Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top Lesson

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Is it just me, or does Justin’s timing sound a bit off on this one…at least in the intro?

Usually, his timing is bang on, so I’m a little surprised.

What guitar is Justin using here? It’s beautiful!

Great lesson as always Justin, thanks. Can’t wait for the solo part!

In the video you asked what other ZZTop songs we’d like, I’d suggest Tush (great blues rock) and Got Me Under Pressure (another really rocking song with a nice melodic solo).

I thought the timing was a little off too… I don’t want to criticize Justin at all - without him this old man would not have become a bedroom guitarist (and loving it) almost 4 years ago… Looking at the official sheet music (which could have been transcribed after the fact of course, so may be incorrect), and watching videos of Billy G playing it live, it seems to me that the second phrase (which Justin has as Part 1) has a hammer-on from fret 1 to 3 on the A string, not a slide, then the next note played is an up-pick open G string, then followed by a down-pick C on the 5th string played with open G on the 3rd string, whilst muting the 4th string (and not a 5th string C power chord… and this diad is the 1st beat of the next bar) Hope this makes sense and helps. This seems a bit more technically difficult to me, but the timing feels right to me.
Can’t wait for the lesson on the solos. Oh, and another vote for Tush!

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Glad that I’m not the only one who hears it - from another old man who’s very grateful for Justin’s lessons!

@Tbushell

@SLX

@Richard_close2u @LievenDV
Guys, please take not of the comments from Tom and Simon. Way above my play-grade to listen and respond. Perhaps you can take a look and listen and if needs be we can then engage Justin?

@Tbushell @SLX

Timing seems okay to me. Watch Justin’s left leg as he plays - it is stamping a steady beat. The intro that he plays is an amalgam of overlaid guitar parts so it maybe that what you are expecting to hear is each individual part from familiarity with the record. But Justin has to quickly switch between them. I may be wrong - I have not watched the video along with a metronome to check 100% precision accuracy. However, it does not ‘feel’ like the timing is off to me.

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It’s a Patrick Eggle Drop Top with Koa top.
Check guitar info here: Justin's Guitars - List and info. | JustinGuitar.com

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@h1bda00 @SLX

Thanks for the suggestion. There’s a song request / voting tool here: https://www.justinguitar.com/songs

Cheers :blush:

| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide & Approved Teacher

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I think Justin plays it just a bit less snappy as the record it but the timing itself seems solid.

Justin mostly relies on his ears and always tries to bring it that way it suits the level and focusses on the meat and potatoes of what is going on to serve a large audience.

As Richard said, it’s also a combination of different parts and sounds rolled into one, teachable and part and that alters it a bit as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s cool you did a good deep dive and sometimes we need that kind of study to develop our technique, ears and study method. It shows you are already further ahead than the target audience of this video :smiley:

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@Richard_close2u @LievenDV

Appreciate you guys jumping in and responding :green_heart:

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Dear Justin
Can’t wait for your work on the solo part!!!
kr
Danny