Whose technique is your ideal and most want to copy?

Playing Technique
#61

Yep that’s a good point, looks almost like Molly Tuttle’s setup which is definitely not how he actually plays.

Re-watching Troy’s video on DSX he really highlights how most DSX has no obvious pickslant, if you catch it at the right angle, in the right light, on the right player then maybe but it’s so negligible it’s almost not worth mentioning :slight_smile:

Agree with you on him playing mostly perpendicular but I don’t think he uses double-escape, he doesn’t really do things that DBX players do does he? Does he ever really play Steve Morse style lines and alternate picked 1nps arpeggios?

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#62

Not that I’m aware of. I think his motion is probably capable but we’ll just have to wonder since he didn’t really go down that road. I’ve always heard Troy refer to Paul as a mixed escape wrist player, which is different than a double escape player. The former does what’s described above - changes escapes on an as needed basis. The latter is what happens when crosspicking - each stroke escapes via a gentle curve

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#63

Not at speed, that I’m aware of. For slower arpeggios, maybe.

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#64

I’m convinced that Paul Gilbert is either an alien from a superior dimension or an advanced human from the future sent back to help us evolve as players. :joy:

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#65

I would agree that if we use @joebegly description above, for his fast lead type guitar playing using scalar lines, he is mixed escape, and stays fairly anchored to the bridge with his pinky side palm. However, he very well may be capable of double escape for arpeggiated chords. There may very well be some example of him doing that with arpeggios out there - maybe during his MI days. In the clip posted above, he clearly uses a shallow rotational radiused shaped escape when changing strings on both down and up strokes when you slow down the footage. His rotational movement when changing after an up is more prominent, but that also could be the angle we are viewing at. He does have pretty controlled pick strokes though that are pretty contained around the string he is playing and because of that, I think the faster he plays, the more shallow those escapes have to become, and that’s when he starts skating/brushing over those strings AKA swiping.

When he plays “the lick” slower right before going into a brief rendition of crazy train and then playing it faster, you can see exaggerated woodpecker hopping. That’s just him trying to embellish what he’s doing. He never actually plays like that.

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#66

After careful consideration I would like to submit another answer for the ideal technique that I’d most want. :drum: …

Rick Graham. Killer alternate picking, killer economy and sweeping, I saw him cover Glass Prison all alternate picking, killer hybrid, killer legato (both using traditional pull offs and the “all hammers” approach), and as if that isn’t enough he is legit classically trained too. Also, he’s very melodic and musical.

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#67

Rick is an amazing player. Good choice.

#68

I’ve been thinking about this topic for awhile now, because I didn’t really have an answer to it because the question seems very odd to me.

I don’t want to copy anyone elses technique per se, I want to find techniques that work for me so I can play what I want. I don’t really associate techniques with any one particular player except for very unique ones like Marty Friedman.

Stylistically, well that’s a completely different question and it seems to me that is what is really being asked and expressed in this thread. So my answer to that is Randy Rhoads sense of composition and fireyness, mixed with Eric Johnson and Andy Woods fluidity, mixed with Allan Holdsworths amazing sense of harmony and smoothness mixed with Jeff Beck’s amazing phrasing and unorthodox expression, mixed with David Gilmour’s amazing expressiveness and touch, mixed with Scott Ian’s crushing tone and fun, mixed with James Hetfields impeccible timing and control.

I don’t want much do I? Hah!

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#69

I’d like to be able to play like George Bellas if had to pick just one guitar hero.

#70

Here is an example of Paul doing either DBX or very clean swiping where blazes between strings high E-B-E-B-E-G (then pull-off on the G string and back to high E). He also demos a trill at 2:25 between the high E and B strings that just looks effortless (and once again indistinguishable from swiping if that’s what he’s doing).

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#71

I’d forgotten about that lick! I don’t hear swipes. There’s a little eff up at 1:30 but these seem like clean string changes. He’s favoring outside picking and I’m sure the hammer on is a musical choice but there’s nothing mechanically requiring it. That would make the final note DSX, facilitating the big string skip.

I’m pretty certain, if he felt like, he could do some monster 1nps patterns. His choice of vocabulary just didn’t take him there (often). Seeing this clip we can’t say “never” :slight_smile:

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#72

Agreed. I would love to see Paul dip his toe into the Bluegrass world just to see what he would come up with.

#73

I think we all kind of suspect that he is very capable of 1nps alternate picked lines. And honestly I don’t hear much excessive swiping in a lot of his playing, particularly in the other clip above.

#74

We know he does it in the “the lick”…is that about it though? There’s other stuff he played on Intense Rock that had clean string changes at similar speeds. I’m not super familiar with his catalog, I know you are though

#75

I dunno. I never really started paying attention to it until I started coming around here. To me he just had this aggressive muted alternate picked style that I thought sounded awesome.

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