How much of that solo did you "write" ?

[YorkshireTrippe]

Since I promised myself to double track as much of my playing as possible, I've found myself literally sitting down and tabbing out bits of my own playing so I can get it spot on - is this really what most guitarists do? or am I being overly fussy and should I just single-track the solos?

I'm interested in what you guys do

 

[ez_willis]

i farm most of the solos out, but never double them. i ain't the alman bros ffxs

 

[miroslav]

I've found myself literally sitting down and tabbing out bits of my own playing so I can get it spot on...

Can't you just play it back and listen/learn it that way?
I mean...it's YOUR playing, so it shouldn't take a lot of effort for you to copy yourself with just a few dry runs.

I've never written down my own riffs in order to learn them.
I mean...why would I...I already know them...I just played them!

 

[WhiteStrat]

Since I promised myself to double track as much of my playing as possible, I've found myself literally sitting down and tabbing out bits of my own playing so I can get it spot on - is this really what most guitarists do? or am I being overly fussy and should I just single-track the solos?

I'm interested in what you guys do

I think solos (even when they're "written") are usually single tracked. Double tracking the rhythm parts makes a nice stereo spread for the solo to sit in the middle of.

I usually start of improving solos--but after a gillion takes trying to get it "just right" it ends up writing itself, so that I can do the same thing over and over and again. Even then I single track it--often using a touch of stereo delay to thicken it.

ez mentioned the Allman Bros--a great example for when I might do it. Their solos were doubled for effect--to sound like two guitars playing two parts, not one thicker guitar. I'll do some lines of split left/right harmony in a lead occasionally.

 

[YorkshireTrippe]

Can't you just play it back and listen/learn it that way?

I try and play the whole song in one take without punch-ins, so I'd forget how many triplet sets were in that run and stuff if I didn't write it down

 

[DrewPeterson7]

I improvise everything.

I almost always have a rough, eh, "contour" of a solo in mind, sort of like a picture of where I want it to end up ("open with some high bluesy bends, over this section some fast ascending legato over the neck, do a slide-y wide interval bit through here, and then finish with a descending legato flourish in this area ending with a harmonic dive") or some such thing, so I'll have an idea of roughly what I want to do, but I never sit down and work out each individual note. Doing that bores me and takes the fun out of it, and I write and record music because I think it IS fun.

 

[ez_willis]

I try and play the whole song in one take without punch-ins, so I'd forget how many triplet sets were in that run and stuff if I didn't write it down

how long would it typically take to tab out a solo that you just tracked?

 

[Zaphod B]

I "write" almost all my recorded solos, although it might be more accurate to say that I "craft" them since I don't actually score them. Only one of the tunes that I have posted on Soundclick has an improvised solo; the remainder are intentional and repeatable.

I don't score them out. I go through an iterative process of record, listen, re-record, listen, repeat as necessary. When I've got the proper elements in place I rehearse it over and over until I can get through a tracking of it error-free. At that time I may experiment with different guitars or amp settings.

 

[ez_willis]

I "write" almost all my recorded solos, although it might be more accurate to say that I "craft" them since I don't actually score them.

i meant to physically score the tab out. i ain't good enough to improvise anything.

 

[Zaphod B]

i meant to physically score the tab out. i ain't good enough to improvise anything.

I hear ya.

I figure that if I've developed the muscle memory for a solo enough to play it all the way through, the recording of it serves as enough of a permanent ...record... for me to be able to reconstitute it.

I've got a couple of tunes running around in my head that will likely use 100% improvisation for solos and fills, though. I have a couple of guitar playing comfort zones in tempo and construction where I can just let 'er rip and everything sounds good.

 

[Greg_L]

I write my solos on the wall with crayon.

 

[Zaphod B]

I write my solos on the wall with crayon.

More hygenic than feces!

 

[Greg_L]

More hygenic than feces!

Well I am married now.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

More hygenic than feces!

Don't be so sure - he hasn't told us where he stores the crayons.

 

[miroslav]

I try and play the whole song in one take without punch-ins, so I'd forget how many triplet sets were in that run and stuff if I didn't write it down

Mmmmm....I guess if it's a real long solo....but still, I would think most of the solo is probably already in your memory...so you only need to practice/learn certain sections.
Play/record it one time...and then play along with that a bunch of times until you have it down, then record the second pass.

But you know...punch-ins are allowed during recording, and if you don't want to punch-in, then just play/record it straight through a few times...and comp the takes as needed.

 

[Zaphod B]

Don't be so sure - he hasn't told us where he stores the crayons.

Damn, ya got me. "You must spread..."

 

[Greg_L]

Don't be so sure - he hasn't told us where he stores the crayons.

Just the brown ones........

 

[philbagg]

I write about 90% of my music without any instrument in my hands at all. I use guitar pro, come up with the stuff in my head and tab it. I never improvise.

The closest I'd get to improvising is changing my mind about a part while I'm recording it, and take about ten minutes coming up with a new part and getting it down in my head.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Just the brown ones........

You lie! They're ALL brown ones, at least when you're done with them!


My problem, mirosav, is that not only do I improvise everything, I also generally solo right at the limits of my technical aptitude. So, even if I sat down and worked out what I had just played (which would be a huge pain in the ass, because that's a LOT of note! ), it would take me forever and there's no guarantee I even could replicate it with 100% accuracy. Sometimes you go for a line and it works; sometimes not. At the very least, a solo that I'd have just improvised comfortably would probably require a fair amount of practice to then go back and duplicate it perfectly.

Of course, I don't really have any interest in doubling or harmonizing the lead breaks in my material, so it's not an issue.

 

[Supercreep]

I'll double-track a lead if it is the sound I'm looking for. It's a distinctive sound, and I'll use it if I want to develop a theme within a solo and want to get "bigger" but not "louder".

It's a useful tool, but for really long solos it would be tough.

Well, I suck anyway so it's all tough - but you know what I mean.