Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

I hear about a lot of sloppy players in the limelight, getting paid tons of money for selling records full of sloppy playing to eager customers, and packing the venues they play with people who go to hear and see them play poorly in person, from their devoted fans.

And then I read about Steve Vai's new disc on a guitar forum.

Face it, if you wanna be spot-on note-perfect, knock yourself out. Realize you'll be selling songs to other guitarists who "can do it better".
If you wanna be a hit with the common rabble, Keep It Slightly Sloppy, otherwise you sound like one of them Shrednerds.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

If there's one thing that time and time again that audio engineers that work with heavy music complain about, it's inconsistency in picking technique and if there's one thing they preach often, it's that you need to work damn hard on your picking technique if you want to sound great and sound professional.

That's probably precisely why I sound like a complete scrub most of the time.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

It's like saying too much gain covers up mistakes..

Totally agree....I think in the earlier stages of playing,people do hide behind alot of gain,distortion,whatever..The time based effects actually are icing on the cake,providing they too aren't overdone..

 

[everdrone]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

If there's one thing that time and time again that audio engineers that work with heavy music complain about, it's inconsistency in picking technique and if there's one thing they preach often, it's that you need to work damn hard on your picking technique if you want to sound great and sound professional.
Sure, it can compress things a bit, smooth it out, but it wont be the saving grace of someone with terrible picking technique, not by a long shot.
Get two guys to try to double track a heavy riff, , one with horrible picking technique and the other with a right hand like 80s James Hetfield and the difference will be MASSIVE and it comes down almost entirely to right hand technique.
One clip would sound extremely mushy, undefined and limp wristed, and the other will sound well defined, percussive and ballsy.

those engineers edit extreme metal guitar tracks A TON! To the point its not really the guitarist playing them.

 

[Frankly]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

Frank Lee enjoys the Music of Stephen Stills, but He can see Stills saying something like that. No one would hear him, however, because they would all be listening to Neil anyway.

Thank you.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

I hear about a lot of sloppy players in the limelight, getting paid tons of money for selling records full of sloppy playing to eager customers, and packing the venues they play with people who go to hear and see them play poorly in person, from their devoted fans.

And then I read about Steve Vai's new disc on a guitar forum.

Face it, if you wanna be spot-on note-perfect, knock yourself out. Realize you'll be selling songs to other guitarists who "can do it better".
If you wanna be a hit with the common rabble, Keep It Slightly Sloppy, otherwise you sound like one of them Shrednerds.

lol, well the sloppy (by which I mean un-machine-like) players I'm into probably sell a fraction of the likes of Vai, Satriani etc (ie Mark 'the shark' from Manilla Road, Azagtoth from Morbid angel, Coralles/Cutler from Autopsy etc)...so obviously int's not the sloppiness that draws people like flies to ****...more like accessability/commerciality/record company marketing blitz's/herd mentality etc..etc..

 

[Securb]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

Face it, if you wanna be spot-on note-perfect, knock yourself out. Realize you'll be selling songs to other guitarists who "can do it better".
If you wanna be a hit with the common rabble, Keep It Slightly Sloppy, otherwise you sound like one of them Shrednerds.

I have always laughed at the term "sloppy". Supposedly Jimmy Page and Joe Perry are sloppy guitarists. I think people confuse bluesy with sloppy and typically it is the non-musician I hear using the term. If Page is sloppy I want to be sloppy all day long.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

I say this as a Zeppelin fanatic and devout Pageian - He was sloppy as hell. He made mistakes all over the place live.

But that's part of the charm, I guess.

 

[Securb]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

I say this as a Zeppelin fanatic and devout Pageian - He was sloppy as hell. He made mistakes all over the place live.

But that's part of the charm, I guess.

I get it as a fellow Zeppelin fanatic and devout Pageian but a lot of live Led Zeppelin was improvisation. Comparing Jimmy riffing live to some shrednerd's cold calculated riffs is not fair. I would call it having fun. In the same view you would have to call Hendrix, Clapton, and a lot of other players sloppy that innovated live. I would imagine there are a ton of Jimmy Page "mistakes" that we recognize as musical genius.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

wow...this went from the unbelievable talent of clean/"lite-breakup" players who need no crutches (high-gain/FX etc) thanks to their perfect technique & mastery of the instrument (as opposed to those "bad" fast high gain players who're so sloppy they need to depend on high gain/FX to cover up their sloppiness..)

...to exactly the opposite :lmao:

...guess some people are just really butt-hurt about "shred-nerds" in general ..wonder what the problem is? :lmao:

 

[MrTondo]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

So let's get a definition of mistake: "an error or blunder in action, opinion, or judgment". Mistakes are in the eye of the beholder really. When you have played music the way you would want to play it you have made no mistakes. If it did not go as you wanted you made a mistake. Sure if you try to copy/cover a song/part of a song/riff etc. you can make a mistake because it is not the same. But in original music there is just preference. Do we prefer our music to always we in one speed and with on the spot timing, or do we allow ourselves to wobble a bit in tempo and timing, it is all a choice. And certain music styles allow for more or less of it, by general consensus, that's about it. There will always be shredders calling blues guys sloppy and blues guys saying shredders lack feeling and touch. So what? Do what suits your music and tastes. Make some music you love and enjoy!

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

I get it as a fellow Zeppelin fanatic and devout Pageian but a lot of live Led Zeppelin was improvisation. Comparing Jimmy riffing live to some shrednerd's cold calculated riffs is not fair. I would call it having fun. In the same view you would have to call Hendrix, Clapton, and a lot of other players sloppy that innovated live. I would imagine there are a ton of Jimmy Page "mistakes" that we recognize as musical genius.

Page definitely flubbed a few notes here and there, even on the albums. He has said that he always chose the takes with the best feel to them, even if they contained a few technical screw-ups. And this is precisely why he is my #1 guitar hero of all time.

Music is made by human beings, not robots.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

Play more acoustic, or unplugged. Its amazing how much better your technique can become when you are not relying on amp, or effects to get your sound out there. Years ago I would sit in my living room with my guitar unplugged and just play for hours. It worked wonders on my hands and its amazing how you can coax wonderful tone out of a guitar without anything other then your hands.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Why Do People Say Pedals/Effects Cover Up Mistakes?

Sloppy is Dan Auerbach on "The Flame", I think its the second chorus end where he swing-an-a-misses a string bend and it stays on the record.
I.love.that.song. that album is so endearing to me, as have the albums after been. Both main guys are middling in talent, but are zealous on letting it be what it is. Gives me shivers.

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