@FrancescoFiligoi

Francesco Filigoi

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Hey Francesco, I'm absolutely in love with your playing and I want to hear more! I've seen pretty much all your YT videos as well as your guest solos on Ryan and Fred's tracks. Is there anywhere else I can watch/hear your playing? Cheers :)

Thanks man! Got a new video with my Carvin out next monday :)
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Liked by: Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal Miguel Batalha

Hey, Francesco, What aspects of a player do you think make them a great songwriter? And other than just trying to write and arrange songs what can be done to have a better understanding about songwriting? Any books come to mind? Thanks!

Think of a good song like a movie: you're watching Fast & Furious 9000, it's full of explosions, catch phrases, pussy and cars. Then you go out of the cinema and don't even remember the plot.
Then you watch a simple movie but a very powerful concept, and you will carry those images and ideas for a loooong time.
A good songwriter knows how to make his ideas flow well together in a coherent, engaging and dynamic way, without needing to show off, or do stuff "just because", or add redundant parts that don't add anything to the overall song's message. Basically the ideas should serve the song, and not be "an end of themselves". Also themes, motifs, hooks are mandatory!
I have no books in mind, but I treat this subject very often with my students within one or two lessons that cover everything about what makes a great song, and how to gel all your ideas in the best ways possible.

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Liked by: Dio Henda Puspita Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal Dans Huang Dude Mitch Baker

Hey Fran! How can i make a mix as loud as commercial music? I just finished my first song but its way quieter than other songs.

Google "mastering audio" or "how to make my tracks louder" - I'm not sarcastic, if you know how to google properly and search for good infos in between huge piles of shit, then you have answers for anything you will ever need, from generic to specific.
Something that everybody should always do as the very first thing when they don't know something, is just to google it :) If google doesn't still cut it, there are teachers, courses, masterclasses etc.
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Liked by: Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal Dans Huang

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Hey, Francesco, I have a kinda silly question: Who do you call a producer: the one who pays for the mixing and mastering of a song/album or the one who does them? If I pay someone for reamping my guitars according to my taste who is the producer: me or him? Thanks!

This is a very common misconception, so I'll clarify everything:
Producer: the one who helps the band finalizing the song structure and arrangement - it could be adding synth layers, guitar parts, changing drum grooves, avoiding redundant parts within the song to make it more "digestible", etc. Needed if the band doesn't have a clear idea of their end product and want some external help, not needed if the band knows exactly what to do.
Engineer: the one who takes care of the recording process - placing mics on a drumkit, tracking guitars/bass/vocals, reamping guitars, etc.
Editing guy: the one who quantizes drums/vocals/bass/guitars, tunes vocals/bass, and polishes everything before the mixing process.
Mixing guy: the one who mixes - EQ, compression, pan, levels, effects etc, whatever is needed to gel all the tracks together and achieve a final product.
Mastering guy: the one who polishes the final product (usually just a stereo track) to make it modt importantly louder, but also more "exciting", balanced and just right.
All of these aspects can be handled by different people, or even just one guy. Depends!
If you have friends who might be interested in these details, tag them or share this post with them :) hope that helps!

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Liked by: Mitch Baker Dude Myron James R. White john Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal TheInsurgent Dans Huang

Hey Fransesco, I'm looking to buy a under $300 amp modelling software. Pod Farm or Positive Grid Bias? Thank you!

You can have better guitar plugins for much less! Try TSE X50 v2 (v1 is free), Ignite Emissary (free), and Recabinet Thermionik are my favourites.
People usually go for Guitar Rig/Pod Farm/Positive Grid/Amplitube 'cause these are more advertised, but there are less known but better sounding products out there.
Both ones you've mentioned are just fine btw!

Hey Francesco, I just got an axe fx II and theres a huge learning curve. Any tips on how to learn more about tone and how to use the axe fx? Thanks a lot!

Yes - sorry for the shameless self-promotion, but I'd strongly suggest to take a 3/4 lesson package with me on how to go DEEP about tweaking and crafting the best rhythm/lead/clean tones with the Axe Fx. The machine is very complex, and there are no quick tips or shortcuts since what I do takes time to be explained in detail.
I've done this with plenty of my students already - until I film some online purchasable lessons on the Axe-Fx, Skype lessons are the best option I can offer on the topic :)
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Liked by: TheInsurgent

can you please make a video in which you show us your gear and a tutorial on how to get a really cool guitar sound with free plugins?

I'll do both asap, especially the "best tone possible without spending a $" video is something I've wanted to do for a while :)
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Liked by: Thomas An Luca Moqi Dude

Hi francesco! This is a particular question: How did you manage social life and guitar study when you were a teenager? Sometimes I feel caged from guitar because it takes me a lot of time but I love so much it. Did you ever fell sick for this? Thank you have a nice day!

Good question! Actually, when I was in high school I wasn't that serious about guitar, I was wasting my time always partying and hanging out with "friends". Eventually I figured out these people had nothing in common with what my real passions were, got sick of it all and secluded myself into guitar and music.
The problem you mention is actually way more present these days: being a full-time musician is my dream job, but indeed I often feel "caged" - it's pretty tough to balance social life and teaching/writing/studio work/handling general business, but I still find time to relax with friends or gf otherwise my sanity would be at risk :)
Does this mean I have a perfect balance between work and social life? Hell no, and honestly in this field I'm not even sure it's possible at all. Friends and gf are always mad, but at least I keep close the good ones which understand how important music is for me.
Do I feel I wasted my time spending countless hours practising, learning how to record and mix, and trying to get better at my passion? HELL NO!!! In the end, do what makes you truly happy, and always have a reality check about what's really worth it in your life, especially people around you and how you spend your time. Hope that helps :)

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Liked by: Dans Huang Luca Moqi ayy lmao James R. White RAWNAK OMI Connor Hansen Myron Mike Morgenroth Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal Ilenia Kniferoom

Hey Francesco, any students of yours worth checking out? Looking for some new players to check out.

Sure! Devon Sangha has amazing vibrato and taste, Mike Morgenroth has feel for days, Dakota Johnson plays in the badass prog Deathcore band Mapmaker, Miguel Batalha has awesome phrasing as well. Also Leon Kloosterman, Simon Frank and Jesse Lynch have excellent riff/lead ideas.
Plenty of other super talented guys as well, all in all I'm so happy to have these great people as students and friends :)
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Liked by: Devon Sangha

What do you think about Josh Middleton of Sylosis as a musician? Have you ever talked to him?

Josh is amazing and a true inspiration - in a world where overproduced drop Z noodles are trending, he writes amazing and super heavy tunes in E standard, which I find admirable. Also one of the few guitarists who still cares about nailing his stuff without relying on modern recording tricks.
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Liked by: Myron Dans Huang Luca Moqi

With compression, I use a limiter on my rhythm guitar bus. I like a lot of low end in my guitar, I still hipass around 80hz, automate eq all over the place for particuarly boomy palmutes or resonance, but i feel the limiter really catches some peaks I don't want ruining my master fader. Is this bad

A limiter is unnecessary since distorted rhythm guitars are already so compressed. Use a multi-band compressor to tame the boominess on chugs, google "Andy Sneap C4".
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Liked by: Dude Robert Percy

how can i setup a compressor in my high gain amp for a very tight sound ? :)

It's common misconception for Metal guitarists to think, for whatever reason, they need a compressor in their rhythm chain. Most guitarists actually don't know what a compressor really is - to keep it simple, it's an intelligent volume adjuster, and will only change dynamics, not tightness. In my experience, when applied to Metal rhythm guitars, makes them sound so upfront they're almost fake. It might work for some overproduced bands maybe. Although I'm a fan of compressors on lead, clean and crunch guitars!
Don't use a compressor for rhythm tone, it's not necessary - if you want tightness, overdrive in front of an amp is all you need, noisegate up to taste, and good fuckin pickin hand!
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Liked by: Ilenia Kniferoom Eric g Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal Aidan Pouncy

Oh and why no volume knob? Do not you like to roll back volume to fine tune your sound?

I prefer to always have my guitar's signal at its fullest output, and control the gain with the amplifier. If I need less gain or volume, I can shape them with the amp, or preset. Not a fan of rolling the tone knob at all, if I want a darker sound I tweak my Axe settings. Volume roll-off is cool but, again, I can switch presets with the Axe and have the same effect.
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Liked by: Ilenia Kniferoom

If you were to have one guitar and only one, to be exactly as you wanted, like a one-off signature that completely defined you as a player, any options available to you, to play with your band what would all the specs be? I am just very curious, cheers.

There is no guitar that can do it all :) you know what they say, jack of all trades master of none!
That being said, I'm extremely picky with choices from woods to color schemes to hardware and pickups, depending on the purpose. But if the purpose is band stuff, then some stuff I'd choose for sure:
- 7 string Superstrat style but with some design twists to make it more unique
- 26" 3/16 scale (just a hair longer to get the drop A string sound perfect)
- Bolt-on mahogany body with maple top (huge, musical and tight sounding, just my favourite body combo)
- Roasted, oiled one-piece maple neck (being one piece you have a more mature, alive sound, and roasted makes it more stable, which I prefer instead of multiple wood stripes that could deaden the resonance). I'm also a fan of mahogany and rosewood necks, but maple would be a more stable and tonally consistent choice.
- Ebony fretboard (just the best sounding fretboard when the tuning gets lower, it retains a more piano-like percussiveness)
- Inlays! I still sometimes feel a bit lost without them :)
- No knobs! Just a killswitch in the usual volume position (but more far away) and a 3-way pickup switch on the upper horn, Les Paul style. It's a more comfy position to me
- Evertune bridge and True Temperament frets, for sure. Alternatively Hipshot and SS med-jumbo frets if I constantly need to change tunings.
- Schaller locking tuners
- D'Addario NYXL 9-46 + 60 strings
- Colors and finishes I dunno, depends on the mood! But I have something super special in mind for my next Carvin, you'll either love it or hate it hehe :)

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Liked by: Luca Moqi Dans Huang TheInsurgent Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal Josef Kiefer

Which is your favorite TV show?

American Horror Story Freak Show is just....delicious. Apart from it, I'm loving the last Sons Of Anarchy season and enjoying Gotham a lot. What about you? :)
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Liked by: Gabe

Hey, when it comes to writing I can sometimes come up with what I think are some pretty cool riffs, but when it comes to expanding on that idea... I just cant. Any advice on how to overcome this? Thanks!

That's one of the main aspects I teach on my songwriting lesson, specifically how to glue riffs and systematically make them flow better together - or more simply put, avoid riff salads :)
Sorry but it just can't be put in a couple words!

How does that 8-string classical feel? Can you do a video? PLEASE???

Feels awesome man, pretty playable for being an 8 string classical! I'll do a vid when I have time, too much shit to deal with as of late sorry :)
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Liked by: Luca Moqi

Looking to replace my Focusrite 2i2 seeing as it doesn't cater well to recording DI into programs such as TSE / Amplitube. Any ideas on a more properly functioning interface in a similar price range? Thanks :)

I agree on the Focusrite 2i2 having very weird preamp inputs, you must select the "line" input instead of the instrument otherwise level will be too low. Anyway, I'd recommend an Apogee Duet 2, or if your budget permits and you have Mac, Apollo Twin. These have GREAT pres!

hey man! I have to decide on a college soon. Music is something I want to pursue till the very end but I cant decide what I'd like to study to help me make a living till things work out. How did you approach this? + advice? I have no one to guide me and I'm very confused. Really hope you can help :)

It's honestly tough. As musicians, our first love is always music and nothing is ever gonna replace that, so hypothetically you'd want to find a job that is relatively easy to do and that also leaves time for making music of course.
I first started studying architecture but then I figured out I would have never achieved anything since I wasn't into it that much, so I jumped on graphic design. I became very passionate about it and started working on my own pretty much immediately after design school. And that's when all the magic disappeared, since all the cool experimental shit we were doing was just not appliable in the real world, with clients that always want the most boring font, the biggest logo, the usual cheesy stock photo etc etc. That wasn't passion anymore, it was just work for others.
I was actually getting pretty decent income from that, but no amount of money can make you happier about a work you just don't like - I'd actually prefer to get the minimum amount to survive and be super happy about what I do, and don't feel like I'm wasting my life.
At the same time I decided to not do graphic work anymore, guitar lessons and studio work finally started to get more consistent, so I just worked on that and made that my "job". Will it stand the test of time? Who knows, but I would never see myself doing anything else to be honest, it's the only thing I can do well.
If you want to pursue music as a hobby, better find a work you're passionate about and love it, otherwise you're gonna be unhappy about that for the rest of your life. If you want to pursue a career in music, just be honest and ask yourself "do I really really REALLY want this?", "am I good enough to risk everything to do this?", so basically just set your priorities straight.
Read this great article by Keith Merrow, doesn't exactly answer your question but it's very good nonetheless :) https://www.facebook.com/keith.merrow1/posts/704430446252324

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Liked by: Bugra Sisman dal Matt Meyers Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal Angga Wirawan RAWNAK OMI Cory Phillips Emman Castillo Tausif Chowdhury Giorgio Mendieta

how the furk did you improve your english over the last year man

Thanks! Giving lessons all day everyday helps a lot :) It's actually becoming an "issue" now - it might seem super weird but I'm slightly forgetting how to think and speak in italian, since 90% of the time during the day I interact with foreign people. This while never actually leaving my country....makes me go crazy sometimes!
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Liked by: Dude Yaresh-Bartholomeus Soekhlal Giorgio Mendieta Josef Kiefer

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