SteveFord Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Am I the only one whose interest in an artist will drop off when they change instruments? I used to be a really big Buck Dharma fan (Blue Oyster Cult) but when he retired his SG I kind of lost interest. Same thing with Dave Edmonds when he swapped his 335 for a Telecaster or Robert Fripp when he went from his Les Paul to whatever it is that he uses. Does anyone else identify a particular guitar model with an artist so strongly that when they switch to something else the interest just sort of dies off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D28boy Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Yes.....surely it's the music that counts, not what they play it with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 not really.......a lot of my favorite artisits use several diff. types of guitars. although some use one type as their MAIN guitar, they also do short sets/singles with a diff. style . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Does anyone else identify a particular guitar model with an artist so strongly that when they switch to something else the interest just sort of dies off? no, not at all. I don't care what they use for an instrument. (except may be a Banjo... LOL!) Different guitars will bring out different "things" from all players (ex: you will not do the same things on a les paul, that you will do on a strat and vise versa) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReGuitar Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 It doesn't bother me at all. But I feel like there's something wrong when I see Hendrix playing an SG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 For the most part, it doesn't bother me if an artist I like changes what their "main" guitar is. But sometimes I may not care for it if the artist changes their style of playing along with the guitar they're known for. The example of this that comes to mind is Jeff Beck. He primarily plays a Strat these days and I have no problem with the guitar. But I'm not a huge fan of the style he's adopted for pretty much everything he does on the Strat and the whammy bar now. The bar seems to never leave his hand and he "pulls" just about every note with this strange warbley sound. It would be a cool effect here-and-there, but IMO it gets old throughout the entire song and set. So again, it's not the fact that he's playing a Strat instead of a Gibson, but I like the "way" he plays a Gibson more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Does anyone else identify a particular guitar model with an artist so strongly that when they switch to something else the interest just sort of dies off? Often quite the reverse, Steve. As far as I see it here are (sort-of two) distinct variations on such a swap; the 'permanent swap' and the 'occasional swap'. Clapton going from his (brief) Tele days to his LP/SG/335 days to his Strat days, for example; and Page, say, using mainly one guitar (Tele then LP) but augmenting his arsenal with anything deemed more suitable - such as his Danelectro, the occasional RD Artist and even the occasional Strat. Even Hendrix was known to use other models such as, famously, his Flying V, a white LP/SG Custom and there's that well-known snap of him playing a '54-'57 style LP Custom Black Beauty. When Billy Gibbons, on the odd occasion, ditched 'Pearly' in favour of his Strat on the early albums he brought a different sound to the mix which was very interesting to hear. Going the opposite way, when Mark Knopfler picked up an LP in place of his old Strat for the likes of 'Money for Nothing' and 'Brothers in Arms' it brought a whole new bag of tricks into play (pun). One other slightly unusual appearance (which is a favourite 'switch' of mine) was when Brian May forsook his Red Special for a Tele on 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'. I think it's very interesting to see what difference a change of guitar makes to the end result. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Yes, you may be the only one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 no, not at all. I don't care what they use for an instrument. (except may be a Banjo... LOL!)...ex: you will not do the same things on a les paul, that you will do on a strat and vise versa... A Banjo and Les Paul, did you say? P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Not only am I not afflicted with this illness, it's one I never dreamed could have existed. I like music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I would say that an artist I like playing a certain guitar and/or amp may want me to want that piece of gear. However... I would never stop enjoying an artist simply because they changed gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 when i was 14, i bought a Strat because of Hendrix, and George Harrison. Later I bought a Les Paul because of Duane, Dickey & Warren. Later I bought a SG because of Zappa & Derek Trucks. But if they switch guitars, I'm certainly not going to stop being a fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 Perhaps it's their style and quality of songwriting that changes and that's what I notice along with the change in sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I don't tie any instrument of any kind to any musician. Vocals are the only very personal thing, intrinsically tied to a person, more than any instrument or even playing style could ever be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I don't find it off-putting when an artist uses different instruments. My favourite example is JoBo; he uses a lot of Les Paul guitars, but then he mixes in ES-335's, as well as Telecasters and Stratocasters. Just loook at his video for Different Shades of Blue; he's using a Les Paul, a Strat, and a 12-string Guild acoustic for 1 song, and that mix is awesome. You even see him pick up a 335 in the video, but I assume this is for another tune, and got caught in the feed. What does vex me when someone switches is what the reason was. Clapton played a Les Paul (Lucy) and an SG in Cream days, yet more recently he's all about Strats, for the most part. I quite often find myself questioning the reasons behind an artists' change, but I don't find myself disliking them due to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I'm a big Alex Lifeson fan and he plays many different varieties of guitars, but I especially liked it when he went exclusively Gibson and mostly Les Pauls on one concert tour a few years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I'm a big Alex Lifeson fan and he plays many different varieties of guitars, but I especially liked it when he went exclusively Gibson and mostly Les Pauls on one concert tour a few years back. Alex Lifeson's tones finally made me going the hybrid way. His Signature Les Paul Axcess was my first piezo'd solidbody and made me having FR Strats modded using the same Graph Tech Ghost system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 I do recall the roar from the crowd when the roadie came out and handed Johnny Winter his Firebird so yeah, I do associate certain artists with certain guitars and when they're playing something else it's not quite the same. Perhaps that's how I should have worded it in the first place but I wasn't able to articulate it correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingfrets Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Haven't seen Clapton with a Gibson in nearly 40 years, but I'm still listening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the dog Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 My interest in any artist has nothing to do with their gear.......just the music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 I would say that an artist I like playing a certain guitar and/or amp may want me to want that piece of gear. However... I would never stop enjoying an artist simply because they changed gear. I agree........ For example.....I'd love an Ibanez Destroyer because of Phil Collen, A Goldtop because of Mike Ness, A Satellite amp because of Johnny Two Bags, a TV double cut because of Thunders, etc. I would never dislike an artist because they "stopped playing" something.......especially because many times they don't play on a daily basis what their songs were recorded with anyway. Even though many artists are know for something specific, often in the studio they use multiple instruments and amps. NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoya Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Am I the only one whose interest in an artist will drop off when they change instruments? I used to be a really big Buck Dharma fan (Blue Oyster Cult) but when he retired his SG I kind of lost interest. Same thing with Dave Edmonds when he swapped his 335 for a Telecaster or Robert Fripp when he went from his Les Paul to whatever it is that he uses. Does anyone else identify a particular guitar model with an artist so strongly that when they switch to something else the interest just sort of dies off? When Allan Holdsworth started playing the SyntheAxe I lost some interest in his music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 My interest in an artist goes this way: 1.) Quality of Their Songs 2.) How they Play (Their sound) 3.) Image ... and what kinds of guitars, basses, etc. they play I take note of as a result of the above. I will say, however, that most—if not all—of my favorites play classic guitars like Gibson, Epiphone, Fender, Gretsch, and Rickenbacker. I don't think ANYONE in my music collection plays a Schecter, ESP, Ibanez, etc.! (Yick!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 I like the music but you also get attached to the tone and come to expect it from certain artists like Clapton, Gilmmour and Brian May but really it is the music that attracts me in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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