Look at this guy play! [Archive] - Harmony Central Musician Community Forums

Terje

01-01-2003, 11:24 PM

Why doesn't he play piano instead? I mean seriously cause he's not getting the real guitar tone this way. We're not hearing the string attack. By the end of the day it is just a cirkus trick.

Would I do this trick if I knew how to? Of course! :D

jazbrokr

01-02-2003, 12:14 AM

Agree with deathkoba!

yawn................ no feel at all..................

Uncle Os

01-02-2003, 12:46 AM

I can't DL here at work. However, from some of the criticism I'm reading I think I'm familar with the guys playing from the Guitarwars DLs. Two hands on the fretboard but *NOT* Stanley Jordan. Sounds kinda 'one dimensional'. Almost like the way Satch does his two handed stuff, right?

If it's the same guy, I'm able to appreciate the deviation from the 'norm'. But it leaves me limp. Know what I mean? It's cool for a few minutes, but after that narcolepsy sets in. That being said... Sure wish I could play like that. LOL

Os

Uncle Os

01-02-2003, 09:00 AM

Please disregard my last post!!!

I think this is COOL!! This Chinese (I assume he's Chinese since his name is Xia) kid is kick ass! LOL I like all of the noodling he does FAR better than his chosen forte for music. Although what he plays in the video is acrobatic and full of 'technique', it's far more melodic and pleasing to listen to than the 'difficult' metal-ish rythm he was playing.

My $0.02 :)

In short... If you know the guy... Tell him to keep it up. He brought a smile to my face. :D

Respectfully, Os

thedregsphil

01-02-2003, 01:40 PM

I have to be honest. I am not at all impressed. I was in Amsterdam over the summer, and I saw a street musician who blew my mind. This guys name is Carlos Vamos. He had a couple of cd's that I bought direct from him on the street. He does the tapping thing too, but he does it a thousand times better than the guy in the vid. Instead of a bunch of standard crap, Carlos used the technique of tapping to make something that is actually good. You guys should have seen the crowd this guy had. They watched him like a god. The guy in the vid is never gonna get out of the bedroom with that crap. It may be neat to show your friends when they come over, but it is only a novelty in the hands of an amateur.

Jack E Martling

01-02-2003, 02:10 PM

Sounds like a bunch of noise to me. I wonder how impressive he would be if you took away his insane amount of gain, chorus and delay?

bob-ingram

01-02-2003, 04:20 PM

BB King can say more with one note than this guy........

I can do that with one hand tied behind my back. :rolleyes:

Guys like this always amaze me, the physical ability is amazing, but the musical applications are almost 0. Can you imaging jamming with him?

deathkoba

01-02-2003, 04:31 PM

Bob, I don't know about BB King....last I heard him play, he couldn't bend a note in tune to save his life. Great singer IMHO but nothing special in terms of guitar playing. In fact I thought he was awful. He is at the very least an overrated guitarist. Even SRV and the other cheeseballs hold up better than BB.

Uncle Os

01-02-2003, 04:32 PM

Holy Hell, guys!!! A little heavy-handed with the criticism today aren't we?! LOL It's obvious the guy is A) Young! B) A bedroom player C) A Vai fan and D) In Transition.

Maybe you guys have been playing for so long you don't remember what it was like to be 'developing'. I remember it very well. Holy cow. I was 13 when a friend showed me *ONE* tapping lick ala EVH. I got rid of the Electra Les Paul, got a copy-cat strat and began tapping JUST LIKE XIA!!! I was good at it too. Just like that kid in the vid. I, like our good friend Xia, was criticized. They would say, "Duuuude. All you know is technique', man...." Me, my copycat strat, my MXR Distortion +, my Carvin X100 head, my Accoustic 4x12 cab and my fingers on the fretboard... Yes. In the bedroom. Hehe. A year later, I played my first 'dirt gig' infront of about 200 people. It was wonderful experience. It's all about 'transition' and moving on to bigger and better things.

Lighten up, guys. Sheesh!

Respecfully, Os

Jack E Martling

01-02-2003, 04:43 PM

Originally posted by deathkoba
In fact I thought he was awful. He is at the very least an overrated guitarist.

I can't believe I just read this. How much of his recorded stuff have you heard? I'd bet not too much if that's what you think about BB King. The guy is almost 75 years old for Christs sake, cut him some slack.

babybatter

01-02-2003, 04:52 PM

Impressive.

He does have that 'passive bedroom player' thing going on.

Lots of people are going to poo-poo him because he probably cant fit his thing into a band context. Which is silly, really. He seems quite content to be a bedroom player, and while thats not what I want for the long term, he seems to do it well.

His fretboard and general musical knowledge exceed probably everyone else on this board, so Im squinting a little at the nay sayers. ;)

Its not playing I ever care to emulate, but I do enjoy some of his music. Its hard to play an intricate 'song' on a solo guitar without lots of fretboard wizardry. Hes an electric shredder leo kottke.

Except for his last piece, there is no string shaking and vibrato, which guitar purists always see as the ultimate benchmark. Which is silly....I love killer vibrato too, but his songs have no place for them. They would sound silly with a big killer SRV twang. Thats not what hes attempting to communicate.

Top notch guitar player. Dont know if hes into playing with other people or not, but that doesnt diminish his obvious fretboard wizardry.

deathkoba

01-02-2003, 05:22 PM

Jack, you're gonna hear a lot of unbelievable things from me....
Like this one for example.......
DAMN. He's 75 and still doesn't have the ears to bend to a passably pleasant pitch? UGh.

or how about this one: I can't stand SRV's appearance, voice and music. Good guitar player though. Yngwie plays better guitar blues.
or this: Neil Young blows.

and countless other Koba classics.
:D

TheMan

01-02-2003, 05:27 PM

Remember the old variety show/vaudeville spinning plate act? This is at least as cool and amazing as that. You just don't see enough plate-spinners these days...

bob-ingram

01-02-2003, 05:41 PM

Originally posted by Jack E Martling

I can't believe I just read this. How much of his recorded stuff have you heard? I'd bet not too much if that's what you think about BB King. The guy is almost 75 years old for Christs sake, cut him some slack.

Ummm... BB's 67 this year.

Oh my God, he played out of tune. LOL. Who cares, he's a great entertainer and a living legend.

BTW, I was joking.

jazbrokr

01-02-2003, 05:51 PM

I think the reason that I, and some others may have reacted strongly about the video, is that this video has been on other forums with massive threads proclaiming this guys "godlike" status. I find everything about his playing devoid of feel and wonder how so many think that this is killer playing. Although I disagree with deathkoba about certain bluesplayers, I do agree that the one part where the chinese guy bends and riffs, sounds like a total beginner. Just horrid. I say this because the video has been held out and presented as some kind of exceptional display of virtuosity. Maybe not here, but on guitar.com and guitarwar.com. I am appaled that so many are so skunked. No feel. No musical talent, imo. A technical display of coordination at best.

Scott

SuperMcFly

01-02-2003, 06:03 PM

Great technique.

Jack E Martling

01-02-2003, 06:04 PM

Originally posted by deathkoba
Jack, you're gonna hear a lot of unbelievable things from me....

Yngwie plays better guitar blues.

You are right, those are unbelievable. To each his own.

Bob, what I meant was BB is older so I wouldn't necessarily judge his legendary status by seeing him in concert recently. I didn't have his birth certificate in front of me when I posted that I thought he was in his 70's.

deathkoba

01-02-2003, 06:17 PM

I love the faces BB makes when he does bend though;)

Fred5

01-02-2003, 06:18 PM

He's out of tune and the sound generally sucks. For being a kid in a bedroom it's okay though.
He might be real good someday. If he's 11, I'm impressed, if he's 15, I'm not. I've heard kids in music stores that were better in several ways.

So, I'm basically with jazbrokr and deathkoba on this one. 2 very impressive players, btw. :)

deeperquest

01-02-2003, 06:19 PM

Originally posted by deathkoba
I love the faces BB makes when he does bend though;) Put your bacon to my head!

LeftHandHack

01-02-2003, 07:16 PM

I was wondering where all the hits on my site for this vid were coming from. I put this vid on my site coz he has some pretty neat tricks. Reading through this thread I have to say...Nowhere have I ever said he was "godlike" or anything of the sort. But to say he is unmusical or to slam him in such a heavy handed manner is riduculous and imo egotistical. He's better than I and most other weekend axe slingers most likely. In any event, he posted this originally at g.com to get some feedback and let people know that there are a large amount of guitarists in China who are wanting to learn. Thats all. Sure, the kids went nutz over it, but isn't that expected.

:(

jazbrokr

01-02-2003, 07:25 PM

Chuck,

I never said you said he was godlike! I was referring mainly to the thread at G.com. I was appalled. I also disagree with you. Although the tapping bits are cool and certainly better than I can tap. His rhythm is not good. His lead work, frankly is lame. Call me egotistical, but if so many were not raving I would keep my mouth shut. However, when I see so much misguided praise, I can't control my lips. Btw, you have better solo feel imo.

Scott

Doc Wilson

01-02-2003, 07:25 PM

Hey, let me in on this BB thing. I've been waiting for a polite way to say that I can't understand you guys' reverence for blues antiquity. To me, electric guitar technique only began with Hendrix, everything before was just plinking around (gross overstatement but there is more than a grain of truth there).

stratosteve

01-02-2003, 07:37 PM

burningred

01-02-2003, 08:47 PM

Originally posted by bob-ingram
BB King can say more with one note than this guy........

Guys like this always amaze me, the physical ability is amazing, but the musical applications are almost 0. Can you imaging jamming with him?

+1

Tag101

01-02-2003, 09:03 PM

Originally posted by bob-ingram
the physical ability is amazing, but the musical applications are almost 0. Can you imaging jamming with him?

Lol! My feelings exactly....... I can appreciate the time he spent learning that, but can he play anything?? :confused:

Tag101

01-02-2003, 09:07 PM

Originally posted by Doc Wilson
Hey, let me in on this BB thing. I've been waiting for a polite way to say that I can't understand you guys' reverence for blues antiquity. To me, electric guitar technique only began with Hendrix, everything before was just plinking around (gross overstatement but there is more than a grain of truth there).
Django , Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, George Benson, Albert King etc. etc. were just plinking around??:eek:

Terje

01-03-2003, 04:40 AM

Originally posted by Doc Wilson
Hey, let me in on this BB thing. I've been waiting for a polite way to say that I can't understand you guys' reverence for blues antiquity. To me, electric guitar technique only began with Hendrix, everything before was just plinking around (gross overstatement but there is more than a grain of truth there).

T-Bone Walker was the man. Since then nothing has really happened. Time has stood still and we can all go back and start all over.

Jack E Martling

01-03-2003, 10:39 AM

Originally posted by Doc Wilson
Hey, let me in on this BB thing. I've been waiting for a polite way to say that I can't understand you guys' reverence for blues antiquity. To me, electric guitar technique only began with Hendrix, everything before was just plinking around (gross overstatement but there is more than a grain of truth there).

Surely you jest. I believe that in addition to the blues guys Carl Perkins, Jimmy Bryant, Eldon Shamblin, Link Wray, Duane Eddy, Lonnie Mack, Roy Buchanon and Cliff Gallup were harnessing the power of electricity well before Mr. Hendrix.

burningred

01-03-2003, 12:03 PM

OK, So I've actually watched the video now, and yeah they guy's good. BUT, I had to stop watching it after two minutes because it was so boring.

Six Stringer

01-03-2003, 03:22 PM

Originally posted by Doc Wilson
Hey, let me in on this BB thing. I've been waiting for a polite way to say that I can't understand you guys' reverence for blues antiquity. To me, electric guitar technique only began with Hendrix, everything before was just plinking around (gross overstatement but there is more than a grain of truth there).

Hmmm, Doc you need to start grilling more fish instead of pork on that foreman grill of yours, porks clogging your brain:D

bad_guitar_player

01-03-2003, 05:36 PM

Originally posted by bob-ingram

Ummm... BB's 67 this year.

actually he was born in 1925.

deejmic

01-03-2003, 07:31 PM

Originally posted by Fred5
He's out of tune and the sound generally sucks. For being a kid in a bedroom it's okay though.
He might be real good someday. If he's 11, I'm impressed, if he's 15, I'm not. I've heard kids in music stores that were better in several ways.

So, I'm basically with jazbrokr and deathkoba on this one. 2 very impressive players, btw. :)

There was nothing unmusical about it.
If he's 2 handing his fretboard like that, I'm sure playing rhythm isn't a problem for him.
And if he's 15, I'm still impressed. 99% of the kids playing guitar today couldn't hold my attention for more than 5 seconds and an eye-roll like this:rolleyes:
and that's no bullshit.
I wish all the critics would post a vid of their best solo effort. I'm sure I'd be amazed for 5 seconds and feel compelled for another of these:rolleyes:

jazbrokr

01-03-2003, 07:40 PM

Ummm ok dude

Like I need to prove I can play.

Who said he was 15?? And his rhythm is not good when he improvises. There are plenty of 8 year old girls playing suzuki method violin who can play to a metronome. Does it mean that they have "good" time?

Oh, one other thing. I would LOVE to see Steve Vai play my stuff. Not a prayer. He is hardly the god you think. I mean no disrespect for Steve. A great player and a big influence for many. He is NOT a jazz player. None. Never. No jazz skillz. Also, I don't care for his blues playing at all. That "For the Love of God" is nice, but not what I would call blues. His timing is not laid back. He is a monster, but in his genre. Don't think he can do it all. He can't. Not many can bridge the great musical divides. I think Scott Henderson crosses them with far more adeptness AND diversity than Vai, btw.

Scott

Fred5

01-03-2003, 08:17 PM

Originally posted by deejmic

There was nothing unmusical about it.
We disagree then. I stand by my original statement.
If he's 2 handing his fretboard like that, I'm sure playing rhythm isn't a problem for him.
Tapping isn't in itself difficult. Just a different approach. To me, playing rhythm guitar well isn't easy and nothing in that vid tells me
that he can do that. You are making an assumption that since he can tap, he can play rhythm.

And if he's 15, I'm still impressed. 99% of the kids playing guitar today couldn't hold my attention for more than 5 seconds and an eye-roll like this:rolleyes:
and that's no bullshit.
I wish all the critics would post a vid of their best solo effort. I'm sure I'd be amazed for 5 seconds and feel compelled for another of these:rolleyes:
Sorry, I don't have any impressive solo stuff available on the net. I'm trying hard to make interesting, strange and beautiful music with my band.
http://www.mp3.com/jubie
I don't think you'd like it though :) no offense.