Cream Crossroads Guitar Solo

[bluesintheblood]

is this guitar an American or Indonesian made?

[Yearst]

@bluesintheblood American.

[baboxe]

Vraiment TRES BON !!

[mikepage]

WOW this one isn't easy note for note, that's awesome. You must know the song really well. I only ahve the first part down.

[rickt1951]

Very well done.

[ledzeprulz1234]

damn bro, that was amazing O_O

[BluesbreakerWyatt]

Very nice!

[fuzzface100]

Great work dude... a few errors and timing issues but very, very close. I've been practising this solo for about 2 years now and only just about nailed it.

[rbl0925]

Thanks...The EC of 1968 certainly blew roofs off of buildings.

[Yearst]

@rbl0925 Indeed he did. But he still rips.

[ThrashRoC]

@rbl0925

this is really one of E.C. s Hottest solos , my guitar hero nr 1 is jimmy page , but clapton is also a great guitarist to me , i just like this kind of music so much !!

[mystro810]

whats your shirt say?

[Yearst]

@mystro810 Not all who wonder (to Eugene) are lost.

[mystro810]

@Yearst k. Thanks. Who is Eugene? nice guitar playing by the way

[Yearst]

@Yearst Eugene, Oregon. And it's wander, not wonder, as I mistakenly wrote. Not all who wander (to Eugene) are lost. It's a reference to Eugene as the track and field capital of the world and all the aspiring athletes who "wander" there in pursuit of big running ambitions. Eugene has hosted many Olympic Trials. It's a cool town too :) Thanks.

[BillEvans1956]

Is that a custom Bluesboy then? What's the full spec?

[Yearst]

@BillEvans1956 The only thing custom about it is the middle pickup I added and wiring change to include different combinations of PUs. Otherwise, it's the bluesboy spec.

[bernynhel]

Very nice! Considering the orig on a TV Les Paul - 1+ fret - you were very smooth on the 2nd solo - I'm lucky to play it decently on a Strat 1/5 Xs

[SCRIBESCREEN]

nice work I like that guitar your plaing is it an accoustic electric telecaster I'm curious

[zKilljoy]

That guitar looks pretty amazing to me. Nice cover man. I love this song with a passion

[BLUESWOMANVERA]

i have watched every one's live crossroads guitar lesson.

the best is"Joe t englishbluesman".

no one playes like him.

you are the 2ND best.the others compared to you are a joke.

keep up the good work....

[Yearst]

@BLUESWOMANVERA He's smooth as butter. Hats off to all the players who try, try try try...

[maxxiq]

it's a telecaster?

[Yearst]

@maxxiq In look and feel, yup. It's a G&L Bluesboy, though.

[DetroitDen]

@maxxiq

G&L BLuesboy Semi Hollow...one of the best blues axes IMHO...WELL DONE Crossroads solo!

[frazzy860]

what kind of guitar is this? it's beautiful

[Yearst]

@frazzy860 Thanks. It's a G&L (George Fullerton & Leo Fender) Bluesboy. G&L is a company Leo Fender started after he sold the "other" Fender company.

[TheDesertwalker]

Awesome beautiful How long did you work on this to get it right?

[Yearst]

@TheDesertwalker Thanks. Months and months!

[roland17110]

@Yearst very nice cover!!!lol, you've to listened that live many times!! so many notes, so many bend so many all !!!

there is not so many cover of clapton's solo of the cream's era.

cool

[tiorunder]

Great work, Man and thats an awesome Bluesboy you got there !

[flacracker1959]

great song, and you kicked its ass

[68hummingbird]

Absolutely beautiful guitar, by the way.

[68hummingbird]

Damn! I mean DAMN! You are on top of it. Good technique, really playing with clear, clean, comfortable authority. Pretty to watch (and I'm gonna cop a bit of it; thanks for the lesson).

[cydonianman]

aww hell yeah

[MarvsTracks]

YaZir!

[zummo61]

Nice vibrato!

[MrShiteslimelicker]

Belter!!!

[BucksOwin]

Great job!!! 

[98viper]

I actually saw Cream live in 1966 in Washington, DC (tickets were $5.00) and you did this song proud. Fantastic!

[taariqtaariq]

good job!

[kropos]

Mighty impressive playing

[76MOUSE77]

Jesus H. Christ.....

[barvermit]

Absolutley wicked mate!!

[TL250Rider]

Leo Fender would be Proud

[wizhack]

SOUND GREAT!!!******

[bastimatthier]

NIce solo! From Matt!

[bluebeardit]

Great playing bud!

Awesome!

Peace

Massy

[NCondo]

Not half bad at all! Beautiful axe too.

[narancor]

It sounds as it is.

[hiro8002096]

awesome man! 5*****

[mcul2112]

jezuz dewd....nice work!

what's that guitar/setup yer playing?

[Yearst]

@mcul2112 Thanks! Playing a G&L Bluesboy through a Fender GDEC amp.

[bobmango54]

what year did Hendrix experience play at winterland?

[Yearst]

October 11, 1968.

[chitowngolfnut]

not bad man!

[MrClose2u]

more excellent playing

[888899991]

good memorizing

[Angler747747]

WOW!!!! Excellent job !

Were you Eric's apprentice. I'm sure he would be proud of your playing.

Nice guitar...is that a hollow-body Telecaster? Sure sounds good. Have a Merry and a Happy.

[xlarkascendingx]

It's called a Thinline :P

[raphaeljesussr2]

very good...

congrats...

XD...

[Bastian667]

Great!!! I'm looking for the right TABS... can you help me please? Thanx!

[altadena57]

Great Playing !! What guage and brand of strings do you have on this guitar? Thanks

[Yearst]

Thanks. These strings were either 11-52 or 10. They're generic. I bought a case from a mfgr who makes strings for string companies. They also sell them with no brand name for half the price. They're nickel plated or something. Anyway, half the price. I forget who they are--I found them on Ebay.

[biggreenmeanie]

g&L bluesboy ?

[Yearst]

Yup.

[biggreenmeanie]

I have the same guitar and love it.

[Yearst]

Me too. The only thing I would change is the 7.25 raduis (or is it 7.5? You know what I mean--small). The frets are worn out on this one, but I still can't part with it :)

[Jayplaysgitar]

Really decent go at this. It's amazing that even with that much skill it's still hard to keep up with clapton on the original recording.

[spabank]

VERY IMPRESSIVE! Nice job.

[jbhiller]

Your vibrato at that speed is uncanny. I am very impressed!

[dthomas82246]

that is a pretty sweet guitar

[stratocasterbob]

Great cover of Eric Clapton's solo ! *****

[ThreeDaysOfPeace]

Great tone on that Telecaster. Fender all the way.

[jl7571677]

its not a telecaster and its not a fender.

[FackYeah]

But it is still one of Leo Fenders guitars =)

[roadkillsanchez]

nice work:)

Clapton is god

[ColtonSaylor713]

awesome performance dude, you totally rock! all we need is the volume to go WAAAY UP! R&R

[andrwrhds21]

amazing job, you obviously put tons of time into perfecting it. Im working on it at the moment, although i have a ways to go. Im on the first solo maybe 3/4 of the way through (not up to speed yet :) )...

any chance you can tell me if u used a tab or a combination of them, and where to find them?

Im currently doing it by ear, and its taking forever.....if u did that too then all i can say is wow.

[Yearst]

Get the notes first, the vibe later. Once you have the notes, just play it all day and night until you head-sync with the solo. I've seen tabs, but they don't have the 2nd solo right. That, or I can't read 'em. Would an instructional vid help?

[andrwrhds21]

Thanks, and yes a video would help tremendously. I have like 80% of the first solo down (slowly lol) but there are little chunks that I know I'm not playing correctly, and they are a bit too fast for my ear to pick out.

[bluesit69]

awesome! and yes an instructional vid of the solo would be apprieciated

[timeforsam]

nice job man, including second solo too great stuff

[GomerSanchez]

good job! i just learned it too

[cliath64]

Really great!!! Thank you for sharing it!

[Yearst]

thanks for watching :)

[NonstopRocker03]

That bend at 1:38 sends shivers down my spine.

[AppleAssassin]

Why?

[NonstopRocker03]

I didn't mean it literally, I just really like that bend : )

[reformationluther]

Your "Crossroads" guitar solo is excellent

If you don't mind my asking how long did it take to get that down?

Well done

JVS

[Yearst]

Thanks, man. I've fooled around with it for a while (years), playing it my own way. Then a date came up last year to perform it. So I studied it more closely, getting the notes down, then spent a few months getting the rhythm and feel. It's one thing nailing it in your living room and another nailing it on stage :)

[theturdreich12]

learning solos note by note, in my opinion is a waste of valuble time

[typisleem]

I can hear two solos - one is your own playing over the other, which is the original. I find it difficult to hear your playing. Are you really the only guitar I can hear? I don't think so. Upload another take for us without Clapton's guitar part. You can obtain a version of 'Crossroads' without guitar - I'd like to hear that.

[Yearst]

Skepticism is healthy, friend. But it's just me playing over the original. Anything else would be a lot of bother.

[theopatjo]

holy fuck

[AppleAssassin]

c'mon,...Your not fooling anybody....Just tell everyone....Your really clapton arn't you?

[SKAmanZach]

Nice and awesome guitar!

[electrikfox]

edgy!

[tomcraziest]

wooo you rock great work

what s your effect (pedal) sorry i am french :s en clair qu elles pedales tu utilise

merci

[Yearst]

Merci! J'utilise une Fender GDEC dans cet enregistrement.

[jeannab3]

Really great job.

Both solo sections were right on especially the second solo.

[Yearst]

Thanks, jeannab3 :)

[mitscan]

Sounds incredible! Clapton rules, and so do you! What amp are you using? Any pedals.

[19rocknrollcircus68]

Hi mate,that was great,I too have looked for a good version of this solo,can I ask if you are just using Blues Position 1 at the Octave for 2nd part? I find it very hard to play there and am wondering if your are mixing Blues with Major Pentatonic at the Octave?

[Yearst]

The 2nd solo has a little major and minor in it. First string (high E) he sometimes plays the B instead of the C, and he also plays C followed by hammering C# on the 3rd string. At the beginning of the run at 2:03 you can hear the C to C# hammer. Same run he uses on the intro run at the beginning of the song. At 2:05 he's bending the B a few times, then bends the C at the "top" of the solo ( 2:09 )

[miguell1956]

Damn, copycat or not, that is awesome playing! I've been searching for the vid of this particular version for the longest while. I agree with you that this version is the best of the lot. Many thanks for this.

[Yearst]

Thanks, bro. I don't think a vid of this show exists. If it did, it might reveal that this song was post-processed? I've always wondered.

[jkilcull]

damm, you sound good! how fun is that lead!

[Yearst]

Thanks! That lead is a workout for these fingers! I can't believe he made it up on the spot. Other live Cream recordings of the same song are not nearly as tight as the solo on this version. NSU?!

[jkilcull]

OK...you've proved yourself well so far...

so here is the challenge...

N.S.U. from the original Live Cream album...

let the games begin!!!

:)

[firecross2999]

how can u play that clearly?? at 1st i saw this vid, it think its clapton that practicing....

awesome man....!!!! make another great vid..!! i'll got your back!!! :)

[Yearst]

Thanks. Clapton thought it up. I'm just a copy cat ;)

[firecross2999]

u'r great man!!!! i wanna play like u some day... this song really rocks!!

[andrewjeff]

nice perform..awesome!5 stars

[petertorro]

sounds good do you have tabs please

[SriJah]

Man, that was really good! The notes and the tone are very reminiscent of the original. Are you using the middle position for the pick-up selector? Great job!

[Yearst]

Thanks, man! I used the bridge pu with volume and tone jacked.

[Pudsy440]

nice job of a classic!

[hglindberg]

Great play man, Nice gitarr.

[Yearst]

Thanks! Keep jammin blues in Sweden.

[Bidgemoo]

awsome

[jabcrashblues]

good sound and fantastic guitar ! Peace & blues !!!! from Rome !!!

[Yearst]

Thanks to my blues brother in Rome!

[guitarmac007]

kewl

[Stratsire]

great job

[Yearst]

Thanks :)