Our Obsession with Gear – Guitar Lessons With & Without!

As a guitar player who has played for over 25 years and as a guitar teacher who has taught for over 20 the most dominant conversation I’ve had is over gear.  Now, I don’t mean the hard stuff rock stars are known to take before, after and sometimes during their live performances!!! I mean the stuff we use to get the best quality sound possible – guitars, amps, pedals etc.

The sound is always something we want to work on when trying to create the best quality music within our guitar lesson times or when recording in the studio.  How we get that quality can be varied but in my opinion it starts with the player!

1.       Be a great player!

The best sound has a lot to do with how we play and express ourselves on the guitar.  As a guitar teacher my job is and has been to teach students to aim high when it comes to quality.  If you master each individual technique and work on finger placement and pick control, it’s amazing how good even a cheap guitar can sound.  Bad players always want to blame the gear.  “It’s the amp!” or “The pickups just aren’t good enough” and “The action is too high”.  These are all valid points and definitely do make a difference to the overall sound.  However, a great player can make any instrument sound good (within reason).  Let’s not be the type of guitar players who use excuses for poor quality.

2.       Get the right gear for the right price

There is some truth that you get what you pay for.  There is also truth that you can overpay for the same quality.  Guitars in particular are like cars… let me explain.  If you buy an Audi essentially you’ve just buying a VW.  It has the same chassis under the body and uses the same engines.  Guitars can be much the same.  Yes, if you buy a Gibson you can get probably slightly better electrics and pickups.   You may even get a better wood but for the cost you’re paying the upgrades can sometimes be minimal in comparison to the brands that cost less… Ibanez, Epiphone, Fender etc.  Sometimes these small differences can be big and make a massive difference to the quality of sound.  In my experience, this isn’t always the case though and you can still get a great sounding guitar for a reasonable price.  The same applies to pedals and amps.  Do your research and don’t blame the gear, with the right set up and combination you’ll be making sweet sweet music without breaking the bank!

3.        Get experience in your recording! 

If you know what you like the sound of tell your sound engineer in your recording sessions – he can’t read your mind! If you’re doing home recording on your own, try experimenting with gear and sounds on your guitar and recording software.  If you’re working with a sound engineer, ask them what they’re doing to create the sound you have.  If you know you can ask for it again.  Don’t be afraid to push for the best sound, but equally try your best to level your sound with excellent guitar playing and great/reliable gear!

In your guitar lessons with Fresh Music Aberdeen you can learn all about different sounds, guitars, pickups, pedals etc. and you will get the opportunity to play/record with and without them. In music it's all about experimentation and aiming high when it comes to quality.