I’ve been on this bloody thing for 20 years.

viz

I’ve just realised, 20 years ago, as people at work started returning from summer holidays, my great mate Mike_Strat alerted me to a forum on the Guitarist Magazine website, where guitarists would apparently chat about all manner of things - string tensions, true bypass pedals, valves biasing, the Lydian Dominant mode, but also about a load of other crap and nonsense, totally unrelated to guitar playing. So I joined up and started reading the various chats, and within a couple of days I found myself contributing to them. 

20 years later, and after many iterations - intermusic, musicradar, temp-fab, and now this place - which is 8 years old as I found out today! - I just felt like saying what a wonderful community and resource and distraction it’s been. I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent on here. Probably 20 x 365.25 x 2 hours, or something horrendous. Which is nearly two years full-time. 4% of my life so far. 6% of my waking life. Omg.

I have learned so many useful things that I’ve actually needed to know, e.g. how to tune a piano, repair a fridge, replace a tap washer, set up a recording studio, soooo many things. And also from the sidelines I’ve picked up many useless tips as well, such as how to chizzle a guitar, how to delay a laminate flooring project, how to choose a toaster, all manner of nonsense. I’ve seen arguments and flounces, and I’ve seen long lasting friendships made, I’ve bought, sold, given and been gifted many things with many new trustworthy friends, and I’ve seen untrustworthy people routed out. And of course I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many forumites and their predecessors over the decades, which I didn’t think would happen, and which has been awse. 

In fact when I joined I never dreamed I’d still be reading this shite 20 years later.

So anyway, thanks v much to the people who keep this alive - admins, mods, contributors alike. 

Cheers

TTony

20 years??

You'll have to pick up a guitar and learn to play it soon.

Keiko

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Roland

There were times while I was working abroad that the forum’s predecessors were my only contact with reality. I’m still repaying that debt.

stickyfiddle

Roland said:

There were times while I was working abroad that the forum’s predecessors were my only contact with reality. I’m still repaying that debt.

Oh god I know that feeling. Though I'm not sure if "reality" quite covers it  

Chris.B

I'm at the other end of the spectrum from Viz in terms of tenure and playing ability.  I've been here for just a couple of years and been taking lessons for 18 months.  I spend a lot of time here, learning about all things guitar and I enjoy the OT section too. 

It's a great place and I spend a lot of time here - a great big thank you to all the contributors, from an enthusiastic, but old, leaner. 

WiresDreamDisasters

Really, when you think about it, it's Emp's fault we're all here. Even me.

VimFuego

oddly enuff, I was wondering who was still here that has done more porridge than me. Think I joined about 03 or thereabouts. Been a bit of a wild ride at times, but no doubt this place has helped me when I was in the darkest of places, and it continues to help me. If only I'd practiced a bit more, I may even have been able to call myself a guitar player.

digitalscream

Wow, that's impressive! I've only got 14.5 years' service.

Although...I might be able to compete with your "actual time online", given the way I've spent the last 8 years or so...

littlegreenman

Can't quite remember when I first joined. Think it was first on Intermusic but may not have been until the Musicradar days but it's been a very long time, on and off.

I can however truthfully say that without all of it's iterations, I would never have progressed beyond being a "guitar owner" into a "guitar player" and dare I say it, a "musician"? Forum jams on MR got me playing again and recording, and from there down the rabbit holes of composing and production.

Over the years, and very much this week, the support I've had from forum folk in sad times has been amazing. And have also seen the same so very many times for others as well.

I'm mostly a lurker, but love this place.

EricTheWeary

I had my 8 year badge the other day. I’d skipped the Empfabtemp stage and I’m guessing was on MusicRadar for about four years. 

They used to print quotes from the forum in the magazine in order to encourage people to use it and mag contributors would regularly pop up on the forum. Then it became a sort of enfant terrible with huge threads about how terrible some of their main advertisers ( GAK take a bow) were and bit by bit Future disowned it until they could turn it to dust. 

fastonebaz

Wait what,  tell me more about what Temp_fab is.  I knew there must be more to his story.

Funkfingers

fastonebaz said:

Wait what,  tell me more about what Temp_fab is.  I knew there must be more to his story.

Is he from Yorkshire. As in, t'Emp_Fab?

VimFuego

fastonebaz said:

Wait what,  tell me more about what Temp_fab is.  I knew there must be more to his story.

no real drama about it, back in the day when musicradar pulled the plug on the old forum (without telling anyone that's what they were doing) emp set up a temp forum where we all migrated to whilst DS and the other members of the council of elders set up this place.

tanihhiavlt

I remember joining in 2003 ish when I was working at AOL and watching Guthrie Govan every Wednesday at the Bassment  

It's helped me become less of a jerk  

Fretwired

I remember when it was all green fields .. I was here in the early days.

Who remembers Sad Old Man?

viz

Fretwired said:

I remember when it was all green fields .. I was here in the early days.

Who remembers Sad Old Man?

Absolutely! And I remember you in them days, I’m pretty sure you were here before me, along with Thing and Wyniro and Goji and Bradders and Rockbabe and Foster, Zap / Lixarto, Sporky / dot dot dot, Jason Morris, guitarfreeek, our very own vibetronic, tommyross, huey, lewy, and all that lot. Jeez. I was 31. Lol.

Longtallronnie

12 years total for me. 

Before I joined I had little interest in drive pedals and was perfectly happy with my set up. This place has cost me a bloody fortune!

It’s also been a massive source of support when I’ve needed it, whether it be my wife’s cancer, work worries, depression etc - there’s been times where I’ve opened up on here more than I ever have to actual humans. 

viz

Longtallronnie said:

12 years total for me. 

Before I joined I had little interest in drive pedals and was perfectly happy with my set up. This place has cost me a bloody fortune!

It’s also been a massive source of support when I’ve needed it, whether it be my wife’s cancer, work worries, depression etc - there’s been times where I’ve opened up on here more than I ever have to actual humans. 

actual humans lol

viz

tanihhiavlt said:

I remember joining in 2003 ish when I was working at AOL and watching Guthrie Govan every Wednesday at the Bassment  

It's helped me become less of a jerk  

Were you @tanihhiavlt back then? 

Nitefly

viz said:

Fretwired said:

I remember when it was all green fields .. I was here in the early days.

Who remembers Sad Old Man?

Absolutely! And I remember you in them days, I’m pretty sure you were here before me, along with Thing and Wyniro and Goji and Bradders and Rockbabe and Foster, Zap / Lixarto, Sporky / dot dot dot, and all that lot. Jeez. I was 31. Lol.

Mmm, I remember all those names from the "Guitarist" iteration of the forum.  It was the mentions in the magazine that brought me to it. 

I missed the tempfab bit though - just kept on logging on to musicradar in the vain (and ultimately dashed hope that they would bring it back to life... I found out about this version when I visited the Oil City Pickups website.

I was Nitefly back then, but became imported_Nitefly for a while - what was that about?

I can remember going to a Northern Gasfest organised by Lixarto in Middlesbrough, and one in Bristol organised by Rockbabe (her last one?).