Session Diary - Studio Secrets

Adam Goldsmith adds a few more tips to this issue’s feature, pertinent for the jobbing musician

- Adam Goldsmith

When I heard about the theme of this issue’s big feature – ‘100 Ways To Be A Better Guitarist’ – it got me thinking. There are obviously many different types of guitarist, which would mean one man’s essential Ibanez Jem 777 is not necessarily the thing needed for another man’s Sunday-night folk-jam at the Whistle and Ferret.

However, for this column, I’ll look at what’s essential for a jobbing studio musician. Unfortunately for me, I often have to separate my enthusiasm for vintage guitars (I am currently eyeing up a highly ‘essential’ refinished 1963 Strat) from guitars that are 100 per cent reliable in every way. After all, if someone is paying £3,000 a day for Abbey Road Studio 2, they don’t want to have to wait for me to retune the tuning peg on the E string of the original lute from Henry VIII’s drawing room for the 50th time…