Dave Mustaine suggested that a guitarist’s knowledge of their instrument is far more important than the gear they (want to) use, arguing that some people might try to compensate for their lack of skill with effects.
The global guitar community has seen many pros express the belief that the tone is in one’s hands, and the Megadeth mastermind seems to be a firm believer in that idea. Dave Mustaine hasn’t been much of a collector for most of his career, even though the many endorsements he’s enjoyed so far probably mean he’s sitting on a treasure trove of instruments and gear.
And while the collecting bug has finally gotten to him, Mustaine still stresses that gear won’t compensate for a lack of skill. Asked in a recent interview with Guitar World what his “best gear-buying tip” is, the thrash metal icon didn’t beat around the bush:
“Learn how to play. Learn how to play because if you can’t play, you’ll find a pedal and you’ll cheat. You’ll find a pedal that makes you sound really good and you won’t be really good; you’ll be living a lie. Once you learn how to play really good, you’ll see those pedals as exactly what they are: a simple non-moving, analogue device that is a signal processor.”
Perhaps fittingly for his position, Dave would always choose a guitar that fits him well rather than a great amp. Explaining his reasoning, he offered:
“I think I would rather have a great guitar. If you have a really bad guitar, all you’re going to be doing is amplifying a really bad guitar that’s really difficult to play. And if it’s difficult to play, it’s gonna be like anything; you won’t hear it right any more.”
Slash of Guns N’ Roses recently shared a similar take on the perceived importance of (expensive) gear, arguing that one doesn’t need to sell a kidney to obtain a satisfactory tone:
“Spending too much money for something is just absolutely not worth it. There is a line there that you cross where you are just spending money for the sake of the name or the label, or whatever it is. So I figured you have to spend a little bit of money for quality. But you don’t have to spend exorbitant amounts of money for it… If you’re not going to use it, if it doesn’t give you whatever it is that you are supposed to get out of an instrument, for that much money, then it just doesn’t make any sense.”
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