What’s better than listening to one guitarist soloing over a track? Listening to 12 guitarists soloing over a track, of course. And in Pickup Music’s latest video, the online learning platform has assembled a lineup of 12 stellar electric guitar heroes for a collaborative video.
Featuring the likes of Strandberg-toting prog powerhouse Plini and neo-soul sensation Melanie Faye, the rules of the 12-minute video are simple: each guitarist gets the same 20-bar passage to flex their chops and show off their uniquely flavored skills.
Aside from Plini’s highly melodic passage and Faye’s irresistibly smooth solo, highlights from the video include Ayla Tesler-Mabe’s effort, which sees the Fender Mustang-playing phenom get creative on the volume knob while simultaneously sliding from one phrase to another.
Ruben Wan’s guitar-hopping solo – for which he jumps between Ibanez AZ models to layer up his harmonies – Morgan Burr’s chord-melody effort and Rosie-Frater Taylor’s hypnotic vocal-supported interlude are also noteworthy additions to the awe-inspiring catalog.
Elsewhere in the video, Horace Bray utilizes his PRS Custom 24 to maximum effect, putting his extensive jazz training to good use in a boundary-blurring contribution, while Owane dons his Strandberg Boden Classic as he explores just about every fret on the fingerboard.
The effort’s grand finale is conjured up by Ariza, who breaks the mold entirely by turning the track’s breezy progression into a stomping gain-laden exchange, while executing some face melting bends and dizzying fretboard flurries.
To see the mind-boggling display of guitar prowess in its entirety, check out the video above.
It’s the second 12-guitarist extravaganza that Pickup Music has organized this year, with players such as Cecil Alexander, Jude Smith, Leticia Filizzola, Sophie Giulani, Kaspar Jalily and many more joining forces for the first installment.
It’s not unreasonable, therefore, to think that a third edition of the series will soon be released to cap off the trilogy. If that’s the case, we can only wait with bated breath for even more sublime six-string skills from the Pickup Music community.
