Music is usually some of the last pieces of the puzzle for video games and animation so I usually see the final cut several months later. It’s always rad and mega rewarding to see AND hear my guitar playing on projects I have contributed to. Finally seeing the episode and hearing the final version of the song, “No Big Deal” on Amphibia, a Disney animated series was no exception. It was surreal.
If want to learn to play the guitar solo on No Big Deal, here is a lesson I put together plus an accompanying video.
TL;DR
The Call and Recording Process
Honestly, recording guitars for “No Big Deal” was one of those blessings that happened while other things were happening. I was at a studio recording guitars for a game. (A massive game, can’t wait to be able to share!) It was a relatively long session and we, composer Adam Gubman and I, were already knee deep in the flow and fatigue was setting in.
“I think that’s it, dude.” Adam said, and I started gathering my pedals and wrapping up cables. Adam opens another session in Logic and plays it back and says “Actually, can you help me on this track? I just need you on the last section.
He gives me a quick heads up on the what is happening in the story. The girls in had a fall out and they make up, you show up during a battle of the bands, you come out from back stage, lay down a showstopping solo and then join them in the chorus of the song. “This is easy, I just need to you lay down a shred solo.”
Cool. No pressure.
Various takes of solos were taken, but none of them “fit” the character Sasha, the song, nor the world of Amphibia. Everything I laid down was like this ultra modal “oh look at me, I know my modes and cool little lick things”.
Here is what I knew from those takes.
- “No Big Deal” was an awesome song.
- Amphibia had tons of character.
- I was missing the mark.
“I’m thinking too much, just play.”
I played the blues lick you hear Sasha open up with and Adam looked at me and yelled “Yes, that!” and heard the pre-roll click from Logic shortly after.
I laid down the solo and it gave us the momentum. Laying down the guitars for the chorus section of “No Big Deal” was a no brainer. I kept thinking, Sasha, is bringing something to the table for the sound of their band, she has to stand out and in a way speak a different language than the rest of the band and still stay in the lane. String skipped arpeggios saved the day there.
The Sound
Th-U from Overloud was the go to amp sim for its ease of use and wide range of available tones. If I remember correctly we loaded up a Marshall and a tubescreamer and were off to the races.
Pro Tip: Don’t sleep on TH-U. It comes with the Slate Everything bundle. This plug-in slaps.
The Clip
As I write this, Amphibia’s “No Big Deal” has been watched on YouTube about 3 Million times! Holy smokes!
