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I’ve booked most of the top players in this business and I can promise you that this is not the case, they care very deeply about their sound. Stochelo and Paulus spent so long on their sound check that they missed their dinner. I had to get them pizza afterwards!
It's funny you say that because I always had the exact same impression. Players like Stochelo or Stephane don't seem to discuss their gear and stuff in public forums. But I remember (and in my broken French, it didn't help), a very animated discussion between Stephane and Sebastien Felix about a Favino Sebastien wanted to hopefully purchase (and he did!). I think these players care deeply about their tone and gear, it's just something they do in a different medium than we are here. They talk gear, but it absolutely feels different than talking about it with people that aren't necessarily professional musicians. The Busato that Stephane uses now is something he I know he loves. But I absolutely talk more unprompted about my guitar than I've heard him or people like him do. And I've absolutely encountered some really strong opinions from those players, but it's a competely different medium than a forum,
I don't hide from the fact that other than my guitar/plectrum, I've basically purchased the same gear that Stephane uses, and when I asked about getting an AER (great eBay deal for the win), it was a situation of him telling me why he thought it was the best option both for him and for me as well.
Maybe the lesson I'm taking away is I spend too much time on the internet and not enough time practicing. So I'll leave my rambling and grab my guitar. Which is this incredible instrument by Jerome Duffell...
😂
That's cool and fun info. But did they obsess about the source element or about the band sound, room mix and balance? My, casual, observation is that they don't obsess about this piezo vs that, this magnetic pick-up or that one. So many play live with one of the clip-on AT variant mics. Or some sort of piezo. My feeling is it needs to do the job and not suck. Sort of similar situation with picks. But I'm sure they care about their guitars and they care about how does the band sound overall.
@JSanta your comment came in while I was writing mine. Yeah, this is just my very layman's view of things. I can see Stephane go deep into small details though.
Yes they were exacting and knowledgeable about every element of their sound. I wouldn’t use the word ‘obsess’ - they were professional and knew what they were doing. Different players have different setups - Angelo likes Fender valve amps for example. When I booked him Stochelo wasn’t using a piezo but a very elegant looking Stimer style pickup which I think went straight into the PA. As for picks, he is famously wedded to his wegen big city. I remember one player - I think it was Remi - who had a simple green Dunlop but he had played it so much it had developed a groove he couldn’t replicate with any other pick.
I don't think it's a layman's perspective in the slightest! It's something I've also found curious. I do think part of it (at least for the players I know) is they settle on the gear when it just works. The AER is going to be reliable and relatively common, and sound pretty good.
In conversations with some of them, I see more obsessing around their technique and practice more than anything else.
Fellas, please pardon an idiotic question from an old-timer.
What are the limits of digital modelling?
For example, can I use a tech gizmo to make my guitar sound like a violin?
Or a piano?
Or a clarinet?
IOW, how far away from a guitar sound can it go?
Thanks for indulging me,
Will
Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."
Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
Are you talking about something like midi controllers, or pedals? If the former, there are some killer midi setups you can retrofit into almost any guitar. The latter, I'm not so sure.
You can put a midi pickup on most any electric guitar and then play whatever sampled instrument you want. You could play a Steinway grand in the acoustics of a concert hall of your choice if you wanted. Or play African percussion or whatever else.
Pedal wise electro harmonic has some pedals that you can plug your regular pickup into and simulate a B3 organ or a bunch of other stuff.
Some of this stuff borders on the edges of cheese but in the right hands....
I was practicing piano for quite a while and ran a $600 Casio keyboard (pretty nice) through some Native Instruments sampler pianos and it sounded very very nice.
DjangoFest has volunteers drive the artists from SEATAC airport to Whidbey Island. The Rosenbergs appreciated the ride but they had one stipulation, that the driver not talk about gear (guitars, strings, picks, etc.) They only wanted to talk about “regular stuff.” I think it goes without saying these top artists are grilled by fans on a daily basis about their gear. I see there eye just glaze over when these gear discussions start. However, ask them about their family and they won’t stop talking…..😀
I think that's exactly it! The first time I met Frank Vignola, our mutual friend told me, just talk to him like a regular person. I've learned not to fanboy with any of these players, and I think it's helped me be on friendlier terms with some of them.