"Guitarists": Exploiting our demographic has gone too far

[scottmandue]

Didn't Jimmy H. have a tech that moded his amp and built him all kinds of crazy effects?

(Guess I'm showing my age, JH was the guitar god of my generation)

[Jim Richards]

Hoffa was a guitarist?

[ToddM]

Nonsense, I started buying my own equipment in 87 and Guitar Center was alive and wel as was Guitar Showcase. There's definitely more lowest common denomenator stuff out there than ever but back in the 80's there was no shortage of instruments or equipment.

And after all that craziness I am back down to a 59 Strat, a 63 Deluxe, and a fuzz pedal.

Equipment has so little to do with how good a player you are.

[Rick Lee]

There were no Guitar Centers or anything like them on the East Coast in the 80's. I went to one giant music store around Tampa, FL when I was about 13 and it was just awe-inspiring. True, fancy equipment doesn't make the player, but it makes playing more enjoyable, which makes you practice more. I mean, when you have a beater Hondo Strat knockoff and a terrible old Crate paractice amp, you tend to really want to try out your best friend's Les Paul and Marshall. I pretty much had all the equipment I wanted by the time I got out of high school. Everything after that was just stuff I needed because I was playing out and so road reliability became an issue.

[ToddM]

Some of the best players I know play Squier Strats, etc.

I remember this time I met a handful of complete strangers at a home recording studio to play for the first time, sight unseen, kind of a "synergy" thing just to see what happened. They keyboardist pulls out this $300 total piece of radio shack junk. I was thinking about what a Fn disaster the whole gig was going to be. Then he played and this guy was like a musical prodigy.

To this day I don't judge anybody by their instrument.

Most real musicans truly are at the poverty level and cannot afford good equipment. I made the decision in college if I wanted to eat top ramen and live in an apt the rest of my life; I couldn't be happier with my decision to keep music as a hobby and pursue a career.

I am in California and there's definitely been no shortage of gear and those trying to sell it for ridiculous prices.

[Rick Lee]

I got a Gallien-Krueger 250ML on consignment for $325 when I was 16. My old man busted my balls for a while about that. But I still have it 20 yrs. later and everyone else I've known who has one says mine sounds so much better than theirs. I got a gem that day and have a LOT of miles on that amp.

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by ToddM


To this day I don't judge anybody by their instrument.

For a long time my favorite bass was a Stienberger, in order of importance to me it had, a great sound, played very easy, was very comfortable. I would show up a jam sessions or auditions, pull it out and the rest of the band would look at me like I was from Mars... then dig up some POS bass and ask me to play it.

Hey Rick, I got Hondo Dan-electro copy bass that kicks a$$! Probably an anomaly I know but it is one funny little bass... most people don't even know what it is, much less that it is a copy of something.

[Rick Lee]

My first one was a Hondo. I eventually painted it up, rerouted it for a humbucker and Floyd Rose, put on a hockey stick Kramer neck, etc. It turned out pretty nice. Still, my Ernie Ball VH guitar is just the nicest one I've ever played. But it's way too nice for a first guitar.

[Rick Lee]

Oh, and my best friend in junior high and high school also had a Steinberger, but it was with the TransTrem. He always had the latest and most expensive of everything, though he never played that well. I remember sitting down every day with the Van Halen records and the Live Without a Net video and learning everything note for note. I had Summer Nights down perfectly on my guitar, but was dying to see how it worked on a Steinberger in a different key position. That just convinced me of EVH's genius more - work smart, not hard. It was soooo much easier to do on a Steinberger in the other key, but with the bridge locked into the right key. Then I got on a White Lion kick, but I could do all that stuff without the Steinberger Vito used. He never did much with the TransTrem anyway.

[Victor]

........the poor mans way (well, mine anyhow) to the "summer nights" intro is by using a capo on the 3rd fret and then quickly whipping it off for the rest of the tune. Works well.

[Rick Lee]

Originally posted by Victor
........the poor mans way (well, mine anyhow) to the "summer nights" intro is by using a capo on the 3rd fret and then quickly whipping it off for the rest of the tune. Works well.

I never used a capo once until I started working on James Taylor stuff. Summer Nights SHOULD be played the hard way - with a long stretch.

[Victor]

Photo please. That's just not possible. Assuming you are playing it as if it where an open G on the 3rd.

[Sonic dB]

Capos...I always hated them, such awkward things as they are.
You need one to play the studio versions of Hotel California and
Here Comes the Sun though...

Currently my expensive Capo is helping to hold the filter to the
side of my fishtank. Its been there for years.

Never tried to play Summer Nights....but im listening to it
right now first time in a long time

[jeffgrant]

The sound has SOO much to do with the way that the guitar is played. I was at a GIT demo in the late '80s, and they had Eddie, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, and a few others doing some demos on stage.

For ****z and giggles, they all started swapping guitars to see how they'd sound with other guitars/rigs, and whaddayaknow... they still sounded pretty much the same... Beck still sounded like Beck, Eddie like Eddie, etc.

Sure, the gear made some differences, but the underlying quality/feel was still the same.


They were actually quite surprised and were laughing about it, as it was the era of the "buy an Eventide and you too can sound like Steve Vai" mindset. (Actually, I'm not sure that has changed that much)

[Victor]

Originally posted by Sonic dB
Capos...I always hated them, such awkward things as they are.
You need one to play the studio versions of Hotel California and
Here Comes the Sun though...

Currently my expensive Capo is helping to hold the filter to the
side of my fishtank. Its been there for years.

Never tried to play Summer Nights....but im listening to it
right now first time in a long time

Same here - that is the only time I have found a use for a capo. Because I'm still convinced its the only way to play the intro to that song unless you have the trans trem..........I think that's probably the only track Ed used it on for the same reason the drill only appears once or twice in history.

[stuartj]

Originally posted by ToddM
Some of the best players I know play Squier Strats, etc.

I remember this time I met a handful of complete strangers at a home recording studio to play for the first time, sight unseen, kind of a "synergy" thing just to see what happened. They keyboardist pulls out this $300 total piece of radio shack junk. I was thinking about what a Fn disaster the whole gig was going to be. Then he played and this guy was like a musical prodigy.

To this day I don't judge anybody by their instrument.

Most real musicans truly are at the poverty level and cannot afford good equipment. I made the decision in college if I wanted to eat top ramen and live in an apt the rest of my life; I couldn't be happier with my decision to keep music as a hobby and pursue a career.

I am in California and there's definitely been no shortage of gear and those trying to sell it for ridiculous prices.

Im of the view that no strat is worth more than a couple a hundred bucks.

[Rick Lee]

Originally posted by Victor
Photo please. That's just not possible. Assuming you are playing it as if it where an open G on the 3rd.

Here ya go. Standard tunning. This sounds IDENTICAL to the album. I'm tempted to ask for your phone number and play it for you over the phone. With my GK 250ML, it sounds perfect.

[Victor]

Rick - that is sensational. I stand corrected.

[ToddM]

Originally posted by stuartj
Im of the view that no strat is worth more than a couple a hundred bucks.

A decent sent of pickups alone will run you $200+

[stuartj]

OK, $300 then.