This is me covering Valley Of The Damned by DragonForce on my Ibanez Egen18-TVF. My guitar sound was achieved by using the effects in Logic Pro X along with amp designer. The song was learned by ear along with some improvisation.
+Connor Deal Thanks a lot for your feedback! Yeah, playing through a difficult song such as this one without any screw ups in one single take, it's a pretty tall order. It's not impossible, however it'll take more than just a few takes
Very true if played this song for years on my e gen dragons blood even Herman gets odd note ECT wrong sometimes I know it happens to me a lot lol I just say it's improvisation if sounds good
+JoeyWild Yeah well I started getting really into playing about 2 years ago I think. Never had any lessons, but I'm making solid process just by self studying with tabs and watching videos. Sweep picking is one of the things I have a lot of trouble with though. I imagine it's just a matter of hours upon hours of practice, but do you know of any tips that would make it more accessible? Thanks in advance!
I'm also self taught from the beginning and I gotta tell you, when your just as good as other people that have taken lessons, you'll feel so much more pride since you know you taught yourself . Two years is a good start, but it may be a bit too soon to tackle sweep picking. I couldn't do that until I was 4-5 years into playing. But if you want to try it then, here's my suggestion to you. Focus on one hand at a time. Start with either your right or left hand and just get the motion right. Either sweep up and down the strings while muting them with your other hand or go through the individual notes by just taping the strings without picking them. Mute the strings with your right hand if you want, It's just about getting the feel right. When it starts to feel a little bit natural you can start putting the two together. Start of easy, just three strings at a time and don't push yourself to hard. A sloppy learning process will take more time to retrain yourself the right way than taking it nice and easy from the start.
Its super amazing😮, cant belive it was 8 yrs ago, Meaning you are playing much and more better now. Am i the only one that needs another insane cover??
Bad ass cover bro! DragonForce is my top number 1 band! I'm sure you've made Master Li very proud with this cover! I would love to see you cover Where Dragons Rule off of Valley Of The Damned, and then Fields of Despair, and My Spirit Will Go On off of Sonic Firestorm!
Freaking amazing cover man. The Hobbit T Shirt is a nice touch too lol 😆 🤟🔥 Middle Earth and Dragonforce are like one of my favorite things of all time. Also man am i a little jealous cause i wish i had that replica of Hermans Guitar , its one of my Dream guitars to have , hate that they are no longer available to purchase, such a gorgeous guitar
My Dear Dude, that was superb, absolutely frikking excellent. I've never hard of this band or this song but your playing is captivating. Bloody good work, old bean.
Sweet baby Jesus! That was sick! Really dig the guitar as well, it was my dream guitar when I was into DragonForce. :) Though I have this love/hate thing going on with tremolos :P
+TheTonyborbony Thanks, I appreciate your feedback! :) I have a similar feeling towards tremolo bridges. The only one that I've liked are the Ibanez ones with their zero-point system and their own spring system. They feel so much more stable than Floyd Rose bridges if you ask me.
JoeyWild I currently have a guitar equiped with the Edge3 tremolo and one with an original Floyd Rose and I prefer the Floyd. Never tried a guitar with the zero-point system though, seems interesting. :) My main reason for hating on tremolos is because they're a pain when you adjust the intonation or when you want to try another tuning.
+TheTonyborbony I totally agree on the pain with intonation and changing the tuning. I'm in university right now and while my Egen18 is at home I got my other Ibanez here with the ZR-bridge. It's pretty much the same as the others but instead of a knife edge it's got a ball bearing mount. The configuration is pretty mich the same and I keep going back and forth in tunings all the time and it's quite annoying. It's stays in tune very well though because of the locking nut :)
Dragonforce - Valley of the Damned lyrics On a cold dark winter night hidden by the stormy light A battle rages for the right for what will become In the valley of the damned a warrior with sword in hand Travels fast across the land for freedom he rides And the sign from the master on high screams aloud and across hear the cry For the kingdom of fire and ice and the power to be alive Be strong ride on, carry on through the war Come along carry on, living for ever more On the wings of death by the hands of doom By the darkest light from the darkest moon Crossing silent seas over mountains high For we stand as one tonight On the black wind forever we ride on together Destroying your evil with freedom our guide When the master will storm us He'll stand high before us Our hearts filled with splendour Our swords will shine over the light In the valley of the damned Days breaks with golden strand Over pastures green it glows To where night returns In the shadows faces appear Warriors wearing full metal gear All join together one and all Before the glorious light Rise up, gather around Come and hear what is said Use your senses open your mind Don't you ever forget On the wings of life, by the hands of hope By the brightest light from the brightest sun Crossing silent seas over mountains high To the valley of the damned On the black wind forever we ride on together Destroying your evil with freedom our guide When the master will storm us He'll stand high before us Our hearts filled with splendour Our swords will shine over the light On the black wind forever we ride on together Destroying your evil with freedom our guide When the master will storm us He'll stand high before us Our hearts filled with splendour Our swords will shine over the light The black wind forever we ride on together Destroying your evil with freedom our guide When the master will storm us He'll stand high before us Our hearts filled with splendour Our swords will shine over the light The black...
+Tyreek Murillo No I don't. In this cover I was using plugins within Logic Pro X. Currently I'm using EZmix 2 when I record something. I can't afford a rocktron prophesy, and I think I would get something else than that. Whenever I gig I'm using a Blackstar HT 100 head going straight into the mixer from the emulated output on the amp.
There's no backing track. This is the remastered version from 2009 of Valley of the damned. Both Herman's and Sam's guitar is in the music that I'm playing on top of. The guitar sure is a beauty :)
Great question. I'm honestly not sure I know if I can completely answer it though. I've been playing guitar for almost 10 years now. I learned the basics of the song in 2010 but I didn't possess the technique in order to play the solo so I stuck to the rhythm for the time being. Then I somewhat learned the Em sweep figure around 2012. Then in 2014 I could somewhat play around the solo because I was starting to get some proper speed into my fingers. Then I shot the cover in 2015 :)
+Daniel Son Many thanks! It's a really good guitar indeed. It's definitely one of the best guitars I've played one, but my favourite is my Ibanez S2170FW. Spec-wise it's more limited than the Egen-18, i.e. it doesn't have 24 frets or coil tap but there's something about it that I prefer. Since I got it it's been my main guitar for live for that purpose I think. Limitations and simplicity makes it more comfortable to use since the options are not as overwhelming.
+JWguitar Ah good to hear. Not sure if I make the leap into buying it or not, but always happy to hear positive reviews to help tip me over the edge. Just looked at the S2170. Nice guitar. If I don't get the Egen18 (or before I get the Egen18 i should say) I've been looking at getting the S570DXQM Prestige in Grey. Or the S5570Q in Doom purple. Need to see them in real life first though. I have an Iron label SIR70FD and a Diamond Bird of Prey but need a thin body Ibanez with a wammy now, so maybe "Egen18, here I come". How long have you been playing? Dragonforce got me into playing. Listened to em for 10 years but started playing about 3 ago. Spent too much time on Guitar Hero haha. Only just properly started looking at their tabs/sheet music.
+Daniel Son I've been playing guitar for almost 10 years now. It's good to hear that you're really getting into playing guitar. There's nothing that makes me feel so free as when I'm playing music. If you're getting a guitar in that price range, try many different guitars. What you've set out to get might not be the right choice for you in the end. Of course you can narrow your search down to a few brands that you prefer but keep an open mind. Always try out a guitar before you buy one as well. If the guitar shop has multiples of the same model in stock, ask if you can try another one because no one is the other like. Also, if you plan on buying an expensive guitar, don't buy it the day you first try it. Ask if the shop could reserve it for you for the next couple of days so that you'll have time to think of your options. Personally I'd recommend a prestige S-series rather than the Egen18 unless you're a major fan like me. The reason is you'll be able to modify it, put in a specific set of pick-ups, for example you could put a dimarzio evolution in the bridge while having a dimarzio D activator in the bridge. The purpose with a signature model is the specs will all be the same as the artists guitar. If you start replacing the pick-ups, then you've lost the purpose with that specific guitar.
I know I know but which notes do you pick and which notes do you tap? I know you tap the 20 fret of the E string pull of from 19 to 17 fret, and the other notes you just tap with the right hand and pick just some notes?Or do you finish the pull of and go with the pick like up up down down?Do you pick the B the G and the E string?Or you just tap the B and sweep the G and B again? That"s what I would like to understand
I'm not saying you're playing it wrong, I'm just asking because I'm trying to play that part and even sweeping it's not working very well, I just want to understand how you're playing that part
anderson marques Im sorry but im not a guitarist myself so i cannot help you in that. I can play this song on drums only so i have no idea about the notes he plays :(
+Jimbo Colton It's all learned by ear. I've been listening to Dragonforce for about 10 years now so I know this song inside out since I've heard it so many times.
This model is discontinued due to the new signature Herman Li signature by Ibanez, which has the same price tag that this one had. You're looking at around 3000 USD. Have a search at IBANE Egen18DRG and you might be able to find it with your currency if it's not USD
3000 us dollars not rubbing it in I must of got bargain last in stock before ibonez discontinued it cost me 1000 uk pounds with case and cleaning stuff
