Session Guitarist

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Recording with various artists

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I love analog guitar equipment, especially my valve (tube) amps. However, digital just provides so many options when it comes to recording and editing music. So, I like to combine and use both!

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I promise to work on your track until your 100% satisfied

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the variety of musical genres that I am asked to play on plus the excitement of creating guitar parts and solos that help to serve the song. Even if the guitar part is just one or two notes but it makes the whole piece of music sound better then that’s the ultimate goal. Just listen to David Rhodes guitar part on Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer - it’s the simplest, yet most perfect-for-the-song guitar playing you can get. His timing with that two note riff is just spot-on.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: The obvious thing is to say the guitarists that I already mentioned in one of the other questions but if they are playing then I’m not going to be able to add anything else if they are on the session. It would be so cool to play on a track that also has some amazing session legends on. Vinnie Colaiuta, Manu Katche or Simon Phillips on drums, Pino Palladino or Steve Pearce on bass etc....

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: The information that you can provide to me at the beginning of the job is key. Of course, if the client is hearing that their music needs a guitar in it but they are not quite sure what, then of course I’m more than happy to come up with my own interpretations. However, if you have anything specific that you would like, please let me know right at the start of the project so that I can be sure to keep those requirements at the forefront throughout the recording stage.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don’t forget to tune-up your guitar ;)

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I like to find out what the client wants to hear from the guitar parts that I will provide them. If there are any pieces of music that they have in mind that I can research beforehand then that gives me a good idea of the approach that I need to take as well as the specific guitar / amp / effects that I need to select.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: I would probably just take my Line 6 Helix pedal and hope that one of the recent factory software updates includes the emergency helicopter patch so that I can hold on and fly myself back to civilisation

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I have been recording my guitar for many years, even when I first started out learning to play guitar and I was using my dads Teac 4 track reel-to-reel tape machine in my bedroom. For many years I have been asked by people to record my own guitar part ideas for their songs.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: “Jazzy-bluesy-funky-rocky-ish” I guess!

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Because I have played for many years in a busy gigging band that plays jump blues, swing and rockabilly then I typically get asked to play on bluesy or jazzy songs.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Being able to play in a wide-range of musical styles. I love that I can be working on an ultra-clean jazzy track one day and then maybe the next project requires a heavy rock guitar part.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I try to enhance a song with a hook or solo that is tasteful and never over-played.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have some nice boutique Californian-made VHT amps that I have used for many years both live and in the studio and they have always offered such a wide range of sounds and tones at a drop of the hat. My latest acquisition is a Line 6 Helix which is an incredibly powerful unit that offers every popular guitar effect you can imagine. This is perfect when a client asks if I own a Whammy pedal or if I can create a specific sound and all I need to do is dive into the Line 6 pedal and it will no doubt be in there, ready for me to use.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When a client first sends me their song, I’ll actually listen to it several times over without a guitar in hand. I just want to first absorb what their music is saying to me while noting any specific instructions that the client might have provided to me. If the client has referenced a particular piece of music that they want me to use as inspiration, I’ll also listen to that several times over, to really try to get the right feel, tone and touch that the client wants from the guitar. I then spend time selecting the correct guitar for the job, along with getting the best tone settings that will make the guitar sit nicely within the mix. Once I have recorded the guitar parts that are required I then listen back to them, maybe even in my car while I’m driving, just to be absolutely certain that I am happy before sending my ideas to the client. I always say to the client though that if what I sent them is not quite what they wanted then of course I will try again. Luckily this hasn’t happened too much so far!

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: I have always admired session musicians and I love to seek out the guys that add the magic to a piece of music. Guitarists like Steve Lukather who seemed to be on every record in the late 70’s and all of the 80’s. I’m also a huge fan of a guitarist called Robbie McIntosh, who recorded and toured with The Pretenders, Paul McCartney, Norah Jones, John Mayer to name just a few. He is the epitome of ‘playing for the song’ and somehow manages to find the most perfect notes every time he plays. It’s something I always strive for when I’m on a session.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: Normally I am asked to provide a guitar solo for the clients composition, sometimes along with a rhythm guitar part as well. I love that the music that I am asked to play on can be such a variety of genres - from smooth jazz, soul, rock, pop, blues or funk.