Cheap band mates

Keg8605

Keg8605

Power User
Just venting but I think as guitarists and gear lovers we tend to invest the most into our bands. I'm completely willing to agree that its GAS and sometimes to much but at the same time while we tend to be on the far side of the spending spectrum I find that the rest of my band mates are on the complete other side of the spectrum and very cheap.

Do you guys experience this as well? I have a phenomenal vocalist who still uses a terrible wireless mic (i mean you have one instrument, your voice!). I suggested my keyboard player in one band pickup a small cheap sampler ($75) for sounds his old yamaha doesn't have and you'd think I had asked him to spend $1000 dollars or something. I have spent so much on PA gear too for bands I've been in. It just seems like us guitarists sometimes are the only ones who care about quality gear and having the right tools. Don't get me wrong the flip side is we spend to much most of the time but if my bandmates spent 5-10% of what I do they'd be fine.
 
yep, same here.
our other guitarist borrows our bassist's extra guitar amp. Doesn't bring it home to dial in any sounds.
Leaves it at the rehearsal space, expects us to bring it and all the regular PA we bring and setup.
he's a great guy and guitarist, but totally on the opposite end of the spectrum from where I'm at.
 
In our band we have tried to have a split from each gig, where a chunk of the money goes into a band fund. Sadly many of our drummers were totally against it. Yes, we have felt a lot like Spinal Tap over the last 2 years. The PA and lights, etc. belong to me and the bass player/singer. Along the same line, the two of us are typically the ones to setup and tear down the equipment w/ the drummer(s) very seldom/reluctantly lending a hand. At some point you either say the hell with it and do it yourself or find new band mates...you can see we've done both.
 
This is why we should be in a band together, Keg. We live about 20 minutes apart (I believe), we're both Axe-atics, have all the gear & know-how to use it and know the importance of spending on a project. ;)
 
Tough spot to be in. I pick my bandmates not just for their talent (a drop dead requirement) but also for their professionalism. Would you go to a dentist that used a rusty drill? Or hire a builder with no tools? Bandmates don't just play together, they fail or succeed together. I am not saying sacrifice your firstborn for the team, but I am saying y'all need to have the same goals or you are just spinning your wheels.
 
OMG thanks for starting this thread.

My gripe with the other guitarist isn't so much being cheap with gear, but cheap with effort. He just doesn't want to learn certain parts of certain songs, so in some cases I have to do the work of two guitarists while he does his own thing.

He also has the ability to make some acceptable tones, but most of the time, he won't put in the effort to dial in something that works for the song. Literally, if it takes more than 15 seconds to dial something in, it's too much work. The end-all default solution to everything is dime the distortion and/or go 100% wet on all effects.

The bassist owns the lights, I own the PA. We each have technical responsibilities to deal with in addition to our own rigs. The other guitarist only has to plug in his rig. I'm okay with that. But he could at least try to do just a little homework.

He's an all around good guy. I've known both him and the bassist over 30 years. But it's a complicated relationship. Basically I have to bite my tongue about all of this, haha.

I had wanted to vent, but didn't want to start a thread. Thanks for providing the opportunity.
 
I'm sure you already did the following, but it's easy not to for fear of starting a war, etc. I've had a little success (and a few blow ups) by talking to the person in private and seeing if they were up for drinking a few beers and dialing in some new tones, the monitors, the pa, etc.
 
But way worse is.... the so called music bars that categorically refuses to invest anything or very little in their "infrastructure" to make a band sound decent... but still market themselves as "music bars"

sorry for the derail...
 
Something that took me too much time is "you cannot change people, you have to replace them".

If something is wrong with someone in a band, gear, attitude, passion, professionalism, whatever, don't try to talk and fix the issue more than once. Find someone else.
There is no way in the universe you can talk someone into being passionate, practice, keep their gear in good condition or something else. Don't waste time.

If you want to be successful (wich has a different meaning for everyone) try to collaborate with people who share your vision.
 
SoProg,
I hear you! Last practice tried to get around the issue by asking the other guys which preset they liked better as I switched them during the song...they both didn't notice. I really need to setup an "accurate" recording solution so that I can listen to practice sessions and gigs to get a better feel for what needs to be tweaked. Funny how we sometimes don't notice things while playing.
 
warlockII said:
SoProg,
I hear you! Last practice tried to get around the issue by asking the other guys which preset they liked better as I switched them during the song...they both didn't notice. I really need to setup an "accurate" recording solution so that I can listen to practice sessions and gigs to get a better feel for what needs to be tweaked. Funny how we sometimes don't notice things while playing.
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Neither we, when we dance and drink, while you are up there being a hero! ;)
 
There's a difference between being cheap, because beer and tattoo money are more important, and being very short on cash. Us GAS addicts have to keep that in mind. Also, we may be crazy enough to sink every penny in our equipment, I know I am, other people will have different priorities.

As long as you get a decent tone out of your rig I'm happy. And I'm enough into making your own gear to know that just because something is expensive doesn't always make it better.

What annoys me more is being closed minded. Our band has a drummer who plays very well but she's unwilling to discuss anything if she has made her mind up. She flatout refuses to even discuss playing along to a clicktrack. Because in her mind it takes away the spontaneaty from a performance. I happen to think it makes for a consistent performance. You can give a brilliant performance when you're in the zone, but chances are when you're not in the zone people will notice that too. Band has a bad night = bad performance. Whereas a band that plans out their entire show, the show elements, chats with the audience, cues their light show in sync with the lightshow will still perform well if the band members are having a bad evening. Consistency is a quality of its own. I must have heard about 90% of every U2 show ever played thanks to bootlegs and they seem to be very consistent from night to night. And they have been using clicktracks since like 1984. Never mind that playing along to a clicktrack would allow me to control my Axe as well, freeing me up from having to stomp switches and allowing me to give a better performance.

Anyway, it's not the discussion I would mind. I could live with a compromise being made. It's the flat out refusal to even discuss things that annoys the shit out of me.
 
My experience too, however being 50 with a good job no kids and a wife that suggested separate accounts when we got married does help! With the understanding that not all wives are as agreeable as mine and younger band members with kids and maybe not as good of a job provides perspective.
 
I am the one spending the most on gear in our band, but I don't mind that - after all, it's my GAS I'm satisfying, not theirs. Yes, everybody benefits from it, but what the heck, I do as well.

What annoys the hell out of me though is their complete lack of interest in the equipment. Not because I want them to be curious but because it ends up being my responsibility to hook everything up and set everything up and fix whatever problems arise. They just refuse to learn.
 
vangrieg said:
I am the one spending the most on gear in our band, but I don't mind that - after all, it's my GAS I'm satisfying, not theirs. Yes, everybody benefits from it, but what the heck, I do as well.

What annoys the hell out of me though is their complete lack of interest in the equipment. Not because I want them to be curious but because it ends up being my responsibility to hook everything up and set everything up and fix whatever problems arise. They just refuse to learn.
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Totally part of it too. You're right.
 
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