Down In The Flood

[PuppyTN]

I just don't get it then. I can't imagine putting something I really cared about in storage, least of all a guitar.

I have tons of gear, but the stuff I care about stays with me. I'd never leave something that mattered behind. Never.

Hi guys, I am a recording engineer here in Nashville. I found this site because I've worked with Chris a lot and heard about his losses, and I wanted to read more about it. I read Will's question and thought I could shed some light on the subject. If this stuff has already been said, just ignore it.

Chris has a lot of gear, but if you listen to each of his individual guitars, they have (as you know) a certain tonality and feel to them. It may seem like overkill to bring 25 guitars to a session, but 1) a lot of times, he doesn't know what kind of music he is playing on and needs to be flexible, 2) even though he could get a sound somewhat close to what he wants with 2 guitars and a few pedals, it's not exactly what he wants. He's a very particular and exacting guy when it comes to tone and effects, which is why he will reach into a case and find that specific guitar/pedal/amp combo and get what he needs. It's also why he is playing on so many sessions... you can definitely tell the difference, and 3) along the same lines, have you ever been working on something and thought to yourself, I can't believe I have to take this spark plug out of my lawnmower with this bulky wrench when I have a spark plug socket that would get the job done in 30 seconds? It's the same with him. Bringing those guitars to session saves time, and time is money. His clients appreciate that he can get more done in three hours than someone who has to search for a tone/effect/beef and make whatever he has work.

One of the reasons Chris keeps his stuff in storage is because if he kept it at home his wife would kill him. There's just so much stuff. It's way more convenient to pay a service $100 a session and they put all his stuff in a truck and bring it to the studio. The Soundcheck crew also sets up all his effects and amps, setup and care for his guitars, and pack it all up after the session. Without Soundcheck, he would have to get to the session an hour early and stay an hour afterward. And Chris, like most Nashville musicians, is a family man. He loves the studio, but he wants to get back to his wife and son after the work is done. Most label sessions cover cartage fees in addition to the union musician fee. The producers want the guitarists to bring all their stuff. They want the best that musician has to offer.

He also kept his stuff there at Soundcheck because he uses it 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. If he left all the stuff he cares about at home, it would never get used. And yes, some guitarists only bring one guitar, one pedalboard and one amp, but I would wager that only happens when both the guitarist and the producer know exactly what sound they want. Or it's a cheap demo session that can't afford full cartage/setup.He also kept his stuff at Soundcheck because they're known as the best cartage place in Nashville. Their service is terrific, and the people who work there are all great guys who really care about the equipment and setup. There are other places that do cartage, and they all have their pros and cons, but Soundcheck is very well respected. It's also pretty big, and they have awesome rehearsal stages where the big acts can set up their PA, lights and stage rigs, and practice their shows with all the bells and whistles. I don't think it was always a cartage/rehearsal space though. I think the first building they had there was a warehouse of some kind that was converted. They probably got a good deal on the building because it is in an old industrial part of town, and they probably kept building because they have so much land there.

First post here, by the way. Sad that it had to be about the floods, but I am looking forward to checking out the rest of the forums.

[hotrodperlmutter]

my only question is if these musicians are so revered and respected, how can the guy who is running the storage facility not carry enough insurance to make a difference?

have a '59 goldtop work $100k? you'll be paying extra to up the coverage for my insurance in case my whole place floods out in a freak natural disaster, to cover your retardedly expensive/rare stuff.

sorry, but this excuse wouldn't fly if it were my shit that got ruined:

We have insurance, but nowhere near to cover this. It's only going to cover a small amount. A lot of this stuff is irreplaceable.

[jcyphe]

thought I could shed some light on the subject.

Thanks for this post, it pretty much confirms what I already thought.

It's too bad the audience is being judgmental and not putting themselves in the shoes of another person.

The idea that a pro musician just doesn't care about their stuff and that's why they put it in "storage" is ludicrous. Your post confirms the exact opposite that this was the best home for their instruments and the flood damage was an unexpected and tragedy.

I apologize for some of the stupid opinions in this thread.

[PuppyTN]

Why does it take so much gear to tour, though? Plus PAs, road amps, etc are by no means irreplaceable. That will almost certainly be covered by the facilities' insurance. I'm thinking more about the vintage, arguably irreplaceable stuff. Why the hell would people who care about it leave it anywhere? That's just silly.

Imma buy an amazing, irreplaceable vintage guitar and just LOCK IT UP IN A STORAGE FACILITY. What's the point if you aren't playing it every day? Why not just rent what you want when you need it?

Another reason studio guys have so much gear is that they are sometimes playing sessions from 9-12 at one studio, 2-5 at another studio and 6-9 at a third different studio. It is easier for them to have two sets of gear so in the 1-2pm hour, one cartage group is tearing down his first setup at studio 1 and another cartage group is setting up his second setup at studio 2. Many times there will be redundancy in both of the rigs, as every guitar player has his favorite go to tones or amps or guitars. The studio guys use those guitars every day. They just store them at night or over the weekends. I am almost positive they play more than most people on this forum, because most of them play at least 9 hours a day, 5 days a week.

As far as the touring guys go, the tour season was about to start, and many of them had their gear in there ready to go out on dates. And I'm pretty sure none of them would want anyone renting their instruments, either. They paid a lot of money for them them, they use them to make their living. Why rent them out? That doesn't make sense to me. It would be like if you were a racecar team owner and during the week, you rented your stock car out when you weren't racing on Saturdays.

[PuppyTN]

jcyphe, you're welcome. I think it might be hard to understand why all the stuff was in one place if you didn't know how the system worked in town. You pretty much got it right with your previous posts, I was just adding some more detail.

There are numerous places in town like Soundcheck... Gear For Days, Drum Paradise, Blackbird, Session Services, Underground, and many smaller mom and pop operations have the same setup as Soundcheck on a slightly smaller scale. It's not an uncommon business here in town. And it's profitable too. If you are setting up three musicians for three sessions a day, each cartage bill being $100-150, you can make between $900-$1350 a day. After paying gas, labor and storage space, that's still a pretty good profit.

[Will]

The whole Nashville music mechanism just seems so foreign to me. I think because it's more or less run like a machine or business, which is not at all what I associate with musical art.
There's something very inhuman feeling about it.

[PuppyTN]

The whole Nashville music mechanism just seems so foreign to me. I think because it's more or less run like a machine or business, which is not at all what I associate with musical art.
There's something very inhuman feeling about it.

Well I can understand that. It is a business, after all, and a lot of it is churned out. And it's done like this in New York or LA or London too. Remember that most recorded music is made for a lot of different things. These guys are recording television bed music, or movie cues, or video game soundtracks or commercials, or demo recordings most of the time. You're not trying to make musical art when you are playing a Viagra commercial. You are making a stock blues song, that will be played impeccably, that will pay you every time it runs on television for a 13 week cycle. It's work, but it pays well and it's fun to see your buddies in the studio every day.

Most of the music made in Nashville is like this... it's business oriented. But if an artist/label/producer sets out to make a piece of art, that's an entirely different session. It's a lockout in the studio for days or weeks at a time, where everyone is just allowed to flow and come up with their own ideas, and then everyone gets together to see how it fits. When you get these amazing musicians together doing that, then that's art. But 80% of the business is paying bills. It's work. It's a business. You do that 80% of commercial music so you can spend 20% of your career making great art.

[Grant]

What's happening to the wrecked instruments? Would a musician choose to keep a ruined instrument for sentimental purposes even though it's mangled? Are the emotionally-unattached guitars getting dumpstered?

I'm oddly fixated. I apologize if I'm being insensitive.