Does your rig affect your ability to play?

[klokker]

Billy Sheehan talks a lot about how he needed lots of compression to play well, so it isn't unheard of to say that your amp and set up makes a difference.

But having said that, I don't get what he's talking about.

I practice with old crappy amps all the time, rehearse with them. Sometimes its just through the PA. No compression, no pedals for practice or gigging. I just plug in wherever I am (well, with a tuner) and play. I use a different amp at rehearsal, church, home, bar.

I never use my "gig rig" for anything other than gigging. To practice with, I play a little guitar amp when I'm home and have an old Fender amp at work. It's harder to play when you don't hear yourself very well, but that happens at times and you just have to adjust.

It doesn't make any difference to me at all. You're always making adjustments depending on venue, gear, room acoustics, PA, sound guy, whatever.

 

[wcriley]

I don't often get the oppotunity to use rigs other than my own these days.
But when I do, it never affects my "ability to play".
It only effects what and how I play.

 

[will33]

Ability to play?....no. Enjoyment of playing?....yes.

I'm with the JimmyM approach here. Having gear you like makes it more fun, but you should be able to pull something decent out of most anything....."sound like yourself".

 

[Korladis]

I think mainly if I can hear myself really well in the mix while not overpowering other instruments, that's going to boost my confidence a bit, and maybe I'll be a bit more adventurous than I otherwise might be, playing more little improvised fills and such.

And if I'm getting a tone I think is great, that's also going to make me feel good, and so again, I might be a bit more adventurous.

But unless I'm being DI'd straight off the bass with no amp, I can probably get most amps to get a sound that I find at least decent, and unless they're woefully inadequate in the loudness area, I'll probably be able to hear myself. If I can't hear myself, then I just probably won't add as much improvisation as I otherwise would. But that's about it.

 

[bumperbass]

Of course it makes a difference. On the other hand, most of the time you need to get your rig (EQ, effects, stage volume) adjusted fairly quickly unless you arrive at a gig 2 hours early. Even then, there's only so much you can EQ. You can't keep fiddling with it during and between songs. We're always ready to go from one song to the next so if I need to tweak something, I'd better decide what I want to adjust quickly. I've played with 'knob twiddlers' before and they were completely disconnected with the rest of the band (and the crowd as well).
Most of the time I can dial in a sound I want but truthfully, it's how the whole band blends together that makes it the most satisfying.
It helps a LOT if you're familiar with your gear and what it will sound like with each setting change.