Judging bands by their pedal boards

spirograph · Post by **spirograph** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:39 am

ive got a mate (hes not my lawyer) who is a massive prs fan. hes got like 5or6 at any one time. theyre nice, but i dunno, i wouldnt wana own one.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:46 am

They're always too pristine looking, I seen a white one posted somewhere that looked like it'd had a hard life property worn and chipped through years of hard rockin... and that was a 'fine' looking instrument, like I said there's always the exception.

YuriK · Post by **YuriK** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 2:14 am

I hate the look of them but they play really nice

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 5:00 am

It really depends on context. I think it's kind of awful to judge a band by the tools they use, but if there is a glaring snobbery (such as a board consisting entirely of fulltone pedals or such) I'll have my guard up.

I think it's more the opposite for me. I'll see a band with some really cool unique gear that I'm into, then get let down if the music they play on it isn't really my thing.

George · Post by **George** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 7:46 am

band members playing topless
drummers wearing gloves
really forced cock rock or metal personas
chancer bands bringing their own banners
extortionate demo/ep/ merch costs
"soundscape" and noise guitarists who make a wall of delay and fuzz

I've judged bands on these things once or twice

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 8:44 am

Haet that forced cock.

Deffo agreed on the delay/fuzz 'experimentalists'. Really boring. I'd add any looping where a guitarist plays a riff, then loops it, then does a bass riff, loops it, the does another bit on top, loops it... I'm building up a really interesting and original composition here guys, bear with me... then plays a noodly post rock circa 2002 bit on top, loops it so now there's four layers (clever eh? Bet no one has done this before) and now he's freestyling over the whole lot and a digital glitch has crept-in and is going 'gssshht' every time the first riff comes round. Then at the end of the song matey has forgotten to turn trails on so when he hits the looper the mess ends instantly in dead silence.

gusman2x · Post by **gusman2x** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:36 am

Nah, wouldn't negatively jusdge a band based on their kit, that's pretty snide. I do however really like seeing what bands are using. In most cases, I think the composition, performance, and tightness of a band make the music something I like, or don't like. Very little to do with kit.

Viljami · Post by **Viljami** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:52 am

1. Cockrockers that take their part too seriously
2. Metalheads whose main worry is to look "mean"
3. Hipsterbands with melodicas. I turn off immediately when I see a melodica OR any other "look at me, I'm special"- instrument.
4. Too many ridiculously overpriced pedals
5. PRS or any equivalent abomination
6. Jazzheads that actually still think jazz is the only cool form of music

so I guess my main gripes have more to do with the bands attitude about music than their arsenal.

YuriK · Post by **YuriK** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:42 pm

George wrote:band members playing topless
drummers wearing gloves
really forced cock rock or metal personas
chancer bands bringing their own banners
extortionate demo/ep/ merch costs
"soundscape" and noise guitarists who make a wall of delay and fuzz

I've judged bands on these things once or twice

Agree with you except for the topless part. People get hot when jumping around the stage.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 2:08 pm

George wrote:band members playing topless
drummers wearing gloves
really forced cock rock or metal personas
chancer bands bringing their own banners
extortionate demo/ep/ merch costs
"soundscape" and noise guitarists who make a wall of delay and fuzz

I've judged bands on these things once or twice

Anyone who wears a hat while playing
Any band who has one of the member's older relatives as a pseudo 'manager'

71Smallbox · Post by **71Smallbox** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 4:09 pm

johnnyseven wrote:
George wrote:band members playing topless
drummers wearing gloves
really forced cock rock or metal personas
chancer bands bringing their own banners
extortionate demo/ep/ merch costs
"soundscape" and noise guitarists who make a wall of delay and fuzz

I've judged bands on these things once or twice
Anyone who wears a hat while playing
Any band who has one of the member's older relatives as a pseudo 'manager'

Yeah, fuck hats as well.
Also if the band has Mesa Boogie amps, you can probably assume you're not going to like them, especially if they play PRS guitars.

Viljami · Post by **Viljami** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 4:21 pm

71Smallbox wrote: Also if the band has Mesa Boogie amps, you can probably assume you'll not going to like them, especially if they play PRS guitars.

Oooh! This especially! Fuck them mesa boogies.

Leather Jacket · Post by **Leather Jacket** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:04 am

It's easy enough to find reasons to dislike nearly every band. Gear is low on the list, but I do take note when a band comes out with a lot of pedals. It's rare that it leads to anything impressive, but every now and then it'll be cool.

The worst thing is bands that just can't figure out where they're playing. Arena rock gear for a small bar or house show will make me hate you. Also, bass players that solely use direct boxes are just as bad as the dude with the 2x15 cab, but not nearly as bad as the moron who thinks he needs both.

YuriK · Post by **YuriK** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:13 am

Viljami wrote:
71Smallbox wrote: Also if the band has Mesa Boogie amps, you can probably assume you'll not going to like them, especially if they play PRS guitars.
Oooh! This especially! Fuck them mesa boogies.

But NOFX...

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:27 am

This whole thread is too

for me

71Smallbox · Post by **71Smallbox** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:53 am

Nick wrote:This whole thread is too for me

A band can play Squiers and Boss pedals and I would appreciate that more than some bell-end with a Gretsch and a bunch of Strymon pedals. There's nothing

about that.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:54 am

71Smallbox wrote:
Nick wrote:This whole thread is too for me
A band can play Squiers and Boss pedals and I would appreciate that more than some bell-end with a Gretsch and a bunch of Strymon pedals. There's nothing about that.

Whatever. I was referring to the reverse-snobbery and cynicism. If you heard some cool local band on the radio, then went to see them and saw the gear you just mentioned you'd leave?

I don't care what brand your stuff is, I guess my only peeve is that you actually use it. Too many guitarists think they need one (or two) of everything just because they make it....Wah, overdrive, distortion, fuzz, chorus, flanger, delay, reverb......This usually just says "guitar player" rather than "musician" to me.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:11 am

Viljami wrote:
71Smallbox wrote: Also if the band has Mesa Boogie amps, you can probably assume you'll not going to like them, especially if they play PRS guitars.
Oooh! This especially! Fuck them mesa boogie rectos.

Fixt. I'm not saying that because I own one (an F50) either. I (and a lot of other people probably) associate Rectos with nu-metal knuckleheads. The clean channels are made of suck because, well, nobody buys a Recto for cleans. The Mark series and the F series are actually really nice amps, albeit a bit pricey.

I guess it's a bit like the PRSs: nothing wrong with the gear itself, but it's the people you see using them and the preconception that they're intended for a certain genre or style. There's probably nothing wrong with Range Rovers, but so many of them are used for town driving by arrogant Jeremy Clarkson wannabies that I hate them on principle.

light rail coyote · Post by **light rail coyote** » Sun Mar 02, 2014 5:19 pm

ekwatts wrote:PRS guitars are enough to make me go home if they're pulled out by a headliner. Otherwise I'll spend most of my time in the smoking area or out of sight of the band (so my mere presence near the stage cannot be interpreted as approval) until they've finished wanking themselves dry so the band I came to see can play.

Pedalboards I'm not bothered about as long as they're used well. A Norwegian band played a while back whose pedalboard consisted entirely of Moogerfoogers. I was intrigued. It paid off; they were easily one of the wildest, weirdest sounding bands I've ever seen.

I definitely need to know what NOrwegian band that is!!

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » Sun Mar 02, 2014 5:26 pm