Went to a Guitar Masterclass at PMT last night

[Veg1960]

The guitar wizard was Alex Hutchings. Check out an example of his class at



He's on a par with Guthrie Govan and is the lead guitarist in the Thriller stage show.

I went there expecting two hours of BOSS/ROLAND promotion - and even took a card. But what we got was some great soloing over his own pre-recorded tracks and demonstrations of what can be produced using a range of stomp boxes - together with an explanation of what he was doing - ie no sales pitch. His use of a Looper and Expression pedal were particularly impressive. He plays in the style of Joe Satriani. Alex took questions from the floor (about 50 guys there) and added some personal experiences. He even played guitars he had personally designed. I came away refreshed and would recommend the experience to other guitarists. Did I say it was free?

Sorry but I have to disagree, style of Satriani , maybe, but a shadow of the man himself.

Managed about a minute of the video.

Impressive? Yes.

Moving? Not in the slightest.

To me, that bird playing for the love of god in last weeks thread was about a million times more engaging

Sorry to disagree, but I guess if we all liked the same things......

[Wales-Bales]

Sorry but I have to disagree, style of Satriani , maybe, but a shadow of the man himself.

Managed about a minute of the video.

Impressive? Yes.

Moving? Not in the slightest.

To me, that bird playing for the love of god in last weeks thread was about a million times more engaging

Sorry to disagree, but I guess if we all liked the same things......

TBF he was demoing a Boss Multi-FX pedal, not playing a whole song

[Veg1960]

TBF he was demoing a Boss Multi-FX pedal, not playing a whole song

Fair enough I suppose.

Yet here's (in my opinion) a proper old school guitarist talking about guitars, that I find a lot more engaging



Not a backing track or multi fx pedal in sight

Could be that I'm just getting old.....

[Wales-Bales]

Fair enough I suppose.

Yet here's (in my opinion) a proper old school guitarist talking about guitars, that I find a lot more engaging



Not a backing track or multi fx pedal in sight

Could be that I'm just getting old.....

Tasty playing! I normally run my Les Paul straight into a cranked Marshall type amp, and the Telecaster into a Fender/Vox type amp, either clean or on the edge of breakup.

FX is for used for variation, or when you are trying to get a specific sound. The FX pedals are usually run into a clean amp.

For something like this you definitely need FX pedals ..

[Veg1960]

Tasty playing! I normally run my Les Paul straight into a cranked Marshall type amp, and the Telecaster into a Fender/Vox type amp, either clean or on the edge of breakup.

FX is for used for variation, or when you are trying to get a specific sound. The FX pedals are usually run into a clean amp.

For something like this you definitely need FX pedals ..

Sounds like a lovely setup you have there Mr Bales

[Cyclops]

Fair enough I suppose.
Yet here's (in my opinion) a proper old school guitarist talking about guitars, that I find a lot more engaging
Not a backing track or multi fx pedal in sight

But was he performing in PMT last night?
I think not.

And btw, do you really think Gary Moore didn't use stomp boxes?

[Veg1960]

But was he performing in PMT last night?
I think not.

And btw, do you really think Gary Moore didn't use stomp boxes?

Absolutely correct Mr Cyclops. an evening down the guitar shop has got to be a good thing. Don't get me wrong, he's an excellent player - I couldn't imagine getting anywhere near that good!

It's just that for some reason that I can't explain, that style of playing leaves me slightly cold.

Big fan of Gary Moore so was aware he used a pedal board - The variation he was getting in the video seemed to be coming from feel and use of the vol and tone controls though