Richard Howard2 said:Props to anyone actually listening to Vinyl Records. It usually means you care about the music more than just being cheap or convenient.
Just wait until AxMi starts bragging about his iPod again. 😬
ruggedcrane22 said:We're overthinking this whole CD vs. Vinyl Records debate. If I have the chance to pick up some Vinyl Records, that's my first move, mostly for the reasons Kevin Chavez3 mentioned. Of course, as you get older (meaning me), you eventually get the budget for some high-end gear and you can fully appreciate the experience—both the sound and the ritual. I recently upgraded my old Lenco turntable for a much more elegant Dual CS 5000, and I’m hoping to grab a tube amp soon. As for quality? It's hard to claim one medium is objectively better. The quality of Vinyl Records varies wildly depending on a dozen different factors. I’d never be foolish enough to say Vinyl Records sound better than CDs. They sound *different*, sure. But I have CDs in my collection that are over fifteen years old and I don't notice any degradation at all. I buy originals because it's a hobby, but for those obscure tracks I can't track down, I just download them to listen to in MP3 format, which is basically just a temporary solution for me.
It's always great to hear an "industry" perspective on this, especially from another tube enthusiast. 😎
C2V3N said:...1. Sound quality (I don't listen just to hear noise, I listen to enjoy it, and you can't enjoy anything via MP3), if you have a 5.1 surround system at home, you might as well throw it out the window if you're only using it for MP3 (or better yet, just give it to me)...
...those are a few of my points. 😬
Now a mob of angry forum users is probably going to come after me for this, but: the CD format was designed specifically for stereo listening. Even though I own a 5.1 system (and I'm not talking about cheap computer speakers), I listen to CDs in stereo. When it comes to 5.1, I only listen to stuff actually mixed for 5.1. No offense intended, but that's just how I perceive it.
To make sure some folks on this forum don't walk away thinking I'm the only one who thinks he was a miracle worker, here's what some other legendary blues guitarists actually had to say:
Stevie had countless ways of proving he didn't just have raw talent, but a genuine soul for the blues. His technique was solid, and his hands knew exactly what to do. The way he moved with the music? It looked effortless. - B.B. King
I always found it fascinating how he never once seemed lost. He never had to stop for air or pause to figure out his next move. The music just flowed right out of him. - Eric Clapton
One of the greatest blues musicians. - John Lee Hooker
granitewolf522 said:He’s still a star... 🙄supposedly he passed away too... Personally, I prefer Otis Redding. Vaughan feels a bit too commercial for me. At least that's how it hits me. Unless I'm just missing something. 😕
Thomas Diaz6 said:A total stylistic hack. Nothing but technical exercises and zero soul. To me, he’s just a lightweight in the world of guitarists. 👎 👎 👎
So, who actually counts as a good blues guitarist in your book? Who do you actually respect? I mean, I'm genuinely curious—who is the benchmark for someone who doesn't value SRV? 😲
An unforgettable sound... To me, it’s easily the best clean tone out there. Did you know he played on those 13s? Honestly, in my book, he's the best white blues guitarist to ever do it. (And maybe just the best blues guitarist, period.)
As for the SRV Strat, I'm pretty sure every single guitarist dreams of owning one. 🙂
Hopefully this trend dies out soon. I don't get why kids between 11 and 15 are into this garbage. Sure, maybe it's some kind of rebellion, but they're doing it all wrong. What really gets under my skin are those guys who act tough because their old man was deployed, yet they’re sitting there listening to Madonna and her crowd. I’ve never touched mainstream stuff—I'm strictly an indie rocker when it comes to music—but I have NEVER listened to that trashy pop, and I never will.
Anyway, I picked up the album yesterday: I can tell you right now, it’s absolutely insane. As soon as I heard "Building The Church," I was left 😲 Regarding the production, the sound is incredibly modern—honestly, the best sonic quality I've heard on any rock album in years. Maybe he could have sprinkled some of those Stratocaster tones from Jemo (his kid) here and there to round it out. The guitar synths used throughout are top-tier. "Firewall" feels like a classic track from the "Flex-able" era, just executed with much better production and musicianship this time around. "lotus Feet" is an incredible instrumental backed by an orchestra; the sound is phenomenal! Then there's "Freak show Excess," which lives up to its name: a total OVERKILL. Just a pure instrumental marvel. The whole album follows a narrative suggested by the cover, weaving the songs and events together to turn Reflections into a cohesive experience... This is a quintessential vaievski album—pretty complex and a "heavy" listen, but with a killer sound and brilliant instrumental sections. In my book, it's worth every cent and sets the definitive standard for what a modern rock album should sound like. Highly progressive and deeply impressive...
Back last year, we already heard rumors about the new Vai-ev album titled Real Illusions. It’s a concept album split into three parts, with different release dates for each. The first installment drops on February 22nd under the subtitle Reflections. This marks the first official Vai-ev release after nearly five years of stepping back and focusing on touring...
Regarding the vibe, Vai tried to sum up Real Illusions : Reflections in just a few words: "Reflections is The First part of a multi-layered menagerie of vignettes based on The amplified mental exaggerations of a truth-seeking madman who sees the world... oh never mind.”
You can check out some short clips from Reflections here.
The issue is how they handle all these ads... It's not quite as bad here in Cleveland, but it’s still incredibly annoying. They seriously need to step in and pass some laws to limit this stuff.
Steven Rodriguez6 said:He played on 13s because that’s the sound he wanted, and his number one Strat probably had the biggest neck ever made by Fender.😎
Hehe, have you seen how "greasy" those frets look on it? It's insane...
Absolute legend on the guitar! My personal favorites have to be tracks like "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Crossfire," and "Texas Flood." If you’ve checked out the new Fender Frontline, you know he was playing in 12/8 time—using those incredibly thick strings where you seriously have to be a top-tier guitarist just to keep up with the tempo. That beat-up Stratocaster of his is legendary!!!
By the way, I'm from Rhode Island too... Do you play anywhere?
No way... I'm way too much of a beginner to be playing gigs. Just started this year. Besides, you'll see what I mean once I upload the tones from that amp I built (if you haven't seen the topic, go check it out 🙂). You playing anywhere?
There’s no such thing as the "best" guitarist, but if we're talking about who hits those pinch harmonics most accurately, it's definitely Steve Vai. 🙂 Plus, nobody touches a whammy bar quite like him. That's just my two cents...
Nicole Ramos2 said:Does anyone actually know where Michael Angelo played? Did he have a band or was he strictly a solo act? I've only ever seen one video of him, that "Speed Kills" clip...🙏 😵 🙂
.....the guy plays the neck upside down... from the top side...
Legend has it that Vai heard about Angela back when he started messing around with that single-neck guitar, so then Vai had a custom three-neck build made—one 12-string on top and two standard necks. Honestly, it might be true, but it sounds like a total urban legend to me. I've listened to a few tracks by Angela; "No Boundaries" isn't terrible, but everything just sounds like a technical flex. Zero actual artistry.
I definitely agree. I’ve always had a soft spot for Vaia because he seems the most "down to earth." He’s honest, and unlike some greedy hacks, he wasn't just chasing a paycheck—he actually had to grind and hustle to reach the top. BTW, this brings back memories:
Date: 1978 Band: Morning Thunder Where: Boston Where: Boston, MA (Poo's Pub) I felt completely inferior AT Berklee. I would just marvel at the way some of these guys were playing the guitar. I very rarely would play around them, but every morning all the monsters would gather around a huge table in the cafeteria and just blaze. It was uncanny how some of these guys played. One in particular was the most astonishing guitar player I ever saw or heard. His name was Lorn Leber. A really kooky funny guy, Lorn was a genius. He could make up a synthetic scale and know it all over the entire neck of the guitar in an hour, complete with every chord inversion possible and impossible. His style was very fusion (sort of Mahavishnu John McLaughlin). To this day he is without a doubt the fastest guitar player I have ever seen (yes, even faster than Yngwie Malmsteen). All The shredders would SIT AT The tabla and try to keep up with Lorn. He would motor along and they would feverishly try to keep pace. Then Lorn would look AT me, wink and smile, and then blast into infinity and beyond. Everyone would shudder in disbelief, throw their pick on the table and back away. We would watch this guy play and just laugh.
John Petrucci is one of the guys who graduated from that school... Apparently, everyone who goes there is some kind of miracle...
Dream Theater - Metropolis Part I. Man, people are incredible... I was just watching Live Scenes from NY the other day, and damn, they absolutely shred live!!!
We had Joe Satriani and Steve Vai playing. And that idiot Kirk Hammett too. BTW, did anyone catch Nelly Furtado's performance at the Grammy awards? Barba Vai was backing her up; apparently, he was supposed to play "I'm Like a Bird," but what he actually played had nothing to do with the original because he totally twisted it with improvisation. Someone mentioned it sounded a lot like Little Wing when he plays like that, and they were spot on. You definitely need to download the clip online, it's only about 10 MB... BTW, here are a few more clips:
Date: June 6, 1960 Where: Nassau County Hospital (Long Island, NY) Even though there wasn't a stage and the audience was just a few family members, rumors say Steve showed up strumming his own umbilical cord.
Date: 1975 Band: Rayge Where: Long Island Where: Long Island, NY (Eisenhower Park) My friends were very proud of me as a guitar player and could Come to Blows with anybody Who didn't think their Boy Steve was The Best guitarist for ten towns. About 6 months after this gig at the park, Joe Despagni & i were waiting on One of those Endless 4-hour lines to get into The midnight showing of " Rocky horror Picture show. We struck up a conversation with the group of guys ahead of us in line. One of them was a musician, so naturally Joe started bragging that I played guitar. Not only did i Play The guitar , but i was The blah-blah Best guitar player blah-blah-blah etc. Things like that ara very important to The territorial mindsets of Long Island adolescents with barely Any pubic hair. Anyway, this other guy starts telling us about some guitar player he’d seen who was way better than me—claiming that even though he’d never actually seen me play, there was no way I could hold a candle to this other guy. "He could blow my shit away!" You know how it is, just pure teenage testosterone. It started getting Despagni pretty worked up, and things got heated. Just as the verbal sparring was about to turn into an actual brawl, the guy blurted out, "Fuck you, man, this guy was playing the guitar behind his head and with his teeth and..." I cut him off: "Wait a second, was this at Eisenhower Park about six months ago? And was the guy playing a white Ventura double-neck?" The guy goes, "Yeah, why do you ask?" I told him, "That was ME, dude!" No fight broke out that night.