Michael Romeo shows solo trick and warm ups

Michael Romeo (Symphony X) shows a little trick from the Eve of Seduction solo, talks about warm ups and about reducing unwanted noise during tapping licks.
www.myspace.com/officialsymphonyx
www.metal-hammer.de issue 10/08

[@yisus7793]

where can i find warm up exercices for his warm up exercices?

[@MsDavo123]

+Yisus dude this was the joke of the year hahahahaha

[@AdrianoNabeiro]

+Yisus LOL XD

[@varan9595]

hahaha

[@silverstone3228]

looooooooool

[@AngryLlamaAttack]

that was the warm up exercise for his warmup.

[@MAJORAandFRIENDS]

Definitely one of the most underrated guitar players ever

[@StarFury2]

As amazing player as he is, it's his composing side that makes him really stand out.

[@parati8922]

Underrated? KKKKKKKK he is so fucking amazing, eveyone know this

[@fredsarros4626]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnaXfIWfmLBkr9U

[@MAJORAandFRIENDS]

@@parati8922 outside of the extremely small number of people who know of him there aren't many that know who he is so that means underrated KKKKKKKKKKK

[@DoggoWillink]

Agree 100%, easily one of the most underrated.

[@emmanuelwong3592]

Im just gonna cry in the corner with the pentatonic scales...

[@RiffFlair]

re4ctive the irony being that most of this solo is pentatonic

[@Soldier1287]

same

[@zombiemachinery4868]

Sounds like a great blues song.

[@Spjungen]

This man is living proof that time is an illusion.

[@marco-87]

Rather That Time isn't an opinion, exactly as math ;)

[@Spjungen]

He's just...stupidly well-attuned...like after all this time and at this age you'd think it'd start to wear out but instead he's just better...it's crazy. He's so down to earth and just not full of himself at all, in spite of being a god, it's unbelievable. This man is definitely my guitar hero.

[@EvilForgemaster]

I totally agree. This man is the first who comes in mind when I hear the word "guitar" or "best guitarist" You just cant go wrong being a fan of his work. He is a prodigy. I believe he is the best both musicaly and technicaly. He plays ridiculously clean. You can hear each note perfectly even amongst a chaos of notes playing faster than light.

[@Kenji.1ChessPiece]

Can't agree with you more brother! One of my all time heroes!

[@Qazdar6]

stay away from women, and you'll get better

[@matthewarms3786]

Since the passing of Shawn Lane, Michael is the greatest living torchbearer for those of us without a ginormous handspan.

[@jfo3000]

@@matthewarms3786 Lane Had a huge span. Check out his single string augmented arpeggios.

[@renehenckens]

His "slow" is my "holy shit my fingers are on fire"

[@rolandlemus203]

THIS is one of the BEST guitarists playing now, period! so underrated, its criminal! Shredding, melodic, cinematic, all of the above! And as you can see, very humble and easy to talk too.

[@Xtremep00p]

He is not sloppy at all live. He is the cleanest guitarist I have ever seen live.

[@meshzzizk]

This used to be 100% true. Some videos from the past 5-6 show he’s had some rough nights on stage

[@Stoirelius]

@@meshzzizk He just doens’t care, because 99% of the fans won’t even notice if he plays sloppy or not live. He can do whatever he wants and still receive a thunderous applause.

[@meshzzizk]

@@Stoirelius I don’t think that’s how he thinks about it. I just think he’s an older man, the rigors of touring are probably more physically draining these days, and the ability to flawlessly pull off technically demanding material like SX’s solos requires disciplined regular maintenance while Romeo in his 50s has perhaps found himself less motivated to practice shred guitar technique for 3hrs+ every day. Or maybe he was sick, I don’t know. But I don’t think he’s just banking on an un discerning audience - prog fans are hypercritical nerds + his tour mates are watching too - you think he doesn’t care if Petrucci sees him slipping? He definitely does. Anyway, videos from the past ~2 years show a return to form - he’s been playing extremely demanding material from his solo records and performing live recently with SX, and sounding much better than a lot of clips from like 2016-2017

[@Randyolsson]

@@meshzzizk I've seen them live maybe 4-5 times over the last 10 years, he's always been sloppy, almost like he thinks it's cool to be sloppy live - which is a bit weird since everybody knows he can play all of this stuff.

[@meshzzizk]

@@Randyolsson right, but i saw them live on four occasions between 2003 and 2011 (opening for blind guardian; headlining with devin townsend band opening; headlining another time at a tiny strip club in providence RI, can’t remember who else played that show; and then on Nevermore’s last tour the night Nevermore broke up so SX played an extra long set to fill time) - each time he played more or less flawlessly - absolutely nailed everything. so clearly there’s been a decline of some kind during this last decade. whether it’s due to physical aging or flagging enthusiasm or simply caring less about playing perfectly on stage i can only guess

[@flyingmadpakke]

When he talks, i get the impression, that he doesn't know how good he is :)

[@jcoo71]

+flyingmadpakke My thoughts exactly. Then he said "hard to play it slow" well at that point all 4 of my guitars went up on ebay.

[@MadaraUchiha-sp3jh]

Ikr

[@negrohit]

Lo sabe, simplemente es una persona humilde, grande Romeo

[@richardjones2811]

When he's doing that tapping lesson after 5 minutes you can tell there's an overdrive pedal in the mix as it's so sensitive to his palm movements. That's a talent being able to play so clean in that effects choice.

[@zoranpavlovic9540]

He's so down to earth and master at the same time, what a virtue 🤘🥇🎸

[@rdr.erased]

His warmup is basically one of the best solos of history

[@atyt11]

MR is like......Paganini????? hold my beer..... yawning, he plays it double time while solving a rubics cube and eating pizza.

[@markhenson1427]

legato classical shred he is fucking amazing!

[@michaelmitchell902]

mark henson

[@matthi321]

he is my favourite guitarist

[@ArchetypeMetal]

Romeo is one of the humblest amazing guitarists there is man.

[@Oopogo_9000]

This is so effortless to him. Fantastic guitarist

[@TobyKBTY]

That vibrato and phrasing...I've known about Michael for years, but man he still is a beast to listen to

[@rachelandryan]

I love how unpretentious he is being such a skillful virtuoso.

[@lmizis]

1:56 "it's hard to do this slow"... '--

[@mrolinad]

Michael's face is like: "How can someone ask me things that are so simple?"

[@Delpifo]

Romeo is in a league of his own. As much as i love DT, i don't think JP even deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as Romeo. And for people who gives the impression that his skills are somehow related to his rig and effects, please post some videos, i'll be happy to check them out!

[@chickentwisties2298]

Indeed and JP is more Bluesier Romeo's much more classically influenced.

[@JordiMataGarcia]

I love the way the comes along with his solos. He does them very naturally, like it's something everyone would play, and them sound very fluid when you listen to them, and sometimes easy, but when you try to play some of them, the first thing that appears in your mind is "Man, this guy is reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaally good". Go on Michael!

[@wesssguitarshreddinglesson2576]

One of the most underrated guitar players.

[@dominicneales9554]

I've never heard a pick slide lead into the chromatic scale so smoothly

[@YaoEspirito]

Yeah. After 30 years of 'playing', his pick-slide is still cleaner than my actual guitar playing.

[@tashacook7376]

I've seen this man do things on a guitar that made it sound like an entirely different instrument. It's crazy.

[@timbuk1126]

One of the few shred guys that doesn't bore the shit out of me.

[@godofwar5]

met him 2 nights ago in Toronto:D talked guitar with him, seriously one of the most clean and insane guitarist's ive ever seen in my life....one of the best by far(Y)

[@charlesp6642]

One of my all time favorites!!! had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with him and the band several times....great times!

[@wurstgitarre]

This guy is fucking incredible! The king of tapping. And Symphony X is one of my alltime favourite bands: Killer guitar player, killer vocalist, killer bassist, killer drummer, killer keyboard player :D

[@lucaprado544]

Its impressive how Symphony X doesn't has a single weak link when it comes to their members, they are all mind blowing!

[@liewkw]

at 1:58 mike goes "it's hard doing it slow" damn you michael romeo for making something so tricky look so easy. damn you

[@griffinsemple]

I love how he totally dodges the interviewers question. "Can you tell us some technique for getting faster?" "Um... yeah.... well not even getting faster, but tryin to keep the notes muted."

[@MoonsideResident]

Michael's ascended to the point of such sheer epicness that he is no longer capable of easily playing his stuff slowly/poorly, heh.

[@gamma105]

man, he's soo clean beyond belief! and he actually shares his secret on how to keep the unwanted string noise away, instead of using a string dampner or sock..etc. nice!

[@fallenmonkeytieryu]

you big guys always have alot of skill, seriously every time i see a big guy sit down in a guitar store and start fiddling with the amp settings, im never disappointed

[@Surgicalshred]

Michael Romeo is an absolute BOSS!

[@fluxx1]

His technique amazes me like no other guitarist. He plays so clean and flawless that I'm not sure anyone (and I mean ANYONE) is able to match with that amount of gain. And his sound is a lot more modern than say Malmsteens who is hooked on strats and singlecoils. I'm not a big fan of symphony-x, though, but I respect this guy.

[@ducky811]

Thank you. Have a happy holiday season and a Merry Christmas as well to you and yours. Keep rocking as well.

[@gobbler6]

I like this guy's attitude. Also, nice tap extensions. Very cool shred licks.

[@leandro0rsantos]

Romeo is really fast and really clean. Whata precision!

[@Wonder13th]

This is a pretty easy little bit to play when you break it down. It didn't take me long to learn and play it! He does a good job showing on how to play it..... my new favorite lick of the day!

[@neoclasiccl]

monster player with amazing chops. Mike is another underrated player.

[@duxnihilo]

Two questions: 1 - Why is that there is so little footage of him? 2 - Why is this the second video of him that I see people talking about getting laid?

[@SDRockman]

I actually learned about how to mute the lower strings by watching this video. It's tougher to mute the lower strings when doing two handed tapping on bass, so trying it this way will help me out when I get it back! Thanks Michael!!

[@shaunzack2846]

one of the most underrated guitarists ever. definitely one of the best

[@NMartinez12]

I love how good he is with little pudgy fingers. To all you small finger guitar players he is your inspiration.

[@TreborJanessIII]

He would make an excellent teacher. SYMPHONY X!!!!

[@user-ed9fl5hf9l]

Mr Romeo You are the number 1 guitarist in the world

[@leeDs718]

Ver y underrated! But that's what makes him one of the best. Favorite songs: "The Haunting", "Lady of The Snow", "A Winter's Dream 1 & 2", "The Odyssey", and "Death Of Balance".

[@PLSGuitar]

Agreed. The tone he had on Divine and Twilight were my favorites. The rythm tone sounded just as agressive as it needed to be, and the soloing tone was just so smooth...

[@DoggoWillink]

I saw this video years ago and picked up that pick slide technique directly from this. I’ve never done anything remotely as cool with it, but I throw it in with sweeps and taps and it’s actually pretty easy but sounds awesome (as opposed to everything else he does here that is typical Michael Romeo insane difficulty, ie 6:20 those tapping arpeggios he does are incredibly hard to learn, I still cannot do them properly to this day).

[@cclark7454]

He is the best at playing his stuff slowly and then playing it fast.He is the best teacher!!!!

[@Utorak007]

The sacrifice i think is the closest thing you will get to hearing romeo play sweet and slow. I know its not really slow but its ending is just goose pimplyish, ya know?

[@christophercarson7733]

This is fckn why he's a legend unfcknbelievable

[@tommorellorules]

Michael Romeo and Mattias IA Eklundh are my favourite guitarists/musicians atm, listen to The Dark Chapter and Freak Guitar

[@ducky811]

Thanks for the explanation. Yes there are a few of us not douches. I just see this as a format to voice opinions and exchange thoughts and ideas. Not as a platform to attack or insult other's intelligence. great talking to you as well.

[@DiminishedTB]

he just destroyed every form of competition

[@DiegoVT91]

He looks like Adam Sandler in Click, when he gets quite chunky lol What an amazing musician, my hat off to this guy

[@K4r0ll86]

wtf how come his playing is so effortless??? just like thaaat.. like nothing.. easy as fck.. huge respect for this guy..

[@ducky811]

100% truth. Someone who really practices can sound better on a lower priced guitar than someone with a super expensive guitar who don't practice. Don't fall into that trap of "I gotta have this or that guitar to sound good or like whoever your favorite player is. They sound like themselves no matter what guitar they play.

[@paulwall1981]

What a player and what a last album he and his band done, Paradise lost was amazing piece of music and this guys band rocks. Long may he go on.

[@awesomejohnnet]

Thank you Michael for that great demonstration. and sharing your fine techniques with us.. warmest regards Awesome john

[@MsDavo123]

Only he can make chromatic scale to sound so interesting😱🙈

[@25jonathan]

this guy has the best looking right hand technique ive ever seen

[@wlmason73]

It's nice to hear a shredder (other than PG) who can play cleanly, in time, and with good dynamic control when playing slow. It seems to be pretty rare.

[@RolanTHUNDER]

He's not a man of many words but DAMN, can he PLAY! :)

[@Meteorotaki]

+RolanTHUNDER yeah, but to be fair the questions weren't that great :)

[@RolanTHUNDER]

Meteorotaki Oh yeah man I agree lol. Wish I could have interviewed him instead - would have certainly asked more meaningful questions :)

[@paulwall1981]

Yes i agree with what a lot of what these comments are saying. Both DT and SX are amazing bands and even though both are prog, they each have there own stlyes. What I am saying is, both are amazing and should be liked by all prog and none prog alike.

[@hollowjack8711]

Don't forget that he came up with the idea.

[@pirrungon]

i bow unto thee master, im still not worthy of even kneeling before thee

[@Capostoni00]

dude i cannot WAIT for their next album!

[@Noy234]

That pick slide technique is killer!!! Michael Romeo kicks ass!!!

[@rockthenights]

amo a este tipo, es un groso, larga vida a miguell!!!! yeah!!!

[@melkisedeck4548]

"Is this slow enough? it's hard to do it slow, because as a guitar god, everytime that one of my fingers moves 400 notes are played..."

[@sirgalabadass343]

Thi sguy is definately my favorite guiarist. Simply becuase he's really good, and he's not a total douche bag that's completely in love with himself.

[@skandergoon]

that may be the greatest phrase ever uttered

[@Knight-brolaire]

they've got nothing better to do- that's why they get so awesome.

[@TreeFiddy350]

The coolest thing about him is that he does so much tapping without a string dampener!

[@ducky811]

Just checked it out. That was an AMAZING song and the solo was tremendous. Thanks alot.

[@ducky811]

Please post a video of you and it. It's awesome that you got one. You will be envied by many on here. But hey, although you may be broke, at least you can say you got something you really wanted. Best wishes of jamming on your new MJR Caparison.

[@TheDisizit1]

Michael is sooooooo in time. Awesome.

[@LucianoClassicalGuitar]

good guy michael rome when he says hes gonna go slow he actually goes slow

[@zhamoua]

just when you think Malsteen is great and then you found Michael dam underrated for sure wow

[@Yngsatchvai]

one way street check out the video where they show all the live solos of Yngwie with Alcatraz. It's mind blowing how good he was at that age. He showed up on our shores and took over!!!

[@ducky811]

I totally agre that he is an amazing guitarist/songwriter/composer. I am just dying to hear him do a slow beautiful solo. I know he is capable, but seems to be in constant shred mode. That's all I was implying. Nothing wrong with his style. It's just that I have heard hundreds of guitarists shred and do all of this. Thanks for hearing me out and I am still a fan of Romeo's and yours.

[@ClifftopTragedy]

Hi Ducky of the future. Have you heard Iconoclast and Underworld albums? They are my favourites as that's where I found SmyX and I'm not crazy about the older malmsteen style stuff. Maybe you had to be there? The 2 latest albums are crushing metal!

[@ivanminchev383]

How can he be so humble and nice damn

[@Meteorotaki]

that must have been the paradise lost tour in '08, so this video was shot in the warm up session during their opening band is playing

[@lucastorres3896]

Michael The Best Romeo

[@ducky811]

You tell me if I am sane or what. I think I'll already know your answer so there's no need in my debating you. I am a fan of them both as well as Marcel Coenen mostly.

[@thefooj]

he makes it looks so effortless, it looks like he's not even trying!!

[@shredfactor7]

His left hand has always amazed me...

[@shredfactor7]

Still amazed

[@69cohonas]

He is one serious dude wow !!!!

[@EC66OK]

"Anything about how to play faster?"...'Uhm...I can show you how to dampen the strings while tapping." LOL

[@BarriosGroupie]

Fantastic, original guitarist that paid attention to his technical and *musical* development.

[@livefreeanddonttread]

I like that he is just coming up with stuff.

[@DannyMiami09]

Most underated guitarist out there!!!!!!!!!

[@iMrSpock]

Michael Romeo, ladies and gentlemen... The one and only!!!

[@ducky811]

That's cool to know. I have had some noise with mine. I know a luthier in my area who fixed my guitars. Thanks for passing this along.

[@davekogut8511]

He is so freaking talented!

[@Aborius]

I love how he says "do it slower now?" with the little nod hahah i laugh everytime

[@Gibsonrocker89]

I've seen plenty of shredders and of course there's always a faster player but this guy is the guitar tapping king!!!

[@kungfuman82]

You speak the truth brother. They can listen to all the Hawthore Heights they want, but when they see someone shred they pay attention.

[@stevemora7845]

I like that chromatic lick! 👍