Guitarists can't live with em, can't live...

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:34 am

I must say that the other guitarist in my band is quite good. He uses a minimum of effects, gets a good tone out of most guitar/amp combinations, plays to the song, takes advice well and is the band clown. He also has a Blueburst Ric 660.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:21 am

I've said it before, but it does seem that people who own/play Ricks tend to be more...stable, for lack of a better word. Maybe "better balanced individuals" is a better description.

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:51 am

Is Lemmy a "balanced" individual?

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 12:34 pm

Well, there are exceptions to every rule.

rickfan63 · Post by **rickfan63** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 1:29 pm

I wish I had a penny for every "unbalanced" individual I've met in my 30 years in the music business. Although, I've been blessed to have met some very talanted and dedicated players. But sadly, they are in the minority. It's a real shame so many musicians feel they have to get drunk or whacked out to have a good time playing music. It really pisses me off sometimes.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 1:38 pm

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long
plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die
like dogs. There's also a negative side."

sabbath_of_bass · Post by **sabbath_of_bass** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:04 pm

Thats what gets to me... Why do you need to drink and do some form of drugs to play? I dont get it. There like oh I think of so much more when Im screwed up. Im sick of hearing you should try it... youd be so much better. Yeah Id be better if everyone in the room was screwed up. Of course it sounds better. Stupid stuff. As I see it most of what I concider the best musicians Iv heard arent mixed up with drugs or dont seem it at least.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:29 pm

I agree with you, Jacob, usually drug users and drunks don't have a long life in this business.

However, there will always be people who play for the free drinks, there will always be people pushing themselves for that "Creative Edge" and thinking drugs can get them closer to it, there are always people who get as close to the fire as they can without getting burned. Some people think they can only free their minds when they are in that state.

And then, there are the Stones, defying every stereotype.

jaybic · Post by **jaybic** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:34 pm

I too suffer from a guitarist with OCT (over compulsive tuning). He doesn't have a lot of pedals - just one of those Boss pedals boards with countless cab modelings and different effects. Heaven help us if we stray from the set list a bit because he has all his patches (a different patch for every song) in order. It can be humorous at times seeing him tap on different presets furiously trying to find the correct one. Of course, the differences betweeen the patches to my ears are miniscule. Very unprofessional indeed.

jps · Post by **jps** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:50 pm

I think all a guitarist really needs for live playing is a nice clean sound and maybe two different distortion settings, as the audience wouldn't really know the difference in the subtleties of distortion. I like to switch between fretted and fretless basses, but there are gigs where I don't bother, knowing that it may be a waste for the audience.

squid · Post by **squid** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:11 pm

Playing out -- bass, vocals, drums, guitars, whatever -- just lends itself to a kind of extroversion. I really don't think there's anything in my playing that warrants me inflicting it on others, so I don't gig. If I thought I was a genius, I'm sure I'd be anxious to get out there and show everyone what I could do. It's a really fine line between bedroom noodler wannabe and gigging road warrior. Modest, stable, considerate guitarists generally stay home and play for their own enjoyment.

Hey, what's the difference between a moose and a soul band? The moose has got the horns in front, and the ***@#*! in back.

jon · Post by **jon** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 4:40 am

Well, I'll confess that in one of my bands (the Rush tribute), I'm a bassist with a different patch for every song (sometimes several patches), so I too suffer problems if a sudden change is made in the set. Admittedly, many of the changes are actually to keyboard patches (loading different sounds/samples etc.), but I've just counted 11 different bass settings in our current setlist. I hear something different in all of these, so I'm assuming that my guitarist does as well in his plethora of patches (some to me are obviously different, some less so). Even the drummer has a few changes on his electronic percussion, so if there is a change, it affects all three of us.

Maybe many audiences wouldn't notice the difference, but there seem to be a lot of other musicians coming to these sort of gigs and they do notice!

Major tuning issues or string breakages however, would result in instrument substitution.

In my other band, I have only three bass patches...the guitarist in that one is actually extremely introverted, but can be quietly brilliant.

ken_swearingen · Post by **ken_swearingen** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 5:29 am

Jacob,don't let anyone tell you you need to do this drug or that drug especially to be a great musician.I for one cannot play drunk or on anything for that matter.

As Steve said you wont last long if you are a successful musician using Drugs or alcohol,Ive seen many a lives ruined and or lost due to drugs and alcohol.

Look at Hendericks,Joplin,Morrison....the list goes on and on.

Do you think Geddy or Alex or Neal could go out on the road and do what they do if they didn't eat right and stay in shape?

Most pro musicians now a days are in shape and a lot work out to stay in peak condition,the old way of drugs and alcohol has given way to the newer longer lasting musician.

Look at Mic Jagger.He trains all the time.

Geddy has talked about getting in shape[along with Alex and Neal] before a tour ,eating right and doing cardio.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 5:44 am

If you've seen the R 30 DVD, you'll know that's exactly what they said. It's the key to their longevity & staying alive & sane. No excessive partying.
Personally, I could never understand why anyone would want to play when they're wasted. I can't play worth a damn when I'm even slightly drunk, let alone anything else, & it DOESN'T sound better when you're on any artificial kind of high.
You're just too messed up to notice how horrible & sloppy it sounds.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:48 am

I use 4 bass patches and when I tune it is muted ...