Many players cite Larry Carlton as the perfect guitarist. He's one of those rare beasts that has the lot: fantastic touch, wonderful tone and enough technique and harmonic knowledge to sink a battleship.
Perhaps best known for his work with Steely Dan - he played the sensational solo on the band's Kid Charlemagne - and for his series of milestone solo albums from the 1970s and 1980s, like other varied players, such as Robben Ford, Larry is happy to play very simple licks in first-position minor pentatonic, or at the other end, to blast away with harmonically challenging runs at lightning speed.
This example is one of those cool-sounding pieces that suggests a relaxed sort of solo. In fact, you could say it ambles along somewhat, with no particular destination, and yet that's the beauty of a piece like this - it lets you set your own agenda. You can decide whether to rip in with all guns blazing, or play more simply and milk as much feel from the track as you can.
You'll find a mixture of scales and modes in here, from minor pentatonic, major pentatonic and blues scale, to dorian and mixolydian. We weren't thinking in terms of scales though, and we're pretty sure that, although he has the wherewithal to do so with clinical precision, Larry wouldn't either.
The gear
Larry Carlton is a user of that Holy Grail of amplification, the Dumble. Guitar-wise, Larry is synonymous with his late-1960s Gibson ES-335. Opt for a fat tone, blending enough gain to drive things with a good fundamental note. Also, use both pickups on a humbucking guitar, or the neck pickup if you're using a single-coil instrument.
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Audio - Full track
Audio - Just the licks
Audio - Playalong
