Author: geebee

  • Cathedrals

    I’ve mentioned it a couple of times before, but as someone who was introduced to modern rock guitar by Joe Satriani’s The Extremist (before quickly discovering Surfing with the Alien and Flying in a Blue Dream), I’ve continued to have a huge affection for up-tempo instrumental rock tracks that are less about showing off, and…

  • Christmas at the Beach

    Christmas isn’t just about snow and wellington boots and a big roaring fire; in fact that only really applies in the Northern Hemisphere. This song was written after a rather nice Christmas Day spent working on my tan. As it turns out, warm, laid back, summery sounding guitars actually go surprisingly well with sleigh bells.

  • SOLAR SR1.6AMP – Demo

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    I bought the SR1.6AMP because I decided needed a six-string guitar with an Evertune bridge to make it easier to record clearer, more in-tune rhythm parts which would sit nicely in a mix with the synthesised instruments I use for orchestration. In particular, I wanted to try out the Fishman Fluence Modern pickups, since I’d…

  • SOLAR SR1.6AMP – Quick Review

    I thought I’d write up some first impressions of the Solar SR1.6AMP which I just picked up. I haven’t seen any reviews for this model online at all, so I figured somebody might find this helpful. This is a six-string superstrat with a set-through neck joint (I think? the website also describes it as a…

  • My Good Nature

    This is another very Satch-esque track in the vein of something off “Unstoppable Momentum” or “What Happens Next”, with a bit of a twist in the form of an intro which channels the sort of guitar/bass tapping duet that Billy Sheehan is known for (with about 1/100th of the talent). This one is all about…

  • It’s ALIVE: Return of FrankenJEM

    My JEM has been through some guitar surgery and, I’m pleased to say, come out stronger for it. The JEM 7VP has the bones of a great guitar, but there are some frustrating corners cut, and some hardware choices that I’m not the biggest fan of. A lot of this is personal preference; I must…

  • SHAKE 2

    This is the track which inspired the rest of the SHAKE project. I used my Ibanez ARZ in drop-D tuning for the rhythm parts and a mixture of the ARZ and my JEM for the leads. Plugins were ii ii ii ii by Otto Audio for the rhythm tracks, along with Parallax by Neural DSP…

  • Hang On

    This started out as an exercise in figuring out how to take advantage of the low strings of my 8-string. Then I added a coda which somehow turned into its own whole song. This was pretty heavily influenced by both Devin Townsend and Astronoid. Because MP3 players are still pretty bad at seamlessly transitioning between…

  • Jericho

    This song is a bit of a Van Halen tribute. I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of their actual songs, but they were a bunch of amazing musicians with a unique sound, and whose influence can’t be overstated. American music from that era exudes independence and confidence in a way which…

  • I Need a Beat

    Sometimes, I just set an audio track to record and sing the first thing that comes into my head. In the case of this track, it was the “I need a beat…beat…beat….beat” line. After that, it was pretty much inevitable that this was going to turn into one of those songs that’s just about writing…