Thoughts on Artist signature pups...

[MadRyan]

I've been reading forums lately and have seen various repetitions of the question "I have so-in-so's pup in my Ibanez and I can't get it to work with my rig" or "I have so-in-so's pup in my Jackson and it sucks" and I can't help but wonder...

IMO, people are really caught up in who uses what gear. I understand it perfectly. I really dig the sound of some artists and as such tend to gravitate towards the same amps they play. It's human nature.

What I, and everyone else sometimes forget is that those artists while endorsing a given guitar/amp/pup/pick/whatever, and in the case of Dave Mustaine, all sorts of other useless garbage, don't necessarily use that stuff.

Case in point. Artist "A" goes into the studio. He plays Mesa amps, and Ibanez guitars, and has his own Dimarzio. But once in the studio, he plugs a strat into a fender amp and records his clean sounds, then plugs a Les Paul into a Diezel and records his rhythm stuff and his signature Ibanez into a Bogner to do his lead tracks. It just makes more sense. On stage he uses a bunch of his signature guitars and there are stacks of Triple Rectifiers behind hum, but that's because nobody can really tell the difference live. Recording is another ballgame.

So I'd say to the folks who are chasing the tone they hear on their favorite artists CD to beware the tendency to chase other people's recorded tones. Chances are they used $15,000 worth of amps and guitars and much more than that in studio time and professional sound engineering to get those tones. Don't assume that by buying the stuff they endorse that you're going to replicate that in your living room.

It sounds pretty elementary but after playing nearly two decades I still catch myself listening to Dream Theater's "Sacrificed Sons" and thinking "man... I need another Dual Rec!" even though I could never get my Dual rec to sound quite like JP's stuff.

I'm not sure this is in the right spot, so if not, mods feel free to move it.

[RSVampire]

Originally Posted by MadRyan

Case in point. Artist "A" goes into the studio. He plays Mesa amps, and Ibanez guitars, and has his own Dimarzio. But once in the studio, he plugs a strat into a fender amp and records his clean sounds, then plugs a Les Paul into a Diezel and records his rhythm stuff and his signature Ibanez into a Bogner to do his lead tracks. It just makes more sense. On stage he uses a bunch of his signature guitars and there are stacks of Triple Rectifiers behind hum, but that's because nobody can really tell the difference live. Recording is another ballgame.

So I'd say to the folks who are chasing the tone they hear on their favorite artists CD to beware the tendency to chase other people's recorded tones. Chances are they used $15,000 worth of amps and guitars and much more than that in studio time and professional sound engineering to get those tones. Don't assume that by buying the stuff they endorse that you're going to replicate that in your living room.

yeah, Joe Satriani is probably the best example of this. Sure if you dig far enough on the internet you'll find what stuff he used on what songs (he's actually really open on stuff like that... even though he's endorsed which is why I love him!). He'll use a Les Paul into a Cornford, Strat into a Marshall, PRS into a Mesa, Tele into a Badcat ANYTHING he deems appropriate to the mood/sound of a song and live he'll use his JS1000/1200's and JSX amps.

[MadRyan]

Perfect example of how amp companies rape people. Guy on another forum is asking about amp mods. Doesn't like the way his Peavey sounds, but won't sell it to fund something better because his favorite band allegedly plays Peavey and their stuff sounds killer. Guy has no clue that it's probably a recorded SLO or Uberschall he's hearing, not a 6505.

[reguv760]

On stage he uses a bunch of his signature guitars and there are stacks of Triple Rectifiers behind hum, but that's because nobody can really tell the difference live. Recording is another ballgame.

I saw Cannibal Corpse @10 years ago... they were endorsed by Crate at the time so they had these Stealth heads stacked up and turned on... but not necessarily plugged in. They were playing through a rack setup... the Crate was for stage fx haha

Reg

[Tank]

It always depends on the artist. There are many artists who actually use what they endorse. Why shouldn't they? If you are in the position that a company will make exactly the product you want. why not use it? On the other hand many artists are bought to endorse "standard" hardware, so they just "show it off".

So you should not generalize things, just use what you think is good for your sound. I find my JEM and JSX very nice and the JSX is much bang for the buck too.

[MadRyan]

Originally Posted by Tank

It always depends on the artist. There are many artists who actually use what they endorse. Why shouldn't they? If you are in the position that a company will make exactly the product you want. why not use it? On the other hand many artists are bought to endorse "standard" hardware, so they just "show it off".

So you should not generalize things, just use what you think is good for your sound. I find my JEM and JSX very nice and the JSX is much bang for the buck too.

I'm glad you like your JSX. It wasn't my cup of joe...

I gigged with one for something like 8 months before I just decided it wasn't working. I still maintain that recorded sounds on albums the vast majority of times are not the amps you see in the video's produced for VH-1, or on stage for that matter. Buying some dude's signature amp because that's what he "uses" is naive.

[Tank]

Originally Posted by MadRyan

I'm glad you like your JSX. It wasn't my cup of joe...

I gigged with one for something like 8 months before I just decided it wasn't working. I still maintain that recorded sounds on albums the vast majority of times are not the amps you see in the video's produced for VH-1, or on stage for that matter. Buying some dude's signature amp because that's what he "uses" is naive.

I agree, I bought the amp after testing it 6 hours straight in the local store. (Yes the clerk went nuts)

Before I used Mesas and I still use a twin reverb for clean passages (recording), but gig with the JSX. I will never sell the twin since its a heirloom and rare to get.

I think most artists are simply (satch for example), more the perfectionist in the studio. I see this myself, when recording I use sometimes even amps or effects from the studio or what is in the studio, because after mixing it down it will sound like I want it to. For giggin' you have to compromise and use the best overall tone you can get (unless you can afford 10 amps to gig with).
Same with guitars, pickups and whatnot.

Again I totally agree, do not use it because XY uses it. Test it and see if it works for you. Sometimes signature stuff will work. Again please do not become a snob in saying that all signature stuff is just overpriced crap, it is not and for some people it works.

[MadRyan]

Originally Posted by Tank

I agree, I bought the amp after testing it 6 hours straight in the local store. (Yes the clerk went nuts)

Before I used Mesas and I still use a twin reverb for clean passages (recording), but gig with the JSX. I will never sell the twin since its a heirloom and rare to get.

I think most artists are simply (satch for example), more the perfectionist in the studio. I see this myself, when recording I use sometimes even amps or effects from the studio or what is in the studio, because after mixing it down it will sound like I want it to. For giggin' you have to compromise and use the best overall tone you can get (unless you can afford 10 amps to gig with).
Same with guitars, pickups and whatnot.

Again I totally agree, do not use it because XY uses it. Test it and see if it works for you. Sometimes signature stuff will work. Again please do not become a snob in saying that all signature stuff is just overpriced crap, it is not and for some people it works.

IMO, we're pretty much on the same page. My only issue with endorsements is that 15yo kids who've saved money from their paper routes and whatnot get suckered into buying something that costs more because it's got their favorite artist's signature on the front. They lug it home expecting to plug in and sound like the CD and it just doesn't work that way.