New Fender Brent Mason Tele

Brent Mason is also a human being and human beings are pattern recognition animals. Red berries kill member of group, red berries must be bad. Caves bad cause sabertooth tigers may be in them. Pattern recognition was what kept us alive. It also causes us to think that there are patterns when there aren't. That is why we have conspiracy theories. And some would argue religions. And the same applies to guitars and guitar players. Hmm, strings of brand X break less, therefore they must be better. Picks of brand Y play better, therefore they must be better. And sometimes our system sees patterns where there aren't. Like tonewood. Brent Mason is human like the rest of us so he too may think something works for him that the rest of us might think are bonkers. It might work, it might be his pattern recognition causing him to think it is.

And even if it weren't the case, what works for Brent Mason doesn't have to work for you. Some people love fat necks, others hate them.



I had two identical Strats, exact same model and series. One played good, the other played great. So I agree, just like electronic components have tolerances so two identical pedals of the same production run can sound different, the same applies to guitars. Which is why you shouldn't order guitars online but try them out in person.
And, it OBVIOUSLY works for him..................I kind of think he knows. Why try and come up with these philosophical theories to suggest he may not know that the string trees (for one) do not actually help his style of playing? I don't get it. Really do not get it. But hey, carry on!
 
I work with many pro guitar players and quite a lot of them don't understand the details from a technical standpoint which is why they come to me in the first place . It is my job to suggest ways that we can get closer to what THEY want . Don't assume great players are great at knowing what makes a guitar work , they know if they like it or not but without the finer points of why. The total bullshit Carl Verhayen trem set up is an example of this.
 
I work with many pro guitar players and quite a lot of them don't understand the details from a technical standpoint which is why they come to me in the first place . It is my job to suggest ways that we can get closer to what THEY want . Don't assume great players are great at knowing what makes a guitar work , they know if they like it or not but without the finer points of why. The total bullshit Carl Verhayen trem set up is an example of this.
Wow! EGO? unreal..........................Yes this thread has turned silly.
 
I agree with most of what he is saying, too, but he could maybe consider working on saying it more gracefully. I think that's where @Stratman68's "Wow! EGO?" comment was directed....
Exactly, I do not doubt (without proof mind you) that Andy Eagle is a good tech, etc. But a bit to much "I and me" for me. Kind of like name dropping, without the names.
 
And, it OBVIOUSLY works for him..................I kind of think he knows. Why try and come up with these philosophical theories to suggest he may not know that the string trees (for one) do not actually help his style of playing? I don't get it. Really do not get it. But hey, carry on!

Just because it works for him doesn't have to mean that it actually works for him. Just that he thinks it works for him and that he, with his obvious skills, makes it work for him. Because it was always like that and he made it work. We're also creatures of habit. I remember threads where the OP asked us what rituals we all did prior to a gig. And you think those rituals made any sense? Yes, he might know what he's doing. That is most likely. He might also think that he thinks that he knows what he's doing or he's just a creature of habit. I've always done it this way so therefore! An appeal to authority cause he's Brent Mason, uber Nashville Tele god, means little to me until I've actually tried out his guitar for that Nashville stuff.

And even then my other point remains, what works for Brent Mason may not have to work for Stratman68, because your hands, techniques, habits, preferences or even ears aren't the same. That's a lesson that doing Tribute work has taught me. Having the exact same rig does not always net you the same tone as your idol, and if your hands, technique, habit, preferences and ears aren't the same using slightly different gear that works for you might get you a better result.

I agree with most of what he is saying, too, but he could maybe consider working on saying it more gracefully. I think that's where @Stratman68's "Wow! EGO?" comment was directed....

Maybe guitar techs are like sound engineers. You have to deal with stupid musicians a lot who don't know what they are doing, or who think they know what they are doing. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing after all. Teenagers are very good at that and not everyone matures as they get older. At some point you come to the conclusion why waste time and effort to be nice to these morons? I am good at what I do, soundengineering or guitar teching, either deal with it or leave. Just don't waste my time.

Now I always think it takes just as much effort to be an asshole as it does to be nice, although you might get some more short term gratification out of the former, as opposed to long term gratification with the latter. But then again I wasn't a soundengineer for that long and as a guitar builder I only have myself as a customer.
 
Sorry if I seemed big headed or ill tempered neither was my intention. I have been doing this for 30+ years and clearly lack a bit of tolerance but I'm always busy, i don't advertise or social media and I get stuff sent to me transatlantic for work so I must be doing something right.
My customers seem to like the fact that I don't just agree because they are X or Y and I genuinely try to make things work better for them and get rid of terms like mojo and vibe replacing them with how and why.
 
Sorry if I seemed big headed or ill tempered neither was my intention. I have been doing this for 30+ years and clearly lack a bit of tolerance but I'm always busy, i don't advertise or social media and I get stuff sent to me transatlantic for work so I must be doing something right.
My customers seem to like the fact that I don't just agree because they are X or Y and I genuinely try to make things work better for them and get rid of terms like mojo and vibe replacing them with how and why.
You are a logical and level headed guy, and I for one appreciate it. You remind me a lot of Cliff actually, in a good way (if that wasn't clear)!

On another note, the irony occurred to me that even on a forum of a company that has killed all the myths about the mojo and magic of tube amps, and replaced them with a digital product, there's still superstition about pieces of wood, metal and plastic.
 
You are a logical and level headed guy, and I for one appreciate it. You remind me a lot of Cliff actually, in a good way (if that wasn't clear)!

On another note, the irony occurred to me that even on a forum of a company that has killed all the myths about the mojo and magic of tube amps, and replaced them with a digital product, there's still superstition about pieces of wood, metal and plastic.
Not to belabor the thing, but if the original amps have mojo, in the sense of a bunch of synergistic design choices that add up to a subjectively cool playing experience, and the modeling is really good, do the Axe models have modeled mojo?

Half in jest, half not...
 
Not to belabor the thing, but if the original amps have mojo, in the sense of a bunch of synergistic design choices that add up to a subjectively cool playing experience, and the modeling is really good, do the Axe models have modeled mojo?

Half in jest, half not...
Well, that's not how I define mojo, or what the dictionary said in an earlier post ;)
 
What some call "mojo" may just be the combination of small things not measured and small, measured differences that are deemed "unimportant" or "insignificant"....
 
In the DIY community mojo was people willing to fork out $5000 for an original Klon because it was hand built and had the mysterious diodes when there was no discernible difference with a $30 in parts Klon(e). Mojo was the belief that mysterious original parts no longer in production were better then their current day counterparts. In essence mojo was a form of snake oil. And we mightily made fun of it. That's why we called TGP 'a silly place'.
 
What some call "mojo" may just be the combination of small things not measured and small, measured differences that are deemed "unimportant" or "insignificant"....
This is it but if you have many of those it adds up to quite a difference and needs to be accounted for. One of the reasons that better built guitars get accused of lacking "mojo" is they are built too far tighter tolerances and subsequently vary considerably less from guitar to guitar. The main reason I hate terms like "mojo" and "vibe" is because they are lazy or the represent the inability to describe what is actually going on. Physics applies to guitars just the same as everything else. Playability = Ergonomics and Geometry. Potential tone = The sum of all the parts and how the resonant frequencies interact with each other.
 
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