The breaks in my solos depend on what I am going for in the solo. I do like to start my breaks with a right hand technique though. Normally a pinch harmonic or rake or something worls for me, but it depends on the solo.
I try to use three elements when I write any solo and technique is only one of those. The other two are style and emotics.........
I basically suck at jazz, so I keep away from it as far as style and my best styles are blues and classical and particularly harmonic minor in the classical style.
As far as emotics, I "fit" it to the song and if it is an instrumental, I calculate it in first. With only a few exceptions, emotics and technique (as far as technical wizardry) cancel each other out .
I have been playing for 20 years so I have a few riffs and tricks I suppose basically to impress other guitarists, but they sound "flashy" as opposed to impressionable. I have always preferred guitarists that can blend all three elements into solos that I have mentioned. In fact, that is probably how I came up with those three elements.
Most of my favorite solos of all time incorporate all of those elements and I can honestly say I have written solos in simple pentatonic blues that I think are as good as the most technically advanced solos I have written. I love to shred, but unless I can make the guitar "sing" and put a stylistic impression on it that seperates me from others, I am not happy with it.
As far as intermediate solos, buy Accept's "Metal Heart." Wolf Hoffmann is far and away my favorite guitarist and he is that because he blends both feeling with technical wizardry and also blends classical with blues. THose things are what I mentioned when writing my solos and I am not ashamed to say I do that because I try and follow in his footsteps.
Bryant
