December 2025 Challenge Response -AndyN

[Andy N]

Happy New Year everyone!

This is a bit of a rush job as I had a last minute change of plan. I was going to play the material for EP600 but didn’t get my act together in time and had resolved to miss this challenge. Then I watched Brian’s New Year’s Guitar Goals message, suggesting that we record something as a marker to look back on at the end of the year.

I’d written down bends, vibrato and phrasing as things to work on in 2026, all of which get highlighted in a slow blues, something that I also struggle to improvise over as I end up rambling aimlessly around. So after a few practice runs, I took a deep breath, hit record and improvised over EP444’s backing track which is very slow. This was take 3 out of 4 and will serve as my reference point on judgement day: 31/12/2026 😬

Hope to catch up with everyone else’s submissions over the next few of days.

[Andy N]

…and it looks like the YouTube link hasn’t embedded properly again so my apologies for that.
Seems to be happening to me more and more frequently. If anyone knows a sure fire way to embed the link so as to ensure you don’t have to leave the forum to watch, please let me know in the comments.

Cheers
Andy

[AndréM]

Very nice rendition Andy.
Great tone, did you double axe track?
Sounds really good.

AndréM

AndréM

[Andy N]

Thanks Andre
You’ve got sharp hearing. It wasn’t double tracked but I did split the signal and recorded left and right channels using different amp models and I think that’s what you’re hearing.
It was an AC30 with a Thory Dane overdrive on one side and a cranked Fender Deluxe Reverb on the other.

[James B]

The link worked for me, Andy. You gave that slow blues a really nice run through. You’ll be rewarded on judgement day! 😀

James

[sciencefiction]

Wow! Another fantastic performance on this backing track. Way to play, Andy! Tone on your guitar was great and your phrasing and note choices were awesome. This slow blues had some real bite, with cutting notes throughout.
Excellent.
Larry

[Alan L]

This was very engaging and smooth. You really made the most of those 2 minutes! Well done

[Dieter]

Very soulful playing.

Dieter

[hardenheavy]

Very nice! I’m biased to teles and that’s a nice sample 🙂

Cheers,
Henh

Trust the process.

[Jonathan Amos]

Coming after Charjo’s video makes think you should splice the two together and make a double-act! Your playing is similarly very tasteful and masterful.

Jonathan Amos, Matsuyama, Japan

[JoeD1]

Yup, very tasty indeed Andy. You and John should have done a collaboration! When I embed the link I always face West and stand on one foot while taking a deep breath.😂

Joe

The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge

[Bill]

Great job Andy! I love the tone you’ve dialed in, and you are already playing with great touch and feel for the track. 2026 is off to a smashing start!

[Lights]

How gently your guitar weeps, Andy!
Lights.

[Manfred M]

Now judgement day is set, Andy. And I seriously wonder whether you can improve anything here. To my ears, it already sounds very good. It’s going to be exciting.
In any case, it was very nice to listen to your ad hoc result.

Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
The next Meetup will be at the beginning of next year 2026

A detailed announcement will be posted here in the forum in good time.

I look forward to meet you.
Manfred

[Mike W]

Sounded good to me Andy, both musically and tonally. Amazing for a third take.

[charjo]

Andy, that was really commendable for an early effort. I could see you looking for those target notes with quite a degree of success and there were some really nice licks in there. We used the same BT but mine was way more preplanned.
I think my goal is to really try to apply my theory knowledge to come up with reasonable solos without all the rehearsal. I’m hoping to get there with a real handle on triads and the surrounding intervals (with a better ear for the chord changes).
John

[Martin W]

That’s a great start to the year Andy , your on the spot performance has already set the bar high , with lots of phrasing ideas that made sense, concluding each one with a target note .
I guess it’s all about those fine nuances , bends , vibrato , intervals ,etc that put the icing on the cake , but the main thing is the enjoyment of the process.
Have fun .

Martin

[JoLa]

Andy, if that’s your just-a-few-takes improvisation now – I better brace myself for the end of the year showcase! You surely know how to evoke emotions through your playing, you used just the right amount of dynamics and note coloring in such a good way – I think that’s a sign of a seasoned player! And then your tele tone was so pleasing on the ear with just enough crunch – loved it! Truly amazing for a minimal amount of prep to come up with something sounding so good, you set the bar pretty high already, Andy 🙂

🎸JoLa

[Guido]

Liked very much your improvisation/composition over that soulful BT! Really a delicious soulful phrasing, very melodic and enjoyable to listen to . Not to mention your excellent playing and the very good quality of the recording (splitting the channels with different amps was a very effective idea). Excellent job!

Guido

[Serena C]

Such a beautiful improvisation Andy! Congrats!

If I wasn't making mistakes I wouldn't be the kind of player I want to be. Perfection is dangerous.
It's all about taking risks, sometimes you get to some place, sometimes you get to a different place. (Brian May)

[Michael L]

Hi Andy, wow, really great playing here. I love how you started slow and easy, the built out the later sections with more notes and energy. It was a good arc over the solo. This is a great track… I think everyone who used it has sounded different, shining through in their own way.

[Author]

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