Does better gear make you play better?

[gardo]

Better gear makes me play better because if for no other reason . When you feel better you play better. You can call it a placebo effect if you will

[badpenguin]

Phil, I stole that line from Zappa, Wet T shirt night if I remember correctly. And wouldn't know a U87, from a U boat.

[Grant Harding]

A more sensible analogy is whether a great voice box makes a person sing better.

 

It doesn't directly, but over time, the people with great ones will have had better personal experiences and external feedback, which in turn motivates them to practice their singing and try more difficult and beautiful things that most people can't do with their voices.

[daddymack]

Will a good microphone make me a better poet?

Surprisingly, yes it will because voice tone and delivery are important. How would Richard Burton sound through your daughter's Chinese Karaoke mic?

A good mic really brings out your voice. I have done a few readings lately and whilst it would be great if every venue had an SM58 a lot of them have honkers, I guess guitars are the same

 

but the mic, in your analogy, will not improve your skills in regards to word selection, rhyme patterns, etc. So it may enhance the performance, but won't improve your writing.

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

Phil, I stole that line from Zappa, Wet T shirt night if I remember correctly. And wouldn't know a U87, from a U boat.

 

Big Zappa fan here... the line you’re referring to is “looks just like a Telefunken U47.”

 

And Neumann actually DID make U47’s for Telefunken.

 

To make matters even more confusing, U-47 was also a famous WWII era U-boat that snuck into Scapa Flow and sank the British battleship Royal Oak very early in WWII.

 

Those factoids, plus five bucks, will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks...

 

 

 

[Chordite]

but the mic, in your analogy, will not improve your skills in regards to word selection, rhyme patterns, etc. So it may enhance the performance, but won't improve your writing.

 

That's kind of the holistic thing really.

(This might not work)

As an experiment I happen to have a USB Karaoke mic so have recorded one of my poems. I confess the result is not as bad as I expected. I'm British by the way, if you didn't know that you will in a minute LoL

"Surrey Garden Party"

[ATTACH]n32521644[/ATTACH]

[catscurlyear]

 

That's kind of the holistic thing really.

(This might not work)

As an experiment I happen to have a USB Karaoke mic so have recorded one of my poems. I confess the result is not as bad as I expected. I'm British by the way, if you didn't know that you will in a minute LoL

"Surrey Garden Party"

[ATTACH]n32521644[/ATTACH]

 

Nice Words,nicely spoked ,, there was other interference apart from what i thought was ok quality of the mic like glitches which were maybe buffering of the soundcard and then an interference in one ear, was it a stereo mice and did you not use a popper stopper .

[Chordite]

 

Nice Words,nicely spoked ,, there was other interference apart from what i thought was ok quality of the mic like glitches which were maybe buffering of the soundcard and then an interference in one ear, was it a stereo mice and did you not use a popper stopper .

Yeah there are a few clicks, (they aren't clipping, levels too low) No pop shield a pair of cheap singstar karaoke mics* straight into audacity. I just wanted the kind of basic thing you you get in venues mostly used for stand up comedy and best man speeches

 

*

[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"small","data-attachmentid":32521655}[/ATTACH]

[Grant Harding]

Where did all you get the idea that this thread is about expensive gear?

 

It says great gear.

 

You think the Strats that Gilmour, SRV, etc have used are just off the rack? No - they have (had) great guitar techs making them great night after night.

 

The poetry analogy is like saying great gear will make you better at lyrics.

[Chordite]

t.

The poetry analogy is like saying great gear will make you better at lyrics.

Thanks for misunderstanding. No, what I am saying is great gear will make what you currently play (or read) sound better which is a form of positive feedback and will encourage you in a "wow I didn't realise I could sound like that" way. If that were not the case we wouldn't have hundreds of threads here on getting the best tone.

 

ps I just read that Grumpy Cat has died. How can we go on without our icon? Now there is only Dogbert to depend on for cynicism.

[DeepEnd]

That's kind of the holistic thing really.

(This might not work)

As an experiment I happen to have a USB Karaoke mic so have recorded one of my poems. I confess the result is not as bad as I expected. I'm British by the way, if you didn't know that you will in a minute LoL

"Surrey Garden Party"

[ATTACH]n32521644[/ATTACH]

Enjoyed your poem but I don't think a better mic would make you a better poet.

[DeepEnd]

Where did all you get the idea that this thread is about expensive gear?

 

It says great gear. . . .

Actually, it says "better gear."

[DeepEnd]

Thanks, guys. The consensus is (drum roll please . . .)

"Maybe."

A guitar that plays like proverbial "buttah" is less likely to be a challenge to your playing. Better gear will allow you to hear subtle nuances and possibly reproduce them. It might encourage you to play but not necessarily to improve your skills. It won't give you talent in any case. For me, expensive gear would only be likely to amplify (pun not intended, sorry) how bad I am. Regarding mics, I have an $80 Samson USB condenser for recording and it's about what I deserve.