stephen sawall":jv1pr91g said:
I think you can hear a difference in slide players if they play on the same rig with nothing changed ? I can ...
Strumming a guitar in open tuning without fretting or slide ..... not sure if that is really playing a guitar, if you know what I mean ? But even then the picking hand does have a strong effect on the tone and final results.
Absolutely... Also true to my point is-- you can also hear a difference in the same slide player, through different rigs.
There is absolutely NO removing the player
nor the "Gear", from the NET tone result.
I think it's cool that we're both illustrating the same points, from different angles, while focusing on separate facets.
1. If a player sucks, no amount of gear is going to change that.
2. Different guys sound different on the same rigs for different reasons, while some guys are able to make the rig sound the same as another, and some not.
3. If a player reaches a given level of proficiency, and plays -- What they play will exhibit their "Skill, "Style",
and "Technique". (IF their gear sucks, OR is not the correct gear to do what the player has in mind, OR the guy just can't dial in gear (an Engineering facet, as I see it and a separate art)-- the proficient player won't necessarily be perceived by the listener to sound like they have great "Tone", or what they play won't be perceived the way intended... despite their skill level)
4. Gear--
A. Equipment which provides a means for a player to express an idea in a physical "Musical" form & can amplify and manipulate the sonic characteristics of that sound. Shaping/Affecting/Manipulating the end result within a specified range of sounds (Depending on the nature of the gear... Some More/Less dramatically than others), is one of the-- if not THE #1 Reason WHY those of us are into gear, are pretty specific --in some cases-- with our preferences.
B. Does NOT guarantee great results, just a given range of "Potential results" that the SAME player or "Different" players can coax from it, or NOT.
5. Great "Playing", "Writing", "Engineering", "Producing", and "Performing" are ALL "Separate Arts/Skills in and of themselves-- and just because one writes a GREAT song, doesn't mean they've achieved a particular level of proficiency on any given instrument, nor does it mean that they can Produce, engineer, or publicly perform a particularly entertaining show.
Conclusion:
The tone/the "potential" tone and/or sound/sounds are ONLY really relevant, if one can actually play, and actually DOES.
GOOD tone is only GOOD or (not) in the context in which it's being implemented.
* Great player plays great, but Great player doesn't by default equal great tone. The distinction there is important, and I see that many appear oblivious to that point, or act as though they need to take an adversarial stance against the point, as though it somehow is in opposition to their view.
* Great player plays great, with crap gear, dialed in like crap-- Sounds like a great player with Crappy tone. The "Style, "Touch", "Techniques"-- go where the player goes, but the limits of the players "Tone" is DEFINITELY limited to the scope and range of the gear they're using, and the players (Or their tech's) engineering and production ability to coax it out of that gear.
* Great player plays great, with decent pedestrian gear, OR SUPER MEGA gear, dialed in great-- will sound better than he did w/ with crap gear, dialed in like crap.
* Lame player, plays Lame
* Lame player w/ GREAT gear Plays LAME
Nuff said about that...
