Pretty ripping solo, especially for a laid-back pop jazz tune. Super clear video, too. You’ll see use of the Paul Gilbert lick long before Paul ever recorded it, plus some patterns I associate with Petrucci.
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Michael Schenker did that lick back in 1976 too (2:58 in video)
Very cool. Chet Atkins did it in '72 on this track - that’s the earliest recording I’m aware of (there very well could be something earlier).
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Awesome find! The video quality on some of these old broadcasts is really high. They were usually recorded on video tape, but higher-end formats that could resolve more lines than the home VHS we’re used to.
Grant is an awesome example of how far you can get with “just” USX technique. The presence of all the 2nps patterns should be the giveaway that he’s more of a Gypsy player, in spirit. In keeping with this, that’s not the Paul Gilbert lick. It’s this:
This is a very clever USX-compliant pattern that you can do at pretty much any speed without dealing with the 1nps issues of the PG lick. It’s a 2nps shape that is common in USX technique. See also Neal Schon’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” lick, also USX-compliant:
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Glad you watched it, I figured you’d find it interesting!
D’oh! You’re right, I was listening more than watching at that point.
How do you think he handled the 3nps repeating part (chromaticy 3 notes on G and 3 notes on B)? With a light swipe, a la Joscho?
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Possibly, or possibly just escaping. Grant’s form is basically the same as Andy Wood’s, and Andy is a DSX player. It’s really just the pickslant and pick attack that are problematic. If a player has DWPS as part of their form, they can still do ascending sixes by making Andy’s motion since the only downstroke string change is ascending. They just can’t do an actual DSX tremolo because of garage spikes on the upstroke.
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Troy - am I hearing it right that Neal is doing a pull-off on the first 2 notes of the Don’t Stop Believing lick?
Neal is not playing it cleanly in this video. The album version starts out completrely muted so it’s definitely picked. If you’re a USX player, there would be no reason to pull off the top string. It’s free.
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