Robben Ford Discussion

[tonemaster2_11]

Now THAT Aeolian, hits the nail on the head! Couldn't have said it better. I too went about things backwards. Raised an "ear player" I had played two decades before I took theory any further than just the notes on the page. To this day I think of myself as a "mediocre player with great tone" but wouldn't have it the other way around! The average audience member doesn't know a Harmonic Minor from Hermoine Gingold but can identify professionalism, musicality and great tone instinctively. The only downside is that after years of chasing gear and having discussions like this one you one day realize your rig sounds SO GOOD there's nothing left to do but PRACTICE! BUMMER!! What fun is THAT?
I heard Robben say in a lecture once...
"Find a guitar you like an just play man!"
Sage advice to ALL of us from the guy who inspired me to look past what was on that page.

[kirk95]

Sorry, I did not mean to come down on anyone.... I was having a bad day

The deal is people like to oversimplify the relationship between:

1>the what the player plays
2>the how the player plays it
3>the what the player plays it through

Guess what..... they all contribute to the tone whether you want to beleive it or not.

The two extremes are:
A>The Amp is the major determinate of tone
B>The tone is 99% in the hands

I think both extremes are wrong. The right answer is somewhere in the middle.

Now the more a player has mastered #2 the more #3 matters? If you don't vary your attack, play with a lot of dynamics and feel, vibrato variance, micro bends, hammerons, pulloffs, slides from below and above then you won't understand how much the amp response matters.

Amps like a Two Rock, Fuchs and Dumble are very responsive to the player's touch. BTW, I have A/Bed my Two Rock EM50 with a couple of Dumbles...good Dumbles. There are bad Dumbles that don't sound that good. ScottL and I played one at Ultrasound in NYC last summer.

In the hands a very touch sensitive dynamic player the right amp allows every nuance of that player's touch to come shinning through opening up an entirely new dimension of emotional expression. The notes bloom in a completely different way depending how you hit them.....clean and bell like if you pick soft and breaking up more as you hit them harder.

This is huge part of what players like Robben and Larry do. How many times have you heard Robben run a blues scale top to bottom? A lot! But the way he plays it....... it sounds really good and hip and just like Robben. That's because it's the way he plays it....

That's the way I see it. Although people love to argue the extremes...I think all factors in the chain contribute to the tone.


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[telefunk1]

Too many good ideas floating around here to respond to! This is much more fun than work!

First, to go back to Kirk's comment - "So you are not influenced by anyone? Your lines, tone, feel, sound, touch, soul and music are totally original and without influence?" No way, Jose', and this is not what I was talking about - of course I am influenced by other artists (why would I be interacting here if I was not?) just that I am not interested in sounding like someone else, or learning the Crossroads solo note for note. I gave up this approach to making music years ago and am much happier with life.

Case in point (always have examples to back up your arguments, I always say...) Last year when I was gigging with a female jazz/R&B vocalist, from time to time we would do Superstition. And since we are in Texas people would expect us to do SRVs version, especially if we were doing a biker gig (which we did from time to time). The band would usually groove somewhere between the two Stevie versions, but I would play a slide solo, to make the points, first, I was not going to do an SRV clone solo, and, second, it was more challenging to try and say something interesting and unexpected with slide on that tune. And I always got great responses because it was different, and I had a great time doing it and it reflected where I was coming from on the tune rather than what people expected to hear.

Duke and the Peavey - I honestly don't think he would have sounded better - he would have sounded like himself either way. Which was his objective in the first place - pick a piece of gear that would reflect what he heard in his head.

On to A's comment about cheap gear: this is an intersting perspective. From my days in a music store selling stomp boxes I tend to think you are correct. A kid buys a Tube Screamer and is an instant SRV (or whoever) but still can't play shit. Without the gear he may have to work harder to get something close to the tone he is hearing, therefore becoming a more well rounded player. I may try and get a grant to study this phenomena...

[abergdahl]

This thread from the Gear page could be of interest:
http://63.151.115.106/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30325

[Mondoslug]

[marinblues]

(The) Twins are great amps...just a bit too heavy for my puny back.

Actually, there are a number of reasonably priced good amps out there which can give a good sound (my engl, for instance).


marin

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[scottl]

[kirk95]

Andy love your stuff! Wow...great playing!

What's the scoop on your Tyler? Which model and pics? I am looking at Tylers right now.

Thanks!
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[Mondoslug]

[Mondoslug]

[bluesman]

Hey Mondoslag

I really enjoy the way you play, sounds and feels great.

Damn! too many good guitarists around, I have to take postman's job or open celebrity pubic hairdressing saloon in Hollywood - probably better income than in music biz.

[Bluelobster]

Hi Andy , great playing & bluesy vibe. I like your "Kashmir" tune or "Krantzshmir". While listening to you i realized a few members were hosted on this site ( Aberghdal) So i made my way through it.

No dumble here just a green OD in an Hiwatt 50 Head plugged in an old celestion stage monitor. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/8/badjujumusic.htm

[marinblues]

[marinblues]

"Guts & Balls"..........a term I use to describe playing which really gives me a kick and conveys all that bluesy emotion.....that's what counts in my books......not wishy-washy-transribed-licks-reshuffling.

That's what's good about Robben, his playing is so "raunchy" (as Larry C. would say...), totally different from the way he appears as a person.

Is it a "Jeckyl&Hyde" syndrome?

Nope, it's just pure "Guts-n'-Balls", "Guts-n'-Balls", "Guts-n'-Balls"........




Marin

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[Mondoslug]