Members Cygnus64 Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 His equipment far exceeded his talent level. Any thoughts? . We see this all the time in the classical music world. The only difference is the price of the "gear", there are violinists out there with million dollar instruments and can't play them. One lesson I've learned over the years playing in many genres: don't judge the musician by the gear they have until you hear them. There are great players with crap, and crap players with greatness. This is ESPECIALLY true with recording. I'd rather have a good engineer/musician with Cubase LE and Behringer gear over a hack with SSL and Apogee. Perhaps the worst musical mistake of my career was hiring an engineer solely because he had amazing toys (and was cheap). All the good stuff: Chandler, SSL, PT HD rig, the works. The guy was a horses ass, and the least talented person on earth. He had anti-talent: he could take a mediocre mix and turn it into a vomit-inducing cringefest. He was bizarro King Midas, he touched something and it turned to {censored}. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 That doesn't happen often around here. we seem to get stride piano guys and its a two guitar band. Most cant resist going mr busy fingers and it tends to cut up things. Less is more it seems in this band. It can be tough to just jump into a band situation with two guitars and a strange board. I am sure most of them really want to turn it loose and cant resist over playing. Its human nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crazyfoo Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 I have come to despise the way talent is regarded these days. It's like, "ooh, you're talented, you're going to the top". Talent will be of assistance on the first 15%, but the rest is hard work. Talented people can suck too. I have a great ear and learn easily, and during the past years, I have realized that my talents used to become a comforting excuse that kept me from improving so much more than I did. I get what you're saying babs. It's easy to become lazy and coast on your talent because sometimes you put yourself in a situation where what you know is enough, so you don't bother trying to push yourself. I've coasted on what little I know for a long time and sucked out of it the maximum but this year I have been pushing myself and working really hard practicing scales 2 hours a day and really pushing myself. I've even been taking a few lessons from a local jazz guy because I'm sick of the plateau I have reached and want to go further. If I had a keyboard that truley matched my talents, it would be a $50 Yamaha pos. I am not worthy! (I'll always be my toughest critic) As far as the OP, who knows, could be some rich guy decided to get into a week-end band and bought the best gear. Good for him, if hes got the money, I dont begrudge him I have lots of gear I have no business owning but that doesnt stop me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 Believe or not, I can usually tell the difference between understated, beginner, and no talent. Just look and listen, oh yea and know what genre you are listening to, I have made that mistake before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnewb1 Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 I would rather spend money on gear that's over my performance level then waste it on womenz, booze, or gambling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members suitandtieguy Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 i'd really have to see this band before i make an observation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundwave106 Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 Although my equipment probably does exceed my ability, clips like that make me feel a lot better about myself. (Though I hate the "WORST BAND EVER" clips on Youtube that make fun of little kids who, while not totally awesome etc, aren't really that terrible. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Purity_Control Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 i'd really have to see this band before i make an observation. [video=youtube;dihpXKmjgEE] I can assure you they're absolutely banging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffLearman Posted December 6, 2011 Members Share Posted December 6, 2011 LOL -- I've played in sessions that seemed a lot like that! Seriously, though, I respect musicians who can enjoy playing with those of lesser ability, as is the case here. I'd say there's no shame in getting the best gear regardless of your ability. But I have to admit that the gap can get so wide that it's comical. I hope I'm not an example of that! I remember way back when; I was getting frustrated playing acoustic guitar and couldn't tell if my problems were what I was doing or the instrument. I said "screw this" and went out and picked up a Martin HD-28, which I still play a lot nearly 30 years later. Turns out my problems were due to BOTH, and it really helped to find out which were me and which were the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tspit74 Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Regardless of ability, you have to like and believe in what you play. You can't play something and constantly wish it was something else. You have to be inspired and remove bad gear from the equation. I used to have a Fender telecaster. I got an amazing deal on it. But I don't like Fenders. I didn't believe in it however much everybody else liked it. I wanted an SG. I sold the Fender without any way to get an SG. I went without an electric guitar for a year until I found an SG. Never regretted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members berbie Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 If you suck totally, good equipment can actually make you suck only as a rule. I have always believed in getting the best equipment that you can beg, borrow or steal at the onset. Then equipment is out of the equation. If you suck, man you suck. I also think good equipment can make the learning process easier, and can be encouraging because it sounds better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 Were they lawyers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members synthetica Posted December 7, 2011 Members Share Posted December 7, 2011 I've always found it ironic that some of the bands with the simplest of music are the most popular. I have recently been spending a lot of time playing guitar (taking a break from synths for a while) and when I look back at bands like early AC/DC and Kiss there music it is some of the simplest music to play chord wise on the guitar yet they were both extremely popular. So it seems the difficulty of the music is not the best item to judge the musicians on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinkfloydcramer61 Posted December 8, 2011 Members Share Posted December 8, 2011 Great thread topic! Count me as one of those who often sees the best musicians (on at least the local level) owning minimal gear. Because they're more into playing than collecting. And they don't romanticize their axe, it's just a means to an end, a tool. Most of the competent, pro players around here are somewhere in the middle of the gear spectrum and often have been playing the same axe for years- or something newer but cheap, like a Korg X50. But there's no hard and fast rule. One local player in particular tours with an (aging) music legend, performs at the Whitehouse etc., but I have never seen him play local gigs with anything but his Korg Triton (Classic) 88. However I have been to his studio and he has 4-5Hammond/Leslie combos and a pristine, original (cat-daddy analog!) Prophet. You never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted December 8, 2011 Members Share Posted December 8, 2011 Great thread topic! Count me as one of those who, more often than not, sees the best musicians (on at least the local level) owning the least amount of {censored}. Because they're more into playing than collecting. And they don't romanticize their axe, it's just a means to an end, a tool. They also don't have any money.:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Metrosonus Posted December 8, 2011 Members Share Posted December 8, 2011 I tend to despise the automatic assumption that someone must be good considering how expensive their gear is. Years ago I left a forum (not gearslutz) simply for how sickening it was that people were either audaciously putting their gear on display or people were naively patting them on the back about it. There was no real content there what so ever. It was full of people claiming to own studios whose music was all acid loops, hip hop ejay or something and then the people that believed their BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Purity_Control Posted December 8, 2011 Members Share Posted December 8, 2011 was that the forum that DedMaus was from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Metrosonus Posted December 8, 2011 Members Share Posted December 8, 2011 I would not be surprised honestly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cygnus64 Posted December 8, 2011 Members Share Posted December 8, 2011 I tend to despise the automatic assumption that someone must be good considering how expensive their gear is. . The opposite can be equally prevalent. A lot of people listen to gear with their wallets. Benny Hill does a skit where he's a waiter, and his customers don't like the wine. He takes the wine to the back and put's a different label on the same bottle, brings it back and they love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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