Part of me wonders whether
anyone could possibly
think I’ve got wisdom to proffer
after last month’s embarrassing
confessional [
“What Was I Thinking?” April 2011], but
enough
PG fans have responded
with similar stories that I felt
it wouldn’t hurt to share a
few lightbulb-over-the-head
moments this month. Consider
it the faith-renewing sequel to
last month’s tragicomedy.
Unlocking.
I’m all for gear
that makes life easier and less
painful, but I used to think
every guitar had to have locking
tuners to stay in tune reliably,
as well as an aftermarket strapsecuring
system to escape certain
destruction. But applying pencil
graphite or something like Big
Bends Nut Sauce to the nut slots
keeps every one of my guitars in
tune quite well (although if you
play hard like I do, you’ll probably
still have to tune between
songs). Similarly, although not
having strap locks requires keeping
a closer watch on things, I’ve
never had an axe fall off going
the old-school route.
Power-Tube Revelations.
I’ve owned amps with myriad
power-tube types—and I
love
what other players have done
with all types—but I eventually
realized I usually sound better
through amps powered by 6V6s,
6L6s, or something else with a
rounder, fatter tone—something
that doesn’t sound spiky and
harsh with my heavy attack and
heavy strings (.011s). That said,
tube type alone doesn’t determine
tone—and I’ll still give
any amp a fair shake—but this
epiphany has helped my ears
search for the type of tone that
works best for my style.
Volume-Knob No-Can-Dos.
Another big breakthrough
came when I realized any guitar
with a Volume knob placed
forward of the bridge saddles is
bad news—my energetic way
of banging out chords always
ends up gradually lowering the
volume till the tone is neutered.
Now, anytime I consider buying
a guitar, I look at it horizontally
and draw an imaginary line
straight down from the saddles.
If the Volume knob crosses that
line toward the neck, the axe is
out of the question.
Flesh Tones.
When you’re
new to guitar, it’s tempting to
view fingerpicking as something
only classical or country players
do. Gods like Jeff Beck and Brian
Setzer (the latter is featured on
p. 116 of this issue) taught me
that exclusive plectrum use stunts
your potential. An infinite number
of overtones and inflections
are yours for the taking with
the fleshy parts of your picking
hand’s thumb and fingers.
No Bad Genres.
That pretty
much says it. If you think [insert
your most loathed genre name
here] just
blows—across the
board, no questions asked—
you’re sort of being a bigot. You’re
also preventing yourself from
hearing a lot of music that could
literally change your life. There’s
great stuff and crap in every
genre, but everything deserves at
least one listen.
Everything.
Pared-Down Pedalboard.
I’ve never had a massive pedalboard,
but at one point I had
seven or eight effects at my feet. I
was so preoccupied with making
my parts “more interesting” by
stepping on another box (or finding
some magic combination)
that I neglected to make them
more interesting in the ways that
no box on earth can—by using
my imagination and my fingers.
Though all the stomps were
quality, interesting effects, they
were becoming crutches—not
to mention, all that tap-dancing
threw off my timing and groove.
These days, I’m perfectly happy
with reverb, a tremolo pedal,
and a boost. I’m not saying it’ll
always be that way, but there
is
something liberating about cutting
loose—and it does wonders
for signal fidelity, too.
Taming the Inner Gear
Snob.
If you’ve ever made the
mistake of thinking gear that’s
not “boutique,” made in the
USA, or exclusive in some way
can’t be worth playing, you
probably also realized after
shelling out thousands of dollars
for top-drawer gear that your
same basic sound was there.
The takeaway: You do
not need
a custom-shop axe, a point-topoint-
wired amp, and thousands
of dollars’ worth of pedals
to kick ass! The blues masters
who paved the way for rock ’n’
roll and inspired everyone from
Keith Richards to Clapton,
Beck, Hendrix, and more
played department-store guitars
that we’d balk at today—and
they changed the world. What
matters most is putting time
into getting the sound you
want out of your fingers. My
point isn’t that boutique gear
is a waste or a sham—far from
it—but for everyone except
millionaires, moderation is key.
(Personally, I think pickups and
amplification are where you
should splurge a little.)
Low-Capacitance Cables.
Many of us have marveled at
things Eric Johnson says he can
hear, but I’ve got to thank him
for enlightening me years ago
(via magazine interviews) on the
importance of low-capacitance
instrument cables. If you want
bristling, clear, hi-fi tone, this
is perhaps your single most
important investment—especially
if you use a lot of pedals.
Spending tons on guitars and
amps but being blasé about
cables is like putting budget
tires on a Mercedes.
Learning by Osmosis.
If
you’re like me and are more
interested in creating your own
(hopefully) unique art than
playing covers, you may find
that you come closer to that
goal when you refrain from putting
your heroes’ licks under a
microscope and instead let their
vibes seep into your playing—
however they filter through your
brain’s synapses to your fingers.
I’m not saying never check out
the tablature to your idol’s most
amazing songs, but I believe
minimizing that and instead
reading about his or her philosophies
on technique, phrasing,
theory, and inspiration will help
you capture some of their mojo
without sounding like you’re
copying them. It’ll take longer
that way, but it’ll be worth it.
The items above aren’t necessarily
truisms for everyone in
the same sense that everything I
admitted to last month is a glaring
example of what to avoid.
Many of them are more like
epiphanies about what works for
me and my playing, but hopefully
they’ll help you find your own
epiphanies or remind you of ones
you’ve already had. Either way,
we hope you’ll share your “Aha!”
moments with us via email
(shawn@premierguitar.com) or
in the comments section of the
online version of this article.
Later!
Shawn Hammond
shawn@premierguitar.com