Re: Your gear (all of it) does NOT matter !
He is, of course, 100% correct in one respect. I think that the real paradox is that this all comes from Tom Morello, of all people. Morello, after all, made so much of his name as an early exponent of the whammy pedal. Certainly there cannot be many guitarists as closely associated with an effect, or, for that matter, effects as closely associated with a particular guitarist? I don't mean to be rude here, but whilst I am sure that Morello would have written differently without that pedal, would listeners and guitarists have taken as much notice? Of RATM perhaps, but of him? Would Reverb have asked for his opinion if there were no novelties on his pedalboard?
I somehow doubt it. This also throws doubt on the subtext of what he is saying: if Tom Morello turned heads for his use of the Whammy pedal, and gear doesn't matter, then it necessarily follows that Tom Morello would have turned heads anyway. I'm sure there is much commendable to him and his playing, but to me it seems a bit too simple, and that he implicitly is trying to exonerate himself from being a guy who had the right toy at the right time.
