SOLO of the Month #4 - Chat

Antique_Guitars

This is the 4th SOLO of the Month (SotM) Challenge, being run by @Antique_Guitars and @TTony.

The idea is that we give you a new backing track to solo over every month, the backing track will be a maximum of 1.5mins long and you will have to download the track from soundcloud and record your solo over the top of it and then submit it to us.

The challenge is now open, and remains open for submissions until 24th June.

All you have to do is ...

• Download the backing track and record you solo over the top of it.
  
• Challenge opens on the 1st of every month, and closes on the 24th of the month.
• Voting opens on the 25th of the month, and closes on the last day of the month, when the winner will be announced.

Here is this months backing track (you can download it from soundcloud)

Specs: Pop Ballad C Major

Let us know if you would like your entry to be anonymous.

Send your tracks to solos@theFB.co.uk

The tracks will be uploaded to our SoundCloud account and saved in a playlist that will be linked below

PLEASE GIVE CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK ON PEOPLES SOLOS AND RECORDING TECHNIQUES IF YOU HAVE TIME

bingefeller

I'm getting 90 bpm for this one.

Gonna skip this one this month.  Not feeling this backing at all.  

markv

Hmm, yes, a bit more of a challenge this one. It sounds like a section from a pop song that would have a 20-30 second solo, at most. Typically you'd key a solo off the song's melody ... but we don't have one of course. Hmm <thinks>

Antique_Guitars

Yep this one is a curve ball peeps, you just gotta try and do something crazy!

RedRabbit

I'm hoping to join in this month.  Just need to sort out a new audio interface as my old Line6 toneprt has died.

markv

I'm thinking about digging out the slide. Apologies in advance.

Teetonetal

Going to enter this one... I went for the cheesiest solo 80's hair rock solo I could

RedRabbit

@Antique_Guitars is there a preferred format for emailing solos?

Antique_Guitars

Nah anything goes :-)

RedRabbit

Cool, my WAVs are huge and I'm having trouble with mp3 codecs. 

I've got something recorded.  If I'm still happy with it in the morning I send it over.

TTony

RedRabbit said:

@Antique_Guitars is there a preferred format for emailing solos?

@RedRabbit @Antique_Guitars

If you want me to act as backup, then it's got to be mp3 files.  If people start sending large wav (or other format) files through, I'll have to block the forwarding to my email as my Broadband speed is pathetic.

RedRabbit

TTony said:

RedRabbit said:

@Antique_Guitars is there a preferred format for emailing solos?

@RedRabbit @Antique_Guitars

If you want me to act as backup, then it's got to be mp3 files.  If people start sending large wav (or other format) files through, I'll have to block the forwarding to my email as my Broadband speed is pathetic.

Don't worry @TTony I wouldn't send the WAV, it's 26MB so I doubt it would even leave my outbox.  I'll try to convert it to mp3 but failing that it'll be ogg which I believe would be a similar size to an mp3.

I will try and sort out the mp3 codec though as it's got to be easier for everyone. 

Antique_Guitars

It's ok I can upload them soon probably tomorrow

RedRabbit

Right.  I've sorted the mp3 codec in a round about sort of way.  For the life of me I couldn't get the 64bit codec working with Reaper last night but audacity took care of it this morning.

Email sent.

Sambostar

Had a go at this, it came off as eternal hard rock ramblings and all my bends were sharp as I haven't played in a while, so may give it a miss 

I've concluded that I drink way too much caffeine and inhale too much nicotine to have any control over a tasteful major solo anyway. 

Also really hard to get the guitar to sound part of the track.  I'm using headphones and Audacity this time, but still the inbuilt laptop mic. It's cleaner but sounds very disjointed together.  I think laptop only has one headphone input. 

Would a splitter for a mic and headphones work?

mellowsun

Nice backing track, I'll see if I can give this one a go.

TTony

Mine is done.

See who notices what's wrong with it.  I noticed, but decided that I wouldn't manage to play it the same a second time, so I've left it as is!!

Playlist created too @Antique_Guitars

RedRabbit

I'm trying not to worry about the mistakes in mine.  I liked the general feel I got and wouldn't be able to reproduce it easily so I left them in. 

Similarly I'll wait to see if they are spotted.  They're glaringly obvious to me but I know they're there.

Antique_Guitars

uploaded all now

Stevepage

Just sent mine in.

Very nice track to jam on after a nice holiday I've just had.

SquireJapan

Woo! First submission by me - two nasty mistakes, but hey-ho ... at least I've done something this month