Ever sell everything and start again?

gearaddict

Not sure if this should be in Amps or FX

If it wasn't such a hassle, I would love to just get rid of all my gear, with the possible exception of one guitar and just start again. I'm never happy with my setup and buying pedals here and there never seems to work.

I'd quite like to just go completely cheap and cheerful. Maybe a peavey bandit and a zoom pedal.

stickyfiddle

Not quite, but kinda last year. 

I got rid of loads of FX stuff and got a Helix. Then decided the Helix wasn't scratching the itch I thought it would, so went back to pedals. My current board only has 2 pedals I had pre-Helix. 

Sassafras

Many times, many, many times but it's usually been down to financial hardship rather than any desire to sell everything.

builttospill

I can relate to this, it's mainly with my amp and pedals, I think I'm over the guitar flipping stage? Listening to my friend's setups during rehearsals and visiting these boards just fuels those urges.
Funnily enough since switching over to a selection of old/new Boss pedals I've been much happier within myself, I'm  concentrating on the playing without worrying about my sound. I'm tweaking and adjusting less too, Boss pedals just seem intuitive and seem to work better with my amp. The most expensive pedals on my board are currently a RYRA for clean boost and Big Box DMM and that's the way it's staying. I've given up on boutique offerings for financial reasons and because most of the time I always come away feeling unsatisfied.

Teetonetal

nearly. Back in 2005. I sold everything bar 2 guitars, a strat (my parents gave me for my 18th) and a Les Paul that I'd saved for ages for. I also stopped playing until 2011.

gearaddict

The Boss pedal thing is interesting...I have certainly slagged them off in the past but in some ways the fact that they might not be the best tone in the world is kind of liberating. It's like going back to a basic amp after playing with modellers...ok, the amp is pretty limited in terms of options, compared to the modeller...it is what it is but you don't have any choice so you live with the imperfections and just get on with it.

gearaddict

My first set of pedals, which I was happy with for years, was a boss overdrive, chorus and delay.

BintyTwanger77

Tried that with pedals, came back to the same pedals again. However, I've pretty much had the same main board for about 5-6 months now and still absolutely love it. I've sold a few things recently (including a Gretsch) and still have a couple of things to sell, but it's for financial reasons rather than set-up.

As for Boss, I bought a DD7 and RV6 for my acoustic yesterday and really like the results. I think they sound good-tone-wise. Intrigued by the GT1000 as well.

I've done the pedal indecision/gear-flipping thing, and I was giving myself a headache for no good reason. What I learned (to my ££££cost) was that what can sound great one day can suddenly sound terrible the next, and 9/10 times it's down to your fickle ears rather than the gear itself.

builttospill

gearaddict said:

My first set of pedals, which I was happy with for years, was a boss overdrive, chorus and delay.

At this moment in time I'd be satisfied with that... just so that I could clear my overdraft. In my early teens I used to own a Korg A5 multi fx. Really easy to use and I could replicate many a bands sound with... I loved it! it would probably sound horrific through a princeton now though?

x-valves4ever

I found my best sounds were obtained with  my Gretsch White Falcon straight into a Carr Vincent combo.....bit of reverb and that was it.....gave up on swirling in the effects world and let my fingers do the talking with a brilliant quality tone.....

builttospill

and it cost me about £130 S/H in 1994

jackorion

I actually enjoy playing the most when it's just guitar -> amp - whatever I do I can't find a pedal that gives me the sound of my Princeton cranked and my guitar volume turned down, it's like a light overdrive or a compression that's totally controllable from your fingers!

Quite often I think about selling gear off and going down to one electric (my Telecaster) and one acoustic (my Martin) and just deciding 'that's it, that's all I never need to be the player than I want to be, nothing else will make me a better player' but I lose my nerve and I like my other guitars, plus I do like having a second acoustic at gigs as I currently am playing in 7 different tunings throughout a two hour set!

One day I think I might just do it and then concentrate on spending time playing... but where's the fun in that?

guitargeek62

I tend to do this about once every ~18 months or so

Jonathanthomas83

Excuse this, it’s not a shameless plug because I’m not selling anything. But it’s a bunch of relevant thoughts I wrote down when I was going through the same/similar thought process as you. I was never happy, now I couldn’t be happier.

https://medium.com/@jonathanthomas83/built-my-dream-guitar-rig-now-im-selling-it-part-1-the-chase-f43af3c160f9

Try to read parts 2 & 3 too, to see how it ended up. Although you already know. Let’s just say I got what I paid for and love it.

soma1975

Yep am doing it right now to reinspire myself. 

skunkwerx

I wouldnt kid myself.. 
Gas.

ijonty

builttospill said:

I can relate to this, it's mainly with my amp and pedals, I think I'm over the guitar flipping stage? Listening to my friend's setups during rehearsals and visiting these boards just fuels those urges.

Who’s this friend you’re talking about? Surely not me? Your tone always sounds WAY better than mine. 

thecolourbox

I sold everything to fund a streamlined setup of carefully considered items that matched my preference, situation and use cases. Sadly I bought badly and am now in the same position as I was before the clear out only this time there is no market to sell anything...

gearaddict

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Excuse this, it’s not a shameless plug because I’m not selling anything. But it’s a bunch of relevant thoughts I wrote down when I was going through the same/similar thought process as you. I was never happy, now I couldn’t be happier.

https://medium.com/@jonathanthomas83/built-my-dream-guitar-rig-now-im-selling-it-part-1-the-chase-f43af3c160f9

Try to read parts 2 & 3 too, to see how it ended up. Although you already know. Let’s just say I got what I paid for and love it.

The punchline is: get an AxeFX

I would love to actually...just no way I can justify the cost for my crappy levels of ability and the amount I am gigging these days. I couldn't even handle the guilt of splurging on a Helix LT and that was about half the cost of the Fractal.

builttospill

ijonty said:

builttospill said:

I can relate to this, it's mainly with my amp and pedals, I think I'm over the guitar flipping stage? Listening to my friend's setups during rehearsals and visiting these boards just fuels those urges.

Who’s this friend you’re talking about? Surely not me? Your tone always sounds WAY better than mine. 

Yes it is @ijonty I am envious of your tone 

Jonathanthomas83

gearaddict said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Excuse this, it’s not a shameless plug because I’m not selling anything. But it’s a bunch of relevant thoughts I wrote down when I was going through the same/similar thought process as you. I was never happy, now I couldn’t be happier.

https://medium.com/@jonathanthomas83/built-my-dream-guitar-rig-now-im-selling-it-part-1-the-chase-f43af3c160f9

Try to read parts 2 & 3 too, to see how it ended up. Although you already know. Let’s just say I got what I paid for and love it.

The punchline is: get an AxeFX

I would love to actually...just no way I can justify the cost for my crappy levels of ability and the amount I am gigging these days. I couldn't even handle the guilt of splurging on a Helix LT and that was about half the cost of the Fractal.

I’m nothing special and my playing leaves an awful lot to be desired. If gear makes you happy, doesn’t matter what your skill level is. Fractal is expensive but the payoff is rewarding, if I added up all the money I spent on gear before I bought it then I’d have paid for a new Axe FX III and a backup probably! And I don’t gig, but playing at home is awfully fun with the Fractal! :-) best of luck whatever you do, @gearaddict ;