Members Guitar_stringer Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 YMMV. Play what ya got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members handen Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 Dumb thread.YMMV. Play what ya got.Yeah, you've either got it, or you don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members saktr-iyko Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 don't even bother in here; they want to not get it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MisterTV Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 People compensate for a lack of inspiration with "gear", hoping to find the answer in it. QUOTE]Yes!This is what it comes down to. We all know it. The more you're aware of this trap, the more likely you are to avoid it. It's exactly why I self empose a new gear ban every so often and just focus on playing and creating. Of course at some point my willpower gives out to GAS and I find myself with a new "must-have" toy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members halmot Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 Wow. Lots of folks hating on this blogger for his perfectly valid, if somewhat obvious statement. Does anybody really think creativity is possible only with the best gear? No. Does anybody really believe that the best gear will transform a relatively untalented person into a great artist? No. Does anyone really think there's something wrong with appreciating great gear (which can be art in itself)? No. Someone please point me to the controversial parts in the OP -- I just don't see it. I can even agree, with qualifications, with his insinuation that the "gearhead" mentality (which I possess in full) can sometimes hinder creative development. I am always amused at the way this exact same argument plays out in different interest groups. Go out and find some photography, or backpacking, or cycling fora for more examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eurotrashed Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 If talent and gear were correlated, everyone on TGP would be topping the Billboard charts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 If talent and gear were correlated, everyone on TGP would be topping the Billboard charts. Here here. Talent does not require good gear. Good gear cannot impart talent. Gear is fun. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Spike Li Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 the original quote is a very narrow minded view on something as complicated as human creativity. "Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece on the back of a deli menu would not sur-prise me. Meeting a person who wrote a masterpiece with a silver Cartier fountain pen on an antique writing table in an airy SoHo loft would SERIOUSLY surprise me."what about successful artists who own all that stuff because they keep churning out masterpieces? Think of your favourite artist, think of their latest masterpiece and try to imagine them writing it on the back of a deli menu... sure its not impossible but you cant just write off people based on their tools, not matter what they have. i started playing guitar on an old, out of tune, second hand yamaha acoustic. the thing was so hard to play i originally wanted to upgrade to a bass because i couldnt play chords on it (not knocking bass players here). but once i got a better acoustic, i ditched the idea of a bass because i fell in love with the guitar. once i got an electric guitar, i felt myself improve more as a player because it was even easier to play. having decent gear isnt such a bad thing. i also have a friend who is very talented in everything he does- the bastard- and wails on me in comparison as a guitar player, but there are still some songs that he just cant play that i can easily because he has a cheap, nasty guitar with terribly high action...To say that good equipment will only inhibit you is stupid, but it is also equally stupid to think that better gear will automatically make you better (in whatever you do). So many factors are invloved in the creative process (hard work and talent, etc), its ridiculous to narrow it down to "good gear = pillar = crutch = talentless hack" gear doesnt automatically make you good or bad at something, but it can sure as hell help. There can be a happy medium.this all said, i like buying guitars for variety, and mainly because nice things are nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Edward Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 If talent and gear were correlated, everyone on TGP would be topping the Billboard charts.Well, while I agree with the sentiment you put, I certainly wouldn't cite the top of the Billboard charts as any indicator of quality! I remember a year orf so ago reading an interview with Jack White (whom many in these parts love to hate), wherein he said "I would encourage anyone not to spend much on a guitar..... work with what you have." His opinion was that the limitations of cheaper equipment often push creativity in new directions. Necessity being the mother of invention, I guess, the more need to work around something, the more likely it is that something really interesting can come of it..... I have soem sympathy for this. While clearly having good stuff is no ihibitor to the truly creative, it certainly is the case that a lot of folks mistake having great gear for creativity, focussing on the tools rather than what one can do with them. Not unlike how having the most complete set of golf clubs possible doesn't necessarily make you any better a player. It won't necessarily hurt, but all too many folks focus on the equipment as an end in itself as opposed to the sound it produces. I do believe that the inherent limitations of cheaper, quirky equipment can often aid the creative process.... If we all buy Strats and Marshalls and try to sound like Hendrix, its' a bit ho hum..... but some kid trying to do a Jimi on a Dano with a cheap little tube combo might just discover something wodnerfully new in the process....Nothing, neither gear nor limitations thereon, is any substitute for talent and dedication on the player's part. You'd think that would be totally uncontestable, but hey ho... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RooSTER-b Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 Well, while I agree with the sentiment you put, I certainly wouldn't cite the top of the Billboard charts as any indicator of quality! I remember a year orf so ago reading an interview with Jack White (whom many in these parts love to hate), wherein he said "I would encourage anyone not to spend much on a guitar..... work with what you have." His opinion was that the limitations of cheaper equipment often push creativity in new directions. Necessity being the mother of invention, I guess, the more need to work around something, the more likely it is that something really interesting can come of it..... I have soem sympathy for this. While clearly having good stuff is no ihibitor to the truly creative, it certainly is the case that a lot of folks mistake having great gear for creativity, focussing on the tools rather than what one can do with them. Not unlike how having the most complete set of golf clubs possible doesn't necessarily make you any better a player. It won't necessarily hurt, but all too many folks focus on the equipment as an end in itself as opposed to the sound it produces. I do believe that the inherent limitations of cheaper, quirky equipment can often aid the creative process.... If we all buy Strats and Marshalls and try to sound like Hendrix, its' a bit ho hum..... but some kid trying to do a Jimi on a Dano with a cheap little tube combo might just discover something wodnerfully new in the process.... Nothing, neither gear nor limitations thereon, is any substitute for talent and dedication on the player's part. You'd think that would be totally uncontestable, but hey ho... Nicely stated. I agree wholeheartedly. I will also add, either you're creative, or you're not, and if you're not, all the expensive equipment in the world won't get you there. And no......learning cover songs or copying some famous person's tone is not creativity. It's mimicry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wanderlei Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 This is why I love cheap guitars. I love Jack White's motto. And no......learning cover songs or copying some famous person's tone is not creativity. It's mimicry.But it sure is fun!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RooSTER-b Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 This is why I love cheap guitars. I love Jack White's motto. But it sure is fun!!! Or a waste of time........if you're creative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dom1412 Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 Or it's fun, if you're creative and just can't be assed to create something rightnowthisminute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 ummmm.. I got nuthin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RooSTER-b Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 ummmm.. I got nuthin. I saw what you did there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twotimingpete Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 He's missing the fact that toys are fun to have. Do what you enjoy. Life is short. That guy needs to get laid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members germanicus2112 Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 I agree partially. Tools can make a big difference and having good tools can open up creative avenues you might not otherwise have ventured. I agree that many fetishize guitars and gear to an odd degree. The whole 'mojo' thing is silly. That said, newer tech like modelling allows one to do things it just wasnt possible to do in the past. The same with computer DAW's. Its all just tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted March 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 It wasn't overly-obvious that the context of the quote was an article about how to be creative. So it might be an important point for people who are on this quest, and don't know any better, that gear is not nearly as important as other factors. That might not have been clear if you hadn't read other parts of the article. The snarky writing doesn't help make his point out-of-context either. I think the points the author was making to those on a quest to be creative, modified slightly for guitarists, are: - You don't need great gear to be inspired. - Spend your time doing the creative work, not seeking out the gear. - You may be using your search for gear as a way of forever putting "pillars" in front of your quest to exercise your creativity. A fancy way of saying that, for example, perusing HCEG might be a way of procrastinating, when what you should really be doing is playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RJpilot Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 So all those folks driving their Mercedes around town aren't better drivers than me in my Honda? Shocking:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 This is the letter Jim Marshall wrote Hendrix after Jimi told him he wanted a piller of louder amps. I think it was originally written by Leo Fender to Dick Dale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 I kind of agree with the article in theory. But this is just plain wrong: "Actually, as the artist gets more into his thing, and as he gets more successful, his number of tools tends to go down." This is BS, especially when it comes to musicians, as can be seen in any issue of Vintage Guitar magazine under the artist's collections section. Or on Cribs. Or at any concert, backstage in the guitar tech area. Or at a successful musician's personal recording studio. I won't deny that I was just as creative when I was 15, playing crap gear. But I don't think I'm any less creative now that I've upgraded to better gear and know how it works. My nice guitars inspire me to play and write. I think the writer of that article has a pillar up his ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members saktr-iyko Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 I kind of agree with the article in theory. But this is just plain wrong:"Actually, as the artist gets more into his thing, and as he gets more successful, his number of tools tends to go down."This is BS, especially when it comes to musicians, as can be seen in any issue of Vintage Guitar magazine under the artist's collections section. Or on Cribs. Or at any concert, backstage in the guitar tech area. Or at a successful musician's personal recording studio. I won't deny that I was just as creative when I was 15, playing crap gear. But I don't think I'm any less creative now that I've upgraded to better gear and know how it works. My nice guitars inspire me to play and write. I think the writer of that article has a pillar up his ass. you are conflating "rock star" with "creative musician". if you need a nice guitar to inspire you to play and write then signs point to you not being very creative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members buddhapaugh Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 Seems like a lot of cats are really defensive regarding the Original Topic/Statement. Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bedlum Bednarik Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 I kind of agree with the article in theory. But this is just plain wrong:"Actually, as the artist gets more into his thing, and as he gets more successful, his number of tools tends to go down."This is BS, especially when it comes to musicians, as can be seen in any issue of Vintage Guitar magazine under the artist's collections section. Or on Cribs. Or at any concert, backstage in the guitar tech area. Or at a successful musician's personal recording studio. I won't deny that I was just as creative when I was 15, playing crap gear. But I don't think I'm any less creative now that I've upgraded to better gear and know how it works. My nice guitars inspire me to play and write. I think the writer of that article has a pillar up his ass.I dont know man, more often then not after the first few years , at least in rock, the band starts a downward trend in the music dept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted March 27, 2009 Members Share Posted March 27, 2009 Seems like a lot of cats are really defensive regarding the Original Topic/Statement.Why? because its true....Not. The valid points already brought up are: gear is funplenty of creative people acquire TONS of gear (Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons et al)Gear can be a muse (ive written songs just to showcase my amps tremolo, same with delay and fuzz, then we have all those pedals and whatnot known creative people have had people invent or build for them) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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