Is it wrong for somebody to have the 'wrong' guitar?

SexyGreyFox

SexyGreyFox

SexyGreyFox

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Just got back from a gig watching a local band I've never seen before. The guitarist pulled out a Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 with all the bird inlays etc and its a guitar I would love to own.
I obviously thought we were in for a treat because somebody with a guitar like that should be able to play.
How wrong was I? He could just about string a few chords together and barre chords caused him pain. He let the band down at least once every minute with wrong chords etc.
Sometimes people don't deserve certain things.
heres hoping that in a years time he proves me wrong.
 
I don't think it's wrong at all, if they've got the money to spend on the gear they want then go for it, it can only help to inspire them to play more, hopefully!
 
That's life. It's usually the awful wedding band that have the best gear to serve drunks and waiting staff with their lousy rendition of "Angels" and "Itsy bitsy tiny winny yellow polka dot bikini"...
 
so why should somebody with less ability have crap gear. what a stupid thing to say?

"yeh mate you cant play but youve got money! so why have you got a prs?"

why not?
 
I think it would be generous to classify myself as anything other than a beginner, in fact it is generous to classify myself as a beginner.

However my equipment is probably worth about £1400 altogether. Now I am hopeless at guitar but when I do something, I like to do it properly with decent equipment. I always saw guitar as something i would stick with and thus it is worth the investment to me.

I dont see why this is a problem.
 
Now if i have a black and white Rickenbacker bass but freely admit im no Mani does that make it wrong?
 
When it comes to musicians and instruments, there are two phrases that I think are always pertinent:

"A good workman doesn't blame his tools."

"You can't polish a turd."
 
He wanted the guitar, he could afford the guitar...

I don't see what else could be said about the situation? So he couldn't play, so what?

I didn't realise that the standard of your playing determined what guitar you deserved to have.

Just sounds like jealousy to me.
 
Not a problem at all - if you can afford it go for it. To be honest I don't even consider a PRS Custom 22 that expensive for a guitar, and I wouldn't bat an eyelid at someone playing one. Wish my guitars were that cheap... and I'm rubbish too :D
 
Carzy said:
Just sounds like jealousy to me.
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Of course.

You have got to admit that if you walk into a pub/club/gig and see certain equipment you will have expectations because gear shouts at you.
My lead guitarist isn't the best but he does a job and its more like 'paint by numbers'. He gets the tab and virtually copies the original and puts nothing of himself into a solo however he is fondly thought of by local musos/punters because he doesn't muck about with a tune.
We were at a gig in Northwich and he'd got his 3 Steve Vai Jem's lined up and two guys came in and stood admiring them for about five minutes.
We went on, did AC/DC, the Cult, Bad Company, Quo etc and it was after the 4th song I heard one of the best put downs ever - one of the guys shouted "I bet Vai is turning in his grave". OK, Vai isn't dead but we all got the meaning and I often shout it at live gigs now.
Phil knows his musicianship isn't worthy of 3 Steve Vai Jems and he's the first to admit it but they're such light guitars that they're easy on his back.
 
dmpoole said:
Of course.

You have got to admit that if you walk into a pub/club/gig and see certain equipment you will have expectations because gear shouts at you.
My lead guitarist isn't the best but he does a job and its more like 'paint by numbers'. He gets the tab and virtually copies the original and puts nothing of himself into a solo however he is fondly thought of by local musos/punters because he doesn't muck about with a tune.
We were at a gig in Northwich and he'd got his 3 Steve Vai Jem's lined up and two guys came in and stood admiring them for about five minutes.
We went on, did AC/DC, the Cult, Bad Company, Quo etc and it was after the 4th song I heard one of the best put downs ever - one of the guys shouted "I bet Vai is turning in his grave". OK, Vai isn't dead but we all got the meaning and I often shout it at live gigs now.
Phil knows his musicianship isn't worthy of 3 Steve Vai Jems and he's the first to admit it but they're such light guitars that they're easy on his back.
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so why were you having a gio at the guy at the gig who couldnt play well?
 
I dont see the relationship between quality gear and ability. If anything it just shows the user invests his disposable income in what he does.

I also dont see the points of publicly ridiculing someone due to their ability either. If you dont think he is good enough then why not just take him aside afterwards and tell him. Why the public testosterone-alpha-male outburst? Perhaps its an industry thing.
 
Neon said:
so why were you having a gio at the guy at the gig who couldnt play well?
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For the same reason that my lead guitarist plays guitars that he doesn't live up to.

If I saw you behind Neil Pearts drumkit and all you was doing was playing 4 to the bar songs and staying on the bass, snare, hi hat and a couple of cymbals then I would think the same thing and I know that you would if you saw a drummer doing the same.
Please don't say if you saw a drummer behind a £20,000 kit and he wasn't using its full potential you wouldn't be a tad upset.
 
Think of it this way, hes got more money than you but your better than he is

Its the same as this girl i knew once who left her Fender strat in a hotel in London and didnt even bother to ring up and get it collected/sent to her she just went out and bought a new one because she "didnt really like the colour" of the other one

More money than sense as they say
 
dmpoole said:
For the same reason that my lead guitarist plays guitars that he doesn't live up to.

If I saw you behind Neil Pearts drumkit and all you was doing was playing 4 to the bar songs and staying on the bass, snare, hi hat and a couple of cymbals then I would think the same thing and I know that you would if you saw a drummer doing the same.
Please don't say if you saw a drummer behind a £20,000 kit and he wasn't using its full potential you wouldn't be a tad upset.
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i wouldnt. at all. he can afford it, i wouldnt care if he could play one beat. hes got the money why not?

neil peart uses a bass drum, a hi hat and a snare same as any other drummer thats his foundations the rest is just an add on, that he can experiment on etc etc.
 
Gaijin said:
I also dont see the points of publicly ridiculing someone due to their ability either.
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Publicly ridiculing !
You haven't got the slightest clue who I'm talking about and you never will.
In 36 years of gigging I've never publicly ridiculed any local musician in front of anybody and I never will.
All I've done is make a comment about gear vs ability.

Every muso will walk into a room and stare at the stage.
From a minutes glance the experienced muso will make a judgement and what should be the skill of the band vs their gear and usually the muso will be right.
There has been the odd time when I've seen cheapo gear all over the stage and they've been brilliant and vice versa.
Let me also add that I go out and watch two bands a week and I see lots of gear and it is very rare to see top gear in the hands of beginners.
 
dmpoole said:
Let me also add that I go out and watch two bands a week and I see lots of gear and it is very rare to see top gear in the hands of beginners.
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er.... so what if you see bands twice a week?

doesnt mean you have the right to say he shouldnt be owning gear like that...i suppose i shouldnt be sitting behind a gretsch kit eh!
 
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