Qns on pro guitarists' gear list

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dtrulez38

New member
when we look at the gear list those pro guitarists like vai, satch, jp, pg, morse, etc. r using, it seems like most of them r using some basic/common gears like ds-1, boss od, digitech whammy, ce-5,ch-1, dunlop wah, and yet there isn't much fancy high-end stuff that quite a few softies r using.

it just suddenly triggers me to think y so many ppl r investing or gasing on those fancy stuff; whereas those pros can just use some basic pedals to create phenomenal tones that everyone's going for.
 
Pehaps it's because we can't play like if not better than our favourite Geetar Heroes we psychologically compensate and self justify the right to the feel good factor of owning "Better" gear than the Pros!? Strange but true.

The manufacturers out there are very well aware of this phenomenon my dears. To each his own right to a version of happiness I say!

(According to a resident forum music and gear psychologist here)
 
they've got fantastic amps, and guitars, and alot of hidden stuff which we dont see that processes their sound as well (some artists, not all)
 
Interesting post.

Pro guitarist don't need fancy or expensive pedals because everything sounds good whatever they play with. Hey, it's all in the fingers and yadda yadda.....(I shouldn't elaborate coz we hear that a million times before!) :wink:

One thing I noticed about pro guitarists is that most of them play with (i) a good guitar, (ii) a good tube amp. Fancy or boutique effect pedals are the last thing on their gear list. If required, they would only use pedals that are necessary. Apart from the ermm almighty fingers (ok....booooring!), the next most important equation of the sound chain is the amp...which is then followed by the guitar. Never the pedals!

So why are many people in this forum crazy about pedals? As for the amateurs or pro wannabes (meaning us! :lol: ), I believe some of us need all the help we can get to sound good or at least sound decent. Sometimes it's also a matter of "quick fix" or to "cover-up" bad playing (hey, let's be honest here! :wink: ) Hence effect pedals seem to be the logical choice.....affordable, instant and practical. And it's not surprising to see kids with a $2000 rack worth of pedals hooking up to a cheapo solid state Marshall.....duh! :roll:

As far as boutique pedals go, some are genuinely good and some are just very ordinary. This is a fact and those who have spent $$ on lemons would know! :) So why the boutique indulgence in this forum? Few factors I think.....hype, fad, peer influences and exclusivity (eg. Zendrive, Fulltone OCD, etc.). Slick marketing plays a part too. How many of us here actually attracted to the cool casings or the weird and fanciful pedal names? C'mon...honestly. :mrgreen:

My 2 pesatas worth of pedals. :smt028
 
and they can crank those fantastic amps to volume suitable for self sustaining distortion w/out needing pedals
 
Pehaps it's because we can't play like if not better than our favourite Geetar Heroes we psychologically compensate and self justify the right to the feel good factor of owning "Better" gear than the Pros!? Strange but true.
Click to expand...
probably cuz they got fantastic amps which we cant afford? so we try to make it up with pedals
Click to expand...
Haha.....double dittos! :wink:
 
Sometimes it's also a matter of "quick fix" or to "cover-up" bad playing
Click to expand...

haha....this is sooo true!!
i think i should start using clean sound to practise hard rock heavy metal solos now.... :lol: :lol:
 
you will be surprised how much more you pay attention to your tones playing fiddledee solos from a clean amp. Great practice method~
 
Nah, not many people own those so called booteek pedals.

its just blown out of proportion by people who post alot in the forum.
You hear as many ppl discussing about DS-1s and Tubescreamers and Line6 Pods
 
because tone is really in the fingers. clapton playing a flying V through a randall SS amp willl still sound like eric clapton one way or another. if vai played through clapton's rig he would still sound like vai and not clapton. gear just slightly tweaks that to perfection.

and just btw, IMO satch's, pg's and to a small extent jp's tone is crap. give me clapton, hendrix or slash's fingers anyday over the shredders.
 
slow and steady? neither hendrix nor slash was slow. even clapton wasnt slow (60s). although clapton has gotten less aggressive in his playing and lost that nice fuzz tone but still sounds pretty much the same.
 
*Sigh*

Great guitars + Great amps + Rack units + Modified stock pedals + Boutique gear.

More and more pros are using boutique gear. Look at John Mayer's rig for example. Satch uses what, a fulltone octave and his secretly modded MIJ DS1s? Vai has rack units and keeley modded DS1s / TS9DX. Eric Johnson, don't need to say. Zakk Wylde and his gutted, heavily modified Marshalls and pricey gibsons.

A more full listing of "Pros" and their gear.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=149536


Its all a mix.
Good guitar.
Good amp.
Good cables.
Good gear.
Good fingers.
Good songwriting.
Good voice.
Good band.

And in Singapore, the pedal phenom is nothing new, nothing surprising, nothing exceptional... except perhaps, because we are NOT used to lugging amps to performances, we rely on the shoddy amps provided at the venues... so what better way to attain better sound? Lets get some good gear. Probably the only reason why Singaporeans bother so much about pedals. I'd take the other factors, e.g. peer pressure, exclusive-ness, yadda yadda, as all part of growing up and learning.

And guys, get it STRAIGHT. TONE, friggin TONE, comes in 2 parts.

Your articulation and your sound.

Please don't mix the 2 up.

Vai articulates like Vai no matter what the heck he is playing thru.

Does he sound good with a 20 dollar guitar into a 50 dollar amp? A/B with him and Evo into a Legacy stack. No. (Though, I prefer his marshall days... hehe)

But aiyah. Who cares. Tone is tone right? ;) And when you sound like yourself you sound like yourself too right? So what's the point... :roll: Go buy crap gear and practice because it truely only comes from your fingers.
 
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