See? I used the ‘or’ thing again in the title so that I can be cool. Ever since Coldplay did it on their new album, I’ve been trying to steal it every chance I get in order to perhaps somehow tap into their unique brand of British indie ‘cool.’ I don’t think it’s working. But I still have to throw in the ‘or’ titles as often as possible, because I’ve been seeing lots of famous people on television and on song titles and such stealing the ‘or’ as well, and pretty soon it’ll be so overused that I won’t even be able to be funny with it anymore. That’s what pop-culture media does. They spend billions of dollars figuring out what’s cool, and then they squeeze every last penny out of it. And then they dump it. Like, um, let’s say…David Spade.
But that is what my tone mentor told me. He said, ‘Quit trying to arrive at tone. Tone is a journey.’ And he was right. See, when I first started out, I would run around like a psycho trying to get my rig perfect…and then it wouldn’t be perfect, so I’d get all frustrated and then repeat the process…including the frustrated part. And his point was that there’s no way in this world that you’re going to know everything about tone, so you may as well just enjoy yourself as you journey on towards the best tone you’ve ever had. And then the next day, that day will be the best tone you’ve ever had. Hopefully. And then the next day. Don’t get so bogged down in having the greatest sound ever that you forget to have fun with it. And for you worship musicians, that you forget why it is you’re doing what you’re doing.
So now, I’m probably a little too much on the enjoyment side. I’m sure most of you are right there with me. You know, like, a cable goes out. ‘Well, a cable’s out. Guess I gotta redo my board.’ ‘Aw, blew a tube. Sucks man…now I gotta buy a new amp.’ ‘Blast, I broke a string. Well, I’ve been needing to add a Tele to the collection anyway.’ And I’m quite serious. So, as more pedals have come in (but only so that I can downsize, I promise! Wait…that makes no sense. But it does in a weird, gear junkie way, I promise…maybe…), I had to order some more Loop-Masters to fit everything and to streamline my board. So yesterday, as I’m down on my hands and knees for hour 3 of cable sorting, I decided to take some pictures; because I know, you’ve been here. And if you haven’t……you will. You don’t think so, but you will. And if you’re saying, ‘Oh, not me’, then you should be immediately regretting the decision to swing by this blog. And if you’re now leaving this blog because I just said that, and your curser is already moving to the Gear Page url, you’re done.
See, this is last month when I knew that my board was absolutely done:
And this is yesterday:
This is my bag of tools, accessories, and cables that weighs more than my amp:
It’s a sad life, I know. But the hope that I might one day actually have a tone that I don’t hate the next week, is worth dozens of 1992 LA Gear (remember, they were the first shoes to make light-ups? So score) bags of screwdrivers, truss rod adjusters, batteries, and trash (for some reason). And yes, those are cigar bags, I think. I bought some pedals from some guy at El Torito (not sure how my life happens), and he had them in these bags. I was like, ‘What awesome pedal-holders!’ Then I was playing at a church youth group, and the youth pastor complimented me on my taste in cigars. Uh, sorry children. So I keep them hidden now. Not that there’s anything wrong with cigars, if that’s your deal. I just have never been into sucking things that are on fire into my face.
And this is the click track that stays in the gear bag, too:
We use this at my church. I adore click tracks. Tempo is so overlooked, and so absolutely imperative. I have suggested this to certain worship leaders at certain churches while I’m playing lead guitar. And then the drummer’s ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ stares glaring into my soul make me humbly retreat back behind my pedalboard, re-tapping my delays for every new measure.
But, it eventually got done. Uh, for this week…I have another large piece of gear coming in next week that’s going to cause another re-do of the board. Score! See? A new pick, cable, or adapter is just an excuse to tear your board up and touch all that lovely tone. Like, literally touch…with your hands. You don’t know your gear until you’ve caressed them.
Here’s it for this week:
And of course, you gotta turn the lights off in the room, turn on all the lights on the pedals, and space ship it:
So, enjoy the journey. Don’t worry so much about the perfect tone. I mean, worry about it! Definitely worry about it, because it’s important…maybe the most important non-living thing in the whole world…even more important than some living things…and living people…but don’t stress so much that you don’t have fun, and that you can’t focus on worshiping God. Make sure the main things are the main things.
Um, but do make sure tone is one of those main things. Please. For the love of all that’s merciful. The awesome riff you play isn’t doing anything for anybody if it sounds bad. ;)
Splendid.
Karl.
Guitar for Worship 