Guitar Tone - Who would have ever imagined?

[Casey H]

It's about the music. It's about the music. It's about the music.

Yes, at some level there is a minimum requirement in studio equipment to make music that meets most end user's standards in film/TV, etc. Of course! And discusssing equipment and what you like, what you don't like, what works for you, what doesn't, etc is all good. People trade ideas, learn, try different things, and get better-- not knocking that discussion at all!

But folks like mazz put it best. When you send a piece of music to (for example) a music supervisor or library, all they care about is what's in their ears. Whether you created it with a Fisher Price toy or the best studio gear in the universe doesn't mean a thing.

Casey

[t4mh]

Cup of tea anyone?

Naw, I'm a coffee n strikes guy All night long n all that!

I guess when I get to work with a music super one of these days and he contacts me about doing a track for something, I'll drag out the 52 Broadcaster and the 58 Les Paul and ask him which he wants to hear on the track. I love those things but I wouldn't think he'd ever ask or even care. Rather, he would be more interested in what I could do with bass n dums, a groove, and most importantly, that I could have the track to him before his deadline. The point is that the world and technology moves forward and you'd better move with it or hang it up...

Keith

[wta]

It's about the music. It's about the music. It's about the music.

Yes, at some level there is a minimum requirement in studio equipment to make music that meets most end user's standards in film/TV, etc. Of course! And discusssing equipment and what you like, what you don't like, what works for you, what doesn't, etc is all good. People trade ideas, learn, try different things, and get better-- not knocking that discussion at all!

But folks like mazz put it best. When you send a piece of music to (for example) a music supervisor or library, all they care about is what's in their ears. Whether you created it with a Fisher Price toy or the best studio gear in the universe doesn't mean a thing.

Casey

Ya Case, we covered earlier in the thread that "it's about the music" just in case there were musician reading who didn't know that... HEY, GPAs are down in a scary way so highlighting the extreme obvious three times in quotes is important... We've also covered that music sups will only be interested in knowing a producer has his gear in line IF they want to pull them in to work on a project. Buy hey, repitition is key for memorizing right!!!

[wta]

WOW! After a review of this thread I have to say, "Have a nice day" to everyone and invest time in other directions with a better future potential than this thread...

"Have a nice day" (puts his shoes on and checks google maps for the nearest bridge to jump off of...)

[jazzstan]

Wm,
But ain't it great that we all have our individual passions? There's no right or wrong. For each set of circumstances, whether it be session work, live performance or music libraries... the priorities vary and get colored by our own experience and values. This is what gives us the seemingly endless variety of music ... all with only 12 notes. Go figure!

[wta]

Wm,
But ain't it great that we all have our individual passions? There's no right or wrong. For each set of circumstances, whether it be session work, live performance or music libraries... the priorities vary and get colored by our own experience and values. This is what gives us the seemingly endless variety of music ... all with only 12 notes. Go figure!

It's a funny read mate, go back through it for a laugh... I could say, "It's a really good idea to play your guitar with all 6 strings" and someone will chime in with a, "I saw this guys string a broom handle with just ONE string boy was he great so that disproves all you 6 string snob guys..." LOL!!!! I've got several industry friends who refuse to post to forums, including this one specifically for this reason. It wasn't too long ago I was talking to my amp tech(renowned as one of the top in the NW) and said to him, "Hey you should log onto jkjkjk.com and share your amazing insightes cause so many up and coming musicians would benfit!". His reply was, "NO %^%*# WAY! I'm not waisting my time to post something and then have to defend my position by every guy and his dog who wants to argue it..."
So the sum of my thoughts are, try molded coin picks cause I think they're worth a try and if your working hard on your engineering and instrument chops and want to sound like the pros invest in similar gear cause both your sound and reputation will benifit...

[rld]

Gear acquisition can be an emotional thing for some people.
Its costs a lot of money for top end gear and its hard for some to admit it may be possible to get good results without spending quite so much..
Since we're here on TAXI's site, this might be another way to look at things.

Are you getting forwards?
Are you signing deals because of those forwards?
Are you getting placements and getting paid as a result of those deals?
If the answers are YES then fantastic! It doesn't matter what gear you are using, you are getting it done.
On the other hand, if the answer is no, maybe your gear is the problem.
If the answer is no and you have top of the line gear, then your gear is not the problem.

[wta]

Gear acquisition can be an emotional thing for some people.
Its costs a lot of money for top end gear and its hard for some to admit it may be possible to get good results without spending quite so much..
Since we're here on TAXI's site, this might be another way to look at things.

Are you getting forwards?
Are you signing deals because of those forwards?
Are you getting placements and getting paid as a result of those deals?
If the answers are YES then fantastic! It doesn't matter what gear you are using, you are getting it done.
On the other hand, if the answer is no, maybe your gear is the problem.
If the answer is no and you have top of the line gear, then your gear is not the problem.

This is a great sample of what I'm talking about... I'm going to have to leave this kind of communication for folks who have time for it...
The bottom line is i'm not going to post my resume to try and help people understand that they're competing with pro studios to get placement in film and tv. Top gear in the hands of top trained pros and guys can't figure WHY they can't get passed the screeners. Maybe they luck out with one or two but can't figure WHY the can't quit their day jobs...
Michael, I know you asked me to come back and continue posting and sharing helpful hints but mate... Well I know you'll understand...

[mojobone]

This thread has been around the barn and back.

[cardell]

I just enjoy exchanging ideas and experiences. I've learned a lot from being on this forum: I really like it! I'm not out to be proven wrong or right. In fact: in many cases there is no wrong or right. Now, one finally story...

My brother is a much better guitarist than me.

One day he told me: "When you get great [guitar] gear, you can finally hear how you are really playing. And you realize that you are a crap player. Then after a lot of practice (now that you can finally hear how you are really playing) you get a lot better and wonder how you ever played with poor quality gear."

So...I bought myself an American Fender Strat and a Fender Twin Reverb and discovered that this was 100% true.

It's the same with vocals: when you get to track a vocal in a studio with an INCREDIBLE microphone, you can finally hear exactly how well you sing. You can hear every little movement of your mouth (sounds you didn't even realize you made).

All of these things are a shock to our egos...like the critiques from Taxi. It's then that we need to decide to:

1. improve or
2. give up.

Stuart