A place to talk about the music of the Grateful Dead
wolftigerrosebud wrote:On Friday I saw Pat Metheny play through a 20 year-old digital preamp that you can by on eBay for under $300. And he sounded exactly like... Pat Metheny!because it's all in your fingers. That's why Jerry sounds like Jerry when he played acoustic. It makes no difference. Play what you like.
Alligator wrote:It's all in ya fangers.It's in your ears as well
It's in your ears as wellWell put. I've been working on the Blues for Allah Franklin's for a few years. Sound's so easy, but it requires a good set of ears to really tell what's happening. I've given up on the note for note thing and refocused on patterns and strategies, like how to approach a target note or leave it, and where in the bar to highlight a target note. In Jerry's studio solo on this tune, he actually avoids hitting the g note even though that's the root of the passing chord. If you hit a g it just sounds wrong, but there are other notes in the g major chord to pick from.
I've been workin towards JG tone and playing for years now and some equipment choices have made it easier to get in the ball park
But once in the ball park, I've had to adjust my playing to be cleaner and more balanced.
The super clean and crispy high end can be very revealing of sloppy playing, but once you listen to your self and make an effort to tighten up your playing you find the tone you are looking for. Balance has really been the key.
The next area of improvement requires study of JGs actual note choices, and soloing strategies
