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EXCLUSIVE: Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White talk It Might Get Loud
Three guitar greats, a revealing conversation
Joe Bosso, Fri 3 Jul 2009, 4:51 pm UTC
Jack, at one point early on in the film you make a comment that "technology can be the death of creativity."
White: It can. It sure can.
Given that both Jimmy and certainly The Edge have made marvelous music with technology - and Edge would probably say that his music wasn't even possible without it - how do you stand by that statement?
White: It's a fine line. You can make a great record on Pro Tools, or Pro Tools can be the bane of your existence and destroy anything beautiful you put into it. It takes a lot of restraint and respect to…to keep it pure. And I think The Edge does that. He uses technology to his advantage.
Edge: Anytime you plug a guitar into an amp, there's technology involved. The important thing is that if you use technology to create a unique sound and it winds up being a big part of the inspiration for what you end up playing, then it can be a great thing.
Certainly, in my experience, finding a unique sound has been through the use of hardware - the abuse of hardware. It's not about allowing the technology to dictate your sound; it's about allowing the technology to take you in another direction.
There's this word that's thrown around a lot in music: authenticity. I think there's many roots to it. But I'll tell you this…when you hear music that's been inspired in an honest way, it has a power. And music that comes out of using craft over inspiration…you can tell the difference.
