I am taking a break from #TeleTuesday this week, but I was thinking it would be great to get some general guitar chat going in this community. Feel free to post questions, reviews or discussion topics. I used to be on a guitar forum where we would just throw ideas around and I want to have that sort of experience here too.
We all know that guitarists, and other musicians, suffer from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). It is always tempting to see if that next cool gadget will help you achieve musical nirvana (or Nirvana if trying to emulate Kurt). Or it may just look like fun.
Guitars
I do have a few guitars, but they each have their own character. I quite like some quirky guitars like the Gibson Nighthawk. I went to a Gibson demo evening once where this was featured. There is an Epiphone version that would be more affordable.
If I came into more money I'd like a Parker Fly. Those really pushed the technology with carbon fibre. One with a synth pickup would be great to play with that stuff.
Amps
I have a fairly nice tube/valve amp in my Belcat 20, which is a clone of a Fender Blues Junior. I also have a Roland Cube 80x that can sound something like other amps. I have always fancied a Marshall, but they have so many models. It would depend a lot on whether I was actually going to play gigs.
The Mesa/Boogie Transatlantic models look neat as they combine different pre-amps for Vox and Fender sounds. They are not a budget model. Then there are all sorts of 'boutique' amplifiers to choose from.
I know a digital device like an Axe FX or a Kemper could probably sound as good, but I do not see me becoming a pro player who needs all that versatility.
For playing at home I mostly use my Zoom G3X that can model various amps. There are lots of new digital amps, some of which use phone apps, but I am not sure those would be a massive upgrade from what I have. I have not played with them enough to tell.
Effects
I have a few pedals and my Zoom G3X covers a lot of ground. One reason for getting it was to see what sounds I used so I could work out if it was worth getting better sounding dedicated pedals. I am not an analogue purist, but then there is something about raw electronics, especially for dirt sounds. I was saying on a recent post that I would like a fuzz pedal. As a budget model the TC Electronics Honey Pot sounds pretty good to me.
With the boutique pedal industry you can pay as much as you like for a huge variety of pedals. I am not sure I want to get hooked on that drug.
Other gear
I am fairly happy with my recording rig. I had been thinking I needed an interface with more inputs, but since I hooked up a mixer I have found I can manage. I would sort of like a vocal effects unit with compression and reverb for when I am doing live streaming or making quick videos, but that is low priority.
I am open to comments on any of these things. Apart from the fuzz I am not likely to be buying much in the immediate future anyway. When HIVE goes up a lot then I will consider spending some as I did a few years back when I bought my Taylor acoustic.
What would you like to get?
I got a Spark amp which has considerably dulled my GAS need for the moment. It is a great piece of kit and idea for the home jammer. Wouldnt be much of an improvement on your kit but it is nice to play and have ready access to so many tones without faffing about. If I want faff I will go upstairs and get the mooer going with one of my other amps :OD
The best gear is whatever makes you want to play. Cool sounds definitely help. Just being able to plug in and play, without upsetting the household goes a long way.
Rock!
!BEER
Its the only amp that has managed the stay in the living room test which makes it a winner for my playing!
A mate at work got one of these. Says it's the best purchase he's made in years. I use BiasFx which uses the same software I think. I love it, but it does tie you to a computer or device and headphones. Seriously thinking of getting one. Looks nice too so would be wife approved for displaying or at least sitting in a corner.
I have BIAS Fx too and it was the one thing that I hates most about it was being tied to the laptop. I am pretty certain that this uses exactly the same software.loads of tones and four presets to save your favourites in as well as all the dials for changing parameters on the amp.
The thing that absolutely sells it for me and has increased my home playing tenfold is the jam tracks feature. You can search for any old jam track and play it through it via youtube but the dedicated ones they have are pretty stonkingly good and its great to just choose an A minor ballad and get stuck into widdling away!
I am considering getting another for upstairs I like it so much. That and the wireless receivers I got instead of leads are just awesome to an old jaded dude like myself!
And that is one of the best bits, it doesn't look terribly Amp'y so it really is wife approved!
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BEER.one gibson
one mesa-boogie 60w
one gsp 21 pro
shopping done
Sounds like a recipe for fun. What sort of Gibson do you fancy? Isn't the GSP pretty old?
!BEER
Les Paul (brass nut) - i went with one HOT george lych lead pick up / one volume knob
there are a million foot pedals - i like the GSP or any 'all-in-one' type pedal
get rid of all the extra cable mess and cable noise/cross talk
i used to use a straight power amp into 2 4x10 slant cabinets (one on each side of stage for nice stereo / bounce)
My Gibson-ish Gordon Smith has a brass nut. The digital effects are just amazing these days. It is debatable if most people need separate pedal for a given sound these days, but we like them anyway.
Stereo can be fun. I have that at home, but just not played many electric gigs.
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That is pretty awesome. That nighthawk is really nice looking! Probably the thing I would most like to get for my guitar is lessons :) That is where I would likely start!
Could be a good investment. The important thing is to be playing.
It's funny that I am doing the Rising Star promoter thing and it said you just completed a band rehearsal as I posted the other comment. Keep rocking.
So I have a purple guitar! /flex
I don't play. Adopted the thing from my brother and taught myself to play some 3 Doors Down songs, but that was ages ago.
I'd like to get guitar or violin skills, but I have not accepted the need for short nails yet, so it won't happen any time soon :D
When I played classical guitar I had to grow my nails a bit on one hand for picking with. I guess there are some instruments where nails don't get in the way. Hope you find some way to make music.
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