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When you go see local bands,do you study their gear
- Thread starter Mantis Tobaggan
- Start date
LowBC
Commercial User
- Nov 17, 2008
- 152
- 29
- Disclosures
- Music Go Round - Aurora, CO (owner) We buy used gear!
I always check out the hardware on stage.
My favorite thing in the world is to see is a band with boutique equipment get blown off the stage by some starving 22 year olds with yard sale gear.
My favorite thing in the world is to see is a band with boutique equipment get blown off the stage by some starving 22 year olds with yard sale gear.
I pretty much always take a good look at what the bassist is using, especially if it's a band I really like or haven't seen before. Never really initiate conversation though. A couple of people have come to talk to me about my gear during a break, and I'm usually happy enough to oblige them.
I check out peoples setup's because I'm a dork like that!! However, most bassists I've met aren't gear heads *at all*, nor do they care to be! Not always, but a majority of the time I found this to be true IME!! Guitarists on the other hand are a different story...
How have you managed to make it to so many of my gigs?
I do at least take a look at their bass. I do look at the amps occasionally and rarely at the pedal boards.
Absolutely, and most musicians are psyched to talk about their gear, in my experience.
Yeah I do it for live bands as well as bands on TV. I remember a few years ago going to an outdoor festival that had bands. As we approached the area I could make out the yellow speaker cones of the bass players Mark Bass rig. "Look at that nice Mark Bass rig", I said to my wife. She just rolled her eyes at me. I went up to the stage to check it out while she went off to look at the art tents.
You'd be surprised at how much info you can get on anyone's gear from the sound guys. Such as: mic or DI? Who's setting the EQ? Many times at a big show you can't see the gear or you can't get down to the stage. I also have a telephoto lens in my camera bag and at times I get the settings off a bass rig. I really don't care about the other musicians. I did think one singer was at a show playing a White Falcon and was impressed. But when I got home my tele shot showed that it was a different white guitar. On his website I then discovered that he promotes that guitar and gets a percentage of the money for promoting it. I was no longer impressed. The telephone lens was able to show the difference. Most of the time I check out the bass when it's really really good or really really bad! I want to know why.
Sometimes when we play with another band, I try to get their bass player to use my stuff. Not really the same...but it is, kind of
Of course! I think it's really interesting to see what people are using, how they use it, and what sounds they get out of it. It's a great way to learn something.
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the best things in life are free...
I don't mind when people approach me about my gear, but I'm always hesitant to approach others about theirs. I'll tell them that they have a great tone, but after that, I feel like I am bothering them.
I'm always interested in gear - but I rarely, if ever chat about it with the players.
Hardly anyone ever has chatted with me about my basses, amps or pedals at gigs.
People generally just do not give a crap....
On the other hand, when I play bluegrass music, if someone has a vintage Gibson Mandolin or Banjo inevitably there is a discussion about it.
Hardly anyone ever has chatted with me about my basses, amps or pedals at gigs.
People generally just do not give a crap....
On the other hand, when I play bluegrass music, if someone has a vintage Gibson Mandolin or Banjo inevitably there is a discussion about it.
I do not comment or engage in a conversation with the band, I prefer to let them do their business and not bother them. Yes I do look and take note of their gear. I will take pictures if I can, too. Last time I saw Zappa Plays Zappa, it was in a tiny room and I got very close to Dweezil's pedal board and also the bass player's gear... Took pictures.
When I gig, I don't mind people asking me about my gear but in reality I got nothing magic going on, so I rarely have something special to tell them.
When I gig, I don't mind people asking me about my gear but in reality I got nothing magic going on, so I rarely have something special to tell them.
I always check out what they're using. If it's something interesting to me and there's an opportunity, I'll chat with them about it.
But as I've gotten older, I've shifted my focus to listening to the player, not the gear.
But as I've gotten older, I've shifted my focus to listening to the player, not the gear.
