Giant Steps goes overdrive

henryrobinett

Fractal Fanatic
http://soundcloud.com/henry-robinett/giant-steps-nuke

http://soundcloud.com/henry-robinett/giant-steps-less-dirtortion

Here are two versions of a VERY HARD jazz tune called Giant Steps. It's all improvised. I re-amped the solo. The first version, "Nuke" uses the Nuclear Tone amp, with Empire Mix cabs. The second one is a ODS-100 Lead with Black 2x12.

In part it's an experiment to see if I can get a overdrive guitar to sound OK doing a straight ahead, fast jazz tune.

Let me know if you prefer the sound of the Nuke over the cleaner Dumble. Neither are exactly traditional jazz tones, but the Dumble is closer.
 
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I like it! I think the dumble came through clearer in the mix, but I'm just listening on my tablet with the built-in speaker. Yeah, that's a tough tune at least on guitar. Thanks for sharing.
 
Great playing! Yea, the Dumble does cut through better, but I kinda like the tone of the Nuke too... just bump up the level of your solo a little.
 
I liked the sound of both of them. The Nuke gives it fluidity and the Dumble is a little clearer. Will they blend ? Both together may be interesting.
 
stratamania, sam, GT, jefferski and laresee - thank you all for your comments! Good idea about blending the two. I might try it. The overdrive for me kind of represents the fuzzy expressiveness of a tenor sax, while not being. LOL. I like the edge energy of it. But the dumble clearly cuts through more . . .
 
Giant Steps Nuke by Henry Robinett on SoundCloud - Hear the world

Giant Steps less distortion by Henry Robinett on SoundCloud - Hear the world

Here are two versions of a VERY HARD jazz tune called Giant Steps. It's all improvised. I re-amped the solo. The first version, "Nuke" uses the Nuclear Tone amp, with Empire Mix cabs. The second one is a ODS-100 Lead with Black 2x12.

In part it's an experiment to see if I can get a overdrive guitar to sound OK doing a straight ahead, fast jazz tune.

Let me know if you prefer the sound of the Nuke over the cleaner Dumble. Neither are exactly traditional jazz tones, but the Dumble is closer.

Hey Henry! I love it! I've always been jealous of horn players because of their ability to hold their notes so long and the fluidity of their lines. I know it's frowned upon by some in the Jazz idiom, but I LOVE the idea of Jazz guitar players using distorted tones to get closer to a sax sound. i.e. Holdsworth. So from that perspective I like the "nuke" version better, although it does get a little lost in the mix at times. I think mixing the two versions would help with that. Well done man, well done! I like your quote "This is a very challenging tune"...ya think? LOL On Coltrane's original you can hear Tommy Flanagan thinking..."Oh Crap! What did I get myself into??" as he tentatively works his way through his piano solo. Nice work Henry!
 
Henry, I love both of them. The dumble I feel, is going to get a lot of use I bet. Impressive chops. I had some horn players play with us last weekend, and the sax player suggested that I listen to a lot of Charlie Parker, so I am. I'm getting away from listening to other guitar players as its getting kind of tiresome. The sax is where it's at.
 
Thank you mistrat - Thank you. I've always listened to sax players, trumpet players and piano players much more than I listened to guitar pickers. One of the problems with overdrive and playing fast jazz tunes is the swing and articulation. Not impossible of course, but it's an additional challenge. The distortion can hide, I think, some articulation.=, especially rhythmic complexity. I had a distinct advantage over poor Tommy Flanagan - I've been playing this tune for much, much longer than Mr Flanangan did. I can't imagine showing up to a recording session and Coltrane pulling that out. Story was Trane showed up to Flanagans house a few days before the session and gave him the charts and said he should look at a couple of tunes. Tommy was, sure, sure. Of course he never did. What could be the problem? I'll have enough time at the session as they're setting up to run over the changes. You can hear the panic on the CD which has all the takes. Poor guy!

I've worked on this tune on and off for years.
 
Henry, I love both of them. The dumble I feel, is going to get a lot of use I bet. Impressive chops. I had some horn players play with us last weekend, and the sax player suggested that I listen to a lot of Charlie Parker, so I am. I'm getting away from listening to other guitar players as its getting kind of tiresome. The sax is where it's at.
The horn is where it all is for me. So much language and sophistication there. Thank you very much for you feedback!
 
I think the melody part is better with the Nuke sound - it could even have been more distorted - but the solo part have more needed clarity and cut with the ODS.

Does it have to be the same sound for the melody and solo part?
 
Thanks. Yes, the melody is the same sound for each version, meaning the melody and solo for the dumble and the melody and solo is the nuke.
 
You have some great lines going on here! Also, fun to hear something else than metal and EVH-riffs.

Regards,
a fellow jazz enthusiast :)
 
Wow, great playing there! Those are two of my favorite amps in fw10 Btw.
They both sound good but I must say I preferred the Dumble by far.. Such clarity. I heard a couple treble spikes that could be tamed (maybe just a little comp in the amp block itself?) but that's just a minor quibble on a great tone. Thanks for sharing.
 
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