Al Di Meola Clinic Jam at Experience PRS 2008

[FunkMauzz]

I'm glad they have a comments Page . it,s full with usefull ( less ) Wiki blabber and really funny to read , So bring on the Stupid Comments

[GrimaldiSounds]

actually most of this is in 4/4, it's just got an unusual feel. it's hard to feel without the bass.

[rockinredneck57]

Scroll on over on the side till you find "Jack Pearson playin the blues". Then you can see how the pieces are all supposed to fit together in playing a guitar. It's much easier on the ears than this.

[bobslob69]

all I heard was the same diminished scale over and over...

[themoblitz]

I love this off-time stuff. I get SO fucking tired of hearing the same damn rhythms in music all the time...Meola's like a breath of fresh air.

[rectalbomb]

this mofo should jam with phish,

[MegaRama10]

dude this is 4/4 he just accentuates other notes

[eddieisfiction]

@MegaRama10 the term by the way is called phrasing

[Beholder505]

@NathanMantle He can play a smooth melody. There isn't much he can do. He chooses to play the way he plays. And it's hard for most people to understand. Because on the surface, it sounds confusing. It sounds like he's all over the place. But he controls it. If you listen to his first album, you would see how much precision and control he has. Most heavy metal shredders don't have that kind of precision.

[hieronomy]

@Beholder505

Its just jealousy . Some of these young whippersnappers think that atttude is a shortcut to good . i don't remember

ppl saying stupid things in the old days about players who are far fucking beyond their class .

[ScottCurts]

I've never heard so much bitchin' and moanin' over whether a player is good or not. That kind of attitude needs to chill. This is great talent from the perspective a jazz player, a metal shredder, or an acoustic virtuoso.

BTW does anyone know the name of this piece Al is playing? It sounds so familiar and I can't find it anywhere.  It's Phantom. I thought it might be a Chick Corea tune. Thanks.

[sparkster65]

@NathanMantle YOU NEED BETTER EARS.............

[sparkster65]

FRIGGIN KILLER IN SO MANY WAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

[teleman1280]

Those haters are stupid

[teleman1280]

The timing is awesome. And playing is perfect "!! Does not sound wrong or bad at all. Insane musician ! Makes Malmsteem sou d like a 3 year old.

[SurveyofFilmMusic]

can't stand his electric playing and sat through the Return to Forever concert. His solos were really crap. his forte is acoustic guitar.. but that diddle -doo diddle doo fast single string lick is SO FUCKING LAME... okay...enough...

[CrispinDan]

lovely tone and playing!!!!!

[TurkiyeCumhurbaskani]

it's jazz fusion, you either have a taste for it or you don't. 

[NoTrespassing2]

this is one of those guys you either love or hate.....i dont care for his style

[straitview74]

Totally agree metalguitar. Just sounds like senseless noodling. Nice axe tho!!!

[MetalguitarlessonsUK]

Dont get me wrong, he is an amazing player and far faar better than anything I will ever amount to...BUT when you take improvising with such odd timings to this level it essentially sounds just like someone who has never played guitar before hitting notes at random (albiet cleanly). Obviously this is not what he is doing but he has taken this whole timing issue to such a ridiculous level that thats what it sounds like,indistinguishable from random gibberish. Its outstandingly pretentious.

[schism206]

@MetalguitarlessonsUK completely agree dude.

[gtralisfr69]

@MetalguitarlessonsUK it really isn't that odd. 

[tylerdwells]

If I was a bassist or drummer, I think id shoot that guy on stage. haha.

[xXMantonXx]

it almost sounds like he's in the wrong key sometimes but that was fucking cool

[REALCougarsRmales]

he is proof that tone is in the fingers. I can always recognize his tone.

[fattirevsbud]

This guy was playing for Miles at 17 y.o so STFU and listen

[theoak84]

He is obviously a strict alternate picker, but he is limited to just that..

[cobracarg]

@theoak84 he is known for his timing... 

[theoak84]

@cobracarg and strict use of alternate picking.

[cobracarg]

@theoak84 well then he isnt just limited to alternate picking then...

[theoak84]

@cobracarg Alternate picking and odd timing do not correlate.. Picking is a technique, timing is a template for a feel of a song.. Youll never see him sweep, tap, do crazy legato etc. Maybe some hammers and pull offs etc. but 99% of the time, alternate picking.

[eleph4nt]

really not into that kind of music, but you really have to appreciate the virtuosity going on here

[breukelenman]

A master guitar player! Return To Forever - Romantic Warrior!

[TheBilderturdGroup]

How can you not love Al Di Meola? Amazing talent.

[smacksie47]

god

[mikeguitargod14]

this thing he's playing is a very lyrical song. it reminds me of a Spanish song, the way the notes are played against the timing

[idonotcair]

i will own that guitar i have a plan that sexy thing will be mine lol

[marshallman83]

@Guitarman0876 I believe it's called Phantasm from Kiss My Axe

[mrprogjazzgto]

Al can make any guitar sound great.with the right box and amp..!

I bet if he picked up a First Act $49 axe it would still sound incredible...LOL

This PRS is an awesome player..!

[crayhead]

What's with the rug Al???

[jazzpman]

yesssss awesome

[TMSierra]

whoever thinks his guitar is ugly is a fuckin idiot.

[ibanezman007]

I know right!

[Mrmastermodesty]

That's not a good design for his style it goes well with Emo girlie girls typa music like miley cyrus's

[catisinthehat]

I love Al Di Meola, but isn't it ironic that he sweeps a 0:40.

[VavilenTatarsky]

al di meola is PAPA!

[ChrisHaspeck]

After reading various comments I had to reply ...

Al DeMiola is not only a pioneer of fusion jazz guitar. He is hands down the GODFATHER. As for comparing Steve Vai to Al DeMiola I think that is like comparing apples to pomegranates.They are both undoubtably great great guitar players they are both very different. But I would have to think there would be no Steve Vai without Al to set the bar in the first place.And yeah I sometimes have no clue what DeMiola was thinking tone or guitar styles

[MrRivethead]

Great guitar player,a little arrogant,abrasive and hard to work with but very good skill's;ugly fuckin guitar he must have thought that one up all tore down at mardi gras.

[groovebrew]

Al is awesome, hands down. I just wish this guitar didn't look like a gay freedom flag, wtf was he thinking?

[denonin]

it just resembles villa-lobos etude no1 with abrupt intervals, nicely executed.

[gingramf14]

Al is a very good guitar player. However, I have been appalled at a lot of his guitar tones. This one isn't bad, though.

[firstthought]

Al not only has to be considered a Master musician, but his role in raising the bar, technically and musically in the history of Rock Jazz Fusion, is undeniable.  A great, great player in the history of modern music.

[Devadip47]

Al is just amazing, he's ultrafast and he plays very well. His PRS Prism is awesome! 5*****

[CREWDOG289]

that guitar is going to worth alot when they stop making them

[DavidTresFrench]

That guitar looks like it tastes good as well as looking the part....mmmmm..

[deadzior]

man, that's great tune

[ketchupisevil]

dat rhythm

[mrprogjazzgto]

WOW... great shred test...!!!

That PRS guitar sounds bright...sweet sustain..!!!

I think he likes it...LOL

[enzoangiolini]

odd timing king!!

[krelbar]

Nah, this is to easy for Kirk to play....:rolleyes:

[gucholnegro]

escuchen y aprendan ignorantes en vez de estar comparando

[stephenr80]

AL = ACOUSTIC

[phrydoom]

Did he ever record with a PRS prior to scoring this contract? It's kinda like George Lynch using Vintage 30's for all his great recordings, only to "switch" to Eminence/Fender speakers after scoring a contract...seems superficial to me.

[krelbar]

He was playing PRS in the early 80s

[kewl2006]

al used a PRS on tirami su in 1985, i'm fairly sure. and also on consequence of chaos in 2006.

[yusukimawini]

Dude. He's just down right Amazing!!! And such a sexy guitar too.

[inlovewithguitar84]

I prefer Meola on acustic guitar.

[krelbar]

I prefer DiMeola on anything.

[sparkster65]

how anyone can compare vai to al is ludicrous , vai is a nice rock player , al is a jazz/fusion god , to compare them is ridiculous , al owns.....................

[Dzsollie]

no mistake you may missheard it...

[Guitarxmanx96]

no i no but ive seen him do stuff that vai does im sure vai can do that to but i love di meolas style

you should see that movie crossroads hes plays the guitar parts its awesome

[phrydoom]

Agreed, Vai is great.

[spoon12bil]

I didn't hear a mistake

[majordilligaf]

i had never heard of this guy until today i was oggling PRS guitars and came across his name and searched him and holy shit hes good

[burningmindsvideos]

He is really fucking good, but he's an asshole.

[dtma24]

nah he's not, he's just been around for long enough to have his own ideas about how to do things. and after hearing a lot of amazing stuff by him his principles should get in the way. they made him who he is, at least in some way.

[SpreeGuitar]

@burningmindsvideos Actually I got to meet him backstage a couple years ago, and he was totally cool. I thought he was going to be an asshole too, but I talked to him for about 30 minutes and he was the complete opposite. He even gave me some food, one of his picks, and signed some stuff for me. Super nice guy and incredible guitarist.

[turnbacktime]

@burningmindsvideos why?

[fend14]

@burningmindsvideos why is that ?

[tresojos]

@burningmindsvideos why would you think he is an asshole?

[sacha9646]

@burningmindsvideos Sounds like you know him personally...

[Patriot768]

@ 2:10 OMG, Al made a mistake! lol You saw it here first...

[putorodas]

YES HE DID!

he still kicks our asses hard dude xD

[JoBoSo]

The real guitar hero!

[FODAMANUEHHEHE]

al di meola master os swing guitar

[kuesapa]

groovemaster al dimeola, fuckin awesome...

[Guitarxmanx96]

vai is not better he mainly shreads he can read bit he mainly shreads

al di meola can do everything

and by the way i wont to steal that PRS absolutly georgous

[ibanezbloke]

Meola pretty much only picks. And vai is amazing at sigt reading by the way.

Everybody has something to offer. Vai can do things that meola cant. Meola can do things vai cant. One isnt better than the other.

[phrydoom]

My money with always be on Vai in a "cutting heads" battle against this guy.

[phrydoom]

Vai is a theory genius. He reads music like few do. He transcribed a tune at 18--a tune Zappa advertised as intranscribeable. that is how he got into Zappa's band. The sheet music is the most intense i have ever seen.

[Power2theFlyingV]

Shredding is overrated. None of those ppl could match up to Al's feel and syncopation. Hearing a million notes a second in a linear fashion sounds sterile in my ears.

[willeng84]

damn straight

[phrydoom]

vai is alot more than just "Shredding". He is a genius, dude, you try and transcribe "The Black Page" at 17. Let's see Al do it too.

[Power2theFlyingV]

Ha I didn't say anything about Vai he's is as much phenomenal as Al is. I'm kind of out of my shred hating phase and starting to appreciate technicality but I still can't stand alot of shit from the 80's >: (

[phrydoom]

"Shredding is overrated. None of those ppl could match up to Al's feel and syncopation."...in saying "none of those ppl (shreddders) I assume you had Vai is there too.

[asphixa]

meola is something totally different than vai, but saying he can't play stuff of vai is just dumb, this guy can play everything

[phrydoom]

Don't get me wrong, this whole "who is better than who" thing is a non-starter, and everything is subjective anyways, really. However, Vai would have an easier time with Al's catalog...a much easier time than Al would with Vai's.

[asphixa]

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT???

[phrydoom]

Common sense, but believe as you so like.

[asphixa]

well i like al di's music more, i think vai's compositions are just utter bullshit compared to al di meola. I guess thats just my opinion

[phrydoom]

Well, I tend to agree, in terms of composition, with you. I really like alot of Al's stuff--alot omre than Vai's solo material. But it's all subjective.

[phrydoom]

more*

[asphixa]

so what if it is subjective? music is all about feeling, so i guess that's a good thing

[phrydoom]

But that was my point. There is no one best player and to compare two players against one another is a stupid game to play. To each their own. I was simply stating I think Al would have more difficutly with some of Vai's techniques. I stand by that. It was simply an observation.

[krelbar]

All guitarists have weaknesses that may be another's strength.

[javadude54]

Who is better... DiMeola or Vai? Impossible to answer. All I can add is that I've bought and worn out many Al DiMeola records over the years... and that was before CDs. When I want to hear Vai I rent the movie Crossroads. I have little or no emotional connection to Vai's music but I love DiMeola's. I may not know a lot but I know what I like.

[cjmorello1]

Exactly! Vai is certaintly skilled, but of all the "shredders", nobody comes close to the melody of Al.

[anahowana]

fortunately you didn't answer to the question who's better then who :) i really do believe with strength that its one of the most stupid questions amongst the music community! kirk hammett vs dimebag darrel, petrruci vs marty friedman, frank gambale vs holdsworth, victor wooten vs bill dickens...its all about enjoying the fine sonic taste of each of the respective musicians. not engaging them in a wrestling fight :))

[yoshi529]

Al is amazing, don't diss him.

[phrydoom]

Who is dissing him, I'm merely pointing out the obvious.

[AlienWebguy]

Al Di Meola is so overrated. Take guys like John Petrucci, Guthrie Govan, Shawn Lane (RIP), etc.. and Meola's entire skill base is just a fraction of what they can play.

[GeeTee2009]

Hmm,  guys like John Petrucci, Guthrie Govan, Shawn Lane, etc.. probably learnt from Al Di Meola.

[AlienWebguy]

I know for a fact Meola was influential to them when they were learning the guitar, but he was merely one of many influences. All I'm saying is that he needs to get off his high horse and realize he's not hot shit anymore.

[SevenCircles]

Lane has stated that Mclaughlin is the guitarist that influenced his speedpicking technique mostly,

[fansSuck]

from my experiences, Italians are pretty arrogant and have delusions of grandeur.

but I don' think Al is a known as a "skilled'' player in the modern sense. the thing about him is his genius arrangements and note play.

sure Petrucci can play like 10 notes/second but it's not pleasing to the ear.

[TheNextHendrix14]

From YOUR experiences... and btw theres an arrogant person is every race, or group.

[TheBelva85]

@fansSuck That would be the french. Italians don't give a damn about their own country.

[tresojos]

@TheBelva85 what are you talking about man. There's no even comparing the french and the italian... Italians do care a LOT about italia. France doesn't even have THAT much culture, except for maybe some rural parts. Italy has an overwhelming amount of different culture blends and dialects especially in the south. And 99% of the Italians that live in other country's go back there very often.

[FearlessSpinner]

Such a sweet and hollow ringing tone.I want this guitar or any PRS sooo bad!

[skatethemushrooms]

fuck satriani and fuck vai they aint got shit on al. saturday night in san fransisco says it all

[bullpentherapy]

vai is way way way better

[roadrashrobby53]

unbelievable... he doesn't lie... even as his rhythm drastically changes tempo, even as the song completely changes, his foot unwaveringly still taps the basic beat

[wisesatyr72]

yeah that rainbow guitar is a trip to look at

[elchorrue]

Al owns any rhythm...but in this clip seems like hes out of his hands

[LifegrindX]

Beautiful melody, exotic phrasing and MONSTER chops.

Love it.

[fadethetrade]

He's as good or better then any of the others,malmsteem,satriani etc. etc.

[fadethetrade]

I saw satriani 5 times,4 times too many.He;s great but his lines are too tiresome because i dont care for his music.Vai eats him for breakfast as a musician and possibly as a player.Salieri had his beethoven so it's not as if it never happenned in music history.pupil becomes better then teacher!

[rayzguitar]

no way man, Al play more jazz style music, you can't compare them two. Satch is just a rock player.

[TimmyPage06]

I can hear the melodies perfectly well, he just fills in the space between them outlining chords or tonality in the scale.

[toyoubecritic1]

yellow red prurple green and a pot of gold? that leprechauns on acid. Al di Meola maybe one day I could play like him or just copy him or do my own thing. insanely good. so seasoned.

[africanlionbeast]

do you recon once you get that good, it's no fun anymore?

[dingle1]

Imagine being able to play anything that comes into your head instantly, thats where players like this guy, Guthrie etc are. How could that NOT be fun???????

[Eivindaugust68]

Fucking awesome, one of the greats!

[Siler1016]

Holy crap I want that guitar!!! *DROOL!!*

[Siler1016]

Holy crap I want that guitar!!! *Drool*