Wow it's like a... it's like the perfect nu metal riff basically
What's up, everyone and welcome to FAQ one hundred and ted, have you s-
Ted... one hundred and ten. Have you seen this?
Yeah, so you might have seen this in a video this past week where I tried out distortion pedals
This is the A1.6D
And it's the latest Solar guitar Solar guitar out there
And as you can see, it's a natural wood color
And it's... Shit, I've been waiting to show off this guitar for a long long long ass time.
I've been having this for a while, it's actually been standing there
in my guitar stand for a lot of FAQs and videos
But people just haven't noticed it but it's been there. It's... just look at this,
Amazing with you know, the brushed whatever, you know...
...Retro look you have to the electronics and look at that, you know the...
And the brand, it's just like...
F***ing hell, I'm super excited to finally launch this and it's out and it's available to pre-order
And there's also a 7 string version of this. So yeah, very excited about that.
But do not worry, I still have my old guy strat here
Right next to me. So don't you worry about that, I'm still old.
Short story: actually yesterday I had this guitar standing against my 2x12 here
and my son came in and wanted some help from me
And when he went out he turned his back and knocked the guitar over on the floor
And he saw my reaction, I was like
And he started crying, I felt so sorry for him
But I mean, that's a good thing about having a beat-up guitar, it doesn't really matter if it gets even more beat up
So that's really good. But I was feeling really sorry for my son.
You know, he knew how much the guitar meant for me.
So... That's a good sign. My son is not an asshole. I love that.
"Hi Ola, we know your thoughts on Down, Hellyeah and Damageplan
"but have you ever heard Dime's, Vinnie's and Rex's sideproject Rebel Meets Rebel?
"I think they're the best band besides Pantera as a whole."
Yes, I do know of Rebel Meets Rebel, that's the album they have with David Allan Coe
And it's a killer album, I must say. It has a shit ton of really good Dimebag riffs on it.
Even though they're a little bit or fun then, you know, the riff that he made for Pantera and Damageplan
They're a little bit more party riffs, I would say
And... I mean...
The lyrics are actually pretty good
If you actually listen to them a little bit... there's a lyrical line that kind of got to me
And it's a part where he's singing 'Rockin' Rita is looking for a Dime'
And that's kind of like... shit, that hit real hard
You know, Rockin' Rita being Dimebag's girlfriend
This album has a fair bit of moments on it
Definitely an album I can enjoy, and if you just want some more of that Dimebag riffage and soloing
go check out Rebel Meets Rebel
GreyRender_JXF
"Hi Ola, so my band is recording a new album and we decided to attempt to record it ourselves
"instead of shelling out more studio time.
"I've been struggling a bit to find the right level for the guitars to sit well in the mix.
"What advice can you give us for instrument levels and mixing mastering in general?"
I think it all comes down to you just using your ears
And just reference listen your mix...
...against other mixes that you like and enjoy.
So... I mean, it's just about listening basically and if you're uncertain about the levels
be sure to check in as many different setups that's possible
with your monitors, with headphones, in your car...
Just to make sure that all the levels sit
So don't be afraid to go around to different systems and checking your mix for...
...For the leveling in that sense. And I don't... An advice, I mean...
Just do it more and you'll become better
I think it's very important that you mix with a limiter on that kind of pushes the envelope a bit
Because if you're mixing and not doing some sort of mastering at the same time
the whole image of the whole mix will become a little bit different when you start mastering afterwards
Another tip I can give is just to give your mix to a professional mastering guy
Just to have this last set of the professional ears to your mix
Last advice would probably be to actually let someone mix your album
Someone that you know will make a great sound of the album
I think it's... I think in this day and age, now, It's very important that your album sounds as good as it can
Us as people have become very, you know, shallow when it comes to a lot of things
I mean, if it doesn't look good, we don't like it...
If an album is not really sounding that good, we turn it off...
And you know, it's just that people need to be captured by the music and stay for a longer period of time
And the first step is to make the mix and the master some as good as you can
Because that... you know, a production can invoke another type of feeling
you know, the feeling of like... ooh, empowerment.
You know, when you listen to a song like Cerberus.
I'm not saying that this is doing it for all the people in the world out there
But you know when the riff and Cerberus kicks in...
You know, it's a feeling of empowerment and that's because of the production and the mix
And if you just have a half-assed mix with the same riff
it just wouldn't come across as being as awesome
So, a really good mix and production can actually save a lot of songwriting, I would say
Now, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Wes Harris: "Hey Ola, proud member here. Love the show brother.
"You are kick-ass an inspirational player. Keep up the great work.
"Which Solar model do you like best?
"Which pickups do you prefer for live shows or recording? Solar, Fishman EMGs, etc. Thank you."
Thank you so much.
You know, in the latest FAQ I got so many awesome and positive comments from you guys.
Thank you so much
That was rhe one that I was talking about addiction and you know, James Hetfield...
And a lot of people came out and gave me really positive comments
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Regarding guitars... Well, the good thing about the Solar guitars is that...
Whenever you pick up a new one, it will feel familiar to the other ones
So I don't really have, you know, a specific live guitar or anything like that
I can just take this one and go out and play it
And all of them also carry, the Duncan Solar pickups
Which is the pickup I record and play live with, so that's an easy choice for me
I can just go with any of these guitars and it will sound kick-ass basically
So with that said, I'm still a big fan of Fishman
Fluence Modern by the way, I think they're the most excellent active pickups out there
I like them a lot more than the active EMGs
But at the end of the day, I'm using Duncan Solar pickups for live, when recording...
There you go.
Kamil Kichinski: "Hi Ola, how livestreaming affected your guitar practicing?
"Do you feel you should put more on your guitar playing during practicing because people are watching at you?
"Did you have any problems with getting distracted during practice time in the past?"
Well, to be honest now when I start a live stream on Twitch, by the way, you can... Ola Englund Official
Go... Go follow me on Twitch
I started playing and streaming like the afternoons here during the day
If you know, if I'm rendering a video or something like that
I just push on the live stream and I'm on... I'm live basically
And what that does to me, I'm just sitting and playing, noodling around
And you know, I haven't really been doing that in a long while. So it's basically... on Twitch, I'm sort of practicing
You know, I'm playing guitar, I'm making mistakes sitting there, talking at the same time
And it's kind of... just kind of awesome I must say, because I'm playing more guitar.
And obviously I'm practicing more now because I'm going to China this coming week
when this FAQ is being aired by the way I'm probably going back from China
Or... no, it's the last day of Music China, so I'm still in Shanghai when you're watching this
I feel like for the YouTube live stream... That's what I practice for.
Like that's a full performance, but Twitch, that's basically all the shitness in the world for me.
That's like my low point of guitar playing
But I think it's still good, because it makes me take away a little bit of the barrier you know...
of performing in front of people and you know, it's okay to make mistakes in front of people
So if you want to see me make mistakes go to my Twitch livestream, that's great
Okay this light is not really helping this guitar, I'm just going to hold it like this, so you can see it
Enrico Stennulat: "Good morning Ola, I play guitar during I watched your FAQ.
"And I often miss some notes when I play Fast single note riffs.
"Do you have any tip to train this?"
You can either train it away or you can just call it free jazz
That's what I do.
Everything is intentional, zero deaths, no mistakes. Free jazz.
Rhett Goat Surgeon... Oh, he's a member, Rhett.
"What are you going to name your new Stratocaster?"
Okay, I'm not naming my guitars
I think that's kind of silly to be honest
I don't understand why people name their guitars
Like they were pets or something like that. They're not a pet. They're a tool for you to create music...
...and you know, get you to the point where you want to be
It's like if I would name my shoes something. My shoes: Esmeralda...
That's one shoe. The other one is called Kent. Kent and Esmeralda.
Those are my shoes that get me to places
So yeah. If it helps you to name your guitar, that's great. Good for you.
VinnyChezni: "Have you heard of Orbit Culture?
"Really good metal band with pounding riffs, they just dropped a new single and it's one of their heaviest yet."
Okay, it's not often that I recommend music on the FAQ, but Orbit Culture...
... is a sick and awesome upcoming Swedish metal band
And you should definitely check them out. I truly enjoy their music and they're super brutal and...
They play Solar.
MisterKotte: "Hey Ola, did you see the Andertons video interview with Mark Agnesi?"
Am I gonna open up this Pandora's box?
I guess I should.
So last week Mark Agnesi, Gibson guitar
You know, Mark Agnesi who made this video, I mean... or Gibson made this video with Mark Agnesi
You know, talking about being authentic and going after smaller brands and you know
It was a really shitty video and a lot of people hated it and it put Gibson in a bad spot
Anyway, Andertons put out an interview with Mark Agnesi this past week
And... safe to say a lot of people did not enjoy the interview
And people thought that they would probably address this whole...
...This whole last half of a year where everything just went to the shitter with Gibson
and you know the way that they portrayed themselves through all these videos
But the interview was basically just about Mark Agnesi
And...
I think a lot of people were disappointed with this
because this was basically like the perfect opportunity to kind of... you know...
...either like explain the whole situation or even like...
I don't know, what they wanted to do, if they wanted to form an apologies
and you know, take a step back and say like 'Hey, man, we did a mistake'. That's... you know, that's...
That happens.
And kind of redeem themselves, but no.
They actually didn't talk about it, which is kind of a bummer
Because why would you then make the interview?
You know, when I was out guitar shopping this past week when I bought my strat here.
I tried a fair bit of new Gibson guitars
Like, expensive ones from the US and you know...
I was basically kind of shocked about the condition of these guitars
You know, I saw a lot people saying like 'Yeah, you know, Gibson are shitty, you know'
The latest years they sucked and you know, the guitars suck, they stopped building great guitars and all that
I just thought that was part of the hate towards this whole thing that happened with Gibson, you know...
I just thought that people were jumping on the bandwagon with saying that the guitars were shit
But the guitars that I played that were, you know five or six grand...
They did definitely not look, sound, or play like a five or six grand guitar
Basically, one of the guitars had like residue still here on the neck joint of the guitar
and it looked like a Chinese copy of a Gibson guitar and I was actually shocked
And you know, kind of bummed out actually that it was this bad
Even to the point where I've tried an Epiphone and the Epiphone was almost better in a way
In that store, like playing a Fender...
I mean, all the Fender guitars I played, US made, were absolutely incredible
Fender is at the top of their game right now
And I sincerely hope that Gibson picks themself up
And you know, reclaim that legendary status
Because I think they definitely deserve it, they just have to... you know, make better guitars.
So yeah, I did watch the video, I was a little disappointed to be honest
You know, all of this just does not look well with Gibson
And I truly truly hope that they figure this out
And I think they will
But I just hope it will happen soon, because right now...
The guitars that I played, they were not good.
Gibson has been making really great guitars in a lot of years
So I know there's a... you know, the used market out there...
There are so many great guitars out there with the Gibson name on it
I really hope that the new guitars...
...from now will be just as good if not better
That they redeem the name to be worthy of their legendary status.
Does that make any sense? Great, thank you.
Ola thinks about things and people are gonna get pissed.
TomaGaming: "What do you think about Stevie T turning down Dragonforce?"
Oh, so many serious questions
Great. I saw the video...
Stevie T got offered to join Dragonforce to play bass
I don't know how long it was, like a month ago.
He said yes, and now he uploaded a video saying that he can cannot do it, basically
And the video was very sincere, very serious.
It showed a very different side from Stevie T, that he's battling anxiety and depression
I think it's very refreshing and also very important that he made this video
And just showing you know, that he's also a human being...
You know, being a youtuber that uploads content all the time and getting people commenting on you
and you know, people giving you shit, people giving you love
It's not the easiest job in the world, I must say
It was really real to watch this video and basically...
for him to explain the whole situation and you know...
having his anxiety attacks and almost, you know, having a mental breakdown...
...Before you know, actually doing the gig for this upcoming tour.
I applaud him actually for doing that
I think it was a very bold move and...
Kudos to him man. I love Stevie T.
You know, respect Stevie... Respect.
Vincent Jones: "Is that a racing seat?"
This is a racing seat, yes.
So...
So does that make me a racist?
Aquarius61: "Do you or have you ever used pot to help your creativity for writing?"
No, I never did pot. I've never smoked. I've tried it.
During the 6 Feet Under tours, I've tried it a fair amount of times, you know I...
It wasn't really anything for me and so no, I've never used that
If there's any drug that I would use, it was probably gonna be alcohol
But I'm not even doing a lot of alcohol at all
I mean, when I'm at home here, I never drink basically
If I'm out on tour, yes, I can have 1 or 2 beers, play a show. That's it basically.
You know, I just drink less because I don't want to feel like shit the day after
and the older you get the more shit you will feel, after you had a good night of drinking
So I just want to you know, have a good day
So I don't drink that much
John Hetherington: "Good luck with the skin problem."
Skin problem?
But...
Help.
Thanos Dim: "How annoying is it to hit your little finger on the volume knob of your new guitar?"
Alright, so he's referring to my strat. Yes, it's very very annoying.
Whenever you're riffing and you know moving your hand...
I always knock my pinky on the volume knob
To the point where I have to do this, I have to fly with my hand like this
Right here
No, I'm probably gonna remove this and put maybe a killswitch or something like that
Just something that's down here, so it doesn't get in the way of my playing
but yeah, that's probably one of the only little quirks that I don't like about this Stratocaster
and also that it's going out of tune a lot, but...
I think it also has to acclimatize to my room here, before I can, you know...
Put it to the final real test and make my video
But for this video I'm gonna hold this guitar like this because I want to sell guitars
Have you seen this guitar?
LangsfordMusic ltd: "Ola, any chance of a live run-through of your album before you go to China?
"Enjoyed the one you did before the last Haunted gigs."
Well, I won't be able to do it before I go to China, which is...
I'm in China right now, by the way
But I will do it next week, so on Friday this coming week...
Alright it's on Friday the 18th
I will have my livestream performing the full Master of the Universe album here on YouTube
I'm gonna link to the livestream so you can set a reminder, so you don't miss out
Thank you. It's gonna be awesome.
And I'm gonna practice like an asshole for that one.
Burps are still okay. This is not okay, by the way.
If I do this, I'm a Nazi now.
Okay, let me show you a cool riff from That YouTube Song
I'm currently practicing that and all the other songs from the new album
But there's a pretty gnarly death metal riff in it, right in the middle of the song, it's this.
The guitar is tuned to D, Standard D with a drop C, ok?
Okay, cool, so this is how it goes, it starts like this.
Bend
Pretty cool. There you go. Thank you so much.
jizllober: "Ola still got the blues... not, he hasn't.
"he's just showing new gadgets he owns, the last 50 FAQs are so...
"Look at me, what I have or buy"
Solar A1.6D
solarguitars.com, pre-order and with that said, thank you so much.
So there you go, that was the last question. Thank you so much for watching this video.
if you liked it, please subscribe and if you have any questions put them in the comment sections of...
Because there's 2 comment sections... no, there's... put them in the comment section..
And I'll look it up before I record the next FAQ
Thank you so much. Have a great Sunday.
And I'm in China right now, you know, YouTube is banned in China.
I won't have access, so hopefully this video goes up scheduled
and there's a free-for-all in the comment section basically
So have fun