GavinSidley wrote:
Many years ago, i did a recording while in Australia. Awesome 24 track studer analogue studio, super live room, great control room with every analogue piece of gear you could wish for (This was in the early 90's and digital hadny quite gotten to where it is today). The song i was recording was kind of pop/jazz, and after laying down all the tracks, i started mixing. In one section it was a bit empty and i realised that a bit of a guitar solo was exactly what was required. All the musicians had left and all i had in the studio guitar wise was a Fender Strat (Japanese) and one of those little Marshall combo amps that one clips onto a belt. More of a toy than an amp! Anyway, i placed an SM57 slightly off centre of the tiny cone and cranked this little thing balls to the wall. A freind of mine popped in to play the solo. I still marvel at the tone i managed to get and the way it sat in the final mix. I learned a huge lesson that day and that is that most of the tone came from the way my friend plays and his ability to adjust his playing to suit the song and sound we had available. So to answer the subject question, yes it is very possible! spend time working on your playing and less time shopping for gear or chopping and changing to find the ideal tone. The ideal tone start with your fingertips!
Great story!
And yes, I agree. You can get great tone on a budget. Careful gear selection (cheaper gear of course) and spending time dialing the tone in goes a long way to that end. Some cheaper gear does sound great. And of course some of it sounds like the aural equivalent of steaming turds - but then sometimes that's exactly what you want, especially on a recording. Time and discernment IMO. And just a bit of talent.
The Squier Classic Vibe Strat or Tele, for instance, are a great example of entry-level guitars that are built well and sound great right out the box for not much money.
