Chops from Hell instructionals

[Unhorizon]

I was looking at some of the Chops from hell instructional packages, particulary Terry Syrek's, or Rustey Cooley's Art of Picking. HAs anyone here bought any instructionals from Chops from hell and if so how did it workouk? I am really interested in finding out if they are worth 35 bucks.

[flathead]

I got 12 Chopsfromhell Cd roms.

Unfortunately Terry Syreks is one of the few I don't have so I won't comment on his. But I will say of the 12 I have I'm happy with all of them except one (Tony Smothermans could be a little better IMO) So if Terry's is of the same quality as the others.....but again I don't have it so I don't know

You obviously have to be into shred and the licks can be difficult, so they are not for total beginners.

I have all of Rusty's Cd roms. Art of Picking is the first rom I bought and its nothing but intense picking licks, most of which are based on some patterned sequence. Although there are a few blues pentatonicy licks in it but they are not B.B King type licks Many of the licks cover a good portion of the fretboard so it helped me really learn the scale shapes all over the neck. I should also say I didnt really know how to shred when I bought this Cd-rom. I mean I could play at a 'reasonable' speed I just didnt know how to apply it. So this rom was like a God send to me cause it showed me how to use what speed I had into actual licks. The sample lick shown at Chops from hell site is like Lick 64-69 in the rom. So he breaks it down into small chunks. Like with anything, what you get out of these CD-roms depends on how much you apply what he shows you. I mean he can show you an E minor patterned sequence but its up to you to play it in different scales and modes and mess with it a little bit. I think the Chops fro Hell Roms are great. They only Con I can think of regarding the Art of Picking (and its not really a con but....) is thru the first 20 minutes or so occasionally you can hear Rustys kids yelling in the backround once in a while (like 5 or 6 times maybe). It takes NOTHING away from the instructional value I just mention it in case you think he's all alone in some fancy schmancy studio.

I should also add I personally learn better by actually seeing and hearing someone play something rather than reading a book or internet article or something. Thats another reason why I like these Roms. I can see these guys play it. And its inspirational for me too. I love these Roms

Oh and I will mention if you do decide to order they send them out really fast. I always got mine in a few days.

[Unhorizon]

Thanks a lot man. I always wondered if they were any good. I'm probably gonna get the Art Of picking. Just curious if you bought any good instructionals on legato or tapping.

[EricV]

I have reviewed Fareri´s instructional CD rom for ibreathe, check it out at the Reviews section. I have also seen the three Cooley-CD Roms, and have checked out some of the clips of the other CDs.
If you compare them to those "classic vids" ( like the old REH- and DCI videos ), you can see that most of them have even more music examples ( those booklets, which are included as PDFs, look really nice and are rather big... the Fareri one had more than 70 pages of musical examples )
And some of those guys have interesting stuff to share, and are actually pretty experienced instructors.
I´m pretty sure you won´t go wrong with the Syrek-one, even if I havent seen it yet. Terry´s a great player, and I heard he´s a really good instructor.

Regarding legato... the "shred manifesto" by Cooley has a legato workout ( rather mechanical, different finger combinations, chromatics up to big intervals ) which I think is pretty... intense
Hope this helps
Eric

[flathead]

I'm not one who does 'workouts' or 'finger exercises' but Rusty's legato workout in shred guitar manifesto is INSANE. If my fingers feel a little 'sleepy' I'll noodle with that workout to warm up with for a few minutes and the stretches are.....intense.

I think the first 3 Cdroms put out by CFH are Derek Taylors Extreme Legato chops 1 and 2 and Marc Pattison Tap Monster. I DID NOT get those because it appears they don't come with video. That is a huge negative for me. So I'm staying away from those.

Rusty's Shred guitar manifesto and Extreme pentatonics and a few of the other players CD roms have a couple 'tapping licks' in them but that is not really their primary focus. And its not like EVH tapping. Its 2 (or 3) finger tapping rolls (using 2 or 3 fingers on your picking hand along with your fretting hand fingers). Rusty calls them 'rolls' or extensions of your fretting hand.

The only Rom I got that focuses exclusively on tapping is Neils Vejlyt Extreme tapping. You can check out his sample lick at the CFH site. That sample is a excellent example of what is on the rom. Again its not Eddie Van Halen style tapping. Neils actually does talk a little bit (although English is obviously not his first language, but he is able to communicate clearly) about the technique used instead of just playing the licks one after the other. A major negative is that the video throughout at least 1/3 of the Rom is VERY DARK. There are times when you can't even see his face or guitar you can just hear him. It can be frustrating but everything is tabbed out so you are able to figure out what he's doing, but it is frustrating not to see him cleary all the time. And some of his later tapping licks are unbelievably HARD, it seems even for him. He has a hard time muting the strings so he doesn't get unnecessary noise. He even says you may need a string damper to play some of them. So this rom has got some negative things about it and its hard to recommend it for someone as their first CFH CD rom. BUT, being totally honest, this is actually one of my favorites in spite of its few faults. I've gotten alot of new ideas from this rom. Remember I've just started to learn to shred about a year ago maybe, So for me the "easier" examples (like the sample lick at CFH.) are completely new to me and have been eye-opening.

[Unhorizon]

Thanks, because the main kind of tapping I'm into is 2, 3, or 4 fingers of the right hand. I actually am starting to use all my left hand legato exercises for my right hand because I want both my hands to be able to move across the fretboard.

Oh, and just curious what 2 instructionals you would consider most helpful to your technique AND overall playing (is the stuff actually usable in a solo , a.k.a. not just wanking licks)?

[flathead]

(is the stuff actually usable in a solo , a.k.a. not just wanking licks)?

Hmmmm..... Yes for the most part they are just licks. Is it usable in a solo? Well in Rustys Extreme Pentatonics he has a couple examples where he shows the lick and then there is a sound clip where you can hear where its applied in one of his songs. So Rusty can apply what he shows you in his music. But many people think Rusty's music is just wanking. So....there ya go...I guess it depends on your musical preferences and how YOU apply the ideas he shows you. Rusty's got many lessons at his website and at chop from hell website. Check them out, (the ones WITH the tab). They give you an EXCELLENT idea of what is on the Cd-roms. If you think those lessons are not usable in your playing and are just wanking, then you can forget about ALL of the CFH Cd roms because you'll just get more of the same. I can tell you right now ALOT of people would think Niels Vejlyt tapping Cd rom is just 'wanking' because many if not most of the things he shows you are just tapping up and down scales and arpeggios using 6,7,8 fingers. You have to take the concepts and ideas and apply it to your music (as in all the cdroms)

The Cdroms I like and watch the most are (in no particular order)

1. All of Rusty's (If for nothing else they were the first ones I bought so he was the one who showed me how to shred)
2. Mike Campeses Virtuoso rock fusion concepts (been very helpful to get my playing more intervallic and 'wider' sounding, and in using chromatics more.)
3. Niels Vejylt Extreme tapping

And just for fun, I attached a portion of a solo/lick I use in this song I'm trying to write. The chord progression of the song is in E lydian and this lick definately uses the ideas I got from Neils Vejylt and Rusty Cooley.

[YjMShred]

i had one of rustys cd roms but it broke im still thinking if i should get art of picking.seems pretty good

[Metal Dan]

Never got any of Terry's CDs but I was taught by the man himself for a few months so if that holds any merit his CDs should be good

[roshanguitar]

Can Anyone Passout Rusty'sbasic Training Booklet.
I Would Be Really Grateful

[roshanguitar]

Can Anyone Passout Rusty's Basic Training Booklet.
I Would Be Really Grateful