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Cover Guitarists: How Important Is It To You To Replicate The Original Sound?


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I use a Vetta 2 live.

 

For covers, and originals, I'm mostly a 'clean-dirty-solo' patch kind of guy.

 

If I'm in the mood, and the gtr has something unusual going on in a cover we're playing, I'll try to get close. Like the delay in 'Fire-Woman', or the Ring-Mod in 'The Hollow' or the flanger in 'Unchained'.... That kind of crap.

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I think in doing covers it's more important to get the "flavor" (for lack of a better word) of the original, rather than getting the exact sound.

 

That being said there are certain signature licks and certain tones that kind of need to be in there.

 

If you're playing Roy Orbison's "Oh Pretty Woman", you should do the lick, or it just isn't the same song.

 

If you're playing "Wipeout", you should have a clean, reverb-drenched tone.

 

If you're playing ZZ Top's "Tush" you should have some distortion on the guitar, rather than play with a clean tone.

 

These all go with the assumption that you are trying to do an actual cover of the tune, rather than an outright re-interpretation, such as my polka version of "Tush", that I do when I play with the German Oompah band.

 

This is just my opinion, of course, so feel free to disagree with me.

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Hi all

 

I use a GT-6 into a JC-120. I have a gazillion possibilities but I use about 4! I think the grove in the main thing. Get the tempo right and the rest just flows. I may play someone elses tunes but most of the time the solos are mine.

I would go nuts if i had to play the same thing the same way over and over night after night etc.

But then again I am in a jazz band. Most people have heard the tune and they are expecting you to do your own thing, that is what makes it exciting, listening to the others in the group and supporting them and they to you when it is your turn.

 

Greg

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Originally posted by unichord

I enjoy the challange of nailing the original tones dead-nuts-on.


Keeps things interesting for me.


Somewhere in every audience there is the one guitarist thinking "damn - he NAILED it"
:)

And 20 others thinking "I'm better than that":D

Spoken like a true guitarist.:D

Its a path I am not blessed with the abilty to persue however. I used to always (ok still do) stress that there may be a guitarist in the crowd who would be naturally better then me and want to ensure I put in performance to impress them. What I should be doing is tryng to impress the other 99% of the crowd who couldnt care less. Better result for less stress.

If I work out how to do it I will let you guys know.

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I think as cover bands (tribute bands do not apply to this philosophy) our main responsibility is to provide a fun night for the audience. Sure, you might sing a rippin version of Lady in Red, but does your beer-soaked sweaty dancin fool audience want to sit down and take a lude and mellow out to the dulcet tones of Chris Deberg?

 

Ours doesnt.

 

they want fast, dancin tunes with rippin breaks and good rhythmic continuity. Many times people have come up to me after gigs that I thought were abyssmal, and told me how awesome we were. - They enjoyed the beat, and didnt notice when I hit a lemon or six.

 

Bottom line, people go to the bars to have fun. Provide them some rockin tunes and the night will go forward. It doesn't matter what you play, really, as long as its loud and recognizable.

 

we have an inside joke amongst our bandmates and other musician friends:

 

"Rule #1 - People are stupid"

 

Dolan

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Originally posted by spdolan


I think as cover bands (tribute bands do not apply to this philosophy) our main responsibility is to provide a fun night for the audience. Sure, you might sing a rippin version of Lady in Red, but does your beer-soaked sweaty dancin fool audience want to sit down and take a lude and mellow out to the dulcet tones of Chris Deberg?


Ours doesnt.


they want fast, dancin tunes with rippin breaks and good rhythmic continuity. Many times people have come up to me after gigs that I thought were abyssmal, and told me how awesome we were. - They enjoyed the beat, and didnt notice when I hit a lemon or six.

 

We are that way too. The rockingest fastest dancing tunes are the favourites. We dont realy even have slow songs in the first set. I agree "tribute bands are different. Thats the point of them , to sound like the original.

 

Originally posted by spdolan


Bottom line, people go to the bars to have fun. Provide them some rockin tunes and the night will go forward. It doesn't matter what you play, really, as long as its loud and recognizable.


we have an inside joke amongst our bandmates and other musician friends:


"Rule #1 - People are stupid"


Dolan

 

Harsh rule. I always like to give people more credit that they deserve. Less chance you end up with egg on your face. However it is safe to say the majority of drunken punters couldnt tell a bum note from a smack in the head as long as they are having fun. Doesnt stop me from getting down on myself for my lack of technical ability.

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I don't worry about copying the "tone" at all. I have my own sound which is nice and warm. I do try to match any sound effects (flanger, whammy, wah or delay etc...). For example, I'll pull my hair out to perfect a Rage Against the Machine solo w/ delay and whammy.

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we have an inside joke amongst our bandmates and other musician friends:

 

"Rule #1 - People are stupid"

 

Dolan

 

Although the run of the mill person won't know what you're doing you can bet that all the musicians there will. You can also bet that they will talk to the owner and tell them how much you suck. Take pride in what you do!

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Originally posted by unichord

I enjoy the challange of nailing the original tones dead-nuts-on.


Keeps things interesting for me.


Somewhere in every audience there is the one guitarist thinking "damn - he NAILED it"
:)

And 20 others thinking "I'm better than that":D

 

What's even better is someone coming up and saying "That was better than the orignal".

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