great playing man! I love your style. I was wondering if you could possibly give any insight into how you are achieving your tone. As I myself have been trying to nail a very Vai-ish type sound for some time now with little success. Can you give some information as to your setup, amp, and effects? Please help. Aspiring musician wanting to learn here...
@MrShredtilldead Recording direct from a Boss GT-pro. Within the GT-pro I'm using the pre-amp model of a MESA Dual-Rectifier. All distortion comes from the Gain section of the pre-amp (i.e not using any extra overdrive pedal), bit of delay and reverb and that's it.
@xxHolyxxWolfsbanexx Not great for pulling up as there isn't a recess behind the Floyd. Depending on the position of the Floyd you'll get 2-3 semitones of pull up.
I think it's pretty good for pulling up. When I had my San Dimas set up with .008s (I manned up to .010s recently) I could pull up as much as a 4th on the G string, but I kept it at a major third
@satjathamma Top quality. Mine is one of the first batches of limited colours and made in the US. The current So-Cals are, I think, made in Japan and are slightly cheaper. How this affects build quality I don't know. All I can say is Fender own the Charvel company and I reckon they are built to the same quality standards
I haven't even looked at the other covers of this song yet, and I already know that this is the best one out there. You totally capture Steve's tone and style :D
Hey Nick, great playing man. Why has this guitar got such a great neck?
Im currently a Strat player but i want something with a thinner neck. I was thinking of an Ibanez Jem or a Washburn N4. But is this nice and slim too?
It's a lovely neck it has a really smooth feel to it. It's not got any laquer on it so it has that 'just sanded' feel. Also, it's compound radius so it feels quite full in your hand down by the nut but feels thinner as you go up the neck. It means chording feels nice down by the nut but soloing is not a pain. You get the best of both worlds. Of the guitars I own my Les Paul has the thickest neck and my JEM7PBK has the thinnest (ridiculously thin). The Charvel is somewhere in the middle.
I've always worn my watch on my right wrist, even though I'm right handed. It feels weird to me if I put it on my left! Just using the Boss GT-pro in this vid which has amp modelling and here it is modelling a MESA Dual Rectifier.
When soloing over this I'm playing E Lydian mode, however Steve states that for playing over this track you should use F# Mixolydian. Confused? Don't be, they both work equally well. Why??......because they both contain EXACTLY the same notes.
E Lydian - E F# G# Bb B C# D# E
F# Mixolydian - F# G# Bb B C# D# E F#
You can look at the E Lydian mode and say it's F# Mixolydian starting on an E and vice versa the F# Mixolydian is E Lydian starting on an F#.
hey please answer, is the guitar your using, the charvel socal, are the locks good and prevents it from going out of tune frequently and when it does go out of tune, is it easy to tune back?
I cannot decide if I should get so-cal or san dimas. My local vendor has only green so-cal available for a very good price, but before I found out that I was pretty persuaded to buy san dimas, hah. I want to play Ratt, Badlands, White Lion, Ozzy, Megadeth etc...
I've been looking around for guitars for along time now. i just discovered this, and was like, WOW! alder body with evolution. But i'm still really thinking on it. it's either this, or an ibanez rg3770z prestige. how do you like the neck on this guitar?
The trem doesn't have a recess behind it so it's not really designed to work in both directions. However, the way I have mine set up the trem is angled slightly forward and it allows me a couple of semi-tones of pull up.
I started out with a couple of Yamaha's. An SG200 and a RGX121FP. The RGX is the one I used the most. Yamaha guitars are very playable, well made and cheap. I suppose the current equivalent are the Yamaha Pacifica models. Very good guitar for the money, they play well above what you would expect at that price.
@Nickstermc thanks for responding, i just bought an Ibanez rg370MW but i cant find where to buy a tremolo this guitar has an Edge Pro II tremolo, do you have a clue.?
hey, great vid, sound mint. thinking about getting a so cal myself, just wondered how you rate it? is it a good all round guitar even for clean tones aswell as the heavier rock stuff? thanks
hey bud, hope you agree Vai is the best and most original player on the planet! Like u, I can play my mixolydian scale to this over and over and have a ball. What puts him above all the speed players who go on forever is he is so melodic and I can hum his lead breaks like melodioes and have respect for what it takes to write this stuff. This happens to be my favorite Vai song. Cheers. From Australia.
Good work dude, nice ;) Here's a question no-one's asked til now - are you entirely self taught or did you study somewhere as well? How long you been playing? Any recs for novice/intermediate players? Cheers and Peace Bro!
Good work dude, nice ;) here's a question no-one's asked til now - are you entirely self taught or did you train somewhere in addition? How long you been playing, and do you have any recs for novices/intermediates? Cheers and Peace Bro!
Hi , I started playing at 13, took lessons on and off until I was 17. Been playing for 20 years. At the point I stopped taking lessons I would say I was still very much a beginner. All the big improvements in my playing were achieved on a 'self taught' basis, however, lessons gave me enough theory knowledge to be able to improve my playing on my own. Tips? - don't 'practice' just 'play' . Play things you enjoy playing don't run scales for hours because you think you should. Life's too short!
@Nickstermc do you by any chance like Marty Friedman? he said the same thing : Play things you enjoy playing don't run scales for hours because you think you should
You just got the tone right dead on! Very smooth and flowing. I have to say this is the best cover I've seen so far. Amazing. I want to buy a Charvel So-Cal but they aren't selling the color I want ;~;.. nor do I have the money.
My favourite song in the world! After playin guitar for 31 years and still playin live every weekend, this is brilliant. You can have your malmsteens and petrucci's and whoevers, Steve has that one thing over everyone.....he is so MELODIC! I can sing the first lead break I ever heard from him on "Just Like Paradise". And never stops to amaze me.. Cheers!
great playing sweet ass guitar, im searching ebay c-list for a a green so-cal myself, they are the best thing going for the money, going to change the pickguard to one with just single coil bridge and neck, no middle and throw in a dimarzio norton S and dimarzio Super distortion S (two humbuckers in single coil housings), and put the stock dimarzio buckers in my jackson RR5 cause i hate the duncans
It get any better than this...Great job man! And i really like your tone! please make more videos of you playing famous guitar solos or playing your own atmospheric stuff...
Hey Dude, awsome playing man! You really pulled that one off. I also love the new re issues of these 80's legends. I'd buy one but I really don't like to be without my 24 frets. I suppose though alot of times I never use the last 21,22,23, and 24 frets. I'd be fine though as I could pull out my 24 fretter any time I need it for some tracks anyways. I might just have to try one out. Thier necks and fret work are supposed to be killer out of the box. Cheers dude, IC.
Hey Nick whats up? I am writing in hopes u might be the man to impart a bit of wisdom on how i change a midi inti a backing track? I cant find any noob explainations out here online. any ideas , I have sony acid pro, and sony forge but still havent figuresd out how to change a midi into a useable backing track that sound real not like the midi.any help would be greatly appreciated thanks
Adding to the comment... You can't turn midi sound into real audio. If you want a brass section midi file to sound real, get a bunch of brass players to record it for you. Only way.
hello nick: Let me start by saying im a complete noob. I am wondering more about your gt pro, I am looking at purchasing one and am kinda worried. I have see support vids and patches for the gt 10 but nothing in that regards for the pro. Is it difficult to use setup wise? I heard that when using a 4 cable approach to hooking it up to an amp all the wah sound horrible for one,
Hi, it's very user friendly and easy to use out the box.I believe it's pretty much the same as the GT-10 but with a few more bells and whistles. One of the reasons I bought it was for it's stereo effects loop (I run an Eventide H3000 in the loop) and it's very versatile. You can hook it up to a PC (like the GT-10) and make/download patches for it. I use a Crybaby and haven't tried the onboard wah so can't comment on that. Also I use it purely for recording and have never tried it with an amp.
God damn... this just pushed me over the edge to buy one. :p But to afford one, I'd have to sell my only 2 guitars... (minus my first, would never sell that)
How's the craftsmanship on these? Their USA made right? I'm probably going to get a used Green one or something.
I think the craftmanship is good and , yes, it's US made.You can't fault the quality of the component parts. Dimarzio pickups, original Floyd Rose. The neck is where most of the money is. Charvel know they are known for their necks and that is why a lot of people buy them. This one doesn't disappoint, the neck is first class. The only place I would argue they've cost cut is with the pickguard and pickup selector switch. But who cares about that!
@Nickstermc Ah thanks man. I might have a trade in the works for one of these in this exact color. It's my favorite color. :D Thanks for all the help! Can't wait till I finally own one. This is the only video I can find of the Candy Green one.
It depends how you have the trem set up. I have the trem floated very slightly, so it is angled slightly forward. This means you can pull up a bit on it and, yep, you can get a bit of flutter. There is no recess behind the trem though, so unless you set it up to be angled forward a bit it will sit hard against the body.
Thanks for the response! One more question, does having the trem angled forward affects the tunning stability in anyway when you're doing heavy palm muting riffs?
The Green So-cal is from the second batch of custom colours released by charvel. Every 3 months charvel change the colours available on their USA production series. I bought it when the 2nd batch just came out. At the moment I think they're on batch 7. Have a look on the charvel website, you can see all the previous batches there.
i was not a big fan of S&R but the fact that Terry Bozzio plays drums on it made me like it more, then i heard your take on this song and now i love it
awesome, in your opinion wich pup is better for and Ibanez RG 550, the tone zone or and evo 2 for the bridge? (for playing steve vai songs and all around versatility)
Cheers. Not sure. I like the Tone Zone, but honestly, I've never really tried the Evo's. From reports I believe the Evo's are more subtle and not so 'in your face' as a Tone Zone or PAF pro's.
Grr, I'm getting less and less happy with my Jackson DK2. :(
What kind of pickups do these have? And what is the body made of? My Jackson sounds extremely bright, and I can't get a good warm sound out of it. I'd like to swap the pickups but need some suggestions! Thanks. :)
Well done. I'm looking at snagging a SoCal in this same color if I can find one. I played one just about a week ago and I have to say that I would probably even trade my Eclipse for one if I had the offer.
came here looking for videos of the same guitar as me and founf this awesome solo! haha well done man this is clean as!
Hey you don't happen to know how to adjust the action on these things do you? Bridge is a bit high for my liking but can't seem to figure out how to do it.
The action was a bit high for me when I bought it so I got the tech at the shop to lower it before I left. I watched him do it. He didn't touch the bridge, but tweaked the truss rod. Unfortunately on this type of guitar the neck needs to come off to get access to it. He had the neck off and on again in about 2 minutes ( not something I would be comfortable doing myself) :) It made a massive difference and plays amazing now.
They're both really great guitars for the money. Both have really solid original Floyd Rose trems (not licensed ones). The So-cal edges ahead though for playability and better pickups.
Could you tell me if the pickups are mounted on the pickgaurd or the body, also do you know if there is any routing under the pickgaurd like a strat, or is it like the san dimmas. p.s. 10/10 on the solo
I'm not sure. I think the pickups are mounted on the body. I don't have the guitar to hand to check it. Most of my guitars are in storage at the moment whilst I move house.
Pickups are mounted to the pickguard and there's a route for single coil in the middle. You can replace the pickguard if you'd like, particularly with the Warmoth one.
I'm looking for a second guitar to take with to uni. I mostly play metal, and have a Jackson DXMG with EMG's. I want a decenty guitar, but not one that is going to be or sound the same as the Jackson. I though this looked perfect for what I want, would you reccomend the So-Cal?
Yeah I'd recommend it. It definitely has a different vibe from a Jackson. I've got a Jackson Dinky and it's quite different. It plays a lot better than the Jacksons in my opinion and you'll notice quite a difference in the pickups.
It's ok for clean, but a little muddy for me. I prefer to use a guitar with single coil pickups or a guitar where you can split the coils of the humbuckers for clean stuff.
Hi northenz, Charvel ~ Jackson guitars are mostly made for hard rock and metal music. Maybe you should check Jackson soloist , dinky kind of guitar ( especially soloists are very good guitars if youre looking for a strat shaped ). Im not quite sure about what kind of tone youre looking for but as i said Charvel ~ Jackson guitars are pretty amazing.
Hey man, i love the vid, and i LOVE the guitar. Im really interested in buying one soon. Ive seen some on sale for £1000.. where did you get yours from?
great playing man! I love your style. I was wondering if you could possibly give any insight into how you are achieving your tone. As I myself have been trying to nail a very Vai-ish type sound for some time now with little success. Can you give some information as to your setup, amp, and effects? Please help. Aspiring musician wanting to learn here...
MrShredtilldead 1 month ago
@MrShredtilldead Recording direct from a Boss GT-pro. Within the GT-pro I'm using the pre-amp model of a MESA Dual-Rectifier. All distortion comes from the Gain section of the pre-amp (i.e not using any extra overdrive pedal), bit of delay and reverb and that's it.
Nickstermc 1 month ago
Cheers Nick ! you've inspired me to learn this piece.....wonderful expression in it dude ! I love Vai......keep up the great work and playing - Pete
Rave On !
petecarrollmusic 1 month ago
bravo! bravo! bravo!
tucciotucciify 3 months ago
Holy wow! Amazing! well done!
isthiswhereitype1 3 months ago
unbelievable tone! loved it all.
scotialous21 3 months ago
amigo ese solo es con Reverd... :/ sorry
ozmos500 4 months ago
Great tone and playing! Is that the Dimarzio Tone Zone pick up you are using in the video?
thebibleisalltrue 5 months ago
@thebibleisalltrue Cheers!, Yep, ToneZone used throughout.
Nickstermc 4 months ago
Well played! Great tone!
tyrantsbane 6 months ago
where can i buy that guitar in the U.S.?
LiutenantIroh 6 months ago
great solo dude. sounds epic. rock on
deathproof666 6 months ago
Excellent playing !
ladaxi 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
This rocks so hard!
Creepo85 7 months ago
@Nickstermc Thanks. How is it when it comes to staying in tune and using the bar?
xxHolyxxWolfsbanexx 7 months ago
Dude, I might get this in white with the black pickguard. How is pulling up on the Floyd?
xxHolyxxWolfsbanexx 7 months ago
@xxHolyxxWolfsbanexx Not great for pulling up as there isn't a recess behind the Floyd. Depending on the position of the Floyd you'll get 2-3 semitones of pull up.
Nickstermc 7 months ago
@Nickstermc
I think it's pretty good for pulling up. When I had my San Dimas set up with .008s (I manned up to .010s recently) I could pull up as much as a 4th on the G string, but I kept it at a major third
WoWintosh 6 months ago
that was really beutiful playing,
how is the quality of that guitar?
can you compare it to american strats?
satjathamma 8 months ago
@satjathamma Top quality. Mine is one of the first batches of limited colours and made in the US. The current So-Cals are, I think, made in Japan and are slightly cheaper. How this affects build quality I don't know. All I can say is Fender own the Charvel company and I reckon they are built to the same quality standards
Nickstermc 8 months ago
Dude that was phenominal!!!!!!! If you dont mind me asking, where did you purchase that guitar and for how much?
Tragedyinagraveyard 9 months ago
hi there, bought it in Glasgow at a shop called guitarguitar. I think I payed about £740 for it.
Nickstermc 9 months ago
Fantastic song, fucking great solo, well done man !
BillyBird 9 months ago
Cool playing, man. Thought about telling you, I played this one too... Hope you like it.
Hugs!!!
polcamara 9 months ago
Older Jacksons and Charvels have some of the nicest necks.I admit I like my Jem a lil better,but maybe its because I have gotten used to it.
Nevigo 10 months ago
Fantastic playing!!!!!!!
I´m planning to get the Charvel San Dimas (tele style) with Seymour Duncan Pickups, you think it is a good guitar or is better the So Cal?
alfthorn 11 months ago
I haven't even looked at the other covers of this song yet, and I already know that this is the best one out there. You totally capture Steve's tone and style :D
By the way, Nice guitar!
IbanezShredder91 11 months ago
You're awesome, man! GREAT sound! How you've got it?
HeavyMetaller94 11 months ago
Hey Nick, great playing man. Why has this guitar got such a great neck?
Im currently a Strat player but i want something with a thinner neck. I was thinking of an Ibanez Jem or a Washburn N4. But is this nice and slim too?
Thanks :)
pjc5150 1 year ago
It's a lovely neck it has a really smooth feel to it. It's not got any laquer on it so it has that 'just sanded' feel. Also, it's compound radius so it feels quite full in your hand down by the nut but feels thinner as you go up the neck. It means chording feels nice down by the nut but soloing is not a pain. You get the best of both worlds. Of the guitars I own my Les Paul has the thickest neck and my JEM7PBK has the thinnest (ridiculously thin). The Charvel is somewhere in the middle.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
@Nickstermc Cheers man. Thanks for the reply :) You ROCK, keep it up Nick!
pjc5150 11 months ago
arh getting my charvel socal tomorrow :DD:D:D:D
jorgenschroen08 1 year ago
i like that nice
Gaz83esp 1 year ago
wonderful playing and tone
80smetalchild 1 year ago
Love your playing...check out mine please and thanks...
williamandsusie 1 year ago
Cool)!
TLN56 1 year ago
Great! Was that some 2-string sweeps at 0:27-0:30 btw or just fast alternate-picking?
Lymesloop 1 year ago
Yep. I find I get a cleaner result using that technique.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
Thought so :) Sounds better too.
Lymesloop 1 year ago
a cool guitar in a great player's hands!
quite impressive!!!
prsbaba67 1 year ago
also what amp are you using?
CHEVYDUDE95 1 year ago
sooo im confused, your playing your guitar right handed but your watch is on your right hand?
CHEVYDUDE95 1 year ago
I've always worn my watch on my right wrist, even though I'm right handed. It feels weird to me if I put it on my left! Just using the Boss GT-pro in this vid which has amp modelling and here it is modelling a MESA Dual Rectifier.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
@Nickstermc ah i gotcha thanks for clarifying that man haha
CHEVYDUDE95 1 year ago
Very nice solo man! I love it!
-Could you tell me what scale or mode do you use in your improvisation? Is that the Lydian mode?
-Do you use the same mode that Steve Vai use in this song?
Thanks!
BabarFromHell 1 year ago
When soloing over this I'm playing E Lydian mode, however Steve states that for playing over this track you should use F# Mixolydian. Confused? Don't be, they both work equally well. Why??......because they both contain EXACTLY the same notes.
E Lydian - E F# G# Bb B C# D# E
F# Mixolydian - F# G# Bb B C# D# E F#
You can look at the E Lydian mode and say it's F# Mixolydian starting on an E and vice versa the F# Mixolydian is E Lydian starting on an F#.
Basically it's '6 and half a dozen'!
Nickstermc 1 year ago 3
hey please answer, is the guitar your using, the charvel socal, are the locks good and prevents it from going out of tune frequently and when it does go out of tune, is it easy to tune back?
turtlehead12699 1 year ago
I cannot decide if I should get so-cal or san dimas. My local vendor has only green so-cal available for a very good price, but before I found out that I was pretty persuaded to buy san dimas, hah. I want to play Ratt, Badlands, White Lion, Ozzy, Megadeth etc...
kkarx 1 year ago
Hey can you tell me what was the price of this Charvel So-Cal. guitar? I am interested in buying one. Thank you.
HammerCOB 1 year ago
I've been looking around for guitars for along time now. i just discovered this, and was like, WOW! alder body with evolution. But i'm still really thinking on it. it's either this, or an ibanez rg3770z prestige. how do you like the neck on this guitar?
fallingspears77 1 year ago
very nice dude!
d4fm4n 1 year ago
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d4fm4n 1 year ago
hey man. nice playing. one question. does the floyd works in both sides or just you can only make dive down?
marszalmusictests 1 year ago
The trem doesn't have a recess behind it so it's not really designed to work in both directions. However, the way I have mine set up the trem is angled slightly forward and it allows me a couple of semi-tones of pull up.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
what can i say !!:) this is just GREAT video !!!!
u play really good ... :) good solo :)))
Nilayka 1 year ago
thanks for playing this for us ... that is great guitar playing!!!
1sevillana 1 year ago
wow awesome
guitarczar15 1 year ago
Great! I had a Charvel in the 80´s. This guitar sounds great. I might get another one.
monspons 1 year ago
im just starting guitar and what is a good guitar you started teaching yourself with
painisflowing 1 year ago
I started out with a couple of Yamaha's. An SG200 and a RGX121FP. The RGX is the one I used the most. Yamaha guitars are very playable, well made and cheap. I suppose the current equivalent are the Yamaha Pacifica models. Very good guitar for the money, they play well above what you would expect at that price.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
@Nickstermc thanks for responding, i just bought an Ibanez rg370MW but i cant find where to buy a tremolo this guitar has an Edge Pro II tremolo, do you have a clue.?
painisflowing 1 year ago
@Nickstermc hey man one question. Does the floyd works both sides or just flow down.
marszalmusictests 1 year ago
@painisflowing by something cheap...you never know if youll stick with it or not. that way you don't waiste money. :)
metachozo 1 year ago
hey, great vid, sound mint. thinking about getting a so cal myself, just wondered how you rate it? is it a good all round guitar even for clean tones aswell as the heavier rock stuff? thanks
martsdset 1 year ago
Great guitar for rock and playability wise it's really special. I'm not a fan of it's clean tones though and for clean stuff I use other guitars.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
what is ur amp rig in this video cause i think made the tone zone sound like god
tdag100 1 year ago
Just using the Boss GT-pro here, direct into computer.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
Oh man, what a guitar! I have the American Deluxe HSS Strat...now I need a Socal!
You are an excellent guitar player man
lighteningboy 1 year ago
Great playing and love the guitar! Love it!
jemdave13 1 year ago
wow.., excellent sound, playing and of course awesome green charvel!!!!
cheers ;)
crx1vtec 1 year ago
hey bud, hope you agree Vai is the best and most original player on the planet! Like u, I can play my mixolydian scale to this over and over and have a ball. What puts him above all the speed players who go on forever is he is so melodic and I can hum his lead breaks like melodioes and have respect for what it takes to write this stuff. This happens to be my favorite Vai song. Cheers. From Australia.
frogmaz 1 year ago
Hi im thinking about getting a So Cal, does the trem stay in tune, just asking because they aren't the Schaller ones are they ?
bluenose1875 1 year ago
Totally solid tuning. The trems are original Floyd Rose.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
That green so-cal is bad as hell, man. Awesome playing.
YoOo0oToOo0ob 1 year ago
Que bueno!! sonido perfecto, y con claridad!
espectaculardavidrcq 1 year ago
Awesome playing. I was wondering what this guitar sounded like.
robotsforever 1 year ago
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Good work dude, nice ;) Here's a question no-one's asked til now - are you entirely self taught or did you study somewhere as well? How long you been playing? Any recs for novice/intermediate players? Cheers and Peace Bro!
mamaumunga 1 year ago
Good work dude, nice ;) here's a question no-one's asked til now - are you entirely self taught or did you train somewhere in addition? How long you been playing, and do you have any recs for novices/intermediates? Cheers and Peace Bro!
mamaumunga 1 year ago
Hi , I started playing at 13, took lessons on and off until I was 17. Been playing for 20 years. At the point I stopped taking lessons I would say I was still very much a beginner. All the big improvements in my playing were achieved on a 'self taught' basis, however, lessons gave me enough theory knowledge to be able to improve my playing on my own. Tips? - don't 'practice' just 'play' . Play things you enjoy playing don't run scales for hours because you think you should. Life's too short!
Nickstermc 1 year ago 24
@Nickstermc do you by any chance like Marty Friedman? he said the same thing : Play things you enjoy playing don't run scales for hours because you think you should
Ibik 1 year ago
Dude i just love your playing and tone!! Could you tell me what wood for your guitar body and which pickups ur using? Thanx!
sensational1982 1 year ago
Sure, body is Alder. Neck pickup - Dimarzio Evolution Bridge pickup - Dimarzio Tone Zone
Nickstermc 1 year ago
just using the Tone Zone in this vid
Nickstermc 1 year ago
You just got the tone right dead on! Very smooth and flowing. I have to say this is the best cover I've seen so far. Amazing. I want to buy a Charvel So-Cal but they aren't selling the color I want ;~;.. nor do I have the money.
XAlphaZEROX 1 year ago
I finally got my slime green socal yesterday from the 8th and final batch. Awesome guitar
maxwellthedog 1 year ago
YES!! Great work!!
TacoBearTube 1 year ago
good guitar and playing, but the amp sound sucks
1000LeaguesJourney 1 year ago
Didnt Vai make the mixolydian scale the best in the world????
frogmaz 1 year ago
@frogmaz
Yes man, the best mode by far, and he runs train on it!!! Great playing by the way Nickstermc!!!!
getup2nite 1 year ago
My favourite song in the world! After playin guitar for 31 years and still playin live every weekend, this is brilliant. You can have your malmsteens and petrucci's and whoevers, Steve has that one thing over everyone.....he is so MELODIC! I can sing the first lead break I ever heard from him on "Just Like Paradise". And never stops to amaze me.. Cheers!
frogmaz 1 year ago
waoowwwwwwww perfect cover!!!!!
and nice Charvel ;)
christou44 1 year ago
u're amazing
361098739 1 year ago
Omfg why aren't you famous world wide?!? This is AMAZING!
m14k15ts29 1 year ago
Great tone dude. Pretty Vai-authentic.
kongfuzion 1 year ago
Hi, would you reccomend this guitar instead of an Ibanez RG 2550 with same pups?
PS: nice color! :)
zool84 1 year ago
great playing sweet ass guitar, im searching ebay c-list for a a green so-cal myself, they are the best thing going for the money, going to change the pickguard to one with just single coil bridge and neck, no middle and throw in a dimarzio norton S and dimarzio Super distortion S (two humbuckers in single coil housings), and put the stock dimarzio buckers in my jackson RR5 cause i hate the duncans
gmbob22 1 year ago
:| Damn. *practices more*
xWickedXRabbitx 1 year ago
your tone is beautiful
young0wylde0child 1 year ago
FUck me. ..Im gonna make damm sure im going to get THAT guitar aswell..
bennyvx08 1 year ago
I have the same guitar, its awsome :P BTW nice vid keep on postin!
covee 1 year ago
It get any better than this...Great job man! And i really like your tone! please make more videos of you playing famous guitar solos or playing your own atmospheric stuff...
otinanaire 1 year ago
Excellent!
lester73 1 year ago
Hey Dude, awsome playing man! You really pulled that one off. I also love the new re issues of these 80's legends. I'd buy one but I really don't like to be without my 24 frets. I suppose though alot of times I never use the last 21,22,23, and 24 frets. I'd be fine though as I could pull out my 24 fretter any time I need it for some tracks anyways. I might just have to try one out. Thier necks and fret work are supposed to be killer out of the box. Cheers dude, IC.
IcechickenSr 1 year ago
hey nick VERY NICE HAAHAHAHAH XAXAXAXA
maximixi123 1 year ago
great sound and great playing!
greetings from germany
asshunter1983 1 year ago
Bravissimo!
darrel63 1 year ago
Your playing is very good!
mikakit 1 year ago
Hey Nick whats up? I am writing in hopes u might be the man to impart a bit of wisdom on how i change a midi inti a backing track? I cant find any noob explainations out here online. any ideas , I have sony acid pro, and sony forge but still havent figuresd out how to change a midi into a useable backing track that sound real not like the midi.any help would be greatly appreciated thanks
phyrl3 1 year ago
Hi there, it's not something i've ever done. I'm afraid I can't even hazard a guess. Sorry I couldn't help.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
If you've got the midi samples ready to turn into a backing track, you can export it as an audio file.
If you've got several samples that you need to arrange, export them all, put them into logic, acid pro, w/e. And copy&paste them into the order.
chikaofg 1 year ago
Adding to the comment... You can't turn midi sound into real audio. If you want a brass section midi file to sound real, get a bunch of brass players to record it for you. Only way.
chikaofg 1 year ago
hello nick: Let me start by saying im a complete noob. I am wondering more about your gt pro, I am looking at purchasing one and am kinda worried. I have see support vids and patches for the gt 10 but nothing in that regards for the pro. Is it difficult to use setup wise? I heard that when using a 4 cable approach to hooking it up to an amp all the wah sound horrible for one,
phyrl3 1 year ago
Hi, it's very user friendly and easy to use out the box.I believe it's pretty much the same as the GT-10 but with a few more bells and whistles. One of the reasons I bought it was for it's stereo effects loop (I run an Eventide H3000 in the loop) and it's very versatile. You can hook it up to a PC (like the GT-10) and make/download patches for it. I use a Crybaby and haven't tried the onboard wah so can't comment on that. Also I use it purely for recording and have never tried it with an amp.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
God damn... this just pushed me over the edge to buy one. :p But to afford one, I'd have to sell my only 2 guitars... (minus my first, would never sell that)
How's the craftsmanship on these? Their USA made right? I'm probably going to get a used Green one or something.
AsAngelsFall221 1 year ago
I think the craftmanship is good and , yes, it's US made.You can't fault the quality of the component parts. Dimarzio pickups, original Floyd Rose. The neck is where most of the money is. Charvel know they are known for their necks and that is why a lot of people buy them. This one doesn't disappoint, the neck is first class. The only place I would argue they've cost cut is with the pickguard and pickup selector switch. But who cares about that!
Nickstermc 1 year ago
@Nickstermc Ah thanks man. I might have a trade in the works for one of these in this exact color. It's my favorite color. :D Thanks for all the help! Can't wait till I finally own one. This is the only video I can find of the Candy Green one.
AsAngelsFall221 1 year ago
@Nickstermc Is this charvel better than the PRS
hiladelphia 1 year ago
Can you do flutters on that tremolo?
juako811 1 year ago
It depends how you have the trem set up. I have the trem floated very slightly, so it is angled slightly forward. This means you can pull up a bit on it and, yep, you can get a bit of flutter. There is no recess behind the trem though, so unless you set it up to be angled forward a bit it will sit hard against the body.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
Thanks for the response! One more question, does having the trem angled forward affects the tunning stability in anyway when you're doing heavy palm muting riffs?
juako811 1 year ago
Nope, it doesn't affect it. The action is also still nice and low.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
how did u get a green charvel so cal? and u r amazing! u sound exactly like vai
donkeymondays86 1 year ago
The Green So-cal is from the second batch of custom colours released by charvel. Every 3 months charvel change the colours available on their USA production series. I bought it when the 2nd batch just came out. At the moment I think they're on batch 7. Have a look on the charvel website, you can see all the previous batches there.
Nickstermc 1 year ago
1. What brand and guage strings do you use?
2. Where did you buy that Charvel?
3. Do any Charvels feature split coiling?
4. How do you like the upper fret access compared to Ibanez RGs?
4.5 Does the back plate of the body get in the way?
5. NICE PLAYING!
warplanes1 1 year ago
1. Daddario XL 9-42
2. Guitarguitar in Glasgow, Scotland
3. Don't know, this one and the other USA production series models don't.
4. I find it fine. Don't have a problem with it.
4.5 Nope.
5. Many thanks for the compliment!
Nickstermc 1 year ago
i was not a big fan of S&R but the fact that Terry Bozzio plays drums on it made me like it more, then i heard your take on this song and now i love it
jesse1291 2 years ago
I love playing this guitar it so comfortable
violencekid9 2 years ago
i want a charvel socal so bad.
wePASSourSTYLE 2 years ago 11
@wePASSourSTYLE rofl funny, 7 months ago I found the company charvel, and i wanted one so bad and now I have one hahah :p
rudoman22 1 year ago
Great Playin!
nice axe!
vincentgargano 2 years ago
Wow amazing playing and tone. Wish i had half your speed and accuracy. What amp you using in this?
ninjabob3000 2 years ago
No amp, just a Boss GT-pro
Nickstermc 2 years ago
awesome, in your opinion wich pup is better for and Ibanez RG 550, the tone zone or and evo 2 for the bridge? (for playing steve vai songs and all around versatility)
glubibobi 2 years ago
Cheers. Not sure. I like the Tone Zone, but honestly, I've never really tried the Evo's. From reports I believe the Evo's are more subtle and not so 'in your face' as a Tone Zone or PAF pro's.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
great guitar, great sound
ElectricNeoclassism 2 years ago
better than my video bloody good that was
Wildchild880 2 years ago
good....hey! nice guitar :)
bakoer1 2 years ago
That was killer man. Nice speed and accuracy.
gorethem 2 years ago
Sounds frickin awesome bro....My favorite Vai album by far...probably cuz Devin was on it. HAHA!
edguyrocks 2 years ago
Grr, I'm getting less and less happy with my Jackson DK2. :(
What kind of pickups do these have? And what is the body made of? My Jackson sounds extremely bright, and I can't get a good warm sound out of it. I'd like to swap the pickups but need some suggestions! Thanks. :)
AsAngelsFall221 2 years ago
that guiar has a Dimarzio Tone Zone in the Bridge and an Evo neck, and the body is made out of alder (same as your DK2)
glubibobi 2 years ago
nice tat
paperchasin23 2 years ago
very nice
rockstar401 2 years ago
Just great.. damn
mrsmitn7 2 years ago
Thats a great sound!!!! and a great solo
Drumfc7 2 years ago
Great playing and great tone! Does the heel joint on that guitar bother you at all?
Robertspurling 2 years ago
Nope, no problems with it.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
i just shit my pants omg...........
Jj32pimpin 2 years ago
Well done. I'm looking at snagging a SoCal in this same color if I can find one. I played one just about a week ago and I have to say that I would probably even trade my Eclipse for one if I had the offer.
savannahalex 2 years ago
are u rich..?? Lol i think u own every kick ass guitar lol
PatrickMcAlister 2 years ago
What gear are you using here? Amp, preamp, effects, pedals?
knikk77 2 years ago
Boss Gt-pro amp sim/effects processor.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
Excellent technique and feel, I love it
xJakexGuyx 2 years ago
Are those the stock pick ups?
thebibleisalltrue 2 years ago
Yep,
Dimarzio Tone Zone and Evolution are fitted as standard the So-cal. The other USA production models are fitted with Seymour Duncans, I think.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
Thanks! great job on the song. Excellent playing and tone.
thebibleisalltrue 2 years ago
Hey Nick!
Amazing playing Steve Vai!
Excellent performance!Great job!
Awesome guitar man...
MusicRockChannel 2 years ago
came here looking for videos of the same guitar as me and founf this awesome solo! haha well done man this is clean as!
Hey you don't happen to know how to adjust the action on these things do you? Bridge is a bit high for my liking but can't seem to figure out how to do it.
BlakeCastle 2 years ago
The action was a bit high for me when I bought it so I got the tech at the shop to lower it before I left. I watched him do it. He didn't touch the bridge, but tweaked the truss rod. Unfortunately on this type of guitar the neck needs to come off to get access to it. He had the neck off and on again in about 2 minutes ( not something I would be comfortable doing myself) :) It made a massive difference and plays amazing now.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
Hey Nick, which guitar do u like better ur So Cal or ur Mockingbird in the background?
joshmrtn09 2 years ago
They're both really great guitars for the money. Both have really solid original Floyd Rose trems (not licensed ones). The So-cal edges ahead though for playability and better pickups.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
Could you tell me if the pickups are mounted on the pickgaurd or the body, also do you know if there is any routing under the pickgaurd like a strat, or is it like the san dimmas. p.s. 10/10 on the solo
someprat 2 years ago
I'm not sure. I think the pickups are mounted on the body. I don't have the guitar to hand to check it. Most of my guitars are in storage at the moment whilst I move house.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
Thanks
someprat 2 years ago
Pickups are mounted to the pickguard and there's a route for single coil in the middle. You can replace the pickguard if you'd like, particularly with the Warmoth one.
P.S. Nickstermc - wow, really great solo!
SuperRgx 2 years ago
thanks
someprat 2 years ago
Perfect!
DusanPenkala 2 years ago
I'm looking for a second guitar to take with to uni. I mostly play metal, and have a Jackson DXMG with EMG's. I want a decenty guitar, but not one that is going to be or sound the same as the Jackson. I though this looked perfect for what I want, would you reccomend the So-Cal?
doritoskickass 2 years ago
Yeah I'd recommend it. It definitely has a different vibe from a Jackson. I've got a Jackson Dinky and it's quite different. It plays a lot better than the Jacksons in my opinion and you'll notice quite a difference in the pickups.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
Thanks for the informative reply. I'd love to try one before I go right in and buy it, struggling ton find a stockist though!
doritoskickass 2 years ago
is it good for clean also, i play both, i want to buy it, but must know if its good for clean as well as metal
inhim03 2 years ago
It's ok for clean, but a little muddy for me. I prefer to use a guitar with single coil pickups or a guitar where you can split the coils of the humbuckers for clean stuff.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
You're great man!
carlodyb 2 years ago
Is that guitar good to play metal? Plz asnwer
Northenz 2 years ago
Hi northenz, Charvel ~ Jackson guitars are mostly made for hard rock and metal music. Maybe you should check Jackson soloist , dinky kind of guitar ( especially soloists are very good guitars if youre looking for a strat shaped ). Im not quite sure about what kind of tone youre looking for but as i said Charvel ~ Jackson guitars are pretty amazing.
Arasys1 2 years ago
Sure, the guitar would be good for metal. The Dimarzio Tone Zone pickup in the bridge is pretty high output.
Nickstermc 2 years ago
But i think that JB is better
Northenz 2 years ago
incredible work dude!!! Perfect mix between technics and feeling. for me best than vai
PierreDevil203 2 years ago
Awesome work!
PHL7445 2 years ago
Hey man, i love the vid, and i LOVE the guitar. Im really interested in buying one soon. Ive seen some on sale for £1000.. where did you get yours from?
marshallmandan 2 years ago
Hi there, I got it in Glasgow at a shop called GuitarGuitar.
Nickstermc 2 years ago