Effects Bay

I was initially going to ‘rate’ or ‘review’ this movie, but frankly I want to go deeper than that. The movie is great. Everyone should have gone to see it, and if it plays in more cities and more theaters everyone should go see it.

After watching the movie, I had many things going through my head, and for days (I saw the movie on Saturday) I’ve been thinking about why that movie has got me thinking so much. I think one of the biggest points, is viewing this movie as musician. I’ve never seen a documentary about music or musician’s that show the ‘human’ side of ‘superstars’. I’ve never seen a documentary about musicians that shows simple creativity and drive to produce music. You normally see the ‘rock’, the ‘fame’, the glory, but not the simple drive to make some cool with a guitar… when you’re all by yourself. I was blown away by the different levels of passion of music. The desire to play an instrument. The desire to master their own voice with the guitar.

Also, coming from a musician’s point of view, I was really able to see why I’m not successful with a guitar. Sure, I love to play. I love music and playing with my band, but there was a inherent drive to be fully committed to the music. This is really hard for me to describe, and I’m sure some of you know what I’m talking about, while others don’t. I tried to explain this to my wife, and the example I used… if they were playing the world’s shittiest song, they would play that song with a rock star attitude and own that song. Doesn’t matter if they’re on stage or at a campfire with a crappy acoustic. I’m not sure if I have that drive or commitment. I also felt there was a level of honesty to be able to open one’s self up to a song or performance. Not sure if other guitarists out there are working on new tunes and suddenly get that self-conscious  feeling. “Is this song retarded?” “Is this riff weak?”. I feel when one gets to a certain level those insecurities fade away once you’ve determined your voice with the guitar and it becomes fluent.. but then again that leads to being stale.. crap, I’m going on a tangent now.

The musician that most surprised me was Jack White. His desire to play, and to play from the heart was easily visible. I thought it was so in your face, that it was fake, but then it started to settle in.. he truly loves music. I loved watching Jack and Jimmy Page play the records and be wrapped up in the songs that influenced them throughout the years. To me, this movie was about musicians, and their passion to play. But it was presented in a ‘real’ way. In a way that I could relate to the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White. I feel those things. I like those things, but it’s clear that they take it to the next level. That’s why I’m writing about this on my blog vs. playing in U2.

I tip my hat off to Davis Guggenheim for putting together a great film. I loved how he brought you to their roots, brought you to the stage of their successes and then finishes up with them together. I also enjoyed that they played each others songs. Jimmy Page learning a U2 song, and the Edge picking up a White Stripes tune. It breaks down to the ‘normal’ level. 3 chords and a dream and sitting around playing guitar. I absolutely loved that movie, but I think I almost enjoyed the analysis afterwards more. I can’t wait to pick this video up on DVD.

It Might Get Loud will be released on DVD (I highly recommend everyone that plays guitar to pick this up or at least watch it somewhere) on Dec 22, 2009. You can currently pre-order and lock the price at Amazon.

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It’s always remember to start with the best tone you can before pedals. Depending on how you use pedals (lead tones or creating textured tones for rhythm guitar) you could be using a wide variety of pedals. What I don’t like to see is people using pedals to ‘fix’ their tone. I understand from a budget point of view, pedals might be your only option. It’s a hard if you have a solid state amp and are searching for that quality Class A tone. You might get close with some emulators and modelers but in the end, the best way to get a Class A tone is to get a Class A amp. Likewise, I seen a guy trying to model a strat tone on his Les Paul. To me that just blows me away. I think picking up a strat might be a good option to get a quality strat tone. Again, budget is a factor, but if you want anything bad enough.. things will come your way automatically.

As for me, I like to start with good guitar, a good amp, and then build the tones with pedals where I’m trying to fill a tone gap. Usually this is specifically with lead tones. It’s hard to get the boost, thickness and gain with standard amp or footswitch, so your options are to beef/boost it up with pedals. Also if you’re looking for the delay/slap back for rhythm/lead you need to work it with a pedal. A friend of mine once mentioned to me (about delays), if you’re not playing well or if your tone is not-so-great, with delays, you get to hear it over and over and over again.  So start with the source, get the chops, get the gear and get the quality tone foundation to start with.

One thing I didn’t consider is the style of band you play in. Currently, I play in original bands, and have developed my style of playing and sound. I play this way, I sound this way, and that’s all there is to it. But let’s say you’re in a cover band and need to sound like 100 different guitar players… I can understand opting for a modeler of some sort. Usually, the best cover bands I see, the guy has a les paul and a strat and a couple of amps. Seems like that would cover your bases pretty easily.

I’m hoping there will be some discussion related to this post, I’m curious what others have to say about this. I’m really just describing my single point of view.

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