Why Tom Morello Doesn’t Cut His Guitar Strings

[@tomgajowski6263]

"Stopped practicing scales and started practicing mistakes" why do I love that so much

[@eltoro969]

There is a golden rule from the old school that you practice like a madman until you become good, then you throw everything you have learned away. That will slowly make you create your own sound. You can apply that to almost anything creative.

[@Monomonmamon]

coming from a guitar teacher, that's something cool

[@tafino]

Don’t agree with TM on many things, but I agree that he’s a musical genius. Case and point what you’ve stated

[@haimshkolnik2092]

What is that mean "practicing mistakes"?

[@spacebum]

I don’t need any practice with mistakes. I’m perfect at them lol

[@TheGgreen100]

For you non-guitar players out there, the Marshall JCM 800 that he plays is a badass amp. Don't think he's using junk. He doesn't use much but what he uses is good stuff.

[@antiv]

That’s such a radical way to deny the gear hysteria, very zen.

[@jasonhewitt9542]

This knowledge came to me right at the moment I needed to hear it. I feel the exact same way and have used the same guitar for almost 30 years lol

[@GRequinBlanc]

So true. Makes me think about my choices...

[@eltoro969]

i remember listening to their debut and reading that he just used 2 ordinary pedals. blew my mind. still does.

[@LeadersandLunatics]

I released a song a few weeks back and Tom liked it on Twitter. Literally one of my proudest moments.

[@saintsataniko2116]

I'm watching every clip of Tom hoping it will be longer because every single story is fascinating. Literally the only guitarist I have ever heard say "the equipment doesn't matter."

[@bobabooey4537]

But it does matter. Why else has Tom used 3 pedals for 35 years? He shoulda said you don't have to go over the top with gear or that gear doesn't make you better.

[@johnthemetalmailman]

The whole interview was like two hours and it was all great. His radio shows he does on sirius are fantastic as well

[@bromidrosis3238]

Then I’m guessing you haven’t listened to a lot of guitar plays speak...it’s never about your gear haha

[@deadlyoneable]

He still has three more pedals than I use in the electric...but I get his point.

[@kieronreilly6713]

Kurt Cobain

[@TheLeatheryman]

I confess I haven’t been exposed to Tom Morello apart from his playing.. what a nice and articulate fucking guy!

[@JackfrostyMan]

He went to Harvard.

[@phyfts]

That amp is an amazing one though, he's not playing junk

[@ThorCarlton]

I was expecting some cheap, shitty amp and he points to a fucking JCM800 lol

[@doknox]

Hes right though. I have hundred dollar guitars that when setup and adjusted properly play better than 1000 dollar fenders out of the box. I'd rather spend 100 and a few hours of work than 1000 and a couple hours of work anyway. You're just paying for a name and a lot of times that name means shit. If you are good no one cares that you have an off brand guitar. Slash played a fake gibson for like 25 yrs and then gibson made his signature guitar based off of the cheap fake guitar! That says it all.

[@alexiaf23]

To be fair he recorded many of RATM's hits on cheap ass Fender solid state amps too. Guerilla Radio was recorded on a thrift store Fender solid state with a $40 guitar from a pawn shop. Dude could give less of a shit tbh

[@thirdmonkey]

I always thought the way Tom held his guitar was awesome

[@mbirdmann1866]

Right. I thought it was unique.

[@ENigma-um8zw]

Same. I always kept my guitar strap a little extra high than was popular in the punk scene where it’s so low, but I love the tight holding posture too

[@ZappayaZappayo]

agree

[@evans3234]

Yeah, his whole style is part of the reason I started playing guitar

[@GodWeenSatan]

I always thought that it would be comfortable holding it like that

[@PjPerez]

"None of the gear matters" - can also apply this to every artform. Filmmaking. Illustration. Writing. So true.

[@MustObeyTheRules]

Idk. True to an extent. I played crappy cheap acoustics for my first like 10 years of playing and was never inspired enough to try writing anything until I saved up for a guitar that I fell in love with and that graced my ears. After that, ideas just started pouring out and I couldn’t and still can’t put it down. Having an instrument you love is super inspiring.

[@albertgein3082]

Luckily- i have an advertisement for tom morello- signature very specifically designed guitar coming up next to celebrate how much he doesn't care what kinda guitar he plays 🤪

[@Fire_Marshall_Bill]

If you have halfway decent sound gear, a modern cell phone camera, and a shot for shot vision you can make some great videos. I am going to apply toms logic now in my guitar playing. Why did I never think about it the same way I think of film making?

[@pathologicaldoubt]

That’s a bit of an exaggeration. Gear matters, but not that much

[@mikeobrien6704]

I go through that with photography. You have the gear heads. But the images come from the mind, eyes and soul. I can take a great image on my SLR or Samsung phone.

[@danjwalker]

I saw Rage in 1996. Seriously one of the best live acts I've ever seen. SO TIGHT.

[@poshwizard4216]

The way he talks about guitar and uses his guitar it’s truly inspiring

[@instinct3426]

This is why he is one of my favorite guitarists ever. He is a very unique and creative musician

[@quinnrollen]

Finally, an actual guitar player who could give a shit less about equipment. Guys brilliant and bad ass.

[@doknox]

Real guitar players know it's not the gear. It's the player!

[@jimayers7461]

I used to not cut my strings too. Then I poked my eye, then my bass player's eye, then my singer's eye. It doesn't make you any cooler to not cut them

[@joooanit0224]

But he's Tom Morello

[@scottbrockman9743]

You know what is cool? Spacial awareness.

[@benc4968]

@@scottbrockman9743 😭😭😭

[@benc4968]

Maybe the strings weren’t the problem James

[@Benry1]

Maybe not but having a band where everyone wears an eye patch absolutely makes you cooler

[@chrisp9975]

Tom is an absolute badass

[@theonlyredspecial]

Wow what a unique approach on gear and it really works for him. He is such a great orator as well. He has really inspired me listening to him. Absolutely brilliant !

[@gizmotv9320]

Absolute riffmaster. Love his work

[@manicfoot]

I love Tom's gear philosophy. I definitely believe in the idea of creativity through limitation. Sometimes I apply that to writing songs. Like I'll have to write a song using only one finger on the fretboard, or by using certain chords. It really helps me a lot. Otherwise I think I'd be paralyzed by choice; noodling for hours without getting anything out of it.

[@13christbane]

Tom is a national treasure.

[@nirajathawale5000]

Mate he is an International Treasure!

[@13christbane]

@@nirajathawale5000 agreed 👍

[@glennallen3400]

That was such a great interview!

[@luisaucedo]

This is such a well done interview

[@lroscinski5046]

By far still my favorite guitarist !!! YOU ROCK TOM !!!

[@Rooster7six]

Obsessing over the gear is half the fun of playing guitar!

[@zbraDEVOzbra]

The way he plays with his guitar high is cool too. He's recognisable among others, and that what matters

[@jarrettfinney4882]

I’m so glad Howard asked this. I’ve been wondering forever. I hate it. Lol

[@_tchorzyk]

Same!

[@MikeNice619]

What questions? His strings? 😳

[@sianspherica]

I've been wondering about the guitar strings thing for like 20 years. Glad I finally found out the reasoning!

[@thatanti-egoguy]

Tom Morello has just been Eric Andre in disguise this whole time

[@coachcleats13]

I play mine up high like that too. BB King played his guitar up high also!1 Its the sound you produce we love forget about cool bro!!!

[@johnnykarate_SweepLeg]

I like that one of the best guitarists in the world just admitted that the most expensive and newest gear actually doesn't matter... optimizing what you have is what actually matters.

[@utubeutube4761]

There is definitely something to simplicity & using what you got. using all the same stuff as everyone else and you end up sounding like everyone else.

[@Rooster7six]

lol in the 80s everyone used JCM 800’s so he was playing the same thing as everyone else.

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

Wait. He doesn't cut his strings because he was in the baddest band in town but doesn't wear his guitar low because he doesn't care about being cool. Isn't that like the ultimate contradiction?

[@lucagarcia238]

I think he doesn't cut the strings BECAUSE he doesn't care about being cool

[@mattmoves5920]

So what?

[@subg8858]

Inconsistency is the hallmark of genius

[@sucktion]

And he wrote “arm the homeless” on his guitar because he’s soooo provocative and rebellious. What an impressive guy.

[@djcj]

Awesome insight regarding gear. Love it!

[@thelizardking3882]

Legendary lol his guitar is so unmistakable. Most unique sound from a guitar.

[@ElfSixDave]

Wow, I love that. As a guitarist myself, I've always thought, how much difference doe's it actually make, what effects and pedals etc, you use. Its what you play that counts. Thanks Tom for making me feel a whole lot better about my playing my same old sound , that "I" like, not what I think people want to hear. Hope that makes sense.

[@cc_1983]

Amen to this! People who need all the gear and feel like you need a studio in the house 🏠 finding your own voice is more important

[@keetakitten]

Cheers to you Tom, you are an amazing person.

[@MJCGuitar]

The master of creativity👍🎸🌟

[@daveydavedave]

Rebellion and firepower. Crazy key words these days but hats off to you and your talent tom

[@dirtydirtmcgogurt]

I fully agree with this. I've been in position, several times through various hobbies etc, where I had a very, very small budget to work with. This caused me to truly figure out what I had and what I needed, and only would upgrade/buy new stuff if I felt that "not upgrading" was hurting my progression. Personally, I think this gave me the opportunity to be more creative with my current options, and know the things that I had, inside and out. As in, if you don't know EXACTLY why you want something, you actually might be better off working around the issue instead of buying your way out of it (in terms of creativity).

[@jasonsmith530]

Hats off to the guitar heroes

[@javiersds8081]

I've always held my guitar as high as Tom for exactly the same reason. If I held it lower, I would play way worse, because I wouldn't be able to reach the notes I want to reach.

[@BOBANDVEG]

Lol.....I spent too much time sitting practicing years ago. Got that bad boy chin strapped

[@metalheadblues]

I know a few guitarist who would benefit from playing with there guitar higher but guess they wanna look "cool"

[@CharlieRootsMusic]

Hurts my wrist if I wear it low and mutes strings from time to time.

[@carvinblack]

If you watch most low players, they don't solo and just play the first 6 frets. Slash does both. Plays rhythm low and then angles his guitar up for solos.

[@dereklong801]

He's absolutely right about wearing the guitar standing exactly as it is when sitting down. Otherwise, the guitar feels completely different trying to play standing up. It sounds trivial, but its not.

[@drjimmy73]

Legend. Riff Master and as simplistically innovative as it gets.

[@grant5603]

On the flip side I have heard him talk about how important their gear is - that one time when they were rehearsing on tour somewhere, their gear hadn’t arrived yet, so they used hire gear, and it just didn’t sound like Rage

[@Pazuzu158]

His road crew must love him keeping the gear so simple

[@hassaan561]

That was a great explanation. Obviously he has limitations now because he doesn’t experiment too much but it opens him up creatively. This is why I also hate electric guitars because it’s too complicated for me to set the guitar then set the amp then you have pedals.

[@Xxmeca421xX]

An electric guitar just has metal poles wrapped in copper wire to pickup sound, and the tone knob for grounding high frequencies through a capacitor. It's really a simple instrument. A piano is more complex to me

[@dereklong801]

Clapton made the best music of his career with nothing but a Strat and a cranked Marshall amp. You don't need all the crap.

[@cmet8280]

@@dereklong801 Well you do need a strat and a marshall.

[@serroche]

What he says in this video is way more important to musicians than a thousand lessons.

[@henrikpersson4698]

I always thought he was cool as fuck for keeping the guitar up high because it seemed like he didn't try so hard, which is really what cool is all about.

[@bretts7694]

Love this interview so much

[@dustcircle]

One of the most innovative guitarists since Jimi.

[@Jimfly30]

What a great spokesman for his signature fender!

[@tcore7]

Tom is such as awesome guy! Wow! Great stories.

[@JaredChristensen-hd3vx]

The guitar does not matter. Right on. And love the way he relates the way he holds the guitar. Right on.

[@jarrettfinney4882]

I don’t agree with a lot of his politics, but Tom has inspired me so much. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably still be trading my guitars off every month and not making any music. Plus he’s inspired me a lot to look for different ways to play the guitar and not just look at it as this thing you have to play this certain way and that’s it. Also, you don’t have to be the baddest shredder to make great music that connects with people. I put him on my mt. Rushmore for those reasons

[@toddclark332]

Cool is when you can do it and nobody else can and he can do it that's all that matters hey Howard Robin have a beautiful day

[@ManuelMartinez09]

Solid arguments, you can agree or not but he is so right.

[@AnonymousAccount514]

Awesome interview

[@niftybman]

If Howard think Tom holds his guitar high he should look up John Dwyer

[@desimonenoah]

I love how he says not to worry about gear yet he plays a jcm 800 lol

[@spencer2745]

My favorite guitar player

[@martag.4594]

Tom Morello is a genius.

[@Paul-dw2cl]

What kind of guitar is that at 3:29?

[@thejoke2791]

A true artist.

[@GodWeenSatan]

He needs to do a full album with Les Claypool

[@mickkluesner7056]

That would be a quite interesting duo....perhaps throw Jack White in for a few songs

[@robingoods7880]

Awesome artist .lov from germany

[@michaelcassady1289]

I don't cut my strings because they usually break at the bridge. I can reattach the string as long as there's enough length past the tuning pegs. I stopped playing with my guitar down by my knees and my skills improved a lot.

[@cadriver2570]

Great interview!

[@SB-xt5jk]

So... Tom Morello is super smart and well spoken. I honestly didn't know that.

[@jorget.924]

Tom is the TRUTH!! 🤘🤘

[@rainman42]

I play my guitar way to high too..and i know Tom does too...hes 1 of my fav guitarists but thats not why...its just like he said...comfort, just like sitting at home

[@MillennialBro]

Sounds like Seth Macfarlane a little bit haha

[@Magooch86]

Yes, also Binging With Babish 😂

[@TomCochring]

More like Eric Andre imo

[@somewhereupthere]

Love this guitarist

[@rufiorufioo]

Love this dude.

[@PotatoJonson]

“And finally Tom Morello’s Puppy Podcast on Sirius XM.”

[@fearxile]

How crazy two guitar legends Tom Morello and Adam Jones went to the same high school.

[@simonvanderheijden432]

Who's Adam Jones?

[@superorangeish]

What an articulate nice guy.

[@Kedish88]

Yo what is that explorer at 0:13 like model name does anyone know ? Cuz i just bought epiphone explorer pro in TV silver and it looks just nike that lol

[@AndreideLosSantos]

Great artist

[@pmorse3653]

Tom is amazing

[@rawsko0316]

Morello is the man!!

[@ST-xg3gy]

Tom is perfect for radio.

[@tambert3897]

Tom Morello, the only guitar player who also used his guitar as a turn table.

[@StanQualen]

He is brilliant

[@franciscleary6544]

Playing the guitar with it higher like he does is ergonomically so much better and closer to the way classical guitarists hold the guitar. When you hold it correctly like that you can play Forever and are much less likely to develop problems. Maybe it looks cool the way rock stars hold a guitar but I am a physical therapist and whenever I see rockers with the guitar hanging low I am like, "Yeesh, this is not going to be good in the long run!" So I always look for the rock stars who hold their guitar high and whenever I spot one I am like wow this guy is double-secret on the DL cool!

[@bryanhicks5712]

What a great mindset to have

[@arronsimpson5250]

Absolute legend 👌

[@Rompler_Rocco]

Wow! But what are the exact pedals & settings so I can sound good, too??

[@accidentallyfasting5768]

I play bass with mine high like that too. It's sooooo much easier to play better. I went thru the low hanging bass when I was young and am so glad I switched.

[@stephenparkes6476]

I saw Tom at another roadside attraction in 96 or 7 and have since wondered about why

[@setmefree2818]

All the best guitarists wear their guitar high! Its the coolest!

[@j42078]

This is amazing ❤

[@Xxmeca421xX]

LOL. I did it because it looked cool too hahaha. I'm so glad he said that. Same with having the guitar the same height as when sitting and trying to find the sound in your head when starting out that never happens. Fack, I love hearing him talk about his method of creating.

[@hemarock_re-iniciamario1416]

Tom es un guitarrista genial,las cuerdas largas hacen su estilo libre de perjuicios.

[@tayhollowpeake9226]

the legend

[@12D_isME]

Mind Blown 🤯

[@Laststopny2741]

Tom Morello is the man!!

[@Paul-dw2cl]

WHOA! I always thought a Marshall JCM 800 was 100 watts, I didn’t realize it was 50 watts.

[@blakepotter7937]

Thats what a king sounds like.

[@RobertJohnson-xr4gy]

Tom is the one guy who makes wearing the guitar that high look cool

[@w-dad4040]

He's right when it comes to any artform gear doesn't matter

[@joeybags7411]

What a real ass dude 💯🔥