The age old question...........is it In the hands or the gear???????

Ive heard so many players in forums and guitar shops ask for specifics on guitar finish, weight, Exotic woods, true bypass pedals.

Im guilty myself of buying some of the things Setzer uses in the neverending quest for That magic tone.

The older I get the more I realize that Its in the hands.

Brian could play any Guitar in any amp and You Guys would know it was him in a heartbeat.

How many guys do you know that went out and bought a 5150 amp , Evh Guitar and a mxr script logo Phaser and still sound nothing Like Eddie?

I know a few too many.

Thats not to say that some gear just naturally lends itself to specific sounds .

What do you guys and Girls Think????

I think his gear is a big part of his sound.
But the phrasing and melodic work is what makes his style unique!

Guitarmaniac wrote:

I think his gear is a big part of his sound.
But the phrasing and melodic work is what makes his style unique!

I once saw an amazing guitarist in a country band playing a Les Paul and a Marshall......I guess You make it work for you.

How about a guy like Mark knopfler whos played every guitar known to man.....Strats, teles, les Paul, Custon Jobs with emgs, steinbergers...........in the end you always know its him.

I guess Im saying that No matter how close I get my gear to Brians specs It wont really matter , Ill never sound like he does.

HotrodTodd wrote:

Guitarmaniac wrote:

I think his gear is a big part of his sound.
But the phrasing and melodic work is what makes his style unique!

I once saw an amazing guitarist in a country band playing a Les Paul and a Marshall......I guess You make it work for you.

How about a guy like Mark knopfler whos played every guitar known to man.....Strats, teles, les Paul, Custon Jobs with emgs, steinbergers...........in the end you always know its him.

I guess Im saying that No matter how close I get my gear to Brians specs It wont really matter , Ill never sound like he does.

My question is IF the gear doesnt really matter then Why does Brian
lug around two 63' blonde 6G6-b (professionally reconditioned for hotrodded sound)
bassman amps, with the cabs reloaded with british celestion Vintage 30s, as well as two vintage Roland RE-301 space echos (and ONLY re-301s) and he requires his guitars to use ABR-1 wire bridges set up by tvjones, refretted with stainless steel 6105 fret wire and ONLY tvjones filtertrons using 10gauge nickel strings?
Plus he freakin stockpiles quadruples if not octuples of each one of these elements.

I must also add that Brian always sounds like Brian and all his licks are signature Setzer but his sound/tone has evolved BIG TIME thanks to Rich Modica.

When I hear Chuck Berry it doesnt matter what he plays, he always sounds like Chuck berry but then again his tone has always sounded crappy and out of tune.. Its just not
his thing.

Brian Setzer is a maestro of what tone he wants and THIS very thing makes a difference and why we cant stop chasing after it!
Now I want a damn Supro Thunderbolt cuz the Setz made it sound better than Page did.

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

My question is IF the gear doesnt really matter then Why does Brian
lug around two 63' blonde 6G6-b (professionally reconditioned for hotrodded sound)
bassman amps, with the cabs reloaded with british celestion Vintage 30s, as well as two vintage Roland RE-301 space echos (and ONLY re-301s) and he requires his guitars to use ABR-1 wire bridges set up by tvjones, ....

hehe , good question, Sir.
I guess good gear is necessary for every guitarplayer.
Nobody of us who go on stage more than 5 times a year would go with a solid state amp made in china and Squier affinity Telecaster.
But just to copy gear of an amazing guitarslinger is not the guaranty to sound exactly like him.
So imho good gear is important but better try to find an own style.

On the other side for a good rocking Rockabilly & R`n`R-Sound the guitars and amps of BS are a huge reference.
That`s why a lot of us maniacs are playing Gretsch with fender amps.
I bought my 6120 because of DVD of BSO.

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

My question is IF the gear doesnt really matter then Why does Brian lug around two 63' blonde 6G6-b (professionally reconditioned for hotrodded sound) bassman amps, with the cabs reloaded with british celestion Vintage 30s, as well as two vintage Roland RE-301 space echos (and ONLY re-301s) and he requires his guitars to use ABR-1 wire bridges set up by tvjones, refretted with stainless steel 6105 fret wire and ONLY tvjones filtertrons using 10gauge nickel strings?

Beacause he can? One of my favourite guitarists, Hank Marvin (who also sounds like "himself" no matter what gear he plays...), said something like this during a show on the Shadows' Final Tour a couple of years back: "You might be wondering why we change guitars every couple of songs...? Well, it's because we can." Not that it answers anything, but he usually switched from one fiesta red Strat to another fiesta red Strat, so all the non-guitarplaying people in the audience probably wondered why, anyway.

But to a certain extent, Brian does sound like himself regardless of the equipment, though I can't say if it's because of his riffs and phrasing, or because of his actual SOUND. I'm sure you've seen some of the early BSO TV appearances, and on one of these it looks as if Brian uses a Twin Reverb! Or in "the dark ages of the mullet", when he used that humbucker equipped Tele (Schecter?). IMO, none of those guitar sounds compare to the 6120 -> RE301 -> 6G6-B, but can you still hear it's Brian Setzer. And maybe that's what Todd meant...?

gretschoholic wrote:

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

My question is IF the gear doesnt really matter then Why does Brian lug around two 63' blonde 6G6-b (professionally reconditioned for hotrodded sound) bassman amps, with the cabs reloaded with british celestion Vintage 30s, as well as two vintage Roland RE-301 space echos (and ONLY re-301s) and he requires his guitars to use ABR-1 wire bridges set up by tvjones, refretted with stainless steel 6105 fret wire and ONLY tvjones filtertrons using 10gauge nickel strings?

Beacause he can? One of my favourite guitarists, Hank Marvin (who also sounds like "himself" no matter what gear he plays...), said something like this during a show on the Shadows' Final Tour a couple of years back: "You might be wondering why we change guitars every couple of songs...? Well, it's because we can." Not that it answers anything, but he usually switched from one fiesta red Strat to another fiesta red Strat, so all the non-guitarplaying people in the audience probably wondered why, anyway.

But to a certain extent, Brian does sound like himself regardless of the equipment, though I can't say if it's because of his riffs and phrasing, or because of his actual SOUND. I'm sure you've seen some of the early BSO TV appearances, and on one of these it looks as if Brian uses a Twin Reverb! Or in "the dark ages of the mullet", when he used that humbucker equipped Tele (Schecter?). IMO, none of those guitar sounds compare to the 6120 -> RE301 -> 6G6-B, but can you still hear it's Brian Setzer. And maybe that's what Todd meant...?

Ya he has always sounded like himself even with that horrible Vox Guardsman he was first recording with. I blame Dave Edmunds... yet How he sounds now is god lyke!!
His rig kicks ass and to make me extra happy he had 2 bassmans on stage this last xmas, one behind the other !!

Beacause he can? One of my favourite guitarists, Hank Marvin (who also sounds like "himself" no matter what gear he plays...), said something like this during a show on the Shadows' Final Tour a couple of years back: "You might be wondering why we change guitars every couple of songs...? Well, it's because we can." Not that it answers anything, but he usually switched from one fiesta red Strat to another fiesta red Strat, so all the non-guitarplaying people in the audience probably wondered why, anyway.

But to a certain extent, Brian does sound like himself regardless of the equipment, though I can't say if it's because of his riffs and phrasing, or because of his actual SOUND. I'm sure you've seen some of the early BSO TV appearances, and on one of these it looks as if Brian uses a Twin Reverb! Or in "the dark ages of the mullet", when he used that humbucker equipped Tele (Schecter?). IMO, none of those guitar sounds compare to the 6120 -> RE301 -> 6G6-B, but can you still hear it's Brian Setzer. And maybe that's what Todd meant...? [/quote]

Yeah thats kinda what I was going for....

Can you imagine having a Tech. hand you A guitar and work on all your gear while your up there Playing???

Must be nice.


I firmly belive Guitars are Like hammers.....

Give a guy who knows how to use a hammer ANY hammer and he'll get the job done............May not be happy about the hammer hes using BUT he'll get the job done reguradless.


I used to teach at a local shop and some of the people that came in to buy gear got ridiculous......

One guy spent a small fourtune on a Guitar..had to be Nitro finish, Had to have Kiniman Pickups, Very specific about the Woods used........Guy gets the guitar and litterally cant play an open C chord without double checking the fingering......

Im not making fun of the guys ability But at some point It gets a little crazy.

tvthewiredturtle wrote:

HotrodTodd wrote:

Guitarmaniac wrote:

I think his gear is a big part of his sound.
But the phrasing and melodic work is what makes his style unique!

I once saw an amazing guitarist in a country band playing a Les Paul and a Marshall......I guess You make it work for you.

How about a guy like Mark knopfler whos played every guitar known to man.....Strats, teles, les Paul, Custon Jobs with emgs, steinbergers...........in the end you always know its him.

I guess Im saying that No matter how close I get my gear to Brians specs It wont really matter , Ill never sound like he does.

My question is IF the gear doesnt really matter then Why does Brian
lug around two 63' blonde 6G6-b (professionally reconditioned for hotrodded sound)
bassman amps, with the cabs reloaded with british celestion Vintage 30s, as well as two vintage Roland RE-301 space echos (and ONLY re-301s) and he requires his guitars to use ABR-1 wire bridges set up by tvjones, refretted with stainless steel 6105 fret wire and ONLY tvjones filtertrons using 10gauge nickel strings?
Plus he freakin stockpiles quadruples if not octuples of each one of these elements.

I must also add that Brian always sounds like Brian and all his licks are signature Setzer but his sound/tone has evolved BIG TIME thanks to Rich Modica.

When I hear Chuck Berry it doesnt matter what he plays, he always sounds like Chuck berry but then again his tone has always sounded crappy and out of tune.. Its just not
his thing.

Brian Setzer is a maestro of what tone he wants and THIS very thing makes a difference and why we cant stop chasing after it!
Now I want a damn Supro Thunderbolt cuz the Setz made it sound better than Page did.

don't forget the toobs!

I must say, even though I've become a bigtime Zep and Page fan...what Brian did with that Thunderbolt is awesome! Also, I think with Chuck Berry...the guitar was more than likely a vehicle for the song. not necessarily an afterthought, but not a primary concern to the song as a whole...could be wrong though.

HRT,
Its only crazy if you dont have a natural affinity for gadgetry and tech. as this conversation can be ployed toward anything.

It all about your focus. Is every one intent on being the most well rounded performer on stage seeking accolades for fretboard process? perhaps just an artist attempting to build upon a sonic landscape or even a fan of intriguing vintage-ish electronic creations and the mastery of luthiery masterpieces??

When I go see Big Sandy and His Flyright boys, I am looking foward to ashley's big round bangin vintage guitar tones, warm pedal steel and bouncing vintage drums.. they have carefully chosen the right equipmennt to express their artistic forte'.
When I go see Hillbilly Casino I'm lookin for Elvis' heroine meets screamin Cash on speed.. King double bass on freight train steroids and ronnie making a Marsh amp scream at the seams with an airbrake attenuator..
All these musicians use their equipment to set the stage for their artistic passion and by that default, inspire others to collect that equipment to inspire their own fantasy.

Its not too different with recording engineers and those of us that worship the hands and ears of sound engineer extraordinaires with small studio setups get criticized that it doesnt matter how many Royer Ribbon Mics or Avalon 737 mic pres we load with NOS telefunken tubes or rewired our entire setup with mogami cable.

...but even though I can hardly fiddle my way through Pro Tools LE, I LIVE for this gear.

The same criticisms are spun around the vintage car guys. I am not considered
a real car guy because I have not bagged and C notched my rear end, or chopped my top
by myself. Even though my buick 54' is shaved and slammed, straight pipes with rebuilt 322 nailhead..NO BILLET... It goes both ways, round n round.

Then again I could be spewing garbage after too many coffees this morning.