[LWJ]

Wolfe,

I like it. I am a bass player who has migrated into a guitar hobby. I suck on guitar pretty bad so I know how you feel. Here is what I think.

First, you are not a bad player at all. You however are not a brilliant player, yet. Overall, pretty good. I like the above comments about dynamics and mixing up some complexity into the sustained notes. Also, there is a comment about less is more above. I agree. I think a goal is story telling on solos. Build on the melody. Build the tension. Release.

I am a fan of a number of players we all know. I find more brilliance in someone like BB King who can hit three notes and simply drive it home. The three perfect notes with the perfect delivery. The guys who puke 10,000 notes all over the stage like EVH (sorry for the sacrilege - he is great but he doesn't know the meaning of subtle) really miss a big piece. Not wanting to start an argument over BB vs EVH, I hope you can pick up what I am saying.

Your style is very David Gilmore. A great thing in my book. I LOVE his sound. Some things that work for me. I started playing acoustic bass. I have vibrato all day long. For me, I just wiggle my left hand. It is natural now. Sometimes, I can grab some vibrato on an open note by even wiggling the guitar. Not nearly as pronounced but I can hear it. Experiment.

I greatly prefer fat strings. I will drop a 1/2 step if the tension is too much to pull off what I desire. I get a tonal delivery with the thicker strings that just doesn't happen with the thin ones. This drives my inspiration. I am VERY inconsistent and put out a range from garbage to greatness. Usually pretty crappy stuff. HOWEVER, as well all know, there are times when I really deliver. What is funny? I notice that I am pretty well caffeinated most of the times that I put out something that makes me say "wow! I can't believe I just did that!"

Good luck. I would kill for the tone that you have from your gear. Have fun. I hope this was helpful.

Larry