Picking Guitars to Play at Shows.

[Jethro Rocker]

For me, it depends partly on the venue/show but mostly on which ones I used last time. I need at minimum a whammy and a stop tail. Then I just do whatever seems to fit for me, whatever tickles me.

I ask because I am doing a 1 set fun thing at my bro's school along with their school Rock Band. We do a set after, myself n bro and a buddy.
My bro seemed very interested in what I bring, even said "Bring something cooler" when I mentioned the 76 LP Custom or 75 L6-S.
I said "Cooler than that? "

Well, he says the crowd won't know a 76 from anything else.
Um... so the crowd determines what I play? Why would I care what they think?
He literally said because they are paying money ( yeah, $5 - $10 to support school band) for a good show.
I said it is how you play it, not what you play! Since when did the audience ever determine what guitars a player brings?

I don't understand it. I guess I will never use a Les Paul again cause it doesn't look as cool to the audience as a Mockingbird?
Just ludicrous logic.

I will guess most here will bring whatever they want. I have never heard of deciding based on what the audience might like to see.

Rant over.

 

[SG John]

Bring the Les Paul. It's more accessible to the audience, and they easily can relate to it. They won't be left wondering what the weird guitar you played was.

 

[Jethro Rocker]

Bring the Les Paul. It's more accessible to the audience, and they easily can relate to it. They won't be left wondering what the weird guitar you played was.

Yeah I will bring whatever. Audience knows nothing.
It's all about how you play

 

[Kerry Brown]

That's crazy. I can see it for a tribute band or a band with colour coordinated costumes. I usually bring my two most reliable basses to gigs. Reliability and comfort are my top wants for a gigging instrument.

 

[Session 5]

Bring the Les Paul. It's more accessible to the audience, and they easily can relate to it. They won't be left wondering what the weird guitar you played was.

 

[Session 5]

When I gig, I take whatever I decide the day I go...

 

[DirtySteve]

Bring the one they want to see and play like shit, blame it on the guitar and say, "let's see if this is any better", then grab your fave and rip 'em a new one!

 

[Jethro Rocker]

That's crazy. I can see it for a tribute band or a band with colour coordinated costumes. I usually bring my two most reliable basses to gigs. Reliability and comfort are my top wants for a gigging instrument.

Yeah exactly. He has No logic.
EVH was a hack I guess, played bad shows when he used the Gold Top in the early days. Not a good show? KISS puts on a mediocre show cause Ace plays an LP?
My favorite, TRIUMPH at the US Fest in 83 was a meh show cause Rik plays a hollow fat body jazz guitar, the Framus?
Man.
Off his nut today maybe.

 

[Jethro Rocker]

Bring the one they want to see and play like poop, blame it on the guitar and say, "let's see if this is any better", then grab your fave and rip 'em a new one!

Ha ha! I should do that for my bro. Stunned bugger... it's about him, the audience knows nought from guitars.

 

[Sapient]

It's really about whether or not you wear black nail polish.

 

[Kerry Brown]

I hear what he is saying. Playing live, you are as much entertainer as musician. I have stage clothes. I dress for the audience. I try to move, I hate to call it dancing, on stage. I smile at people in the audience. I try to put on a show. That said, my gear is my gear. It is not ratty old crap. It is not bling either. It is well made, reliable gear that sounds good in the mix. In the end the audience is there to hear music. If I'm struggling with my gear the music suffers. My favourite bass is an Ibanez fan fret five string. It has not been very reliable. The preamp was intermittent. I have a hard time finding strings I like because of the super long variable scale length. Even though it is my favourite and looks cool I don't gig with it. I can't be confident something won't go wrong.

 

[smitty_p]

I can't say I let the audience "determine" the guitars I'll play, but I do think about audience perceptions. Like @Kerry Brown , I think about the entertainment aspect and have stage clothes, too. My most recent addition to the ensemble is a pair of black leather pants!

Primarily, my guitar choice is based on performance considerations. I have my Jackson with its Floyd Rose for any whammy work or when I need a general '80s vibe. It also is very sonically versatile, given all the mods I've done to it. So, sometimes it's the "when I don't know what to play" guitar. I use my Les Paul for a stop-tail guitar. That is helpful for making any tuning changes. It also is the guitar I use for any of our classic rock tunes. Probably, the most-used is my Strat. We do a lot of funk, Motown, and some modern tunes. The bright, percussive, snappiness of a single coil really works great for that stuff.

But, if I knew we were playing a venue that was frequented by a younger crowd, I may think twice about using the Les Paul. It is developing a bit of a reputation as a "boomer" guitar. Of course, we would probably change our set list, as well.

We have about a ten song "swing" in our setlist of songs that we may use or not use depending on the venue.

 

[gball]

For me, it depends partly on the venue/show but mostly on which ones I used last time. I need at minimum a whammy and a stop tail. Then I just do whatever seems to fit for me, whatever tickles me.

I ask because I am doing a 1 set fun thing at my bro's school along with their school Rock Band. We do a set after, myself n bro and a buddy.
My bro seemed very interested in what I bring, even said "Bring something cooler" when I mentioned the 76 LP Custom or 75 L6-S.
I said "Cooler than that? "

Well, he says the crowd won't know a 76 from anything else.
Um... so the crowd determines what I play? Why would I care what they think?
He literally said because they are paying money ( yeah, $5 - $10 to support school band) for a good show.
I said it is how you play it, not what you play! Since when did the audience ever determine what guitars a player brings?

I don't understand it. I guess I will never use a Les Paul again cause it doesn't look as cool to the audience as a Mockingbird?
Just ludicrous logic.

I will guess most here will bring whatever they want. I have never heard of deciding based on what the audience might like to see.

Rant over.

Man, I continued playing Les Pauls in the mide-to-late-'80s even though they were considered about the least cool thing you could strap on at the time. I just didn't care and played what I wanted, and then a few years later Slash made LPs cool again and I seemed ahead of the curve.

Play what works for you!

 

[Jethro Rocker]

Man, I continued playing Les Pauls in the mide-to-late-'80s even though they were considered about the least cool thing you could strap on at the time. I just didn't care and played what I wanted, and then a few years later Slash made LPs cool again and I seemed ahead of the curve.

Play what works for you!

Exactly!
I am almost shocked at his lack of logic...

 

[Jethro Rocker]

I hear what he is saying. Playing live, you are as much entertainer as musician. I have stage clothes. I dress for the audience. I try to move, I hate to call it dancing, on stage. I smile at people in the audience. I try to put on a show. That said, my gear is my gear. It is not ratty old crap. It is not bling either. It is well made, reliable gear that sounds good in the mix. In the end the audience is there to hear music. If I'm struggling with my gear the music suffers. My favourite bass is an Ibanez fan fret five string. It has not been very reliable. The preamp was intermittent. I have a hard time finding strings I like because of the super long variable scale length. Even though it is my favourite and looks cool I don't gig with it. I can't be confident something won't go wrong.

I have stage clothes and have tried to do a RIck Neilsen Cheap Trick kinda show since forever. They won't be lacking for show.
As to the guitars I use, I can rip up any of 'em.
So... what it looks like to a school gym full of students and parents is completely irrelevant to me. I have never seen an audience care negatively for what guitar I am using.
Even a big show under the tent we do every year, I just rotate guitars. The demographic will not determine what I play.
Whether it is a tv telethon to raise money for the Kinsmen audience, a high school or a big outdoor venue, I play what is comfortable to me.
LP. L6-S, Mockingbird, Explorer, whatever....
It is HOW you play it not what you play even in terms of show. (again, Rik Emmett example)

 

[Ozzie]

So, did you ask your brother what kind of gear he's bringing?
You have to make sure his stuff is up to YOUR standards!

 

[67plexi]

Be thankful you have a choice of guitars in public I'm using a Peavey guitar now all I did to it was raise the action
set up perfect from the factory on the trem can pull up a full step

 

[gball]

I have stage clothes and have tried to do a RIck Neilsen Cheap Trick kinda show since forever. They won't be lacking for show.
As to the guitars I use, I can rip up any of 'em.
So... what it looks like to a school gym full of students and parents is completely irrelevant to me. I have never seen an audience care negatively for what guitar I am using.
Even a big show under the tent we do every year, I just rotate guitars. The demographic will not determine what I play.
Whether it is a tv telethon to raise money for the Kinsmen audience, a high school or a big outdoor venue, I play what is comfortable to me.
LP. L6-S, Mockingbird, Explorer, whatever....
It is HOW you play it not what you play even in terms of show. (again, Rik Emmett example)

All these years later I still think Les Pauls are the coolest-looking thing humans have ever come up with, so you know where my vote is.

 

[Jethro Rocker]

So, did you ask your brother what kind of gear he's bringing?
You have to make sure his stuff is up to YOUR standards!

Yep. Sorta. He is using the school drum kit.
He said if he does a drum solo he doesn't go all technical he does what the crowd might like.
Right.
same as I would do in a solo guitar spot.
But what I play it ON is irrelevant.
Why doesn't he haul up his old stage kit then?
It was weird, like we can't give a good show with a not cool looking guitar by his standards.

He even wanted me to bring the BC Rich doubleneck for ONE song.
I said it's one set, keep it simple.
How is adding one guitar complicated? (seriously...)
I said well tuning 18 strings for 1 song and having a separate stand and wireless for starters....

I paid my 4 bits to see a high diving act.....

 

[smitty_p]

All these years later I still think Les Pauls are the coolest-looking thing humans have ever come up with, so you know where my vote is.

Yeah, I continue to maintain that the Gibson Les Paul is the most aesthetically pleasing, well-proportioned, single-cut solid-body guitar available. It really is a beautiful thing.