The lure of new stuff vs. the stuff you've already got...

PolarityMan

Well I totally stopped looking at amps after I got my diezel...so.....buy a diezel. ..am I helping?

RaymondLin

I got to say that there are 2 sides for guitar gear.

The traditional side and the new tech side.  The traditional - Les Paul + tube amp, throw in a fuzz and an old delay works just as well 30 years ago as it is today, it is still desirable today.  Get a good one at each step and you are set for life.

The tech side, you can always be chasing and honestly, just stop it for home use.  A THR is fine for the tech side, or just an interface straight into DAW.  Even pedals these days i find they are almost always just rehash of old ones, perhaps with slight tweak.  Sounds great on the PR pitch but when it comes down to using it daily.  It's never used, and going back to using it the old ways. 

rockmonster

Ive been lucky enough to be in the same band for many, many years. Everything I’ve bought has been either gigged successfully or I’ve punted it on. We get a load of hype about the latest this or that and this forum is great for trying out all the stuff that the “proper gear heads” have bought and want to sell on. I probably include myself in this category lol! More recently that’s  slowed down on the buying gear front for me as the music I play in pubs etc doesn’t really lend itself to the subtitles of which chorus sounds best or which amp sim is better than that or this. (I don’t do enough recording to justify it)
Like a lot of us I’ve gone full circle on guitars and amps over the years and to my surprise (not really) I sound the same on all the different gear. Last week I gigged a Bluguitar Amp1 on the Friday night and my EVH 100 on the Saturday night. Incidentally I had positive comments on my tone on the Friday (from a couple of punters) and none on the Saturday. The gig before that I used my DSL100HR. The band made no good or bad comments whatsoever! As long as it’s loud enough they are happy! Go figure! This experience is based on suffering from GAS for far too many years….SO in conclusion.

It’s all in our heads boys n girls….etc…..just get out there and play and enjoy! Either while you still can (for me!)  or before it’s too late.
If you never have gigged you are REALLY missing out, so pull your fingers out and get gigging. 

You’ll save money as you won’t have the time to twat around trying this and that as you’ll be learning songs playing them with yer mates and having a blast!

bertie

PolarityMan said:

Well I totally stopped looking at amps after I got my diezel...so.....buy a diezel. ..am I helping?

you cant take them into many inner cities..................................

Blueingreen

I have something of a weakness for guitars (although nothing like as extreme as some).  I have too many guitars (8 currently plus 3 basses) but that's mainly down to failure to sell - my frequency of acquisition would be less than one a year.  Still arguably irrational and daft, but as I say far from extreme.

Amps and effects though, I'm pretty much a rational purchaser who's fairly impervious to the lure of the new.  I don't own any pedals I bought because they might be 3% better than the ones I had.  I have 3 dirt pedals, one of which is ancient and not to my taste and the other 2, mid priced with a good reputation, bought so they could be stacked if desired.  I have an ancient chorus pedal and a digital delay pedal. I have no real temptation to experiment with different individual pedals.

Nowadays I'm more likely to use multi FX.  I have an HX Effects and a M9, which it superseded.  The rationale for the HX Effects was that the dirt options would be good enough that I could just take one unit, whereas I didn't like the dirt options on the M9 and had to bring individual pedals as well.  I'm very happy with the HX Effects but it's overkill for most of the gigs or rehearsals I play.

What I more typically use is Flyrig 5, originally bought because it's tiny, covers most basic rehearsal needs and offers a backup option to go direct if my amp goes.  But in practice it's also become what I use on most gigs, because delay and a couple of stackable dirt options are all I usually need.  The Plexi option on the FR5 wouldn't be absolutely my first choice of dirt flavour if I were being super-pernickety, I'm not really a Marshall guy, but it sounds good, the unit is extremely practicable, and nobody except me would notice the difference if I took a separate dirt pedal.

I tend to find one amp I like, and stick with it.  Currently it's a Quilter.  I have amps the Quilter superseded and I'm attracted to the idea of selling them off and getting a backup I'm more likely to actually use than heavier valve amps, either a newer Quilter or a Tone Master.  The main attraction of the Quilter is I know, like and trust them and they have new offerings that look like interesting upgrades on what I've got.  The main attraction of the Tone Master is that it maybe offers a slightly different flavour than the Quilter and I quite like the idea of having an amp that looks like a traditional Fender combo.

jaymenon

De_Batz said:

I find myself constantly looking on here, on eBay and Reverb for potential purchases, especially amps and pedals. I was thinking of putting my Cornell Explorer up for sale earlier tonight because it's worth a few quid and I don't have any money at the moment, and then I sat thinking to myself: 
"Nothing you can get for the money will beat that for what you want it to do..."
"But it doesn't get much use..."
"None of my gear gets much use because of the kids in the house..."
"It'll be great for the next record..."
"Yeah, in about eight years..."

And on and on. 

I know already that most of my stuff is great, because if nothing else it's been filtered by my own processes earlier on. It's not like there's a £500 lunchbox head out there that will out-do the Cornell for me. It's as though my brain can't settle on a decision and is constantly second-guessing itself. 

I wish I could have back that version of me that used to play for four hours at a time to get better rather than piss about on the internet looking at gear (and - with the best will in the world - reading and contributing to gear forums!).

Anyway, I'm done ranting and going to make a conscious decision to pick up the guitar and try a new lick.

Ouch - that summarises me so perfectly.

PolarityMan

bertie said:

PolarityMan said:

Well I totally stopped looking at amps after I got my diezel...so.....buy a diezel. ..am I helping?

you cant take them into many inner cities..................................

It's alright it's loud enough that you can just set it up pointing in to the congestion zone.

De_Batz

Another example: FB Cornford owners group flashed up a message ‘anyone selling an MK50II?’

The answer to that question is a hard no, in the cold light of day. Mine wouldn’t go for anything that constitutes a sensible offer. But I started plotting what I could get with the money. 

Having said that, I have been better this last couple of weeks at playing instead of arsing about looking at gear. Long may that continue! And I totally agree with the observation that this gear black hole tends to be worse when I’m musically idle - couple of gigs on the horizon and maybe a new project all making me feel a bit more focused on what I’ve got, not what I haven’t.

LastMantra

I'm actually the opposite really, it's when I'm playing a lot that I think about gear. Although I mostly just think about how I can get different sounds out of the gear I have. Dreaming up new fx chains and wotnot. That's why I don't own a pedal board, I have too much fun mixing them up.

slacker

I was looking at Marshall type amps the other day. I don't know why as I like vox type amps and have 3, matchless bad cat and Morgan. I can get 'my sound' at any volume so why am I looking at el34 amps?

My youngest is 30 and they left home years ago. I don't play any more at home,

De_Batz

Bloody technology… double post, apples.

FFS. Autocorrect. 

Apols.

De_Batz

LastMantra said:

I'm actually the opposite really, it's when I'm playing a lot that I think about gear. Although I mostly just think about how I can get different sounds out of the gear I have. Dreaming up new fx chains and wotnot. That's why I don't own a pedal board, I have too much fun mixing them up.

Ah, well…

I wouldn’t have so much trouble if I was just working out what gear I already had suited what I was trying to do. It’s the idea that the next piece of gear will be the holy grail and end the search.

For some reason, it’s amps, cabs and pedals for me. I’ve got six guitars and no real desire or hankering for new ones. But I’ve got tens of pedals, half of which don’t really get a lot of use, and a total of seven amps (four lower power, three big ones), four 2x12s, a 4x12 and a 4x10. 

Anyway, I’m off to invest some time in trying to drag a new band into existence. Wish me luck!

Wyzard

A new band? Good luck - you're going to need it, if my recent experience has been any guide.


My main vice until recently has been amps and pedals. As a result, I have a fair number to work with. As for guitars -  I sorted out what I like ages ago, and haven't bought anything new for my own use in close to a decade.

So I did what any ....er, "sensible" person with too many amps would: I started collecting attenuators.


Then I had one of those lightbulb moments. With my latest, a Suhr RL, I can run each of my amps into each of my other amps.


That should give me at least a decade's worth of entertainment, even if I don't buy another thing.

Brio

Ooooh a thread about me! 

Guitars no problem for me. Buy what I need and love them.
amps and tech though…
Loved my GT1000 Core, played it a lot over Christmas, had some money laying so bought Kemper Stage to replace the GT.
Blimey the Kemper does exactly what I want. A week ago I had to pop away house sitting via train so I grabbed the Tele and threw the GT and headphones in the bag for a bit of noodling in the evenings and set off.
I remembered just how versatile and great sounding the BOSS is. I’ll not give up the Kemper but the BOSS certainly has a place on a travel board.

De_Batz

De_Batz said:

I find myself constantly looking on here, on eBay and Reverb for potential purchases, especially amps and pedals. I was thinking of putting my Cornell Explorer up for sale earlier tonight because it's worth a few quid and I don't have any money at the moment, and then I sat thinking to myself: 
"Nothing you can get for the money will beat that for what you want it to do..."
"But it doesn't get much use..."
"None of my gear gets much use because of the kids in the house..."
"It'll be great for the next record..."
"Yeah, in about eight years..."

And on and on. 

I know already that most of my stuff is great, because if nothing else it's been filtered by my own processes earlier on. It's not like there's a £500 lunchbox head out there that will out-do the Cornell for me. It's as though my brain can't settle on a decision and is constantly second-guessing itself. 

I wish I could have back that version of me that used to play for four hours at a time to get better rather than piss about on the internet looking at gear (and - with the best will in the world - reading and contributing to gear forums!).

Anyway, I'm done ranting and going to make a conscious decision to pick up the guitar and try a new lick.

FFS. 

A couple of weeks after writing this post, I found the amp that the Cornell doesn't quite match for sounds I want to do (Cornford Harlequin) for sale in the local shop.

After all of this, I'm going to end up putting it up for sale. 

On a semi-serious note, PM me if you think you might be interested in the Explorer. I will bring it home from the studio tonight and take some photos. It is small / light enough to go in a box and be posted, I reckon.

PAL

I do buy equipment like most people because there is so much information and new stuff out there but then I think back
  to when I was in my twenties ( a long time ago ) I couldn't afford much so just one guitar one amp I did more with less
  and I was much happier !

NelsonP

I have the op's affliction. And am now up to 9 guitars, 2 amps, 2 modellers, an frfr active speaker and a lot of pedals.

Apparently it's much easier to buy it than sell it :-(
And yes it is some sort of addiction I think.

De_Batz

PAL said:

I do buy equipment like most people because there is so much information and new stuff out there but then I think back
  to when I was in my twenties ( a long time ago ) I couldn't afford much so just one guitar one amp I did more with less
  and I was much happier !

Quite. When I had a Park G10 and my Pacifica, I used to spend all my time playing. That, of course, was before the days of Internet forums, so I didn't know exactly how much it (and I) sucked. 

NelsonP said:

I have the op's affliction. And am now up to 9 guitars, 2 amps, 2 modellers, an frfr active speaker and a lot of pedals.

Apparently it's much easier to buy it than sell it :-(
And yes it is some sort of addiction I think.

I get a weirdly perverse pleasure from selling gear, but it is a colossal faff. I’m sorely tempted to lose a bit of money and save a bit of time just going straight to RichTone… that’s where most of the sold gear cash ends up, anyway!

Litterick

I can never decide what I want, so I stick with what I have.

markslade07

I have a Helix into an FRFR which sounds pretty decent. So why am I looking at Tonemaster Deluxe Reverbs? 

FFS