Thanks for the insane feedback on my last post - FAQ below 🎸

I honestly didn’t expect such a warm response to my last recording. I got a ton of compliments and genuinely beautiful messages from you guys.

That kind of feedback really put wind in my sails and pushed me to keep playing, so thank you.

A lot of you asked questions under the last video. There were so many comments that it’s hard to reply to everyone individually, so I’ll answer the two most common ones here:

1. What are you playing / what’s your setup?

In that video I used my Sire Larry Carlton L7V (new gen, completely stock, no mods) plugged into a Quad Cortex, which was connected to my laptop.

On the Quad Cortex I used a Neural Capture of a Vox AC30, paired with a 2x12 IR from Amalgam Captures that matches it. On top of that: a digital delay and a spring reverb.

Pretty simple setup. Nothing crazy. But judging by all the comments about the tone, it clearly did the job.

That being said, I’m a big believer in the (popular but often hated) opinion that 90% of your tone is in your fingers. I don’t own gear worth tens of thousands of dollars. I’ve never been able to afford a Gibson or a great tube amp. My setup is simple, practical, and always ready to go. That’s it.

1. How do you practice that “slide-without-a-slide” thing / vibrato / bends / phrasing / articulation?

I’d love to give you some super structured, constructive answer… but the truth is: I don’t really know.

I’ve never been the guy who sits with a metronome grinding slow exercises and isolating one specific technique for weeks. My “practice” has mostly been picking up the guitar and trying to recreate things I heard somewhere and liked, but in my own way.

If I had to give you anything practical, it would be this:

- Listen. Then listen more. Then listen again to great players.

- Try to copy them, even if no one showed you how.

- Slide further than you think you should. Both up and down the neck.

- Start looking at the guitar left/right, not just up/down. Stay on one string longer than you normally would.

- After sliding into a note, bend to that same note. Or after bending to a note, slide into it from somewhere else. Then return to the original note. And then just start playing with that idea.

That’s basically it. Nothing magical. Just ears, feel, and a lot of messing around until something sounds right.

I’ll attach another short melodic solo below, simple stuff, but played with intent. Let me know what you think.