Lot of people seem to have completely missed the point and context of his statement "Gear doesn't matter." He's simply saying that there is no 'correct' gear to making good music. Making music is a symbiotic process between brain and equipment. The equipment to some degree shapes the writing of songs. Write songs that accentuate the unique attributes of your equipment, whatever they may be. His statements are intended to help us tail-chasing gearheads throwing chunks of hard earned cash toward trying to emulate a very specific sound - a sound that is not of our own creation.
The point he is making is that you don't have to keep thinking about and searching for equipment all the time. It's what you do with what you have that matters. Doesn't need to be fancy.
Technically his story contradicted his premise. Really what he’s getting at is to understand the pros and cons of what you got and use them the best way possible.. a great artist could still draw well with a crayon and a pencil or a brush.. the gear are just tools.. not a magic wand.
He should have been the second boss instead of slash. His technical ability is miles beyond slash plus the actual track he recorded for the game is waaaaaaay harder on expert than Slash's and this is coming from a dude with 30-odd expert FC's
I've been a gear hound for many many years, wore me out in the end, took some years off. Recently, I have gotten back into it, and I've been having these kind of ideas. Then, I stumbled upon this video, and he said them too. I don't even like RATM, but I knew Tom is a smart dude, so I watched. Glad I did.
Gear definitely doesn’t matter in terms of endlessly trying to find what we perceive as the best tone, because then it’s not about music anymore. Gear does matter when it comes to comfortability, trustability, and feel. You should feel comfortable with your gear and have it lead to you being able to focus more on playing. They’re tools, and tools are to get a job done, which is this case is to make music and share an experience.
Spend the cash on the amps , I own 2 Evh 100w heads for heavy and 2 Orange rockerverb mk3 for blues . My guitars are tom morello style . Mish mash of quality stuff smacked together . A Hugh inspiration to me same as Eddie v Halen. Thank you both for inspirational powers .
Gear is important to the level where it inspires you to play and create. if you are constantly fighting against your gear, then it is a barrier to your creativity. Tom said himself that he messed around with his guitar until one day he just got it and stuck with it. i'd say that gear mattered to Tom until he got it right and then stopped tinkering with it.
that's almost true...it mattered to him till he gave in and realized he wasn't going to achieve the tone he wanted and that he had spent way to much time searchin for tones instead of making music. so he made a DECISION to not worrying about it anymore
Stevie Ray Vaighn believed the same thing. He said it was his right hand that drove his guitar playing. Gear does not matter. Skill does! This changed my playing.
I eh, I stack like 7 Dirt pedals(3 Fuzzes, 2 Rats, two ODs) and an EQ plus+ to get my tone, and use like 30+ others..I tune to C standard and Drop A#, string gauge absolutely matters....you can't get those tones on a Helix...
Basically what he’s saying is - write music that works with the sound of the gear you have. Don’t inhibit your creativity by thinking that acquiring some piece of gear will mystically solve everything and make you better. It’s a good point many don’t think about. We all get caught up in the hunt for what-gear-they-used-to-get-that-sound. In reality they just used what tools they had available, but found creative and inspired ways to do use them to write songs. This inadvertently creates new convention. Think Jack White and the Airline guitar that no one wanted until he became known for his sound when using one. That cheaply made Airline guitar ain’t so cheap anymore now is it?
Glad someone finally said gear doesn't matter ...there's millions of people buying custom shop type guitars and boutique amps that really can't play at all...just look at all the TH-cam home gear demos of boutique gear.
I'm an amp technician. I have LOTS of amps pass though my shop. Some amps that I don't think much of, really inspire others. Sometimes I find stuff that I REALLY like, but I don't disparage gear I don't like. The meanest thing I say about any piece of kit is... "not my style".
I think he refers more to that quote that says 'The tone is in your fingers'.... for example, check a video here in youtube of Eric Johnson playing with Zakk Wylde gear.
I think I get what Tom is saying. Gear won't make you a better player. It won't help you write better songs. I DO think Tom Morello found a collection of gear that he found works for him and he's been pretty much using it for the last 30 years and making his limited amount of gear work for him. He has a Marshall half stack, like 2-4 guitars, his whammy pedal, maybe a handful of other pedals, and that's about it.
Ok...so gear doesn’t matter..yet he uses a Marshall jam 800, the classic vintage cabinet, uses ‘original digitech ‘ whammy. Etc. Total contradiction. Uses the fender aerodyne Strat, and has 20 of them mind you...using mxr, boss, Marshall amps means that gear DOES matter.
As usual when Tom talks it's a complete contradiction. Clearly gear matters Tom confirms that in the interview where he talks about using rental gear! What Tom is trying to say is that chasing tone is pointless and you should be creative and play to the strengths of what you have available!
Well... I honestly love Tom, but hearing that gear doesn't matter after himself changing 10 necks on his guitar and that he only uses one amp through the years is a bit contradictory :) It's a matter of finding the guitar and amp you love and sticking to it, therefore it does matter haha Or maybe he thought you don't have to buy expensive gear? :)
his point is do your thing and don't get stuck in geargatory where you are more worried about gear than making and playing good music. A good guitarist/musician will sound good on bad gear way before a mediocre to shitty musician will sound good on GREAT gear.
+ Marcin Nowak Tom's point is that he's keeping it basic and simple he is not switching between 5 amps 10 camps 10 19 rack units and 20 pedals like other famous pro guitarists do his philosophy is good and also when the first RATM album came we all thought tha he is using tons of effects but he does not
He’s one of the best guitar players of our generation, but how can he say gear doesn’t matter. If you take away his paddleboard he couldn’t do a rage against machine show.
Compare his pedalboard (and the state of it} to most of the others featured on TH-cam. He certainly isn't obsessing over gear and what to buy next, and what he has is very old and worn. Music retailing is carried by guitar players thirst for another guitar, amp, pedal etc. Singers don't have anything to buy, yet for guitar players, the list can be endless if they let it.
Dead Doll I’m not doubting his ability, he’s certainly one of the greatest guitar riff maker/players of our generation. I personally learned guitar from him. But you need a few effects to pull off his sound. Especially for solos. Imagine bulls on parade without a Wah Pedal. He uses a lot of affects a lot in his music. Sure it’s the same ones he’s had for over 20 years, but he uses them a lot.
Gear doesn't make great music its performance songwriting and arrangement and then recording techniques and mixing I thought when I bought my Gibson les Paul that I was going to be Gary Moore but the thing doesn't stay tuned lol
"Gear doesn't matter." *Proceeds to complain about how crappy his professionally-honed guitar was and how he replaced the neck, pickups, bridge, and electronics.* I still love Tom though.
Well that was confusing... too much red bull this interview tom? JKS ;) A person needs to learn how to and what to play with each instrument, thats sound advice! Everything matters, but often we focus too much in a certain area and little in the ones we need, at least I do, but thats learning i suppose :p
I came to see what he would sound like without gear. Instead I heard about the thousands of dollars of gear he plays through and how it doesn’t matter.
Obviously the man can play guitar but it takes a lot of hubris to say categorically gear doesn't matter! In fact he makes the opposite point when he said music written using gear list A was qualitatively different when using gear list B! Didn't he? Seems the gear mattered in that case. However I understand his point about making music with what you got!
What he meant is that they had a bunch of intstruments during RATM, they got some good music out of them that worked for those specific instruments. When they got rental gear, they sounded like crap, because they tried to recreate the music that sounded good with their original isntruments (RATM songs). Had they started from scratch with that rental gear they would have come up with a different sound that soudned good with that specific gear. I personally have no idea what I think regarding what he said, because I'm clearly still in that "looking for the perfect tone" phase and no matter how hard I try, I will not get it for the time being.
@@deaddoll1361 I am not sure what you are referring to or have ever played a tube amp. I've never had any issues with a well-made tube amp other than maybe replacing a few tubes once every blue moon. The circuits are simple and rugged. I've never seen anyone toss a tube amp because it's "worn out" but I've seen plenty of solid state amps tossed for a mystery broken component (not even worth fixing) or sometimes just because they don't sound great.
I think the tube amp myth has been well and truly blown out of the water in recent times. Almost every amp produced these days be it tube, hybrid, SS or digital sounds good. Not every amp will be “right” for each individual and the style they wish to play, but a decent guitarist will be able to get something they can use out of pretty much any amp.
@@MrKeefelm I disagree. Many amps, including tube amps sounds terrible. Tubes amps sound and break up better, in a more predictable manner. (Good) digital amps have come a long way, but there are sonic artifacts at the limits using these "profiles". They also don't sound naturally (as in a predictable manner based on your playing) like a tube amp no matter what you do. There maybe good alternatives out there, but tube amps are still king. FFS they are not even expensive anymore. If you don't have 400 bucks for a clean used amp, your hobby should probabaly include getting a better job. Would you use a digital pickup? Maybe. it's different, and it may be close. but it will never replicated the nuances of metal and magnets made by nature.
@@MintStiles I think one of the main issues I’ve encountered with tube amps (I own a 50 watt Marshall JCM 900) is the fact they often sound best at volumes you simply can’t play at. I live in a terraced house with young children next door, it just isn’t practical to crank it at home. Even in a live setting I’ve never got the master above about 4. I do agree that there’s a tactile responsiveness to playing through a tube amp but in terms of actual sound I think modelling is so close now (95% or so) that even the most attuned tone snobs ears can’t tell the difference.
Used to be a big fan but it’s disturbing to me that I work 45 hours a week and Tom is ritch... if Tom likes communism so much he should buy this hard working American a home
gear doesn't matter as long as you have good gear the problem now is that kids and beginners think that gear doesn't matter so Tom plays a top Marshall amp but gear doesn't matter you can get the same results with a 5 watt transistor amp and also Tom is so good that he can make a 5 watt transistor amp sound as good as his 50 watt all tube Marshall in a miracle way sorry but i am seek and tired of this bullshit gear matters
read my damn comment before you reply then why Tom and all good guitarists don't use that kind of gear you mentioned because they are not so good guitarists to make crap gear sound good ? more or less this is what you say you realy did not make any sense
John Sfixton Actually tom does use some cheap guitar for recording sometimes. Go look at his interview from his home recording studio. The point isn't not to care about gear. If you are a tone snob then more power to you . The point is that you don't have to have good gear to make good music. it should not be a limiting factor. Of course a pro or high level amateur should have reliable good equipment. On the other hand a kid just starting or someone who is just a bedroom shredder doesn't need 1,200+ in equipment.
FistForFascistFaces my dear friend i am sick and tired off all this i remember 5 6 years ago i was arguing and fighting and yelling about guitar capacitors that they do sound different when everyone said that they sound the same now everyone says that they sound different even luthiers Tom or any profesional famous guitarist can use crap gear to record or play 1 2 songs but instead of a begginer it is not the only gear that they own so please don't reply come back in 5 6 years i can't stand this
John Sfixton Do you have a financial interest in selling gear? I don't see why an alternate view should bother you so much. The point is to PLAY. That is the point. Whatever you have just PLAY and enjoy it and hone your craft. I think it is terrible advice to tell a new guitar player he needs X or Y or Z to sound good. YOU DON'T. Peace.
If he can sound exactly the same with his distortion switched off, his whammy pedal gone, and a hardtail bridge, then maybe I'll buy his "gear doesn't matter in any circumstance" tirade that he seemingly defeated himself when he said the songs he would've written with different gear would be conpletely different.
He means having lots of gear just to be used for 2 seconds of some random song is ostentatious. Instead make the most of what you have. The Edge of U2 is the opposite mindset. He owns a lot of pedals and gear.... and yet his most iconic songs with U2 is just a clean channel and a delay pedal ironically.
Lot of people seem to have completely missed the point and context of his statement "Gear doesn't matter."
He's simply saying that there is no 'correct' gear to making good music.
Making music is a symbiotic process between brain and equipment.
The equipment to some degree shapes the writing of songs.
Write songs that accentuate the unique attributes of your equipment, whatever they may be.
His statements are intended to help us tail-chasing gearheads throwing chunks of hard earned cash toward trying to emulate a very specific sound - a sound that is not of our own creation.
Exactly. Thumbs up.
No, no dear. What he was trying to say is that the strings one uses is the completely key. Like, Duh
@@ahhwe-any7434 wrong he means strings ,wood, pick ups, etc
everyone is always misunderstanding tom. Everyone things tom doesnt believe in money or something
Ok that makes sense, because he's right up there with he edge for using effects and pedals. He's a gear head!
I never noticed that Tom Morello sounds like a relaxed Barack Oboma.
Obama sounds like a robot version of Tom Morello
Must smoke the same cigarettes
Everyone sounds like everyone
You suck. Now I will never unhear that. 🤣😂
Fun fact: Both have Kenyan fathers
this guy was the reason why i wanted to experiment the guitar
"Rent control." Tom Morello, you are an inspiration, and even hilariously funny on occasion!
The point he is making is that you don't have to keep thinking about and searching for equipment all the time. It's what you do with what you have that matters. Doesn't need to be fancy.
Agreed.
Technically his story contradicted his premise. Really what he’s getting at is to understand the pros and cons of what you got and use them the best way possible.. a great artist could still draw well with a crayon and a pencil or a brush.. the gear are just tools.. not a magic wand.
This is musical maturity. I still sound like me regardless of what gear I use.
Stephen Anthony you obviously don’t have the sense of humour Tom has.
Sincerely I thought by the sounds you hear from him, he'd have a huge crazy set of pedals. This is awesome
Thats a load of crap. That man would burst into flames like that Vietnamese monk if he didnt have a ball cap to wear.
I understand that reference
I wonder what the top part of his head looks like, prolly never had a tan in its life. Lol looks like a white rice bowl on top. Lol
He made me mad in Guitar Hero 3
He should have been the second boss instead of slash. His technical ability is miles beyond slash plus the actual track he recorded for the game is waaaaaaay harder on expert than Slash's and this is coming from a dude with 30-odd expert FC's
Move out of mommy's house and try playing a real guitar before you bag on Slash
I enjoyed Morellos fight wayyyyy more than slash
@@daviddawson1718 you must be kidding. Slash is super overrated
@@sketch3744 that may be but slash is still a better guitarists
I've been a gear hound for many many years, wore me out in the end, took some years off. Recently, I have gotten back into it, and I've been having these kind of ideas. Then, I stumbled upon this video, and he said them too. I don't even like RATM, but I knew Tom is a smart dude, so I watched. Glad I did.
I love Tom Morello
What a great insight & personality. I think the secret to his tone are the boingy uncut ball end of guitar strings.
Gear definitely doesn’t matter in terms of endlessly trying to find what we perceive as the best tone, because then it’s not about music anymore. Gear does matter when it comes to comfortability, trustability, and feel. You should feel comfortable with your gear and have it lead to you being able to focus more on playing. They’re tools, and tools are to get a job done, which is this case is to make music and share an experience.
well put
What a cool guy.
Amazing how that's the same guitar that he used with RATM 20 years ago, strings still uncut.
Same strings
@@iainmcguire7190 Strings don't matter
It's only gear heads who get obsessed about whether a guitar has strings
All your strings are literally unplayable due to the excessive amount of rust on em? Doesn't matter GEARHEAD!
Spend the cash on the amps , I own 2 Evh 100w heads for heavy and 2 Orange rockerverb mk3 for blues . My guitars are tom morello style . Mish mash of quality stuff smacked together . A Hugh inspiration to me same as Eddie v Halen. Thank you both for inspirational powers .
Gear ⚙️ doesn’t matter after a Marshall JCM 800 got it!”
I’m pretty sure he did use the Phase pedal in The Worm from Audioslave.
Gear is important to the level where it inspires you to play and create. if you are constantly fighting against your gear, then it is a barrier to your creativity. Tom said himself that he messed around with his guitar until one day he just got it and stuck with it. i'd say that gear mattered to Tom until he got it right and then stopped tinkering with it.
that's almost true...it mattered to him till he gave in and realized he wasn't going to achieve the tone he wanted and that he had spent way to much time searchin for tones instead of making music. so he made a DECISION to not worrying about it anymore
He didnt get it right he gave up and stood with what he got
Yes, thank you for saying it!
It's not the arrow it's the archer.....A great player can make most all equipment sound good.
YASSSSSS
Try an arrow with no fletchings
Yay!!!!! Good for him. I admire that stance.
I'm glad that I'm not the only one that feels that way at 2:08
Eh... OK... but I do love me some serious 2205/2210 action! Wouldn't mind being stuck with those amps.
You might not need the best gear but it does make life a hell of a lot easier
Stevie Ray Vaighn believed the same thing. He said it was his right hand that drove his guitar playing. Gear does not matter. Skill does! This changed my playing.
Couldn't agree more... What an insiration
whtat's an insiration?
I eh, I stack like 7 Dirt pedals(3 Fuzzes, 2 Rats, two ODs) and an EQ plus+ to get my tone, and use like 30+ others..I tune to C standard and Drop A#, string gauge absolutely matters....you can't get those tones on a Helix...
I agree, a great player can make any gear sound great.
He is dependent on the gear he uses.....so yeeeaaahhh
he has to do a signature run of that guitar...
like...soon...
but...but gear doesn't matter
Well, your wish came true. Go buy it.
"it's in there and I can't get it out"(that's what he said)... To the doctor at the ER
'Sorry Gear-heads, gear does not matter.' -Tom Morello.
So true!
100% agree with Tom
Gear doesn't matter, that's why he uses this awesome Marshall amp and rocks a huge pedal board ; )
Close your eyes, and it's Obama telling you that gear doesn't matter 😂
Basically what he’s saying is - write music that works with the sound of the gear you have. Don’t inhibit your creativity by thinking that acquiring some piece of gear will mystically solve everything and make you better.
It’s a good point many don’t think about. We all get caught up in the hunt for what-gear-they-used-to-get-that-sound. In reality they just used what tools they had available, but found creative and inspired ways to do use them to write songs. This inadvertently creates new convention. Think Jack White and the Airline guitar that no one wanted until he became known for his sound when using one. That cheaply made Airline guitar ain’t so cheap anymore now is it?
He's got a line from a Fleshies' Album on his guitar... "[What if we] Arm The Homeless" good punk song...
At 0:51 I can just hear "Hello, there"
Glad someone finally said gear doesn't matter ...there's millions of people buying custom shop type guitars and boutique amps that really can't play at all...just look at all the TH-cam home gear demos of boutique gear.
my dream guitar is a Van Halen Frankenstrat merged with This Frankenstrat, now that's a strat
I'm an amp technician. I have LOTS of amps pass though my shop. Some amps that I don't think much of, really inspire others. Sometimes I find stuff that I REALLY like, but I don't disparage gear I don't like. The meanest thing I say about any piece of kit is... "not my style".
i love you TOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES Arm the homeless ( doesn't mean weapons )
I think he refers more to that quote that says 'The tone is in your fingers'.... for example, check a video here in youtube of Eric Johnson playing with Zakk Wylde gear.
take a shot every time he says "GEAR."
Take away his wah pedal and let’s see him change his tune
And his whammy pedal
🤣👏
Lol like when he plays almost solely acoustic in nightwatchman? Is that why it’s funny? 😂
Take away his wah and whammy and he's still a great guitarist that can write great riffs and shred. No one else used the whammy as creatively as him.
Listen to a band called “Lock Up”, which his Pre-RATM BAND in which he used neither, and you’ll probably change your tune as well.
My man...
He's saying stop chasing gear. Use what you have to create
Damn straight
I think I get what Tom is saying. Gear won't make you a better player. It won't help you write better songs. I DO think Tom Morello found a collection of gear that he found works for him and he's been pretty much using it for the last 30 years and making his limited amount of gear work for him. He has a Marshall half stack, like 2-4 guitars, his whammy pedal, maybe a handful of other pedals, and that's about it.
For non-gear dependent guy, his sound is pretty much only achievable by having specific gear.
You completely missed the point genius
He does use that Phase pedal, alot of RATM riffs utilized that pedal.
Nope, just the one.
Ok...so gear doesn’t matter..yet he uses a Marshall jam 800, the classic vintage cabinet, uses ‘original digitech ‘ whammy. Etc. Total contradiction. Uses the fender aerodyne Strat, and has 20 of them mind you...using mxr, boss, Marshall amps means that gear DOES matter.
As usual when Tom talks it's a complete contradiction. Clearly gear matters Tom confirms that in the interview where he talks about using rental gear! What Tom is trying to say is that chasing tone is pointless and you should be creative and play to the strengths of what you have available!
Yet, he changed 10 necks on that guitar and everything else. Hmm?
Before he realized that getting new gear isn't important.
Is it irony on purpose? He says it took him a long time to get his guitar right.... clearly the gear mattered to him.
Anyone know what the song is at 1:03?
What he says is literally the very definition on gear dependence. When it comes to your songwriting at least 😅
Idk why I noticed this but at 1:47 his fly is down
That's where he tucks his slide piece😁
That's all folks!
It’s interesting and sad to see how many has failed listening comprehension ☺️
This message would have been much better sent by someone who was a bit less gimmicky.
He sounds so fake and corny when he talks.
Well... I honestly love Tom, but hearing that gear doesn't matter after himself changing 10 necks on his guitar and that he only uses one amp through the years is a bit contradictory :)
It's a matter of finding the guitar and amp you love and sticking to it, therefore it does matter haha
Or maybe he thought you don't have to buy expensive gear? :)
Exactly! Any piece of crap guitar will become great if you upgrade ever piece of it but the body.
his point is do your thing and don't get stuck in geargatory where you are more worried about gear than making and playing good music. A good guitarist/musician will sound good on bad gear way before a mediocre to shitty musician will sound good on GREAT gear.
+ Marcin Nowak
Tom's point is
that he's keeping it basic and simple
he is not switching between 5 amps 10 camps
10 19 rack units and 20 pedals
like other famous pro guitarists do
his philosophy is good
and also when the first RATM album came
we all thought tha he is using tons of effects
but he does not
you didn't even get it ... didn't you ... +Marcin Nowak explain it perfectly
No, I get what he's saying, and I'm saying he's a hypocrite, you condescending shit. Clearly you missed the point. So did other commenters on my post.
Tom Morello: gear doesn't matter at ALL
Also Tom Morello: here's my 3000 bucks superduper marshall amp
They're like a thousand, it's not “boutique“ by any stretch, a good old workhorse
He also recorded with a pignose, for what it's worth.
free gear is the best gear!
He’s one of the best guitar players of our generation, but how can he say gear doesn’t matter. If you take away his paddleboard he couldn’t do a rage against machine show.
That’s not really his message though is it? If he didn’t have the effects, he’d play with whatever he had.
Compare his pedalboard (and the state of it} to most of the others featured on TH-cam. He certainly isn't obsessing over gear and what to buy next, and what he has is very old and worn. Music retailing is carried by guitar players thirst for another guitar, amp, pedal etc. Singers don't have anything to buy, yet for guitar players, the list can be endless if they let it.
Dead Doll I’m not doubting his ability, he’s certainly one of the greatest guitar riff maker/players of our generation. I personally learned guitar from him. But you need a few effects to pull off his sound. Especially for solos. Imagine bulls on parade without a Wah Pedal. He uses a lot of affects a lot in his music. Sure it’s the same ones he’s had for over 20 years, but he uses them a lot.
1:27 lolololol
Now I want to see Tom play a three string cigar box guitar. That will let me know he's not hooked on gear! I do however, get what he is saying.
he probably wont right the next RATM album on it, but he'll make something decent I bet
Says the guy with the Brass Block on the back of his headstock lol. But I agree and disagree with Tom.
Quality does matter. I don't know that gear does.
I just watched this video and now my life is change.
Gear doesn't make great music its performance songwriting and arrangement and then recording techniques and mixing I thought when I bought my Gibson les Paul that I was going to be Gary Moore but the thing doesn't stay tuned lol
So he didn’t play any of the rage against the machine songs on this gutair?
no Arm The Homeless wasn't used for that song no
Well... according to YOUR thinking, maybe gear does matter a little bit. You are an.... ok guitarist! :-)
Gear doesn't matter? Just ditch the DigiTech whammy then play "Killing in the name"... and at 2:00 minutes mark, he contradicts himself completely.
you missed the point as well :)
BShrimp - Exactly! 🤦🏻♂️
"Gear doesn't matter."
*Proceeds to complain about how crappy his professionally-honed guitar was and how he replaced the neck, pickups, bridge, and electronics.*
I still love Tom though.
He sounds just like obama.
Gutz Man hahahaa man you're right XD
yep, two leftists.
Silly Goose - Obama is not a leftist. He's an establishment corporate centrist. th-cam.com/video/MJCp6wJZ970/w-d-xo.html
he sounds like obama when obama isn't talking to a group of African Americans. just saying....
HAHA! Beat me to it.
Also, cocaine-dependency helps to get rid of everything else.
Rent control!
So is it a Kramer or what?
No
Well that was confusing... too much red bull this interview tom? JKS ;) A person needs to learn how to and what to play with each instrument, thats sound advice! Everything matters, but often we focus too much in a certain area and little in the ones we need, at least I do, but thats learning i suppose :p
I came to see what he would sound like without gear. Instead I heard about the thousands of dollars of gear he plays through and how it doesn’t matter.
Not really thousands, but for a pro musician, it looks quite cobbled together,
Obviously the man can play guitar but it takes a lot of hubris to say categorically gear doesn't matter! In fact he makes the opposite point when he said music written using gear list A was qualitatively different when using gear list B! Didn't he? Seems the gear mattered in that case. However I understand his point about making music with what you got!
What he meant is that they had a bunch of intstruments during RATM, they got some good music out of them that worked for those specific instruments. When they got rental gear, they sounded like crap, because they tried to recreate the music that sounded good with their original isntruments (RATM songs). Had they started from scratch with that rental gear they would have come up with a different sound that soudned good with that specific gear. I personally have no idea what I think regarding what he said, because I'm clearly still in that "looking for the perfect tone" phase and no matter how hard I try, I will not get it for the time being.
he's a great help
LOL
Uhhhhh, he just step into souch touchy topic.............I can hear the mob already looking for him
LOL you need a well playing guitar and a decent tube amp. Nice pedals help, but not essential. Playability and reliability is important though.
So why a tube amp? If reliability is important, that's a problem straight away.
@@deaddoll1361 I am not sure what you are referring to or have ever played a tube amp. I've never had any issues with a well-made tube amp other than maybe replacing a few tubes once every blue moon. The circuits are simple and rugged. I've never seen anyone toss a tube amp because it's "worn out" but I've seen plenty of solid state amps tossed for a mystery broken component (not even worth fixing) or sometimes just because they don't sound great.
I think the tube amp myth has been well and truly blown out of the water in recent times. Almost every amp produced these days be it tube, hybrid, SS or digital sounds good. Not every amp will be “right” for each individual and the style they wish to play, but a decent guitarist will be able to get something they can use out of pretty much any amp.
@@MrKeefelm I disagree. Many amps, including tube amps sounds terrible. Tubes amps sound and break up better, in a more predictable manner. (Good) digital amps have come a long way, but there are sonic artifacts at the limits using these "profiles". They also don't sound naturally (as in a predictable manner based on your playing) like a tube amp no matter what you do. There maybe good alternatives out there, but tube amps are still king. FFS they are not even expensive anymore. If you don't have 400 bucks for a clean used amp, your hobby should probabaly include getting a better job.
Would you use a digital pickup? Maybe. it's different, and it may be close. but it will never replicated the nuances of metal and magnets made by nature.
@@MintStiles I think one of the main issues I’ve encountered with tube amps (I own a 50 watt Marshall JCM 900) is the fact they often sound best at volumes you simply can’t play at. I live in a terraced house with young children next door, it just isn’t practical to crank it at home. Even in a live setting I’ve never got the master above about 4. I do agree that there’s a tactile responsiveness to playing through a tube amp but in terms of actual sound I think modelling is so close now (95% or so) that even the most attuned tone snobs ears can’t tell the difference.
Tom morello is mostly recognized for his guitar effects 🤷♀️🤷♂️
That's not the point
Soooo is he talking about meth ooooor music equipment?
Used to be a big fan but it’s disturbing to me that I work 45 hours a week and Tom is ritch... if Tom likes communism so much he should buy this hard working American a home
:/
How Marxist of you Tom
Hahahah!
Hes worth $30 million, and has a communist sticker on his guitar.
The irony is palpable
Dude.. you don’t have to tell who you are...
he's also "non-talent-dependent" as well ...
Dude his riff are iconic
Are you crazy???
Whats up with the russian flag on his guitar?
gear doesn't matter as long as you have good gear
the problem now is that kids and beginners think
that gear doesn't matter
so Tom plays a top Marshall amp but gear doesn't matter you can get the same results with a 5 watt transistor amp
and also Tom is so good that he can make a 5 watt transistor amp sound as good as his 50 watt all tube Marshall in a miracle way
sorry but i am seek and tired of this bullshit
gear matters
If you are good you can make a shitty 60 dollar korean sweat shop built marshall solid state and a 100 dollar COSTCO strat knockoff sound good.
read my damn comment
before you reply
then why Tom and all good guitarists don't use that kind of gear you mentioned
because they are not so good guitarists to make crap gear sound good ?
more or less this is what you say
you realy did not make any sense
John Sfixton Actually tom does use some cheap guitar for recording sometimes. Go look at his interview from his home recording studio. The point isn't not to care about gear. If you are a tone snob then more power to you . The point is that you don't have to have good gear to make good music. it should not be a limiting factor. Of course a pro or high level amateur should have reliable good equipment. On the other hand a kid just starting or someone who is just a bedroom shredder doesn't need 1,200+ in equipment.
FistForFascistFaces
my dear friend
i am sick and tired off all this
i remember 5 6 years ago i was arguing and fighting and yelling
about guitar capacitors that they do sound different
when everyone said that they sound the same
now everyone says that they sound different even luthiers
Tom or any profesional famous guitarist can use crap gear to record or play 1 2 songs but instead of a begginer it is not the only gear that they own
so please don't reply come back in 5 6 years
i can't stand this
John Sfixton Do you have a financial interest in selling gear? I don't see why an alternate view should bother you so much. The point is to PLAY. That is the point. Whatever you have just PLAY and enjoy it and hone your craft. I think it is terrible advice to tell a new guitar player he needs X or Y or Z to sound good. YOU DON'T. Peace.
He's like the Stevie ray Vaughn of metal
Be like water guise, play the guitar not the song.
If he can sound exactly the same with his distortion switched off, his whammy pedal gone, and a hardtail bridge, then maybe I'll buy his "gear doesn't matter in any circumstance" tirade that he seemingly defeated himself when he said the songs he would've written with different gear would be conpletely different.
He means having lots of gear just to be used for 2 seconds of some
random song is ostentatious. Instead make the most of what you have. The
Edge of U2 is the opposite mindset. He owns a lot of pedals and
gear.... and yet his most iconic songs with U2 is just a clean channel
and a delay pedal ironically.