Cheap Jazz: New Year's Resolution

[WhiteStrat]

No, my New Year's Resolution isn't to make cheap jazz.

So many of us get caught up in the gear of recording (I know I do!) that I think we forget the music of recording. If I've got all the best gear in the world but don't have a song worth listening to, then I can just hang it up. And even for those of us more into recording others--it still sort of applies. The ears and knowledge are more important than the gear.

I know these kinds of things are said around here a lot, and I always agree, but this year I want to put my money where my mouth is and stop chasing gear, and just get about writing and recording good music--making it the best I can within the limitations of my gear.

So tonight I was goofing around with limitations. I used my cheapest bass (a Squier p-bass from the mid 80's), my cheapest electric (an epi LP--the $149 special), a single cheap microphone ($35 57 knockoff) and my cheapest pre (a channel in a Behringer mixer i bought for $100!!), and my cheapest amp (a solid state 15 watter I bought used for $100). The drums are loops--$50 for a CD full of about 400 or 500.

(FWIW--this was all recorded BELOW the dreaded bedroom volume level. It's 2 am and I just tracked it, with my wife sleeping upstairs. I'm in an untreated room, so I have to keep it down. Bass was DI'd into the mixer, and guitars were all recorded with the amp and mic.)

Don't get me wrong--I like my racks full of pres and comps and everything, and I love having 4 or 5 dozen mics to choose from. And yes, I really love having a bunch of guitars and real drums. But what if I didn't have that stuff? What if I just had a few pieces of cheap gear and some really cool music?

This isn't "really cool" music, just a jam over an old jazz vamp, but if I had to--I could get by. Just something to think about. Happy New Years!

 

[castlerock]

actually, that was pretty cool and you got some damn good results with the equipment you used. i like your playing style too. that's impressive work man...but it could've been longer.

 

[JordanD]

i like it!

 

[Waffleness]

Good work. I like the track.

To be honest though, your a good engineer from the sound of what you've made, so saying you've used cheap kit is like giving Roger Federer a $5 racket and then claiming he can still beat most of the world . Goes to show how much experience is worth I guess.

 

[WhiteStrat]

Good work. I like the track.

To be honest though, your a good engineer from the sound of what you've made, so saying you've used cheap kit is like giving Roger Federer a $5 racket and then claiming he can still beat most of the world . Goes to show how much experience is worth I guess.

Your analogy is flattering, but it's also accurate (flattery notwithstanding). And that's basically my point: ultimately the pursuit of engineering (i.e. what I can do) is more valuable than the pursuit of technology (what the gear can do). A talentless hack with great gear will sound like a talentless hack. But a good "engineer" can make a good mix even with cheap gear.

So this year I work more on my skills than the buttons & lights!

 

[WhiteStrat]

actually, that was pretty cool and you got some damn good results with the equipment you used. i like your playing style too. that's impressive work man...but it could've been longer.

Thanks! It was just a snippet to make that point. Maybe I'll flesh it out into a real tune though...

 

[true-eurt]

Nice Strat!!!

Hmmm..now you've gone and done it! Challenged me to stop being so mezmerized by all those pretty lights and button play, and get to the heart of the matter...playing skillz...

Looking forward to hearing the resolution of the New Year in FULL..

 

[joeym]

Yep, this is where amatuers like me make way for the real musicians.
Awesome, I can't say anything else. You are one heck of a guitarist. I wish the song would have lasted longer!

Cheers
Joe

 

[rayc]

You've managed to capture your signature sound with minimal gear.
Relative hi fi from relative lo fi.
Fee Fi Fo Fum - you're a giant!
& it sounded good too!

 

[bozmillar]

Best post ever. I couldn't agree more. Next time someone posts a song and says "My gear is cheap, so it probably doesn't sound that good," I will refer them to this post. Not only does it not sound cheap, it actually sounds really good.

While I do sit on the toilet looking through the sweetwater catalog every day dreaming of stuff I know I can't buy, this proves that blinking lights don't make good music. Now only if I could learn to play the guitar. I guess there's still time.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Yep I'd never tell the difference on my listening rig if you'd used $100K worth of the best gear on this tune. A good riff, nice melody and a kickin arrangement will go a long way.

To an extent it's all relative. An Neve pre would sound better than a behringer, but the listening ear would rarely tell the difference in the absence of anything to compare it to. My own experience of good gear is limited to uad plugs. It's just quicker and easier to get it sounding right than with generic plugs

 

[WhiteStrat]

Nice Strat!!!

Hmmm..now you've gone and done it! Challenged me to stop being so mezmerized by all those pretty lights and button play, and get to the heart of the matter...playing skillz...

Looking forward to hearing the resolution of the New Year in FULL..

The lights and buttons are fun though, huh? I just remember when I had nothing but a an acoustic, and electric, and a notebook full of ideas. I need to find that "me" and introduce him to the "me" with all the buttons and lights and see what happens!

Yep, this is where amatuers like me make way for the real musicians.
Awesome, I can't say anything else. You are one heck of a guitarist. I wish the song would have lasted longer!

Cheers
Joe

Dude, you're no amateur! I'd trade my hands to be able sing well! Fancy guitar licks are meaningful to other guitarists--and that's about it; good lyrics and a good voice are meaningful to everyone!

You've managed to capture your signature sound with minimal gear.
Relative hi fi from relative lo fi.
Fee Fi Fo Fum - you're a giant!
& it sounded good too!

Thanks ray! (Do I have a signature sound?)

 

[rayc]

Yeah, well sig guitar tone or feel - despite the gear you manage to get a certain something - part style, part licks and part tone.

 

[K-dub]

Good point.

Good gear makes it quicker to get better sounds, but in no way does it mean that you cannot get good results out of cheap equipment ... barring obvious things like noise floors etc ...

Like most home recordists, one finds what works for oneself ... in the way one wants.

These days, this is my TOTAL list of equipment:

I have two preamps, a $150 Joe Meek and a $600 Peavey VMP-1 tube.

I use a pair of stock MXL 603's to record acoustic guitar. I think they were $180 for the matched set.

I have an AT4050 bought for $400 on ebay for general purpose use. I have a couple $80 SM57s for other general purpose ... I like them on percussion.

That's it. Everything I have is fairly inexpensive. I USED to own 10 times the cost of equipment I now own ... because I found I didn't need it.

Bass goes direct.

Elec gits go through a PodXT.

Drums are recorded by friends who are drummers. They just do it better than I can ... and I use Superior or something else when appropriate.

But I've gone from maybe 15k worth to maybe 4k worth of stuff in total.

I, too, learned it ain't the equipment.


It's the ears.


Best,

Kev-

 

[sloop]

point well made. you can't buy yourself talent