Studio work (those guys that do all the masters) is the top gig, and pays accordingly. Road players just don't make much money...the best of these guys might top out at 50k to 75k a year. A good session player probably makes that in a couple of months, but there ain't many session players! I'd guess there's maybe half a dozen steelers, max, who work at it full time, doing two or three sessions a day...six or seven days a week.
So, are road players any better or worse? Probably not. But they have to do what they can do, so they go on the road with some egomaniac (yeah, yeah, I know there's a few exceptions), and put up with all the bullcrap to get a little glitz.
I guess the biggest kick in the teeth is what they make compared to what the "star" makes.
Sorry, nothing personal, do what you like. But personally, I just couldn't be happy working for someone who's making about 100 times more per gig than what I'd make.
I'd feel like a waiter who just got a nickel for a tip.
Studio players versus"live" players
Moderator: Shoshanah Marohn
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Rick Schmidt
- Posts: 3258
- Joined: 4 Aug 1998 11:00 pm
- Location: Prescott AZ, USA
I'm no where in the league of Paul or any of the guys who are in the studio every day, but I have put a couple thousand hours in the studio over the years. I also have played on dozens of albums where the artist had a steel player or guitar player, but where my parts ended up on the album. So of course I usually ask the producer why they called me, and these are the main complaints I have heard about inexperienced session players:
-They ask what they should play. Then are frustrated because they can't translate the producers unclear and contradictory instructions into a useable part. Producers dread those words ("what do you want me to play"). They hire you because they want you to figure it out (they'll tell you if they don't agree with you, of course).
-They are overly concerned with their own part. The tone, the licks, as opposed to thinking about the song. Quote from a producer, when asked what was wrong with the part I was replacing: "nothing wrong with it, he's a great player. He just was listned to his axe, not the song".
-Inability to abandon an approach. Often in the studio, you take a song and rearrange it on the spot, sometimes really dramatically. Some players, especially if they have been playing the song live and have worked out parts, have a hard time starting over from square one.
Note I am not saying that these are problems that 'road players' have. It's just an observation that these are typical problems that musicians have who haven't spent a lot of time in the studio. Of course, I'm sure there are 'natural' studio players who can nail it the first time in the studio. I know I think about these sorts of things when I book a session, and I am much more likely to hire somebody with many hours in the studio than a newbie, no matter how good a player he or she is.
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www.tyack.com
-They ask what they should play. Then are frustrated because they can't translate the producers unclear and contradictory instructions into a useable part. Producers dread those words ("what do you want me to play"). They hire you because they want you to figure it out (they'll tell you if they don't agree with you, of course).
-They are overly concerned with their own part. The tone, the licks, as opposed to thinking about the song. Quote from a producer, when asked what was wrong with the part I was replacing: "nothing wrong with it, he's a great player. He just was listned to his axe, not the song".
-Inability to abandon an approach. Often in the studio, you take a song and rearrange it on the spot, sometimes really dramatically. Some players, especially if they have been playing the song live and have worked out parts, have a hard time starting over from square one.
Note I am not saying that these are problems that 'road players' have. It's just an observation that these are typical problems that musicians have who haven't spent a lot of time in the studio. Of course, I'm sure there are 'natural' studio players who can nail it the first time in the studio. I know I think about these sorts of things when I book a session, and I am much more likely to hire somebody with many hours in the studio than a newbie, no matter how good a player he or she is.
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www.tyack.com
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Ray Minich
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- Location: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
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Donny Hinson
- Posts: 21192
- Joined: 16 Feb 1999 1:01 am
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Joe Miraglia
- Posts: 1607
- Joined: 4 Aug 1998 11:00 pm
- Location: Jamestown N.Y.
Right on about the CEO pay. After working at Cummins Engine for 22years,retire now it.s fun playing weekends. We all get the same pay. I'm not very good but what else is new 
.I think I would have liked to be on the road, it's not for every one,,in the long run I think things turned out ok. As far as Studio players versus live players they both have a inportant job in producing music.And that music keeps us going. Joe
.I think I would have liked to be on the road, it's not for every one,,in the long run I think things turned out ok. As far as Studio players versus live players they both have a inportant job in producing music.And that music keeps us going. Joe-
Ray Minich
- Posts: 6429
- Joined: 22 Jul 2003 12:01 am
- Location: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra