Does anyone here have a detailed description of what his practice routine was on that summer when he became great? I read the autobiography of Rex Brown a few months ago and he said Darrell wasn’t a great player until one summer he completely dedicated himself to practicing. Darrell was playing 8 to 12 hours a day for the whole summer, at least that’s how it came across. Dime even brought the guitar into the bathroom with him, heh heh. He just would not put his guitar down unless he was sleeping. That’s obsessive to a lot of people and I’m sure some on this forum would say playing 8 to 12 hours a day is a negative thing or even dangerous, but it worked wonders for Darrell Abbott. Rex says everyone who heard him after that summer was completely blown away at the incredible improvement he made by channeling his drive and discipline into becoming the best he could be. “A New Level” - to say the least!
I’ve little info on him, but if true most likely various bits of knowledge and skill came together to form a presentable product, he likely had unconnected theory and abilities that he eventually got in order, giving an outward appearance of just becoming competent in a short period of time.
Riffer Madness is a pretty good read, although it doesn’t talk specifically about that particular summer. Might be worth checking out the Dean Guitar forums. Haven’t been there in awhile, but there was a lot of discussion and knowledge about Dime there.
I read an interview with Dimebag in Guitar World once and he also mentioned having an acoustic guitar in his bathroom. I got the impression the guy loved playing and played whenever he could.
I done think he would be one for practicing scales and stuff, I’d say he would have always been working on riffs and coming up with new licks to play in his solos.
i dont think that this is correct. Dime kind of grew up in a studio and played since he was a little kid. Thats what ive read years ago. You dont become “great” in one summer ^^