Hendrix without noise?

[frankfalbo]

Re: Hendrix without noise?

Sometimes noise is like idle. You'd expect an old muscle car to idle loudly, and it's pleasing because you know what's going to happen once they rip into the strings/throttle. :burnout: So to me sometimes old "rock noise" is just as much about anticipation as it is technology. A hybrid car idles pretty quietly. But is that what we want our rigs to be? Hybrid cars? (line 6) :scratchch

I still use gates, but they're programmable so I can shut them off or bring them down when I want to "run it wide open". Hendrix or otherwise, sometimes noise is fun. But I agree overall it should be minimized. The thing is, his gear, if used right now, would probably be even noisier because of what we have in our air today. (depending on the location) So sometimes we have to use a higher grade of gear today, with better noise rejection (shielding, etc.) just to attain the equivalent of his noise levels.

Lew's right about peaking and short careers. You really don't know what the future would hold for a Hendrix. With all the substance abuse, it's very possible that he had peaked during his natural lifetime. He only had two ways to go, rehab or out like he did. If something had happened to say, an EVH in '96 or so, his legacy would be entirely different. But I do think that for all those artists who "phone it in" later in their careers, they are probably just as capable of breaking ground, but the situation isn't conducive. Then there's someone like Buddy Guy, who's so great at being who he is, that I don't want him to evolve, but I don't want him to stop either.

 

[midnite_man]

Re: Hendrix without noise?

I think Jimi did reach his peak. People assume that a musician is going to just go on and on and expand and expand...but usually that's not the case.

It's a rare player who can maintain the energy and inspiration and continue to grow and grow.

Personally, I thought Hendrix peaked on Electric Ladyland and I didn't care nearly as much for the stuff he did after that.

The talent might still be there but the personality just gets tired and worn down and that effects your ability to stay fresh and create with enthusiasm.

Who would've thought that Eddie Van Halen would be making such uninspired music these days when they were listening to him play with all that fire in the beginning...back when he was probably the best guitarist on the planet???

Lew

Jimi was at his best with Electric Ladyland, but by listening to his many experimentations on that album plus the fact that he was beginning to get together with some Jazz musicians, especially Miles Davis, to explore other avenues indicates to me that he hadn't completely touched down upon his musical destination and it will always be impossible to truely say. He definitely liked spending an abundance of time in the studio, that's for sure and thank goodness!
I agree that it takes a rare player to have the ability to maintain a pace of growth, and it's well documented that Jimi was pretty much burnt-out at the time he died, but he was one of those rare players who IMHO would have went much further with his musical revolution if he had just taken better care of himself. But we'll never know if he could've turned it all around although it's nice to speculate.

...Bob