"Gear gets in the way if it becomes your focus" - Derek Trucks

[saijo]

this is why i don't put my od pedal and footswitch on the floor

[deltaslim]

otoh, you have a player like the Edge and a band like U2, whose songs almost require him to use effects.

Nathan - DT's point is not an argument against the use of effects. Basically he's saying: Get a decent tone, and then move on to focusing on making great music with it. Playing with a certain setup for a long time will help you connect with your instrument and make it like an appendage, a direct extension of your body/soul.  It should feel natural and you're just expressing yourself, not "playing gear". 

But I understand why people make the mistake of taking it differently. Such an amazing musician who needs just a guitar and amp to create awe-inspring music invariably makes people insecure and guilty for "needing" more than just gtr+amp.

[skunkyfunk]

Nathan - DT's point is not an argument against the use of effects. Basically he's saying: Get a decent tone, and then move on to focusing on making great music with it. Playing with a certain setup for a long time will help you connect with your instrument and make it like an appendage, a direct extension of your body/soul.  It should feel natural and you're just expressing yourself, not "playing gear". 

But I understand why people make the mistake of taking it differently. Such an amazing musician who needs just a guitar and amp to create awe-inspring music invariably makes people insecure and guilty for "needing" more than just gtr+amp.

+1

in fact, The Edge pre-1980 had some very Rush-esque tones without the fancy delays.  It was simply Marshalls and Voxes with an old Korina Explorer.

[erniebong]

+1

in fact, The Edge pre-1980 had some very Rush-esque tones without the fancy delays.  It was simply Marshalls and Voxes with an old Korina Explorer.

fast forward... Dave Evans need Dallas Schoo to worry about the gear so he could focus on the music...

i had my share of gear hunting and players who do a lot of stuff wt effects gets my attention, but i find players who can take off using just a guitar and amp are more special.

[bentoinks]

on behalf of everyone in philmusic, i agree lulz

[Chito]

I tend to believe what Derek Trucks is referring to, is a lot of people's focus have gone away from what a guitar/amp/pedal is meant to be used for. And that's for making music. It's pretty obvious from what I've seen in almost every gear forum I've been that many guitar players would rather spend their time testing pedals, amplifiers, guitars rather than concentrating on making music. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with being a gearhound. But if someone spends hours and hours of their time looking for the "right" gear as opposed to creating, writing or simply making music, I think it defeats the purpose of what these gear are for. Last January I had an opportunity to watch a bunch of blues artists up close, and it was amazing to see how these great guitar players could sound so different from each other considering they were all playing the same backline, which is either a Fender Super or Deluxe Reverb.

Just my 2 cents...

[mikomiko]

the simpler the better....

Nice find and very educating

[samishellacool]

YES! SO TRUE(In my opinion) I've been playing without effects for quite some time now(wala rin pambili, LOL!). Less things to worry about also. But I'm still getting a GT-10 in case. HAHAHA

[Phil]

That's supposed to be the normal way of doing it cuz the guitar solo is supposed to support the song, or complement the vocals. Unfortunately, many guitar players see the ad lib/solo as the opportunity to do show off their skillz and thus end up doing purely guitar stuff that has no connection to the song.

It also helps to hold one's pride/ego in check.

I absolutely agree with this.

I cannot understand or even play something that doesn't resemble a melody.

I use to do a lot of singing... I think thats how my hearing and taste affects my playing. For me, its more attractive and easy to understand.... just like melodies in singing.

[psychic_sushi]

otoh, you have a player like the Edge and a band like U2, whose songs almost require him to use effects.


basta. mali si derek trucks. a guy cant be that good AND be right about everything. that would be plain unfair.

good point, I'm agreeing with you to a certain extent there, buddy.

I guess I got selfish think about my music preference, but yes, if we go genre specific, some forms do require gizmos. Trucks is a bare bones, meat and potatoes guy.

To think that I've been listening to alot of David Torn and Bill Frisell lately, and rekindled my fascination on looping... Technology helps too  Torn does amazing things with gizmos, and even jazz guys who initially appeared as purists like Jim Hall (who would use a whammy pedal), Pat Metheny (and his synth stuff) and Pat Martino embraced tone tweaking and pedals at some point to inject interesting things.

But still, they possessed killer technique that served the music. Its all complimentary and serves the music,as the Rev also pointed out. Now to find me a looping device for more masturbatory indulgence...

[erniebong]

I tend to believe what Derek Trucks is referring to, is a lot of people's focus have gone away from what a guitar/amp/pedal is meant to be used for. And that's for making music. It's pretty obvious from what I've seen in almost every gear forum I've been that many guitar players would rather spend their time testing pedals, amplifiers, guitars rather than concentrating on making music. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with being a gearhound. But if someone spends hours and hours of their time looking for the "right" gear as opposed to creating, writing or simply making music, I think it defeats the purpose of what these gear are for. Last January I had an opportunity to watch a bunch of blues artists up close, and it was amazing to see how these great guitar players could sound so different from each other considering they were all playing the same backline, which is either a Fender Super or Deluxe Reverb.

Just my 2 cents...

it's worth a thousand

at the and of the day....when everything is striped down to just a guitar and an amp.... can I still make music?... I'd b concerned if I cant  

[nathanmanansala]

Nathan - DT's point is not an argument against the use of effects. Basically he's saying: Get a decent tone, and then move on to focusing on making great music with it. Playing with a certain setup for a long time will help you connect with your instrument and make it like an appendage, a direct extension of your body/soul.  It should feel natural and you're just expressing yourself, not "playing gear".

They're players on opposite ends of the pole but, in a lot of ways, they're very similar. They both play for the song.

Thats the key I think. You don't have to use effects just because you have it. The same way you don't have to play a bare bones setup because some guy plays with one. But you do always have to play for the song. That's what DT and the edge have in common, they become the guitar player the song needs but still sound like themselves.

Skunky is right: the gear is just the slave to the master (the player) but the master himself is a slave to the song.

[fusionenigma]

less is more. don't really need them pedals for my type of music.

at home, everytime i take out my pedalboard, i play with the pedals more than i actually play. he he. 

[Filippo]

well, i think the article's message is to try to find the sound you hear in your head with the right gear so it's ok to go through that phase. when you've achieved it though, it's time to focus on making better music. it can be uncomfortable to express yourself if you haven't found your tone.  but at the end of the day you can't blame the gear if you suck at making music.

I agree with you on this slim! Just to add, I guess it really helps to know what tone you're after. It makes the slection process a lot faster and cheaper. Plus you get to sell all the other stuff you really do not use and maybe make a few bucks in the process.

I must say though that playing gear you want to play makes learning and playing more inspiring for me. when I hear the tone in my head happen, it encourages me to play more and more and before I know it, I've played more than 2 hours already, i'm half deaf na, and my sweat has already found its way unto the guitar hehe yuck!

@bart ... haha bili na parekoy !!

[ibysdad]

 It's all guitar scales, techniques, transcribing and phrasing for me for 3 days in a week.

The remaining two days are all about gear (not that well researched compared to the guys here of course), and also tweaking my pedals and amp so that they will sound right to my ears.









 

[deltaslim]

I think some people are still misinterpreting it. Let me repeat:

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH USING A LOT OF EFFECTS TO GET YOUR DESIRED TONE. 


If that's the tone that inspires you, then get the gear that you need and do what you gotta do. But come performance time, you want to be sure that gear is not your primary concern anymore. Your ultimate goal is to make a connection with your audience through your music. 

But, obviously, having too much gear or a complicated setup makes it more challenging to get consistently good tone in all kinds of venues, and that can distract you from your real or main objective.

[masterchoxter]

great philosophy from Derek Trucks! great find master Joric!

+100 with what master Joric said...

if you don't see your objective or goal anymore, then that's the time it gets in the way...

[nathanmanansala]

I think some people are still misinterpreting it. Let me repeat:

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH USING A LOT OF EFFECTS TO GET YOUR DESIRED TONE. 

no, no. let me keep pushing it further off topic.

[skunkyfunk]

What about OC folks like me?   

"<Bad> Tone gets in the way of a good song..."

[Decay. Sustain. Release.]

different strokes for different folks.

whatever floats your boat..

as long as the main goal is to create music

do what works for you

[deltaslim]

What about OC folks like me?   

"<Bad> Tone gets in the way of a good song..."

I don't know about that but bad tone can and has certainly ruined many a performance. Thats speaking from personal experience.

[RonnieA]

Hi Joric,

      Good to know you are doing well! One of these days I hope to hook up with you and get an improptu slide lesson. Sa totoo lang, up to this day the slide work you did for "Sleepwalker" (was it the title? ) at one of the EB's still haunts me today .

       Lets start with the basic. You learn how to play guitar to play a song. Not entirely to copy the tone of the song but to learn the chords of the song and play it. You get a "Jingle Chordbook" and get the song ( sorry ha..pang matandalang yung Jingle--kasi nuon walang internet ) Thats entirely your focus. Once you master that then you move on to the gears, guitars, amps, pedals and the whole 9 yards.

       But then again, what is your focus? Is it getting the tone of lets say The Edge, Clapton, Beck, Page, Hendrix (sorry ha...old  school ako eh)? Then I think the "gear" factor would have to come in to help you getting your Focus (or goal).

    Just my 2 centavoes worth rin!

   God Bless you Joric! Thanks for the insightful thread!

    RonnieA

[turiguiliano]

otoh, you have a player like the Edge and a band like U2, whose songs almost require him to use effects.


basta. mali si derek trucks. a guy cant be that good AND be right about everything. that would be plain unfair.

I LOVE YOU MAN. YOU HAZ FREE BEER. COLLECT.

I'm a pedalist.

SEE YOU GUYS SA GAS DAY! WOOOHOOOOO!

[turiguiliano]

no, no. let me keep pushing it further off topic.

[toybitz]

I think some people are still misinterpreting it. Let me repeat:

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH USING A LOT OF EFFECTS TO GET YOUR DESIRED TONE. 

+1

when less becomes more and more becomes more, the phrase doesn't connotate that the artist is happy to have lessen or added more pedals, nor does it compute to the volume of notes in a song...it simply aims at MUSICALITY.