Musings Of A Muleskinner--Deke Dickerson's Blog
Great musician and historian. Read on!
The experiences of a musician as he plays through the changes life throws at him.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Trios
I love trios. Always have. They are dynamic and incredibly intimate musically. There are several that come to my mind's forefront as soon as I think of trio.
The Police, Cream, Band of Gypsies, more recently Wolfmother, Muse, and that's omitting the jazz trios of today and yesteryear. Here's some fab videos of these groups.
THE POLICE
Cream
Band Of Gypsies
WolfMother
MUSE
Violent Femmes
John Scofield Trio
The Police, Cream, Band of Gypsies, more recently Wolfmother, Muse, and that's omitting the jazz trios of today and yesteryear. Here's some fab videos of these groups.
THE POLICE
Cream
Band Of Gypsies
WolfMother
MUSE
Violent Femmes
John Scofield Trio
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Are they Listening?
What's the difference?


I've been thinking a lot lately about how obsessive we as guitarists can be about our tone, sound and overall audible presentation. All of my guitar friends use pedals of some sort or the other to change the sound of their axe. We all seek out amps to give us the sound we hear in our minds. We buy guitars and pickups based on internet reviews, compressed video internet feeds and opinions. Then you've got the cats buying up the $2K plus road worn style instruments that are put together from new stock, stressed to show 40 years of wear and tear and then sold for a very pretty penny. It's like the new designer thing in guitars.If memory serves me right it all started back when Gibson made good instruments with a guy named Tom Murphy. He distressed by hand lots of Les Pauls and created a niche market for these prized axes. Now builders like Nash, Glendale, and Senn are making built to order "relic'd" guitars in addition to the big two having their main and import lines representing the market, too.
That brings me to my original reason for this rant. The money we sink into gear. At the end of your next show count on your hands how many folks come up to you and say- "man, I love the use of the (insert fave pedal in here) on that bridge section" or "that beat up looking guitar sounded rad" etc. You get the idea. Yes, these are tools I use myself. I have a populated pedalboard replete with two overdrives, a wah, two octave pedals, delay, tremolo, and reverb. I have a 20 year old Strat I take out that earned it's road worn status with every nick, paint chip, and busted tone knob intact. Sure, it's great to hear from attendees the show rocked but I can't recall the last time someone made a point to ask or see what made "that" sound. Something to think about the next time G.A.S.(gear acquisition syndrome) sets in. We all love the sound our gear gives us but I highly doubt anyone in fandom really cares.
I've been thinking a lot lately about how obsessive we as guitarists can be about our tone, sound and overall audible presentation. All of my guitar friends use pedals of some sort or the other to change the sound of their axe. We all seek out amps to give us the sound we hear in our minds. We buy guitars and pickups based on internet reviews, compressed video internet feeds and opinions. Then you've got the cats buying up the $2K plus road worn style instruments that are put together from new stock, stressed to show 40 years of wear and tear and then sold for a very pretty penny. It's like the new designer thing in guitars.If memory serves me right it all started back when Gibson made good instruments with a guy named Tom Murphy. He distressed by hand lots of Les Pauls and created a niche market for these prized axes. Now builders like Nash, Glendale, and Senn are making built to order "relic'd" guitars in addition to the big two having their main and import lines representing the market, too.
That brings me to my original reason for this rant. The money we sink into gear. At the end of your next show count on your hands how many folks come up to you and say- "man, I love the use of the (insert fave pedal in here) on that bridge section" or "that beat up looking guitar sounded rad" etc. You get the idea. Yes, these are tools I use myself. I have a populated pedalboard replete with two overdrives, a wah, two octave pedals, delay, tremolo, and reverb. I have a 20 year old Strat I take out that earned it's road worn status with every nick, paint chip, and busted tone knob intact. Sure, it's great to hear from attendees the show rocked but I can't recall the last time someone made a point to ask or see what made "that" sound. Something to think about the next time G.A.S.(gear acquisition syndrome) sets in. We all love the sound our gear gives us but I highly doubt anyone in fandom really cares.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)