Check out my new Instrumental...(I remember)

[Ralph khoury]

Hey folks,
I just finished recording, arranging, mixing, mastering this new instrumental called "I remember" I used my 7vwh.
any coments are appreciated, i am looking forward to ur reviews!

here is the link
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/5/ralphkhourymusic.htm

[krizz]

Phew! There's another virtuoso around here!

Nice and clean, really cool! I especially like the tapping piece (the beginning in particular, man that rocks! ). I'm still not able to tune my fx/amp so that I'm able to create that nice tapping sound.

BUT, in the beginning; the picked part, you sometimes pick the same note more times, which I don't really like. To me it's like you're trying keep the note at the same volume for a longer time while you actually have a good sustain.

[Ralph khoury]

thx a lot krizz, i love tapping a lot.
as for the multi note picks, the reason behind it, is that i used a short sustain guitar for a long time and i am still not used a lot to my new jem.
so i still have the sustain phobia!

[Drew]

Agreed on those intro taps- what exactly were you doing there? Mind if i borrow that idea?

Also, grace note taps around 1:40 were an awesome touch, very musical.

two criticisms, though- I think you might like your tone more if you cut back on your gain a bit. That's a SERIOUSLY overdriven sound, there's almost no decay on sustained notes. I think you'd get better dynamics with a cleaner sound. Also, there's some absolutely blistering guitar in here... but I don't think that's what this song calls for. I liked where youwere going with that textural intro- I'd love to hear you redo this with a cleaner tone, maybe starting off with the tapped harmonic-like things you were doing, and just chilling on that for a while, eventually come in with the melody, maybe played with your volume knob rolled back a bit, and then gradually build into some kind of a solo, but justreally laying bavck and using space to let the solo unfold on it's own pace. It's a really chill, mellow backing, and I'd love to hear you really use that to it's fullest. THEN drop in one or two of those tapped licks.

-D

[Ralph khoury]

hey Drew, thx for ur attention man, in fact i dont like my tone to be too saturated too, but the thing is that if i used less gain, the Tapped notes would'nt have been heard. I tried it. cos i used Ik multimedia's amplitube, without any external amp or preamp simulator.
this instrumental was mostly improvised, especially the tapping part.
this tapping style although influenced by steve vai, is becoming more my trade mark since i mimic the sound of an arabic flute, called mizmar.
the secret is in using open sting pulloffs and sustaining the notes thats really give u an emotional effect.

[Drew]

Originally Posted by Ralph khoury

...is becoming more my trade mark since i mimic the sound of an arabic flute, called mizmar.

In reference to those grace notes? Yep, the really exotic, unguitar like vibe was what i was attracted by. What were you doing, just tapping up an octave and quicky pulling off?

also, how exactly were you doing those muted taps at the beginning? I'm curious, i liked that sound.

you shouldn't need that much gain to get a smooth, even tapping sound- listen to Vai, he still manages to hold onto a very clear sound. Try practicing your tapping clean, maybe?

[Ralph khoury]

in fact not only the grace note part, the whole tapping part sounds like a mizmar.
in the muted like taps, u just tap and pull off very quickly, like u are barely touching the fretted note.

as for the distortion, i am really facing a problem, since my guitar isnt picking up the taps easily, maybe cos i have my pickups set a bit low. thats why i have to increase the saturation. and maybe its because the guitar isnt feeding through a real preamp to amplify the output.

[Artist]

You could add a touch of compression to bring out the taps more.

[Ralph khoury]

actually the guitar track is compressed with t racks.

[Drew]

pre- or post-amplitude?

and the gracenote section around 1:40 was the part i liked the most- the rest of it was cool, but i thought your tapping there transcended being a "technique" and added something really refreshing to the music. Especially with tapping, it's too easy for tapping just to become a drill or exersize, but that section is really musical- it sounds not like the technique suggested the phrase, but rather the phrase suggested the technique, which is where, to me, music occurs. I really liked that section.

If any of that makes any sense.

-D

[Ralph khoury]

Btw its my favorite part too, the funny thing is that i've been listening to it for a day now, repeating over and over lol! u just gave me an excuse to repeat it for another day!

i used the compressor after amplitube.

[Drew]

Hmm. try compressing the signal prior to amplitude. Not heavily, just a little bit to even it out... you know, like hooking a compressor up before your amp to juice the signal a little.

I know what you mean, it's cool to sit there and think "Damn, I did that." good feeling.

-D