Being a person who started studio work at a very young age, I went into it in a very natural, even naïve way. I quickly learned, however, that I must be prepared when I get to the studio for nearly any sound they’d want me to make. I was certainly never one for all the pedals, effects and “stomp boxes” that you typically see a studio musician show up to a gig with ... their “pedal board” as it were. That has never been a big deal with me, as I always wanted my tone to be natural, and as non-processed as possible. Still, if you really expect to be the kind of studio player who really “gets the call”, you must be prepared for whatever the producer of the session may require of you.
It was always my “collector” mentality that had me more apt to show up with 7 guitars for various sounds rather than a pedal board full of effects, and of course, when concerned with my own music in particular, I always am sure to have plenty of choices on hand. It’s not uncommon for me to show up to one of my own sessions with an acoustic, an electric, a baritone, a mandolin, a lap steel, a twelve-string and a steel resonator guitar! That’s pretty much my typical layout! Rarely do they all get used in one day, but they certainly make me feel better, and like I have more options, when they are around.
The worst kind of session, ad these still happen to me, is where the producer or whomever, says some very specific idea of the kind of music they think this session is about, and then I cater my instrument selection to his or her thoughts, always to be wrong in the end! It just happened to me recently when they said, “you know, this is something we want to sound like the Lovin’ Spoonful”. Well, me being a real Spoonful afficionado, brought just the right stuff for “that” eventuality, but it turned out the music had NOTHING to do with the Lovin’ Spoonful at all, and I had to scrounge around looking for some other instruments that may have been lying around there that would somehow “simulate” what they were actually looking for!
Of course, it ended up being very frustrating, and I felt totally ill-prepared in a situation I thought I was truly ready for. Don’t let in happen to you ... always be prepared, if not “over prepared” for any guitaristic sound that may be required of you ... you’ll be glad you did!