I met him & Vai on the sex and religion tour. Devin kept asking me- "tell Steve that I sweep pick better than him". He also picked his nose on stage and ate it during the song "pig". He took a picture with friends of mine afterward with one on each side of him with a finger in each nostril. He then picked his nose again and wiped his booger on a book they had. I was 15 at the time and it mad a huge influence on me.
We saw him that year as well in Memphis. Dude was crazy for the whole show. Met Via after the show as he came out of his bus. That was incredible talking to him. Sadly, didn't meet DT
Could Devin get any better at what he does? He amazes me. U feel sorry for people who haven't discovered one of the greatest musicians of our time IMO.
It’s true, a master of his craft and innovator. I try to turn people on to his stuff, but not many take. I think his genre of genius is hard for some to appreciate.
Just for the record, when he's showing the example of a minor scale in open B tuning, he's playing Dorian. I know, I know, very small difference, but figured it was worth mentioning.
TerryMusic this is not correct- dorian simply means a scale based off of the second note of the major scale, which results in a minor scale with a raised 6th
landed here to get a different approach on playing scales in open C tuning...did get a new angle on it... yet: The way shown by the Dev just skips the 4! So if anyone happens to have an additional way (link/tutorisl/whatever) of this, it´s appreciated! greetings
I cant wait to hear the next generation of guitarists influenced by THIS guy. This almost makes me want to switch to an open tuning and Im pretty dead set in my old school ways.
12-13 years of pretty serious playing and i know almost nothing about gear/equipment. but DAMN that tone is perfect. wish i had some clue on how to get there
oh it's a little beast. 5+ i can drown out the drummers, but 2-3 on the volume is only time i get a good tone out of it. going to google that spyder 4 now. tyvm ")
I hear this guy is really chill when you meet him in person. He really does seem like he would be very down to earth and more than willing to talk to a fan.
What is the song starting at around 5:03? I think others have suggested it is Stand from his 2012 album Deconstruction however I don't hear that part in the recorded version.
Love his approach. Coming from learning music on the piano, the concept of using open tunings, like his C configuration, makes perfect sense to me. It seems more linear, like a keyboard. I find it much easier to visualise the neck in that way and the chord shapes you can use seem liberating in a way. I never knew Devin was such a good player. His compositional sense is terrific too.
....really enjoyed this persepctive on the instrument and actually feel a lot better about writing and practicing after hearing this.....thanks devin and rock on CANADA!
devin is such a unique being, so talented... he's like from another universe, just has an otherworldly vibe about him, like a mysterious artifact that landed on earth from space
hes mainly usent emg pickups? I haunt seen him play without. but they def have the 81 sound very distinct. damn a steghato sound so clean on those pups.. geez
I don't really think he could be called underrated.Many musicians and fans alike know of Devin Townsend.He is a household name among the progressive metal community.
There are two bands with the name Shining, one hails from Sweden which is the depressive black metal one, and this other Shining is from Norway, they play acoustic, jazz with a blend of progressive, industrial and black metal.
It's such a fun tuning, but out side of Townsend, there's not a lot that uses open tunings. Personally, I write my own stuff, but sometimes for fun, I learn songs.
I use DADFAD (Open D Tuning) or DADFAE in my band - and I sing, too! I was totally surprised when I heard Devins opinion of Open Tuning and that he's using them, too - for the same reasons! I also play a lot of standard tuning with my 7-string (better for classy solos) but I fell in love with open-tunings since the Opeth record Ghost-Reveries. :-)
Dr. Hylian I'll say it's not completely necessary, but it definitely helps w/ formulating some ideas and understanding how and why certain notes sound better together than others. Then again you can always just have a good ear for sound and base your writing off of that, like Devin and Dimebag.
I FUCKING LOVE THIS MAN!!! I'm don't have any gay inclinations whatsoever, but everything this man does is frickin golden and he performs his music and chooses his paths in life with such grace - Devin is a GOD among humans.
I wanna first off apologize for not knowing who you are Mr..but what the fuck was at 6:18? I have to hear more of whatever that is. I'm sure I'll be cursed at by many here for not knowing you, but I really like your ear for melody. You have the kind of sound I've searched for for years but rarely found.
OH SHI- what an amazing and wonderful TONE you've got there! you're getting better all the time, you know you're the only musician in the world that inspired me to play guitar, thanks Dev, you're my hero.
Jesus Christ, no, you're never too old. It's far more a function of how much time and effort you put into it. I started some instruments earlier than others, but it was only at a certain age when I was able to manage my practice with discipline that pretty much all of them took off. Work on having a solid technical foundation from the very start. Always challenge but never exhaust yourself. Don't limit yourself to one genre. And abuse the endless tools available online. Videos, tabs, whatever.
Basically he just doesn’t play the fourth of whatever scale he chooses. That’s how the scales become just a repetition of six notes instead of 7. Just my observation, would be curious if anyone else thinks of it in the same way.
I just tuned my guitar to that after I wrote my comment and I haven't put it down since. It's a fun tuning, I love the sounds that it gives off. I made a chart of the neck, and he's pretty close when he says that all the arpeggios are just straight down. I'm really looking forward to playing more in this tuning, it just feels perfect to me.
Best line: "In fact, when we were doing the orchestral stuff they'd be like 'Is that a C#?' and I'd be like 'Well, it's seventh fret... so... yeah...'"
Dear Mr.Townsend, you/your gift and talent in music is so big gift to all of us others. My ears smile so wide that my head almost explodes when i hear anything what you do recarding to music! No matter what you do, it just sounds so fking awesome! :) Thank you. If ever i need place to escape the world or chear me up, i put some devin in to player, works everytime! PLS do what ever you want, just dont stop making music..
I love how even when he tries to be like "Oh, everyone's doing the generic shredding thing." and plays a wanky bit, it STILL sounds very Devin Townsend XD
His honesty and openness is refreshing. Music theory is not my strong point either but listening to his scales proves his ear is very finely dialled in. Some excellent & simple tips.
I've had the good fortune of hanging out with him a couple of times after shows and he is just an incredible person! Kind, humorous, and very humble in person. The man truly is someone to look up to!
Building tonal sculptures like layering guitar octaves & adding harmonies to those (panned), etc is gonna sound THICK all by themselves. Using proper room mic placement, and huge compression was the cornerstone of Spector's instrument mixes, thus leaving room for reverb to actually be heard on vox,and selective solo instruments. I'm not slagging Dev; he's one of our few latter-day musical geniuses left...but I find that reverb pretty harsh. Of course, that's why they call it personal taste.
