Gonna Try Something a Little Different...
- Thread starter smitty_p
- Start date
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
I joke about my skills and instruments. But it is funny that no matter how many times I have tried, I can't seem to make my Gibson's sound like Fenders, or my Acoustic guitar sound like a banjo or mandolin.
So, I play what I have and buy what I need that I don't have, like my cool little $50 banjo and borrow my sister's mandolin.
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Sure it does, Alex Lifeson makes great use of his Les Paul Access model's whammability.
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
I think if I could only have one guitar, it would be an LP Axcess.
OP
OP
Well...that's your bottom line.
Or, is it?
There are probably any number of other things you could be doing to make money. Why choose this?
Ostensibly, it must have something to do with enjoying what you do...not just the bottom line.
People have differing goals and priorities for doing what they do in music - or any career, for that matter. Other people are trying to make money in music, as well, but they still have other things they do while "making that money" that contribute to their enjoyment of the process. Some things that matter to you in the process of making money in music may not matter to someone else. Some things that matter to others may not matter to you.
It's all good.
OP
Okay, so I tried my SG at practice last night for some funky stuff.
Overall, not too bad. What I did is to add some parametric EQ that starts to boost frequencies starting at 1K.
But, I think I need to tweak a little bit more. On some songs it sounded a little "honky" so I think I may have boosted some freqs a little too much.
Again, I'm not trying to make my SG sound like a Strat. I know that's not gonna happen. The guitar was sufficiently snappy, but I think I just need to back off a bit on some frequencies. I may try doing some comparisons on an RTA.
Overall, not too bad. What I did is to add some parametric EQ that starts to boost frequencies starting at 1K.
But, I think I need to tweak a little bit more. On some songs it sounded a little "honky" so I think I may have boosted some freqs a little too much.
Again, I'm not trying to make my SG sound like a Strat. I know that's not gonna happen. The guitar was sufficiently snappy, but I think I just need to back off a bit on some frequencies. I may try doing some comparisons on an RTA.
On stage I play a Parker Fly Deluxe and a Peavey HP2 NOS they stay in tune and can pull up a full step on the trem
as far as gigs go I don't use valuable guitars most people are tone deaf.
The difference between the men and the boys is the price of there toys
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In general, the consensus is that you need only what's required for the project at hand, so while a Telecaster is often relegated to "Country" projects and a Les Paul is more suited to "Jazz," either one can be used effectively. I have heard Stratocasters on recordings that did not sound at all like a Stratocaster based on how they were EQ'd.
Most of these guys own just one or two guitars and just chuckle at the madness of acquiring so much gear.
Billy Squire's "The Stroke" is an example. The heavy main riff was played by Jeff Golub on a bone-stock Stratocaster.
Session 5
Ambassador of Strings & Wings
I would definitely not leave, one of my guitars in the trunk of a car, not even for a few hours...
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Here is an interesting and not expected experience I had last night on my birthday. About a week ago my Kathy asked me what my plans were for "next Thursday." I told her just the normal stuff. So she said she wanted to do something for my day.
Anyway, how this applies to Smitty's quest is that I got to see a concert where the band had a lead guitarist who not only played more than one electric guitar on stage, but also acoustic guitars, banjo and keyboards. He is as close to a Robert Herndon type player as our forum could have. Taking Robert's "Gunslinger for hire" type abilities and holding it up to the light as a similarly skilled player, the bottom line is there are more than one way to achieve the bottom line. In other words, " more than one way to skin a cat."
So, to make my point, Kathy took me to see the band, America. I recognized about 6-7 of the songs in their set and recognized the voices of the 2 main rhythm guitarists. But, I have never heard of the main players or the lead guitarist. As my Kathy is a curious type, she googled the lead player's name and came up with this. Steve Fekete. His net worth is something like 18 million DOLLARS. Pretty sure one would have to work way more than 24/7 to convert $175/hr into $18,000,000+. To sum up my point, he played his 6-7 different guitar types in order to produce the nuances of sound that each type instrument produces. He played Strats, Les Pauls, Jag/Jazzmaster/ and acoustic type guitars. So, I guess the bottom line is similar to what I have said to Robert in prior discussions. Professional auto mechanic's have more than one wrench/socket in their tool box. To me, it would be nearly impossible to be a pro mechanic with only 1 wrench.
Good luck, @smitty_p, I am sure you will sort it out and enjoy the process as well as the guitars you choose to use for your song selections.
Anyhow, for any of you guys who have 0 clue who Steve Fekete is, like I did and still barely do, here is one page that spells out some of his resume ( pronounced RESUMAY)
About — STEVE FEKETE
www.stevefeketemusic.com
OP
Interesting.
Throughout their musical growth, did they acquire a lot of gear early on, only to downsize later on? Or, were they always sparse in their inventory?
OP
Thanks, Chili!
A lot of my problem is that I am hopelessly inquisitive. Even if I have a solid solution, such as using a Strat for a given song, I may also wonder, "Hmm...I wonder how this other guitar would sound on that song?"
Sometimes, I try to fix what isn't broken!
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
I would definitely not leave, one of my guitars in the trunk of a car, not even for a few hours...
Norm, I am going to try another analogy to illustrate maybe why Robert's choice to leave his Strat in the car and not worry about it.
I can still remember my Mom and Stepdad going on bus trips to Atlantic City to gamble. Since I basically had to work @ whatever limited options to make money as a kid as I could find, I was as far from pissing away money gambling as I would be choosing to eat poop.
Anyway, they used to tell me that there were varied levels of money tables where folks af various wealth levels could gamble. $3 Blackjack, on up to 10's of thousands dollar tables, roulette wheels etc. They also would describe how some of the High Roller types seemed to be able to lose BIG $$$$ amounts and not bat an eye. Just keep on rollin for the next bet.
In Robert's case, the Yellow Strat is something like an Affinity Strat his band mates gave him. It cost him next to nothing, so I am pretty sure he views things with the perspective of no big deal if it warps, gets stolen or anything else. It has been a tool to make him money, but with his Gold Top LP taking first place as his Number 1, Yellow Strat is essentially like a penny is to the Middle Class Gambler, or a $100 bill is to the HIGH Roller gambler who can lose Millions and it hurts no more than losing a penny.
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chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Tom, I totally understand and love this about you.
Imagine how boring a chap you might be if you weren't curious?
I can speak for myself and relate to you. Heck, once I got my 1st SG, The Black 3 knob '89 Special. I could have just played the darn thing and enjoyed making songs. But no, I pulled out the pickups and found them to be Bill Lawrence circuit board pups. NOW, after seeing these space age looking backs of these things, I GOT CURIOUS, and that brought me to find the Everything SG forum of old. @Col Mustard welcomed me with the most friendly welcome, and before I knew it, my 1st SG began to open doors for me to follow an unknown future journey. This led to many many amazing experiences such as making great friends over there, here, and all over the world.
The guitar used doesn't make as big a difference as you might think.
Sonic evaluation in a room vs the live mix on a noisy stage, your ears won't hear a difference, as long as you are hitting the right notes.
Listening critically in a quiet room is the #1 cause of needing a new guitar.
The guitar used doesn't make as big a difference as you might think.
Sonic evaluation in a room vs the live mix on a noisy stage, your ears won't hear a difference, as long as you are hitting the right notes.
Listening critically in a quiet room is the #1 cause of needing a new guitar.
I would definitely not leave, one of my guitars in the trunk of a car, not even for a few hours...
YelloStrat has been in the trunk since i left Fender in September of 2022
Pulled it out last night and it was still in tune....
Most of these guys came from meager backgrounds and never had a ton of gear. One guy we frequently play on projects with is a super-collector, but he's an exception.
OP
The two guitars that I have the least tuning issues with are my Fender Stratocaster and my Jackson Dinky.
Once the strings are done stretching out after replacement, those two guitars are generally rock solid.
Also, given your experiences with YelloStrat, I've contemplated building my own Fat Strat.
But, that would be another rabbit hole and I'd rather focus my money on a better processor than another guitar.
I'm just a hack that happens to have a reputation as a dependable team player and i believe that is what has kept me steadily employed all these years more than skill.
A mechanic and a session player are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Steve Lukather - the world's most recorded guitarist - played only a Valley Arts guitar for many, many years, on a variety of recordings, across multiple genres.
It is this guitar that you hear on the rhythm for Michael Jackson's 'Beat It.'
Ok...
Now, i have played in many projects - to include live music projects - where i was asked by the band leader to use specific guitars on certain songs.
In some cases, this was due to alternate tunings. I have played acoustics that were mounted to a stand, that allowed me to play an acoustic intro, then step away and take over on electric guitar.
I think my general point is this.
If the bandleader says, "play a Tele on this song, then switch to a Stratocaster for this song, then switch to a D-Standard tuned guitar for this song, a 12 string for Hotel California and then an acoustic for the last song in the set," then, that's exactly what i did because i was being paid to give
Ive also dabbled in playing keys for some projects, though i do not claim to be great or virtuoso player, but I've done what i was tasked with.
In March 2011, i was hired by Visalia First Assembly Church to play on their worship team. That job involved constant equipment changes at the whim of the bandleader.
I've been walking out onto the stage when we got the following message in our IEM, "Team, Karen wants everyone to tune down a half step for this song. She will give you 45 seconds of dialouge to cover the change..."
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