Members docjeffrey Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 Yes, I'm familiar with "it's all in the fingers.." blah blah blah. But ever since I made a radical change to my setup, I've been peppered with unsolicited comments from people who have heard me play for 20+ years about how great I sound these days. They actually look forward to my typically short solos, intros and outros. It's all come since I made my Gibson Les Paul Alex Lifeson the centerpiece of my rig and replaced my pedalboard with a Pod HD500 (I don't use the amp models). I think that judicious use of the Floyd and extreme tweakability of the HD500 effects account for the bulk of the recent attention. There's nothing like a well placed dive bomb or perfectly sync'd delay and phaser to get people to turn their heads away from our amazing drummer. Rock on. And remember that the right gear can make a difference. Just ask my hero Alex Lifeson, Jack White, Jimmy Page, or Joe Bonamassa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peskypesky Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 gear does make a difference. but if you suck, you suck, gear won't make you better. and if you're good, you'll be good on any gear that's decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flatspotter Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 I agree. A guitar, amp or pedal can inspire you and that's what really makes the difference. Doc, good to see you; I haven't seen you around much lately. Did your home and loved ones make it through the wildfires OK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vcnyls Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 It's quoted in my sig but I think GreatDane said it best. Maybe you're inspired by your new gear and playing better. That LP is gorgeous, by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 I've had some people tell me that they like the way I play on certain guitars better than others. I like to switch it up for variety, but for me, my amp/pedalboard is the constant. My bandmates actually complain when we play shared-equipment shows or studio rehearsals and I'm not using my Vox. I love my amp, too, but it's nice to see that others appreciate it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 I agree with this sentiment. I also fully agree w/pesky up above; if you can't play, you just can't play and no gear is gonna help that. That is a gorgeous les paul doc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peskypesky Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 i play like me, whether on a $100 Bullet or a $3000 CS. i've played Custom Shop Strats, and if i was any better on them, i would buy one in a second. unfortunately, i can't seem to buy improvement that easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danhedonia Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 It's like sex, isn't it? The hawt chick gets your best performance, but Old Sheila probably has to put up with your whiskey fella. But if you're a bad kisser, you're a bad kisser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mistersully Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 yes it can... but the difference it makes compared to putting the time and effort into getting better is so minuscule it's hardly worth mentioning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted July 2, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 I agree. A guitar, amp or pedal can inspire you and that's what really makes the difference. Doc, good to see you; I haven't seen you around much lately. Did your home and loved ones make it through the wildfires OK? Thanks for that! No problem with fires in our neighborhood. It moved north and west of us. My wife and I took our new car on a road trip to a couple of family reunions, both in CA. My cousins all got together in the wine country (most of them grow zinfandel grapes around Lodi) and my wife's family met in Yosemite. On the way back, we stopped in Durango and Pagosa Springs, CO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Skyforger Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 Agreed. Finding what works for you can make a world of difference. Good to see you back, man. We've missed you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members p4vl Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 Getting the right gear usually means sifting through the 'wrong' gear. That shows dedication, especially when the right gear might mean a trip to a custom shop or custom prices. This is what I repeatedly tell myself when I sound terrible and my only option is to throw money at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lonnie99 Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 I believe that gear can inspire one to play more, and hopefully improve. I've been a guitar owner for 10 years now but still can't play much. I've picked up some guitars this last year, an amp and some pedals and right now I'm more inspired than ever. We'll see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Presc Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 Absolutely. If you don't have gear that satisfactorily produces the sound you want, it absolutely circles back to your playing. Not having enough sustain or having a really harsh tone will make you think twice about playing in the upper registers. No clarity and muddy bass will make any complex chords sound bad. All of a sudden you become constrained and your playing suffers. Plus, it's not just for my sake - if I'm not getting good tones, my band's sound will be less pleasing on the whole. Which is why there is a certain standard of gear I need to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members peskypesky Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 yes it can... but the difference it makes compared to putting the time and effort into getting better is so minuscule it's hardly worth mentioning so well-put. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bbreaker Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 The right gear can inspire you.If you suck, you'll suck with confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 With the wrong guitar in my hands, I absolutely suck. With the right guitar, I suck an infinitesimal amount less.. So yes, the right gear makes all the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gdsmithtx Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 The right gear can inspire you.If you suck, you'll suck with confidence. Sigworthy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bbreaker Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 Cousin George with a stone guitar................... My cousin is actually a very good guitar player.......... It's stuff like this that inspired me as a 10 year old. I'd stand with my mouth open at Aunt Catherine's house and watch George in action.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 Yes, I'm familiar with "it's all in the fingers.." blah blah blah. But ever since I made a radical change to my setup, I've been peppered with unsolicited comments from people who have heard me play for 20+ years about how great I sound these days. They actually look forward to my typically short solos, intros and outros. It's all come since I made my Gibson Les Paul Alex Lifeson the centerpiece of my rig and replaced my pedalboard with a Pod HD500 (I don't use the amp models). I think that judicious use of the Floyd and extreme tweakability of the HD500 effects account for the bulk of the recent attention. There's nothing like a well placed dive bomb or perfectly sync'd delay and phaser to get people to turn their heads away from our amazing drummer. Rock on. And remember that the right gear can make a difference. Just ask my hero Alex Lifeson, Jack White, Jimmy Page, or Joe Bonamassa. Could you post some example clips of how the right gear made you a better player? Not that I entirely doubt you , but it would be cool to help visualize your point with examples. You are one of the more vocal people around here when it comes to beating the higher end gear= better gear drum. It is obviously important enough to you that you have been very consistent about posting this point. Let's say there are those of us that aren't entirely convinced. Show us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bbreaker Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 I think unique gear can also inspire different playing.Unique meaning masonite Danelectro gear.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 The right gear can inspire you.If you suck, you'll suck with confidence. That's what she said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Presc Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 Could you post some example clips of how the right gear made you a better player?Not that I entirely doubt you , but it would be cool to help visualize your point with examples.You are one of the more vocal people around here when it comes to beating the higher end gear= better gear drum.It is obviously important enough to you that you have been very consistent about posting this point.Let's say there are those of us that aren't entirely convinced.Show us. I don't think this is meant to be a money thing - it sounds like he's found gear that fits his playing style better rather than just spent more. Regardless, I don't think this is something that you can "prove" in clips, but come on, you're a musician, you know what it feels like. When you plug into a rig that's really happening, often times it can bring your playing up a notch and also makes playing more fun. In the same way some rigs can frustrate the crap out of you when you can't dial in the right sound or feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mistersully Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 Regardless, I don't think this is something that you can "prove" in clips, why not? if it makes you a better player, you'll play better... if you play better, the music will be better... that "better" music can be captured in the form of clips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phaeton Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 I've thought a lot about this over the years. My basic takeaway is if you've got the chops, you've got the chops, and if you don't you don't. No matter what, that's going to come through no matter what you are playing. That said, I have most certainly noticed the aforementioned inspiration that happens when your tone doesn't suck. I, like I'm sure many of you here, can get a quick grasp of a certain setup and what its sonic capabilities are- strengths, weaknesses, etc. And we'll play the {censored} out of that gear and exploit all those strengths and try to avoid its weaknesses. It's not huge, but it's there. $20 beat up 1960s Norma guitar through a boombox I dug out of the trash? That's what I started on, and it was a HUGE leap when I moved up to a Squier strat and a real amp. Maybe some of it was because I finally had a properly intonated guitar, or maybe because I finally had a bridge pickup (the Norma had a single slanted P-90 honkalike in the space where the mid and neck would be), or maybe it was because I had an amp with some real gain and an eq, as opposed to the boombox where I had a tone knob and switched between a razored and intact speaker to "change channels". Either way, the sound was so much more like the tunes on the tapes I was trying to learn riffs from. Then one day, this awesome guitar guy I knew came over and wanted to jam. I played my Squier through the Quantum amp, and he played my Norma through the boombox with a razored speaker cone. He still ran circles around me, and sounded so much better on that garbage equipment than I did on something better. I never forgot that lesson. It's chops or no chops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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