Mike for the Shredder award?

[HemeHaci]

Why would anyone define better as more accurate?
What is accurate? A computer would be the most "accurate" if you programmed it with notes.

It's my preference, you don't have to like it.

And yes computer would be the best according to MY definition.


That feel thing is so fucking subjective that I can idioticly claim that a five year old kid plays better while only hitting 1 out of 99 notes correctly. I needed a more solid ground there.

And also I have foreseen these kind of talk coming so I have added that "feel" "soul" thing in my first post...

 

[Realturka]

all I can say is if this poll is going by talent Mike has it in the bag

+1

But when has it EVER gone by the talent?

By the way, I'm laughing so hard right now, all those guys talking to Akerfeldt about his soloing

 

[Lethal01]

a 2 year old can play your solos as good as you do

Fixed.

 

[HemeHaci]

By the way, I'm laughing so hard right now, all those guys talking to Akerfeldt about his soloing

And the reason to that?

 

[Mikael Akerfeldt]

Hmmm, I could certainly not play his stuff, that's very true.
But by accurately you mean exactly?
His style is so far apart from my own. He barely has a vibrato similar to mine and he rarely seem to play longer notes.

Certainly not saying that I'm the greatest by any means, but I guess some of you here have a completely different definition of what makes a great guitar player than...me.

Also, the 2 year player dude seem to have very high opinions about his playing...where are the samples?

Anyways, I'm not grumpy, but being compared and even dismissed as a player in favour of Herman Li is not something I expected, and it's a little bit of an insult in my world haha! There's literally nothing about that band that appeals to me and least of all their guitarplaying. Where's the "tone", I can't hear it anyways....

Mike

 

[RB2610]

I'm not sure but I think it may be an innuendo (@HemeHaci)

(Whoo, I have a higher post count than Mikael Akerfeldt!! (until he can login on the other account that is ))

 

[Blackwater Demon]

It really brightens my day to see these posts from Mike. I doubt yoou will read this Mike but I just wanted to simply say thank you for all these years of great music.

 

[Mikael Akerfeldt]

Cheers man!
Mike

 

[RB2610]

It really brightens my day to see these posts from Mike. I doubt yoou will read this Mike but I just wanted to simply say thank you for all these years of great music.

I was going to say something like that but I didn't want to sound like a suckup or 'teachers pet'

 

[Annihilat0r]

At this point I think we need to separate writing good music and playing good guitar. I don't think anyone could possibly compare Herman Li and you (YOU, mikael) in songwriting and musical talent. It would be insulting. (that sentence was in favor of YOU)

Here are the facts:

1. "Playing with feeling" means playing a piece written with feeling. You can bring me the best "feeling" solo you have ever heard, and I tab the exact notes and times to Guitar Pro, and then when someone plays that complete actual tab, it will be with "feeling". Feeling is created by nothing more than notes and how long you play them. If the tablature is %100 accurate, and if you play %100 accurately, then you will have exactly simulated the original solo and however it sounds like, "feeling" or speed or anything.

2. If you can play super fast guitar accurately, chances are that you will be able to play slower stuff accurately, too. And if the tab you're accurately reproducing is an accurate tab itself, then there is no problem.

CONCLUSION #1: Playing the guitar and "musical" talent are different things. Musical talent has nothing to do with your motor functions such as moving your hands fast and synchronizing your two hands tightly. Playing the guitar is all about those things. Of course, those motor functions I'm talking about also rely on some kind of talent that will determine how long training it will take you to play something really fast.

CONCLUSION #2: Herman Li can reproduce your solos (or any of your idols' solos) with the same feeling as you've created them. But he cannot write those solos by himself. He is a shredder and you are a musician.

Also, the 2 year player dude seem to have very high opinions about his playing...where are the samples?

I'm looking at the receipt for my first guitar amp that I bought with my first guitar (which was the first time ever I touched a guitar) and it writes 17.03.2007.

I don't have a lot of recorded samples, I only got three: Deliverance solo, Funeral Portrait solos (both of them). If you would like to, I can give you the links. However you should keep in mind that they were recorded last July - only 1 year after I first touched a guitar. I'm a lot better than that, now.

No, seriously, I don't think it's a big deal to reproduce most Opeth solos accurately, Opeth isn't about shredding. "I CAN PLAY OPETH SOLOS" is not "I have very high opinions about my playing"

 

[Blackwater Demon]

I was going to say something like that but I didn't want to sound like a suckup or 'teachers pet'

if you are calling me a suck up or "teacher'spet" then all I can say or type is lol. Im not afraid to tell my favorite singer for my favorite band how I feel about their music.

 

[Antyman]

I believe Herman Li is faking it on albums (speeding it up etc.) but that's just my opinion, based on live performances and random videos. Just check their "Betcha can't play this", thought it was a joke the first time I saw it.
so.. Herman Li is leaving this discussion! Period! it's like comparing a microweave oven to a medium sized nipple.. (they are very different)
I don't know about Mikael being a shredder though, but yet an awesome guitar player.

 

[gumtree]

Comparing Mike's playing to that of Herman Li is futile. They're of completely different styles that appeal to completely different people.

And yes, Fred should be in this thing too, definitely.

 

[RB2610]

Nah, I was just kidding (hence the that I put, like in this post as well) (@Blackwater Demon)

I'm thinking maybe Herman Li has an issue with playing at lower speeds, possibly he doesn't keep time while playing very well which is of course unnoticeable at high speeds so he can get away with it but at lower speeds he could be really out of time (I'm just guessing stuff here btw) Otherwise surely they would have played at lower speeds at some point to add some variety to their music, or maybe they are just that uncreative in their writing? They also haven't done covers of anyone elses music (which would be slower than theirs) which is a little unusual considering they have been around for some time now.

 

[Mikael Akerfeldt]

Wow, I'm being lectured here.

So you're saying that any guitarplayer that has played a little can reproduce a classic, say Hendrix solo, just the way it was meant to be played? I see what you mean by having a 100% accurate tab, but there's so much more to it. There's the vibrato, the pitch of the bends, the milliseconds between the notes that came from the originators heart and that can't be tabbed.

When you play another persons solo, you might think "Golly, sounds just like the real thing", but believe me, it doesn't. That's why you can hear some players that it's "HIM" playing, and that's also the reason I don't fancy shredders that much. It covers up the flow of human emotions in the playing with a million notes per seconds. You can barely tell the difference between some of these cats until the hold on to a note.

I think there's a chance you might have lost yourself in a world of tabs and instructional videos that you've forgotten what separates the innovators from the imitators. You tell me you can reproduce a Reine Fiske lick and I would have to think you're pulling my leg. It's simply not possible. Sure you might get all the right notes in there but for his fans, you'd be nowhere near.

There's probably a million disagreements in your head as you read this, but I've never heard anyone reproduce a legendary solo with the same passion and fire in which way it was originally executed.

Not telling you that's how it is, but that's the way I see it anyways.

Mike

 

[Annihilat0r]

I don't disagree with you that much, because I agree that there are tons of parameters of playing a solo and I would agree that even if you're super accurate you won't be able to catch that "legendary" thing. But can the player himself reproduce a legendary solo he did in the studio but this time live, with that same passion and fire? I doubt it. The studio sound after all isn't really producable in a live environment.

About the "instructional video"s, the only instructional video of sorts I ever followed was your own "Dissecting the Drapery Falls" video which helped me greatly, thank you for that

 

[Annihilat0r]

Oh, one more thing: If you continue this argument I will have to throw a tomato at you at the Istanbul show. Even worse, I will scream "I WANT TO SUCK YOUR COCK, MIKE!!!" in a very wild manner during one of the clean interludes.

 

[Mikael Akerfeldt]

Haha, no tomatos please!

Yah, that was certainly not meant as a instructional video per se, something we we're "forced" to do and it came out like that. Sadly.

Obviously the original player would play the solo slightly different each time but it'd certainly be a lot more genuine than if some other player did it, and you'd hear it came from the hands of the originator.

I just don't believe in reproducing "magic". If what you're saying is true (which it isn't, hehe) it diminishes the importance of some of the musical treasures we have out there. No other player could get my juices flowing like Blackmore in "Stargazer", like Gilmour in "Shine on...." and the rest of them. Even if you had a complete set of tabs.

OK, bed time...I'm actually in Istanbul right now.
Mike

 

[Nasty-Fire]

Wow... what a... let's say... constructive argumentation between Mikael and Annihilat0r. Currently watching each arguments and here's my conclusions.

1. Mikael shouldn't be part of the called "shredders".
2. A shredder isn't necesserly better than someone who doesn't shred.
3. What makes something "good/better" depends on one's view. For Mikael, there's a special vibe, feeling that cannot be reproduced that makes a guitarist good, and whether you are a shredder or not, you won't necesserly get that vibe when playing. It's more than just playing the right notes at the right times. It's personnal.
4. Annihilat0r should record newer reproductions of Opeth solos' before trying to excuse his lack of experience, which isn't even provable (most people lie about this to look better).
5. My final conclusion : Annihilat0r got some good points.. it's good to know technically how to play guitar. But is it necessery to "shred" and play hyper-fucking-fast to be better? I don't think so. And can a great shredder reproduce flawlessly the way the greatest musicians played.. no, again, not necesserly.

 

[Antyman]

some people can't capture that feeling no matter how long they have been playing. Just look at me, I've been playing a swedish instrument called "Skinnbanjo" for some 10 years, and I ain't gettin any better I tell you.
no, but seriously, I rock..