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Bluesbreakers Key to Love - Eric Clapton's guitar parts

1242

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2016
Messages
106
I couldn't find a backing track for this so I took the stereo track from the album and stripped out Eric's guitar (sorry, Eric). I did the rhythm and the solo in one take, because I've always imagined that's how Eric did it, but having done it, I'm not sure.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SNqrEEvac44" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
 

1242

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2016
Messages
106
Listening back to it on YouTube I thought the sound on the solo was pretty weak, so I made a second version with an overdubbed solo, which allowed me to experiment with the settings in Garageband, the details of which are in the notes attached to the video.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s-a-I1r8UwY" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
 

1242

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Joined
Feb 22, 2016
Messages
106
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tyVDrarChyI" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
Oh lordy that just brightend up my day! Thank you so much for the reminder of a magcal time in my life. Way back in the late 60's when I discoverd this album it changed my life. I was into Cream, and Eric big time. They had just ended with Goodbye, and I was heartbroken. I had every album but Fresh Cream hit me like lightning.

NOTHING, NOBODY, made that sound. Eric had such a strong presence, so bold and confident, and that tone, THAT GLORIOUS TONE! Sleepy Time Time changed my DNA. It came out of nowhere in my experience and later Disraeli Gears expanded my world. Then I found Beano and it all made sense. IMO the keystone, the most significant modern guitar album, the wellspring.

I spent hours in my room playing along to that record. Still did when I was playing, still do now that playing is difficult at best, painfull and frustrating none the less, playing with Beano is going to church.

Back then it was Beano & Fresh Cream, BB's Live at the Regal and Zepplin I that formed my core guitar inspiration and of them Beano was the biggest.

I don't know how you came to the Beano, I don't expect it to be same as me, but I can tell that you get it and that Les Paul says you got it deep. I love it. I needed that, so thank you.

If I may offer a suggestion, boost the guitar solo. The gain and treble increase at the solo. Play angry, Eric does it fearlessly, fierce and slashing like a switchblade. When I played this my pickup volume pot was rolled back a little bit as was the bridge pup's tone, [something I always do and learned from those long lost days in my room], come solo time I roll the volume & tone up all the way. Make that double black scream!!
Some choose a clean Treble Booster for similar effect. You can also disregard all that 'cause it's just me and you really sounded just fine and played great.
 

1242

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2016
Messages
106
Thanks, Al! I really appreciate your comments and love to hear stories of how fellow players discovered all this. I was too young to be 'there' at the time, but my sister is ten years older than me, and as we lived half an hour out of London she used to get up regularly to see the Yarbirds with Eric and Jeff Beck, the Pretty Things, the Small Faces and all the rest of them, and so I grew up with this great music. That said, I didn't hear the Beano album until the mid-'70s, when a guitar-friend of mine played it to me. Like you, I was and still am totally blown away by the playing and the tone!

With regards your suggestion, I totally agree. Eric's tone was fearless and aggressive! I myself thought that the tone of the solo on the first version of Key to Love that I uploaded sounded a bit flat and tame. So I uploaded a second version (not sure if you've seen that or not) for which I overdubbed that last open B before the solo, and also the solo itself, which gave me the chance to mess around with the tones in Garageband. I changed the cab from (if I remember correctly) a 'British Blues 2x12', (which I suppose was supposed to be the Marshall combo speakers?) to a British 1x12 (which looked like a Vox cab). It sounds a lot sharper and harder. It's still not patch on the real deal, of course, but it's as close as I could get. For the backing track, I imported an MP3 of the stereo version into Garageband, then selected the left channel only, which removes Eric's guitar.

Thanks again for sharing your story and your comments!

Best regards,
Mark


Oh lordy that just brightend up my day! Thank you so much for the reminder of a magcal time in my life. Way back in the late 60's when I discoverd this album it changed my life. I was into Cream, and Eric big time. They had just ended with Goodbye, and I was heartbroken. I had every album but Fresh Cream hit me like lightning.

NOTHING, NOBODY, made that sound. Eric had such a strong presence, so bold and confident, and that tone, THAT GLORIOUS TONE! Sleepy Time Time changed my DNA. It came out of nowhere in my experience and later Disraeli Gears expanded my world. Then I found Beano and it all made sense. IMO the keystone, the most significant modern guitar album, the wellspring.

I spent hours in my room playing along to that record. Still did when I was playing, still do now that playing is difficult at best, painfull and frustrating none the less, playing with Beano is going to church.

Back then it was Beano & Fresh Cream, BB's Live at the Regal and Zepplin I that formed my core guitar inspiration and of them Beano was the biggest.

I don't know how you came to the Beano, I don't expect it to be same as me, but I can tell that you get it and that Les Paul says you got it deep. I love it. I needed that, so thank you.

If I may offer a suggestion, boost the guitar solo. The gain and treble increase at the solo. Play angry, Eric does it fearlessly, fierce and slashing like a switchblade. When I played this my pickup volume pot was rolled back a little bit as was the bridge pup's tone, [something I always do and learned from those long lost days in my room], come solo time I roll the volume & tone up all the way. Make that double black scream!!
Some choose a clean Treble Booster for similar effect. You can also disregard all that 'cause it's just me and you really sounded just fine and played great.
 

1242

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2016
Messages
106
I've just made and uploaded this tutorial for the guitar solo.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pgPyKF2XhIA" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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