Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

To confess my "sin", I want a guitar and only one to play from In Flames to George Thorogood because I don't like swapping guitars. I love Hetfield's tone on "Orion" and Malmsteen's and Blackmore's tone in general so I chose a guitar with a Hetfield-like humbucker in the bridge and two Malmsteen-like single coils for middle and neck. I once liked very very much the feel of soloing on an Epi LP neck so I chose the neck according to that neck's specs. I like dives in solos so I chose a Floyd Rose but hate bass/low mid-sucking so I chose a brass big block. I want a wood with a full spectrum potential so I chose alder and I love the chime of maple boards so the neck is going to have a maple board. Finally I chose a strat because of its looks (I love Blackmore's style with black pickups on white guard) and because it's so much adjustable to all this. And also because what I enjoy the most is listening to tones from guitars I'd never think they'd sound like that.

When I receive my Warmoth parts I'll make a video with my Strat and my modded Marshall combo, alone. Nothing close to what a strat through a Marshall would sound. I love that!

So finally, my gear would be a Strat and a Marshall but nothing close to a Strat through a Marshall. :P oops!
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

Metalblaze said:
I want a guitar and only one to play from In Flames to George Thorogood because I don't like swapping guitars.
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From a practical point of view, I think players should bring two guitars to a gig. Things happen from time to time, that can delay or end a gig. String breaks (and it takes far longer when the music stops and everyone in the place is staring at you while you change it), something comes loose (input jack), or shorts out (solder comes loose or drink spilled on guitar), etc. If you have unexpected problems with your guitar and it messes up a good-paying gig, you're not very popular with anybody: band, audience, or bar management. :banghead: Take your chances if you want. The odds are in your favor, but all it takes is one good screw up.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

blueman335 said:
From a practical point of view, I think players should bring two guitars to a gig. Things happen from time to time, that can delay or end a gig. String breaks (and it takes far longer when the music stops and everyone in the place is staring at you while you change it), something comes loose (input jack), or shorts out (solder comes loose or drink spilled on guitar), etc. If you have unexpected problems with your guitar and it messes up a good-paying gig, you're not very popular with anybody: band, audience, or bar management. :banghead: Take your chances if you want. The odds are in your favor, but all it takes is one good screw up.
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Yeah, actually I meant it apart from that. No practical reasons involved. I don't play live normally. I've only played once as a guest guitarist. But even if I start playing regularly (as I plan a band with my brother) I'd have a backup guitar as close to my main one as possible.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

blueman335 said:
Very true. The pro players I know, fulltime musicians, don't have the disposable income for much of a guitar or amp collection. Wives won't alow it. Odds are they've owned a number of guitars over the years, if you add them all up (never more than a few at one time), but they've long since be sold or pawned. Tough way of life for most of them, especially trying to support a family. All too often they have to take gigs playing music they don't like, just for the cash. That takes some of the 'romance' out of it. And that's one reason they can play everything, because whether they like it or not, they have to play it anyways. Those of us with day jobs can be pickier about our music and bands. We can focus on what we like and usually have multiple guitars, so the 'one guitar' concept isn't a big deal to us.
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I think this comes down to a general philosophy on life. It's up to each individual to decide their priorities for themselves. Fast forward ahead to our death beds, and ask ourselves what would be more important to us, how many guitars and how much cash we have stashed away, or what we did with our time here? Did we follow our passions and dreams, or did we let them fade into hobbies while succumbing to the pressures of a notion of success dictated by a questionable set of social values? There is no right or wrong here, only choices.

The notion that the pursuit of dreams need be romantic is somewhat juvenile. A more mature view would encompass the fact that life itself is full of ups and downs, but rather than look at these as negatives, they can be seen more positively as challenges. The professional musicians I know, who make up around 80% of my friends and acquaintances, take on a wide variety of musical genres, styles and types of work. Some settle into the theatre gigs, some tour, others take on the TV shows and sessions. Some cross over all of these, and make an excellent living without compromising themselves. They see their profession, as do I, as a form of service, and not necessarily as only a means to their own personal satisfaction. Ironically, in this, they are deeply satisfied. These are the true professionals. We understand that people need music, and we have refined our skills in order to provide it to them in a vast array of styles and formats. Herein lies the deepest satisfaction of all. It is the arena of the hobbiest and enthusiast to consider their connection with music to only be about their own enjoyment, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it simply means that the challenges of a life as a professional musician will be beyond them.

It's true that there are many people who have the same idea about what they want do with their lives. Many would like to be actors, musicians, producers, etc, but there are only a certain amount of available positions for each of these professions. Life has a way of sorting out who is up for it and who is half-hearted. Those who are not fully committed will be weeded out and will not get very far. Their interests will be relegated to the level of enthusiast, and they will find other avenues to pursue. The truly dedicated will have a better chance, but life will still see through any pretence or false motivation, and their time in the spotlight may be short-lived. Others will put their heads down and take on the challenges, putting their egos and delusions of grandeur aside, and just get on with it. Even the successful acts who play only their own music understand this. Ask the guys from U2 if they only write and play music for themselves.

And yes, some of them will play Strats for everything they play, because they can. Others will play other guitars. Some will play lots of guitars. Some will play just one. There is no one 'right' answer.





Cheers........................................ wahwah
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

wahwah said:
And yes, some of them will play Strats for everything they play, because they can. Others will play other guitars. Some will play lots of guitars. Some will play just one. There is no one 'right' answer.


Cheers........................................ wahwah
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Yeah! I love when I see people do different things than what I do. I'd really enjoy watching a concert with the guitarist changing guitars for different songs. It makes it as interesting as when watching someone playing Enter Sandman with a Tele. Yeah I actually saw that and I mean a stock Tele. I couldn't see how he did it cause I couldn't see him well from my position but it sounded huge. The feeling of the whole thing had a wow factor x5 times bigger than an EMG loaded Jackson.

Edit: Caution: I'm not implying that Teles or Strats or LPs or SGs can do everything. I just think it's intersting to try it.
 
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Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

Remember, we all say if we COULD play 7 days a week and have a day job. Wes Montgomery worked from 7am to 3pm in a factory, then gigged until 3am. Went home and practiced his ass off using his thumb so he wouldn't disturb his wife and MANY children. On 2 hours of sleep he repeated this process daily, but he died young of cardiac arrest, and drug free as well.

To me the bottom line here is that NO, you might not be able to play everything with a strat and achieve MAXIMUM CONNOISSEUR SATISFACTION. The potential for tonal gratification is greater when you have many guitars to get many sounds, but perhaps the 'need' for more guitars is an obstacle in itself that makes the mind deviate from the actual notes being played and the potentially incredible music that could be made during the time that we ponder tonal possibilities. ****** WHAT A CATCH 22, I NEED TO PRACTICE MORE
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

wahwah said:
The notion that the pursuit of dreams need be romantic is somewhat juvenile.
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'Romantic' may not have been the best term, but I didn't say that the pursuit of dreams had to be romantic. Just trying to say it's looking back on a path not taken. Regardless, the majority of us here would have liked to have had a career making music, and admire those that are able to make a go of it.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

blueman335 said:
'Romantic' may not have been the best term, but I didn't say that the pursuit of dreams had to be romantic. Just trying to say it's looking back on a path not taken. Regardless, the majority of us here would have liked to have had a career making music, and admire those that are able to make a go of it.
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I didn't get that from your post. I was referring to the picture you were painting of the 'professional musician,' whose wife won't allow them to buy guitars, and who have sold or pawned (?) all of their instruments, playing music they dislike, just to scrape buy, and how that takes some of the 'romance' out of being a professional musician. That sounds much more like a description of a failed musician to me. Generally, that's about when they decide to teach, work in a music store, or become a booking agent. I think there's a lot to be said for focusing on the successes rather than the failures, and aspiring to that. There are talented people everywhere, and there are many successful and fulfilled professional musicians. You don't have to dig too deep to find the reasons for the failures, and they need not necessarily be related to playing ability. I am suggesting that romantic and unrealistic expectations and their attendant delusions may well be found amongst those reasons.





Cheers........................................ wahwah
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

Quencho092 said:
To me the bottom line here is that NO, you might not be able to play everything with a strat and achieve MAXIMUM CONNOISSEUR SATISFACTION. The potential for tonal gratification is greater when you have many guitars to get many sounds, but perhaps the 'need' for more guitars is an obstacle in itself that makes the mind deviate from the actual notes being played and the potentially incredible music that could be made during the time that we ponder tonal possibilities. ****** WHAT A CATCH 22, I NEED TO PRACTICE MORE
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Yeah, kinda. For me, the way a note sounds, and how it feels to play it, is as important to me as the choice of the note itself. It is only with great difficulty that I consider the two things separately, that I divorce them in my mind. When I play or hear a note, arpeggio, or chord progression, I want to hear a tone that sells me on that note, arpeggio, chord progression.

There's one chord that Eddie Van Halen hits toward the end of the intro section on the song "Mean Street" on the album Fair Warning. It's a simple chord, but the tone he gets drives it home in a way that very few little chords ever hit home. When I hear something like that, it's clear to me that tone is as important as note in creating the meaning in music.

Quencho092 said:
Remember, we all say if we COULD play 7 days a week and have a day job. Wes Montgomery worked from 7am to 3pm in a factory, then gigged until 3am. Went home and practiced his ass off using his thumb so he wouldn't disturb his wife and MANY children. On 2 hours of sleep he repeated this process daily, but he died young of cardiac arrest, and drug free as well.
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If I ever find myself living like that, I'm doing drugs.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

blueman335 said:
From a practical point of view, I think players should bring two guitars to a gig. Things happen from time to time, that can delay or end a gig. String breaks (and it takes far longer when the music stops and everyone in the place is staring at you while you change it), something comes loose (input jack), or shorts out (solder comes loose or drink spilled on guitar), etc. If you have unexpected problems with your guitar and it messes up a good-paying gig, you're not very popular with anybody: band, audience, or bar management. :banghead: Take your chances if you want. The odds are in your favor, but all it takes is one good screw up.
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Again, you're still missing the point, bud. Anymore, there isn't a professional musician in the world that doesn't take two guitars to a show. The original thread was "Can you play everything with a Strat?". You can, and you need to acknowledge that. It's like "Can you play everything with a Les Paul?" or "Can you play everything with a Rickenbacker?". The answer is always "Yes".
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

Hellion said:
It's like "Can you play everything with a Les Paul?" or "Can you play everything with a Rickenbacker?". The answer is always "Yes".
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I think we easily lose sight of how little variety other instrumentalists have compared to guitarists. Ask someone who plays the flute, violin, banjo, piano, cello, French horn, pipe organ, etc. Ask them how many of those instruments they own. Ask them how many a player of such an instrument needs. I bet the conversation doesn't go how it goes when a friend or family member asks one of us the same questions.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

blueman335 said:
To which we ask ourselves "Who the hell is Dora?"
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You should know, she has a Gibson guitar named after her ....



and she knows the answer .... none of this cr@p matters, she likes music and just wants to sing and dance.

Guitar players should pull their heads out of their arses and try remembering that once in a while. They might even enjoy themselves.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

wahwah said:
That sounds much more like a description of a failed musician to me. Generally, that's about when they decide to teach, work in a music store, or become a booking agent. I think there's a lot to be said for focusing on the successes rather than the failures, and aspiring to that. There are talented people everywhere, and there are many successful and fulfilled professional musicians. You don't have to dig too deep to find the reasons for the failures, and they need not necessarily be related to playing ability. I am suggesting that romantic and unrealistic expectations and their attendant delusions may well be found amongst those reasons.
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Absolutely. The full time musicians I know range from so-so to extremely talented. Why are the better ones not well-known? Probably has something to do with some of the decisions they've made along the way, maybe a few stumbles, and a lack of luck. Maybe they picked the wrong band members, manager, or genre. The public can be very superficial and fickle. Substance abuse and personal dilemas take their toll too. Some of success is due to being in the right place at the right time, more than talent. All I'm saying is that for every player that's able to make a comfortable living in music, there's probably a thousand who struggle. As you pointed out, there's not enough opportunities for everyone, just as the vast majority of guys with sports aspirations don't make it to the major leagues. And the many thousands who do struggle (music or sports), talented as they may be, are the ones we're most likely to know personally (it may be different in your circles). If they're happy, are they 'failures' if they just get by financially? I'm just commenting on what as I see personally, just as you are. Most of us aren't in the music business and don't see what life is like on the inside.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

wahwah said:
They see their profession, as do I, as a form of service, and not necessarily as only a means to their own personal satisfaction. Ironically, in this, they are deeply satisfied. These are the true professionals. We understand that people need music, and we have refined our skills in order to provide it to them in a vast array of styles and formats. Herein lies the deepest satisfaction of all. It is the arena of the hobbiest and enthusiast to consider their connection with music to only be about their own enjoyment, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it simply means that the challenges of a life as a professional musician will be beyond them.



Cheers........................................ wahwah
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I've never heard it put that way, interesting.

Speaking of refining skills to provide music in a vast array of styles and formats, I just listened to a piece on ABC Classic FM featuring a didgeridoo with the Queensland Orchestra which was amazing. Funny that it would be playing as I was responding to this post.
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

Talent is important, but nowhere near the most important thing in being able to make a living. It takes enough talent to get by, coupled with good business skills and plenty of good fortune. Building a good team around you is also important, as is attitude.

I don't think that teachers can all be classified as failed professional musicians. That outlook does no credit to the art and the importance of teaching itself. It is an incredibly noble profession in my eyes. Some people truly want to teach, and are truly made for it. Don't let the fact that many people teach out of necessity, rather than by first choice, spoil your view of the teaching profession in general.
 
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Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

ItsaBass said:
I don't think that teachers can all be classified as failed professional musicians.
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That wasn't suggested in my post. I started with 'generally' and I was referring to those musicians who had already failed to cut a path as working musicians. This is separate to those who choose to teach from the outset. I think those whose first inclination is to teach are probably amongst the best teachers, because they don't harbour the potential bitterness and negativity of having not succeeded in their first choice of profession. That said, not all who don't make it through as professional players harbour that bitterness, so they can still make fine teachers. However, it can still be said that many who set out to be players, wind up as teachers when their playing aspirations fall through. This is not a judgement of teachers or the teaching profession, merely an observation.





Cheers......................................... wahwah
 
Re: Is it true?Can you play everything with a Strat?

wahwah said:
However, it can still be said that many who set out to be players, wind up as teachers when their playing aspirations fall through.
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And the same is probably true of most gym coaches, who didn't make it in pro sports, for whatever reason. Gotta have a plan B.
 
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