What is Required in a Session Guitarist’s Toolkit?

When it comes to the equipment you need on hand, in terms of guitars, nothing much has changed since the sixties. I have found owning a humbucker pickup equipped guitar, alongside a guitar loaded with single coils, as well as a reliable acoustic guitar, will help for 99% of all jobs I have had as a session musician. If you have a humbucker equipped guitar that has coil split function, then that is becoming more and more common in modern recording situations. However, not only does the guitar have to sound the part, depending on the gig, it needs to look the part. If you turn up to a jazz audition sporting your brand new tiger print Jackson with a Floyd Rose; or you turn up to a metal session with a paisley pink Telecaster, you might get some funny looks and people (rightly or wrongly) will assume certain things about your ability to handle the gig. Obviously, this is not too much cause for concern for studio session work, but bear in mind for live work, that the guitar you use may need to be a certain look. In fact, because I turned up with an instrument that wasn’t the usual T-type, S-type, or singlecut guitar; the musical director auditioning me didn’t think I looked right for the job. Had I turned up with something that was more traditional, I probably would have been playing sold out arenas for a big pop band.

When it comes to amplification and effects, this is something that is constantly evolving. Thanks to the wonder of modern technology, you can dial in very convincing tones with profilers and plugins. But again, depending on the gig, you may be required to have an amp and pedalboard ready to go that will deliver the desired tones required for the show. I am seeing more and more session players in all kinds of styles utilising the latest profilers and floorboard versions of profilers, purely for the sheer amount of sounds that may be required for the gig, and because FOH (front of house) sound engineers are preferring the equipment to be DI’d instead of mic’d up amps. Amps will always have their place in music, whether it be for studio or live situations, but it seems to be more and more common to need something that can be seen as a ‘Swiss Army Amp’, anything that kind dial in a myriad of tones quickly and easily.

Nine times of out ten, I have turned up to studio sessions with more guitars, amps, and gadgets than necessary. But I learned the hard way that are some little things that would have served me better, and took hardly any room in my car, or even my guitar case. Nowadays, it is becoming more common to see in ear monitors being used. It’s always handy to have a set (and preferably a backup pair) on hand. For most metal, pop, musical theatre, and panto sessions I’ve done, the show has been 100% to click, or at least been on in ears to make monitoring easier. You don’t need to spend ridiculous sums of money on custom moulds and the latest, state of the art in ears, with multiple drivers and all the latest wizardry they can offer. I have used the same set of £90 in ear monitors for close to a decade, and they have been all over the world with me multiple times. Of course, I had a backup set, just in case. In ears, as well as spare picks (in gauges appropriate for the style or part), strings and string changing equipment, a slide, capo, and a small toolkit in case your guitar needs a small adjustment; will see you in good stead for all live and studio sessions.

There is a saying that I was told when I was a younger player that has always stuck with me: guitarists practise soloing 99% of the time, when, in fact, we play rhythm 99% of the time. In my experience, this is so true. Soloing is fun, and for some sessions a vital and necessary skill; but for most of my work as a hired gun, I wasn’t asked to play one single solo. Your rhythm chops need to be on point and in the pocket. Work on your chord vocabulary, work on your feel and timing by playing along with records; and even better play in a band with a live drummer. If you can master playing simple parts, in time, with a great feel; you will have more chance of being hired again and again.

Although reading isn’t essential as a session musician, you never know kind of gig you will be hired for. I have been surprised by the gigs that I assumed wouldn’t need any kind of reading ability, only to be handed with full notation or sometimes a lead sheet/chord chart upon arrival. It always helps to keep that skill in the back pocket, purely because you may have to turn down some great opportunities (and another income stream) by limiting your skill set. If you would like to read more about whether or not learning to read music is an essential skill for you, click here to read another one of my blogs covering this very topic.

In my experience, and many other session player friends, I have found that working on my ear was the number one skill that separated me getting the gig to not getting the gig. There are so many incredible players in the world, the vast majority of them are technically better than I will be in a month of Sundays. However, I later found out that I got the job over other potential players because I could work out and memorise the parts by ear quickly. Time is money to a lot of producers, bands, and musical directors; so if you can work out a 15 song set quicker than the next person, you’ve got the gig.

When it comes to great session players, unless you are at the absolute top of your game in one style and have developed a name as that kind of player, you will be required to play in multiple styles. Sometimes this is essential in continuing to pay the bills as a player: you are simply cutting off opportunities when you close yourself off to styles outside of your primary skillset. Open yourself up to as many styles as you can, learn songs in those styles, play along to records, and pick apart any key aspects that make that particular style what it is. Here is a link to another blog where I discuss this in more detail.

I have to admit something here that I am quite ashamed of. It wasn’t until the end of making my third album with a worldwide known metal band that I finally learned how to record my own song demos. This was in early 2020. What a time to finally learn to how to record my guitar parts! This was literally a month before Covid hit and deleted a lot of session players’ work overnight. I was fortunate enough to learn some simple but essential home recording tricks, that not only made demoing my songs alone an option, but also opened up another income stream when I desperately needed it. Music could still be made remotely, with musicians and producers needing to complete deadlines; and also some projects I did purely for fun to fill my time, laid the groundwork for paid opportunities later on. I was no longer required to travel to a studio (although the option was there if preferred), and I could record the tracks at a time that was convenient for me. It’s becoming more common to work this way, whether as a writer, in a band, or a session musician, so it’s worth investing a little bit of time and money into learning home recording, even if it’s just some the basics (which I admit, is still all I know).

Having said all of this about what equipment you need and the skills required to be a great working session guitar player, the things I think all musicians need are a good work ethic and to simply be a nice person. Imagine you have been hired for a tour working for a band with an incredible cast of players. One of those people is an absolute nightmare to work with. Always complaining, ideas above their station, zero manners, or simply just giving off pretentious or negative vibes. Take it from me, that person won’t be on the tour very long. Same in a studio situation - if you think you know best and give off the impression that you’re not trying your best or the session is beneath you, guess what? You will be sacked and not asked back. You could be the best player in the world, but what’s the point if no one wants to work with you? Be kind, nice, and easy to work with whilst giving your all for the job you have been hired to do. Let’s put it this way, I’ve been hired for some life changing gigs, purely because I was recommended as a hassle free person to work with. I certainly wasn’t the best player out of all the names selected...by a long way.