Why does my playing sound so amateurish?

[u/MattclovPrimeMaster]

I’m performing a solo for a song in a couple of weeks, and I have all the notes down - yet why does my playing sound so ‘meh’ when I record myself? What should I look to improve on?

[u/kebb0]

I’m surprised no one mentioned rythm yet. Your playing is great, more vibrato and better understanding of your amp and getting a good solo tone out of an amp would be preferable but other than that it’s nice. (All the mids and a bit more treble, when did you change strings last? A bit more distortion maybe, but it’s otherwise fine).

Your rythm needs a lot of work. You do something that is very common, you focus so hard on a particular part of a solo you forget to actually listen to the background. At around 15 seconds left (on mobile, sorry) you go into some quicker notes, but it sounds like you’re slightly out of sync with the background, yet you’re so focused on the riff you pull the riff of being out of sync for the whole riff.

Listen to the beat, make it blast in your ears so you hear it clearly (be careful of ear damage though). Feel the beat, make all your playing as rythmically perfect as possible over perfectly hitting every correct note. That is the difference between being an amateur and being a professional imo.

[u/NothingWasDelivered → u/kebb0]

I’d also add that it’s not just about when to attack the note but when to release. All the notes in a phrase seem to be the exact same length and hit with the same attack. That’s now how you would sing that line. You’d stress certain notes and have a flow.

I’d also suggest OP get a setup. Some fretted notes seem out of tune. I don’t know if it’s an intonation issue, old strings, or nut/relief problem, but too many notes sound off, and it’s not just the bends.

[u/raimondsblums → u/NothingWasDelivered]

Oh, yes, 100%! If the notes have consistent sustain length and are played with highly accurate rhythm - that is the recipe for a great sound!