a nice living playing as I told you last time, would just like to hear you be a lil harder on yourself as you have all the tools . KEEP ON ROCKIN

Lol yeah. I try to avoid being my own worst critic because I've seen what it does to me. I become obsessive and agitated, and I cover the same song over and over again sometimes for hours trying to get it perfect all the way through. And even with my own stuff I get really belligerent lol Guitar to me, not matter how much you play it, is never something one can fully master, because guitarists are always searching for that sound or that feel. Ya know. Yeah, I know I can play guitar, but to have it play the way I want it is whole different story lol. But I do think in order to progress you have to be your own worst critic. Technique such as bending, vibrato, tapping, etc. no matter how many years you play, it is always progressing. So I just want to thank everyone for your input . I will work on controlling my vibrato and perfecting my bending. And decades from now I'll be doing the same thing That's why I love guitar, it is a never ending quest and a life changing experience...

you know what straycat is saying is true.
dgonz, you write like a pro.
hey blaqdog, got nothing bad to say, your way better than me, way better.

I'm used to reviewing creative work for ads and video games, so I'm used to ripping things apart, but in a constructive way. I've been playing music since 5th grade, so that helps in this case, I suppose.

In any case, the playing is great, and that's the bottom line. It also helps when I have my friends and other people review my stuff and I hear what they have to say as well. Sometimes I don't "like" to hear criticism, but we all need that sometimes.

Agreed And thank you again. Even the "guitar gods" get criticized, so essentially we're all in the same boat.

Yo, Blaqdog, Glad you have that bend down. You seem to have your head on straight by your comments to evryones input.

Besides being a critic, or worst critic, to your own playing, I am guessing that it is not lost on you that you should also take joy from what you can do as is...in the moment. Sometimes I think players are reaching so hard for improvement that they would be better off just feeling good about where they are and letting that feeling pull them to the next level.

...My goodness, I just realized that I sound like the old hippie that I am... Peace...

Sorry about not answering your question Currently I am not in a band at the moment, but I'll probably be playing solo at a few local gigs.