Unbelievable Anton Oparin!

Playing Technique
#130

I can’t speak for Anton or his technique because I’m not a student of his, nor have I paid for any of his material. All I did was watch the video and remember seeing one of the frequent CtC members on there. Also, if memory serves, Anton mentioned that guitarenthusiast’s right hand wasn’t perfect; just more synched that Guthrie’s.

Really I was more interested in seeing gypsy-jazz guy, or anyone else, play anything even close to what Anton can do with that technique. It’s easy to tout people and techniques, but to deliver is completely different. I’m sure most of us here know that he can’t play those lines with the gypsy technique and that’s why he behaved the way he did. It’s too bad because if he could it would essentially mean Anton is wrong and add credence to some of what CtC and others propose.

In the end, I care about truth and playing the guitar better. It matters not if it comes from a Russian kid, Troy Grady at Cracking the Code, or from dumpster fire.

2 Likes
#131

Yeah for me it’s wayyyyy Less about “who’s the greatest” and more about am I being shown enough to want to buy more educational products. Which I know sounds silly cuz we just got a 2 hour video, but I’m still not sure if I’m convinced that Anton has different ideas to offer vs him just being a little technically better than others at alternate picking. I will be able to make a decision when the site works. I like spending money impulsively so I’ll prob check it out haha

1 Like
#132

You have to be prepared to build ur technique from the ground up :wink: it will take long, it will be hard

#134

I have deleted my comments. My apologies to anyone I caused offence to. Very bad day, I lost my cool. Anyway, apologies to all and I’ll go pop a Valium :love_you_gesture:

5 Likes
#135

The discussion is not about who is the greatest at all, that’s all about taste.
It is all about the awesome picking technique of Anton wich allows him, as he clearly shows, to play anything without any limitations.
He clearly shows the limitations other techniques have and shows thatvwith his way things can sound better.

Troy also showed us for instance the swiping of Steve Morse.
No one bashed Troy for saying/showing that Steve swipes. It’s just something that comes with the picking technique he uses. Steve is an awesome player who found a way to mask this swiping enough for not getting in the way of what he wants to express. But it is there and if you listen good enough you can hear it. So if you realy do not want that swiping noise, Steve’s way of picking is not for you.

And yes, Anton asks money for entering his school, what’s wrong with that?

What stands is that Anton realy shows us that his way of picking has no limitations whatsoever.
He claims that it is a techinique which can be learned by anyone at his school.
If that is true i cant’s say for sure, let’s wait till some students of him after studying with him for several years show up on the internet.
But he realy does understand everything about muscle movements, much more (beside Troy) than i have heard sofar from other players. And i can imagine that if you are learning things his way from a certain age it will work for anyone who is dedicated enough.

1 Like
#136

6 posts were split to a new topic: 90s Charcoal 570 (plus bonus cats)

#141

It’s ok to be skeptical, but there is no need to let his content speak for himself. You can address the arguments in his video, and if you have issues with them, you can debunk them. The truth of his claims can be evaluated right here right now, what do you even mean let his content speak for himself ??? If you mean you want proof it works in real life, Anton is living proof, and his more advanced russian students are amazing as well. And if you mean that we’re all Anton-Bots (lol), you’re saying you’re annoyed at people sharing his youtube videos on ctc ??? As far as I’m concerned Andyjoy made a “legal” post that consisted of Anton’s video, you can criticize it if you want, your comment is just another conspiracy you have no evidence for. Let’s discuss technique and have fun, which is what this forum is all about…come on man.

#143

I mean, it’s radically better than when the Tom Hess guys used to come on here; at least Anton can actually play the guitar.

1 Like
#149

The dude can obviously play, and skipping through the latest video proves that. Everyone will have their own bias on what would make him “the best” (him playing a particular style or piece of music, e.g. @bradejensen wanting him to play perfect Gypsy jazz). That must be tiring for the dude, as there as all kinds of opinions on who’s the best picker (which is why the last video he posted is commendable and impressive).

That being said, the way he pitches this approach kind of sucks. Definitely in the “I won’t tell you a single thing until I have your money first” style, which is ballsy unless you have some really notable students to prove it.

Maybe we could get some actually clips from his students (@Veryslowandinnacurat for example)?

4 Likes
#150

I’d be really interested to see some of the Oparin students in this thread posting their own (current) playing instead of just frothing at the mouth at the mere implication that their teacher might not be the Second Coming of Guitar Jesus. Demanding evidence works both ways, and simply saying “there’s the facts! It’s science!” doesn’t make it so (source: am a scientist).

(Ooops, @Pepepicks66 beat me to it!)

3 Likes
#157

It is just laughable really, with how well things can slow down video and especially the clarity in audio slow down. We could slow down Anton, and just figure it out ourselves. Like Troy Grady has done. No need to pay money to be shown a technique that we can already see. Unless he has some killer songs, solos, and phrases I don’t see the need in handing someone a weeks worth of pay. And even these things as cheap as they are anyone can put in the work to learn anything by ear by anyone.

To praise of someone so highly that they can play anything with a pick. I just needed to clarify that it wasnt true, I also said proper not perfect. Please dont put words in my mouth that I never said.

#160

Wow. You took the thoughts from my brain and said it WAY better than I did haha thanks. Totally respect the skill and it’s peaked my curiosity, but his approach has me cautious. And you were able to identify his approach, we are on the same page my friend

2 Likes
#163

Hi All,
I’m sorry but I’ll have to lock this thread until I or Troy have time to check comments properly (probably tomorrow). I have 5 flags from this conversation alone and counting and currently travelling, so I have to temporarily stop to make sure things remain manageable.

Just want to stress that we all respect Anton as the awesome player that he is, so please do not interpret this thread locking as an attack towards him and/or his students.

Thanks for the patience!

3 Likes
#165
#166

Hi All,

I did a fair bit of deleting, please do not take it personally but things were obviously going off the rails. In fact, I still left some posts where I’m not 100% sure if they belong here (either because of the non ideal tone, or because off-topic).

For the record, it’s totally fine to discuss Anton’s technique and approach, but we have to keep the discussion civil. As soon as the discussion looks like a fight between 2 (or more) people, you gotta stop it, we don’t want this stuff in here.

I will reopen but keep an eye on this thread.

2 Likes
#167

Interesting to see how polarising Anton is. I have purchased, and watched all of his videos.

His ability is undeniable, and I personally cannot think of anyone with a better right hand. Don’t confuse your stylistic and musical preferences with reality.

People are making references to gypsy technique, or yngwie (rotational, circular etc) which are incredibly redundant. The purpose behind Anton’s approach is to be clean, synchronised, and without limitation.

In terms of his course, I found it lacking especially with respect to student feedback and engagement. The main ‘principles’ behind his right hand technique could be explained in a 10 minute lesson/email if you are an experienced CTC viewer.

I feel Anton would be able to add more value by offering one on one lessons which would facilitate real time feedback and corrections.

If you watch this latest video and skip to 1:54:55 you will see the one and only difference between Anton and what Troy has covered.

4 Likes
#168

Does he offer any songs with solos in his course? How many?

#169

No, not for international students anyway (possibly he has a different course/system for Russian speaking students)

1 Like
#170

Hard pass, way to much money for nothing of any value in my opinion for my way of approaching music. If I at least cannot come away with 5-10 songs with solos that is an unreal amount of money. I know of plenty of other resources amongst the gypsy jazz community that offers way more for way less with very great quality lessons as well as learning a repetoire worth playing in a live setting.

#171

I think you’ve made your stance crystal clear, and I’m glad you’ve found an affordable ‘resource path’ that serves your goals…That’s what it’s all about :slight_smile:

My goal here is to offer some value to others genuinely interested in learning more about Anton. As stated, skip to 1:54:55 if you want more insight to his approach.

This is the CTC forum after all, there are probably better outlets for confirmation bias :wink:

3 Likes