"First Tracks" - groovy rock instrumental with a custom strat

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GONZO-X

GONZO-X

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"First Tracks" - groovy rock instrumental with a custom strat




'first tracks', is a term that skiers and riders use, who know the early morning powder is the best.

this was the very first recording i made with the new build.

my USACG strat project



USACG custom strat
strat1lv4.jpg






USACG body and neck.

body: lightweight Alder 2-piece, with a contoured heel, side jack, tummy route, fall-away cut out on the back side of the bottom bout for upper fret access.

neck: hardrock maple neck, with a pau ferro fingerboard. 6150 frets, 1-5/8" nut width. small fender-style headstock.

--Gibson scale length neck, 22 frets, fingerboard radius, of 12". the shape of the neck is a thin "C" shape, with a .78" neck thickness at the 1st fret, up to .85 at the 13th, mother of pearl dot inlays.
vintage truss with access at face of headstock.

headstock: tiltback design, 13 degrees, graphtech nut.

Bridge:Hipshot 6 String US Contour Tremolo Chrome with stainless tone bar.

pickups: humbucker-single-single, Bill Lawrence L-500L and L-280s (n & m)
Q filter for master tone, and a master volume. (500k pots)

Scratchplate: done by Warmoth, it's a slightly custom shape, with the 1st volume knob hole removed, and my luthier cut the hole for the Lawrence pickup (not a standard size) to match.

Paint: done by USACG custom guitars, it's all NITRO, and very very thin. I instructed them to make it as thin as possible, wear is not a concern to me.
 
As always Gonzo - amazing. Love the harmony parts. Love the whole thing.
 
Holy Nutron Finger Dance Batman! That's a seriously nice axe my friend. If you could only learn to play it.:D I love the big tempo change. Lots of ear candy in there. I'm not worthy.
 
toad
thanks man.
glad you dig it...
i'm gonna remix this one.....


track rat
appreciate it mike!!
yes, lots of ear candy.....
tho, the 2nd half, is just one guitar, bass and kit.
but, i got a good room sound on it, pretty much the way it sounded to me, in the room.
and those kinds of things are pretty much hit and miss..

i threw the mic up, and did a one take.
if i tried to re-record the whole thing, using the same gear and all that setup, it wouldn't sound the same!
LOL
 
Wow...that's some out of this world playing (not to mention writing & arranging). You blew me away...
 
wow, that guitar sounds nice & is played absolutely brilliant!
thanks for sharing :)

btw, drums are too wet, but i guess this is not a real mix, but more a demonstration of the guitar, right?
 
big red
thanks for checking it ouit, glad you dig it.



karumba
appreciate the kind words...
drums, well, i put that together in sony acid, and wanted the 'big' room sound, almost like a huge garage

so for me, it's just right.
yes, its a real mix, of course.
but i could improve it. or not, may just be as good as it can get now.
i recorded it just because i was so happy with it...
and i had to learn how it would come across with a real recording, mics, mix, etc.

thanks again!
 
i'll be anxious to hear the remix you were talking about! this has potential to be a really cool song if it were structured into one.

its cool as a 4 and a half minute shred fest too tho.
 
My ears are shot, due to just ending a 5-hour session, but man... This mix sounds great! I love the wet drums, personally (being a child of the 80's). That guitar sounds awesome, and the performance is even better. Joe Satriani ain't got nothing on you, man. :) Thanks for sharing! *loved* it.
 
Bisson820
thanks for listening, appreciate it...
i kinda like this as the longer instrumental.
it builds very naturally, and i need some longer instrumentals to counterbalance all the shorter vocal songs i have

new album comes out very soon....



poetic
appreciate you going thru the pain of checking my mix out, with burnt ears!
LOL

i hope it didn't hurt too much.
of course, that depends on how hard you crank it!

you know, there's still a few bands that do the 'wet' drum thing, on specific tunes that call for it.
i don't think that's a '80's' thing per se...
i mean, the wettest drums i can think of, is Bonhan on 'when the levee breaks', and that's from what, 1972?!
LOL

but, it just seemed to fit the feeling of this song, to have a lot of room mic in the mix, so that's what i played to.
the original version had a dry kit, and it just lost that 'big' feeling.

thanks again!
 
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