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Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 5 2014, 04:10 PM

This is thread to honor the studio guys! How many times you are listening to a song and have no idea who played the guitar parts in it or that cool solo?

These are session guitarists, they record and perform music for other people. Sometimes they are credited but often they are just "ghostwriting". During his heyday in the ’60s and ’70s, Tommy Tedesco played on recordings by everyone from the Beach Boys to Ella Fitzgerald. In addition, several TV theme tracks — including those for Bonanza and Batman — bear his trademark licks. Guitar Player magazine once dubbed him the most recorded guitarist in history. He is just one example of a very long list of session guitarists that has contributed with fantastic guitar work.

What do you think makes this guys different then other "regular" guitarists? I think that versatility is the characteristic number 1 that a session guitarist needs while regular players need to have an personality and more defined style that makes him unique and recognizable. Post yt song links/info on famous session musicians in this thread. What do you think are the most important skills a session musician needs to have to get into that line of work?

Posted by: klasaine Jun 5 2014, 04:43 PM

Oh man there's so many.
Here's Larry Carlton in one of his most famous 'session' moments. Both rhythm and lead guitar ...



As for what it takes: versatility, quick thinking, focus and (musical) honesty. How well and how quickly can you interpret what an artist or producer or engineer wants? Or how quickly can you figure out what the song needs?

As for why: it's different for different musicians. Some just like a lot of different types of music and don't want to only focus on one thing. Some fall into it w/o trying. If you read music real well and know a ton of chord voicings you can be an asset to writers, producers and engineers (you're fast, and time is money). A lot of players don't want to tour or got sick of it (had families).

Here's Steve Lukather with 'the Tubes' (solo at about 2:35) ...



Country session ace Brent Mason w/Alan Jackson (solo at 0:47) ...



*The best one's actually do have a 'personality'.

Posted by: Guido Bungenstock Jun 5 2014, 04:54 PM

Good thread, Gabriel!
I always was and still are a huge fan of studio session players( and NOT only guitar players!!) like Steve Lukather, Mike Landau, Larry Carlton, Dann Huff, David Garfield, David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, Greg Bissionette, Simon Phillips, Abe Laboriel etc. etc. because they added so much passion and vibe to the recordings. And thanks to their big work these albums sometimes got grammies(Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston etc.). This is one of the biggest honor a musician can get.

Speaking for myself now, in the 90`s I did a lot of session work because I lived next to recording studio. And because i was the only guitar player they worked with I had a lot to do there, mostly TV jingles. So I played almost every fucking cheesy german TV jingle you can think off, haha.
I remember my shortest studio work ever: I came in, they played the track for me and I just jammed a little bit with some jazzy chords and I left 10 mins later with 500 bucks. :-D
I became really fast with recordings, just needed one or two takes. This time was really helpful for me because I had to play a lot of different styles. And even if I wasn't familiar with a certain style I learnt to just fake it, haha.

The most important prerequisite is NOT sight reading as most people may think! It's just the ability to find the right vibe, groove or whatever in just a few seconds and having great ears of course. If you're saying to the producer something like: ey, tell me the chords or let me practice this.... Then you just lost the job! They always want someone, who is spontaneous, friendly, versatile and FAST(meaning no shredding here, of course!). So if you can read, it's good BUT it's not absolutely necessary!!!

And then after 2000 certainly there wasn't so much sessions work here in Germany and over the years only a few studio musicians had some work to do, so I just do it from time to time now. ;-)

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 5 2014, 05:06 PM

Carol Kaye:-


Tim Renwick:-

He's worked with loads of people. You can read a list http://www.timrenwick.com/discography.html.
He's also an amazing Teacher and an incredibly nice guy. I've had the privilege to meet him a couple of times after I won a free lesson with him!

And don't forget the main man on so many records.......
Steve Cropper!!


Diversity is a big part of doing session work, although Steve Cropper has his own distinct stamp that he puts on things!!

Posted by: klasaine Jun 5 2014, 05:35 PM

Well put.
I read pretty well but it's my ability to find what's necessary that keeps me working.

*Also ... be punctual, don't talk shit about other players (don't talk too much in general) and make sure your gear works.

Posted by: gregc1 Jun 5 2014, 05:57 PM

Good call on Tim Renwick. Played with Pink Floyd (at least live) during the Delicate Sound of Thunder days. The Pulse DVD is still one of my all time favorites.

My first thought was Dann Huff (Guido beat me to it).

Whitesnake, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Barbara Streisand, Kenny Rogers, Peter Cetera, Celine Dion, just to name a few. He's also produced for Megadeth, Faith Hill and Rascal Flatts among others.

I used to be really into Country way back when and I swear he played on literally every album. Very impressive resume.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Jun 6 2014, 09:12 AM

I can't believe how no-one thought of him so far:



This here, is his list of collaborations Behold: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Lukather_discography#Collaborations_A-Z

Posted by: PosterBoy Jun 6 2014, 11:27 AM

Tim Pierce
Tom Bukovac
Greg Leiz (pedal, lap steel)
Jim Keltner (Drums)


I often wonder how much Dann Huff is responsible for Modern Country music sounding like 80's rock music, not only is his guitar playing all over the records, but he produces a staggering amount of them too!

Posted by: mad Jun 6 2014, 11:30 AM

You must've missed Guidos post

Posted by: klasaine Jun 6 2014, 03:22 PM

And mine.


Check some of these out ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xs2kJn6PBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5duZ6MS-WDE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcKFiDONNDI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJkdPLzfGG0

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 6 2014, 04:30 PM

You are adding here some very important things to have in mind if we want to be session guitarist. Don't talking too much is very important and off course having all our gear working perfectly are fundamental for this type of job. These are not "skills" but clever details to be successful.

This lesson is a tribute to session guitarists: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/who_is_the_session_guitarist/

What other things do you think we should have in mind if we want to be session guitarists?

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 6 2014, 05:03 PM

Yeah, he was great on that tour, he also played on the Division Bell Tour as well. Sam Brown sang backing vocals too and absolutely amazed me with her vocals on Great big gig in the sky!!

Posted by: klasaine Jun 6 2014, 05:12 PM

Your time and feel has to be really good. You need to be able lock into the rhythm, whether that's a real drummer or a machine or a track.

You should have some non-standard guitars i.e., baritone or bass VI, Danelectro, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, a Gretsch, an old jazz hollowbody (even if you're primarily a rocker), a cheap and funky old Japanese axe from the 60s like that Teisco I just had worked on (you can find them really cheap), a banjo, a mandolin a saz, etc. Basically - have something non-standard and unique. Sometimes a kids 'toy' acoustic guitar is the 'right' sound for the track. You never know.
Same for pedals (or rack processor) - have some wacky and ambient sounds available. A really nasty, buzzy fuzz tone, super 'choppy' tremelo, Octaver, Whammy pedal, etc.

Make sure your guitars are well intonated.
If you use your amp make sure it's relatively rattle free (tubes or cabinet).
Don't bring any cables or pedals that are questionable as to their working condition.
Have a really accurate tuner (Petersen strobo stomp or Sonic Research turbo tuner)
If the producer/artist/engineer request that you play their gear (guitar, amp, pedal, processor, software) - do it. Try to make it work. If their gear is just not getting it then gently suggest that you can get what they're looking for with one of your guitars, amps or pedals. *Always be positive and 'yay team!' about the whole thing.

Be able to have 20 different ways to play a G chord to an F chord: Triads, arpeggios, one note sustained from each chord, one note that works over both chords, with tremelo (w/o trem), volume swells, with fx, clean, distorted, try it on the 'weird' guitar, try it on a banjo, etc., etc., etc. ... and be able to do this quickly and happily.
*The tip is that you need to be able to play the different approaches and get the sounds very quickly.

Be able to play the same part over and over again, 30 times, mistake free and with the same spirit as the 'first' take.
Be able to match levels and articulation for a one or two note or phrase fix? *Sure, the engineer can fix it - but you don't want to make him or her have to do that extra work.
Be able to play an EXACT double of what you just did.

The more shit you bring to the party - musically, conceptually and gear wise - the better your chances of finding the thing that makes the track better. You ALWAYS have to think, "is what I'm doing adding to the track or detracting?"
When you add something that makes the song better than it was before you played ... then your phone will ring again.

Think like an arranger, not a guitar player. What does the song 'need'? ... what doesn't it need?

And needless to say - PLAY GOOD!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Jun 7 2014, 12:52 PM

Thanks a lot for all the tips man! You are definitely the go-to person in respect to all these things And about Luke, yeah, in the loads of responses I missed the fact that you guys posted about him... but hell, that list is IMPRESSIVE!

Posted by: klasaine Jun 7 2014, 02:46 PM

All that stuff that I mentioned above is what 'I' do and seems to be generally what's expected of 'me'.

If you make a name for yourself as a guy in a band then you have a lot more latitude because they are probably looking for you to add 'your' thing - 'your' sound. You'd use your signature (sounding) guitar and amp, etc.
Santana is a great example: if he 'guests' on a record they expect a PRS and Mesa Boogie set for max sustain!

Posted by: tonymiro Jun 7 2014, 02:52 PM

Yep, Sam Brown is a wonderful and much underated vocalist.

Tommy Tedesco used to write a nice colum in Guitar Player way back in the 70s/80s which was kind of his diary as a studio musica.

Posted by: klasaine Jun 7 2014, 03:07 PM

TT's 'studio log' was great!

Posted by: tonymiro Jun 7 2014, 03:11 PM

Very much so, , intelligent, insightful and amusing - there were some issues of GP where that a couple of the other columns were the only things I read.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 7 2014, 03:13 PM

Your post in fantastic man, and let me say that the last question is exactly what I do every time I record guitars for my band. I think that this is essential if you are on a full band with vocalist where the songs are the important thing.

You summarized a good list of things to have in mind and there are also some clever ideas there to make your work even more valuable, thanks for taking the time to share this wisdom.

Posted by: klasaine Jun 7 2014, 03:17 PM

Tony, as a recording engineer what do you 'want' in a session musician?

Posted by: tonymiro Jun 7 2014, 03:39 PM

You've covered it in your previous post Ken .

A few that I'd emphasise are:

The ability to play the part again and again and again and again and... with the same timing etc.
A willingness to forego their own ego and desire to play too much/show off.
An understandng that very often 'less is more'.
A willingness to listen to what is being said by the producer and/or engineer.
Kit that is in very good condition and issue free.
Someone who behaves professionally - shows up on time, prepared, clean, sober and polite, etc.
Someone who doesn't get in the way whilst we do other things, record other parts and so on.
Someone who if they have an opinion expresses it positively rather than as a means to show off/stamp their 'authority'. More 'Guys could we try this a little differently. Maybe if we tried it this way?' than 'Dude that so doesn't work ya need to do this.'

A bit of an odd ball one but it seems to happen a lot over here but may not be the same in the USA:

Someone who doesn't think it's ok to take photos of themselves in front of the console and other equipment whether with a camera or on your mobile phone. If you want to take photos do it on your own time. Better still book studio time.

Posted by: klasaine Jun 7 2014, 03:57 PM

Depends on the level of experience of the 'artist'. The musicians (at least currently) understand the protocol and if they want a cool session photo they do it discreetly or at the lunch/dinner break.

*I recently did an overdub where it was just me, the artist and an engineer. The artist literally iphone filmed most of the session.
I'm sure that little vid will surface one day depicting me experimenting with a terrible part that never got used To their credit, they did 'ask' ... and I said yes, so ...

Posted by: tonymiro Jun 7 2014, 04:12 PM

Most, particularly the more experienced ones do know and understand. Lately though (like in the last 5 years or so) there's been more and more who take photos to post on the internet. Most just do it as a normal 'selfie' which is kind of ok if it's off the clock. Generally i don't mind if it's off the clock and they keep their hands to themselves, which most do. There's a small number who do it to give the impression that they're something they're not. They think it's ok to post photos of themselves in someone else's studio whilst implying it's their own studio. Having said that there are quite a few 'engineers' who do this as well...

With those who don't ask I maybe I should video myself doing a Pete Townsend with their beloved guitars. I'm sure they won't mind

Posted by: klasaine Jun 7 2014, 04:37 PM

You can be their friend on FB and then comment about how appreciative you were that they delivered that delicious lunch so promptly

Posted by: tonymiro Jun 7 2014, 04:42 PM

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jun 8 2014, 08:34 PM

yeah, I think that this depends on the project. Sometimes the producer and artist like that the musicians post photos and do some extra promotion of the project using their own social networks. This is something that can be discussed previously to a session.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Jun 9 2014, 08:36 AM

From my experience, I learned that in any situation in which more people are involved, it's best to discuss everything OPENLY as pre-assumptions are the reason for every failure - communication or logistics or strategy based