Insight into my guitar style.

Welcome back readers.

I'd just like to give you a little insight into my recent playing style, as I mentioned in my latest blog, I've come to realize I won't be a shredder, even though I have the Buckethead Les Paul, it doesn't mean I can play as fast as the guy does, as much as I'd love to and as much time as I've put into trying, my wrist cramped and swelled up when I got to just half speed of one of his solos, that was when it hit me, that I wont be playing 32nds at 130bpm.

Alas, I've been looking and listening to my style just recently and I've come to realize I'm at a good middle ground, I've got a nice thick sound that compliments how I play, the kind of style is around people like Peter Frampton, Carlos Santana, David Gilmour, Billy Gibbons, The Edge, Mark Knopfler etc and that's just my general Lead/Rhythm style. As Framed will mention, I do alot of ambient stuff, creating moods using swells, loops and synths with the guitar, which is all based off the work of Robert Fripp, sure it may sound boring to most, but I use it for a reason to really create and set the tone in the background of a song, using it to expand the sound and compliment the atmosphere that the song is aiming to achieve.

I tend to avoid the Pentatonic & Blues scales where I can in fear of sounding like Slash or Zakk Wylde , more times often than not using the Phygrian & Dorian scales, sometimes tastefully going out of key, adding quick triplets over a stupid amount of frets (12-15-19 the other night)


I may sound like I know what I'm on about, but I really don't. I've been self taught for the entire time I've played guitar, so my knowledge of theory and application of said theory is ridiculously low. I just thought the price of lessons was horrific, just to spend months learning "Knockin' On Heavens Door"

To be able to do what I do, when I do, I use my Boss GT10, which a year ago I would have classed as taboo, I was a tone nut, using many analog pedals to achieve a tone I'd be happy with, but that was proving difficult and VERY expensive, and I was nowhere near the tone I wanted, not by a long shot.

And I fell over while trying to switch sounds on the fly, that was when I realized I can get what I want and need from an effects unit. the ability to switch from a U2-like shimmer delay sound, up to a hot rodded "Frampton Comes Alive" sound to the soft swells of a Frippertronics soundscape patch.

The tones I can achieve are exactly what I hear in my head, with minimal feedback into the FX loop on my AC30, it's all there and live, it's very easy to operate which is a big bonus.

Alas, that's just something I've shared with you.
I'll leave you with a song.

Thanks for reading.
Take care
Luke Clarke