Theres never been a better time to be a guitar player

OilCityPickups

When I started playing seriously ... fifty years ago (jeez I feel old) learning guitar was really difficult. If you had the money ... or rather if your folks did, you might get lessons. My parents would only pay for piano lessons, so I had to do it the hard way. Books, magazines and wearing out my LP collection by constantly setting the needle back to hear that bit again. If you were lucky a mate had learned something you wanted to learn ... and you got the low down from him. Progress was slow ... but with determination you got there. I started gigging the year I got my first good guitar ... a second hand Telecaster.

And gear was super expensive or super crap ... you took your choice. My first electric was a Maya (Teisco lookalike)... basically a Strat built by someone who'd never seen one and hadn't a clue what you did with it. Plywood body, cricket bat neck and tiny frets. Gutless pickups ... but that didn't matter as it was going through a FAL Kestrel combo ... possibly the worst guitar amplifier in the world ... ever ... from Freemans catalogue. 

Fast forward to 2024, 

You can get tab of pretty much everything ... you can get folks pn YouTube breaking down even the most complex solos into idiot sized pieces. You have tuners in your smartphone, and software to record at home or looper pedals for practise. You can collaborate with other musicians thousands of miles away at practically the speed of light, write with partners you may never meet,
and publish music from your own lounge ...

And as for gear ... I played a £99 Fazley Tele copy the other day ... dear lord ... lightyears ahead of the Columbus and Avon crap we had to manage with. Amps are stunning - a Boss Katana 50 ... a very gigable amp ... I know as I have ... £215 at Gear4Music.
Three hundred notes to gig with brand new equipment, that's crazy. And we have Harley Benton, Jet ... all crazy cheap for what you get. 

You can get pretty much whatever amp or guitar you want/can afford bought with the click of a button and delivered to you door ... and if you don't like it ... just send it back. There's more choice than ever before ...

And yet at the moment all I see on here is the sort of continuous whining you get from a bunch Brit pensioners on a cruise ... :-)

When the economy causes you to be able to 'consume less shit' ... why not be grateful and 'enjoy the shit you've got?'
Why not start a new band, learn a new song, try a new genre you've never tried before, go to a jam session and get the adrenaline and enjoyment of bouncing musical ideas off of other folks. 

It's not the seventies ... in many ways it's much, much better than the seventies.  



 

DrBob

Yep, I'm fortunate, much as I am currently suffering a little with the economic climate I do, realistically speaking already have more than enough nice guitars, amps, and effects to see me out so I'm kind of insulated from the rising prices and don't need to complain about how much Epiphones cost.
That said, were it all to get stolen, burnt to the ground, whatever I think you're probably right, I'd go and buy a Jet JS400, maybe a Charvel if I'm feeling saucy and a Katana and that would do me.
If it was the Jet I might get a new bridge pickup for it mind you !

TTony

OilCityPickups said:

 fifty years ago (jeez I feel old) 

Bloody pensioners, always moaning about how hard the old days were ...

Musical_Mystery_Tour

Completey agree with the OP on this, we are light years ahead of where we were when I was first playing guitar. I'd had some acoustic guitars, but my first electric guitar was a second-hand Columbus screw-on neck copy of a Gibson Black Beauty, which had such worn frets, and me being skint, that I had to buy some fret wire and learn how to re-fret stuff. Having said that, in spite of its dodgy plywood construction concealed under its glossy thick black paint, its questionable pickups and poor tuners, all of which I ended up replacing eventually, it was what I learned on and played first gigs with.

What is interesting about that though, is that if I recall correctly, I think I paid 99 quid for it. Fast-forward about forty years and I recently bought a Fazley Midas for 126 quid new, it being their Gold Top clone, and whilst that Fazley isn't quite a match for a top of the line Gibson, I would say it is as good as my Les Paul Studios and my Melody Makers.

These days gear is better, cheaper, more widely available and learning has never been easier thanks to the intertron. About the only thing which is worse, is that most towns used to have two or three music shops you could go in and check stuff out at, and that's not the situation these days, but as sad as that is, we are better off in pretty much every other circumstance when it comes to acquiring gear and learning. Unfortunately, with less pubs around these days, pub gig venues are also fewer and farther between, but on the plus side and again thanks to the interweb, we have other outlets for performance.

So yeah, for those starting out on guitar, it's a way better time nowadays.

Flanging_Fred

The quality and usability and cost of entry level guitar equipment has obviously improved massively in recent decades. T

But is the music being produced with them any better? I have a sneaky suspicion that the struggle with crappy equipment contributed to new and innovative musical ideas somewhat.  Having imposed constraints can be a powerful tool in the creative process. So much music has been created by doing things ‘wrong’ either by necessity or design.  

Some of my best music ideas have come when I put down my Strat/Les Paul and started messing about with my old Woolworths Audition guitar. 

CaseOfAce

In some ways it were better in the olden days - you did the best with what you had. 

I'm personally not a fan on the way consumerism has enveloped our lives - particularly with regards guitar gear.

OilCityPickups

Musical_Mystery_Tour said:

Completey agree with the OP on this, we are light years ahead of where we were when I was first playing guitar. I'd had some acoustic guitars, but my first electric guitar was a second-hand Columbus screw-on neck copy of a Gibson Black Beauty, which had such worn frets, and me being skint, that I had to buy some fret wire and learn how to re-fret stuff. Having said that, in spite of its dodgy plywood construction concealed under its glossy thick black paint, its questionable pickups and poor tuners, all of which I ended up replacing eventually, it was what I learned on and played first gigs with.

What is interesting about that though, is that if I recall correctly, I think I paid 99 quid for it. Fast-forward about forty years and I recently bought a Fazley Midas for 126 quid new, it being their Gold Top clone, and whilst that Fazley isn't quite a match for a top of the line Gibson, I would say it is as good as my Les Paul Studios and my Melody Makers.

These days gear is better, cheaper, more widely available and learning has never been easier thanks to the intertron. About the only thing which is worse, is that most towns used to have two or three music shops you could go in and check stuff out at, and that's not the situation these days, but as sad as that is, we are better off in pretty much every other circumstance when it comes to acquiring gear and learning. Unfortunately, with less pubs around these days, pub gig venues are also fewer and farther between, but on the plus side and again thanks to the interweb, we have other outlets for performance.

So yeah, for those starting out on guitar, it's a way better time nowadays.

Yep ... I was talking to a teenage guy who popped his Epiphone LP round for me to have a look at one of the pickups, and he was gobsmacked at my stories of travelling up to London in the 70s on a Friday (all crammed into our ex GPO J4 van - gigging our nuts off  for three nights ... then back to the Isle of Wight on the five o clock 'mail ferry' (full English on the crossing) and home in time for our drummer to go to his day job. There are just not enough venues to create the live work these days. 

Flanging_Fred said:

The quality and usability and cost of entry level guitar equipment has obviously improved massively in recent decades. T

But is the music being produced with them any better? I have a sneaky suspicion that the struggle with crappy equipment contributed to new and innovative musical ideas somewhat.  Having imposed constraints can be a powerful tool in the creative process. So much music has been created by doing things ‘wrong’ either by necessity or design.  

Some of my best music ideas have come when I put down my Strat/Les Paul and started messing about with my old Woolworths Audition guitar. 

Possibly but I have reservations about talking creativity in a decade where 'Grandma We Love You' topped the charts ... and Garry Glitter was a role model!  

Funkfingers

OilCityPickups said:

a FAL Kestrel combo ... possibly the worst guitar amplifier in the world ... ever ... 

Now, there's a gauntlet thrown down, if ever I saw one. 

Nominations for the Worst Guitar Amp Ever deserve a whole Discussion to themselves. 

I'm not sure what the worst ever is but it is highly probable that @HarrySeven has owned one … or twenty.

guitars4you

Funkfingers said:

OilCityPickups said:

a FAL Kestrel combo ... possibly the worst guitar amplifier in the world ... ever ... 

Now, there's a gauntlet thrown down, if ever I saw one. 

Nominations for the Worst Guitar Amp Ever deserve a whole Discussion to themselves. 

I'm not sure what the worst ever is but it is highly probable that @HarrySeven has owned one … or twenty.

I think Ash has a point - Never sold them new - Think you could only buy them via their own shops - But had a few used examples but many many years ago - Reverse FAL and it tells you all you need to know

Funkfingers

OilCityPickups said:

Musical_Mystery_Tour said:

pub gig venues are also fewer and farther between.

There are just not enough venues to create the live work these days. 

Apparently, January 1977 was when a music fanzine titled Sideburns first printed this infamous graphic, "This is a chord. This is another. This is a third. Now go form a band."

Today, there is little point adopting that manifesto if there is almost nowhere for that band to play and precious little hope of making it pay.

The Flight Of The Conchords' song Inner City Pressure was right when they wrote, "You just stay home and play synthesizers."

guitars4you

Some good points Ash and in the main I agree with you - Yes entry level/budget/mid range guitars are better now than ever before - But there was some fun when you sat down with a poxy old record player, trying to work out the song, lick, chord progression - Playing the same bit of the record over and over again - Then months later find out you were wrong all along and some one showed you how to do it 

But equally many off our hero's - Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, Rory G, SRV etc etc all started off with older/worse gear than me and you - Granted they are the geniuses of the trade, but such bad gear did not limit them and maybe it helped create their own voice/style

MikeP

People have got better at playing the guitar, fast, clean etc. Haven't noticed the music getting better though. 

OilCityPickups

guitars4you said:

Some good points Ash and in the main I agree with you - Yes entry level/budget/mid range guitars are better now than ever before - But there was some fun when you sat down with a poxy old record player, trying to work out the song, lick, chord progression - Playing the same bit of the record over and over again - Then months later find out you were wrong all along and some one showed you how to do it 

But equally many off our hero's - Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, Rory G, SRV etc etc all started off with older/worse gear than me and you - Granted they are the geniuses of the trade, but such bad gear did not limit them and maybe it helped create their own voice/style

I was lucky in a way ... my start serious gigging coincided with punk, so you wrote some lyrics on an old fag packet., turned up till everything screeched if you didn't turn the guitar volume down till you played ...  someone shouted one two three ... and you just went for it ... 

guitars4you

OilCityPickups said:

guitars4you said:

Some good points Ash and in the main I agree with you - Yes entry level/budget/mid range guitars are better now than ever before - But there was some fun when you sat down with a poxy old record player, trying to work out the song, lick, chord progression - Playing the same bit of the record over and over again - Then months later find out you were wrong all along and some one showed you how to do it 

But equally many off our hero's - Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, Rory G, SRV etc etc all started off with older/worse gear than me and you - Granted they are the geniuses of the trade, but such bad gear did not limit them and maybe it helped create their own voice/style

I was lucky in a way ... my start serious gigging coincided with punk, so you wrote some lyrics on an old fag packet., turned up till everything screeched if you didn't turn the guitar volume down till you played ...  someone shouted one two three ... and you just went for it ... 

I recall those days, in the late 70's, and it had never been such a good time to get rid of used old/crappy stock  - The nature of punk meant anything goes and Sound City, Carlsbro Top 50, Simms Watts etc - Anything sold - Regular guys wanted modern light weight, reliable, transistor amps like HH/Peavey/Carlsbro/Maine etc - So we ended up trading all the old unwanted crap and at the time struggled to sell it - Punk helped us out no end 

Today all those amps are now sought after in some form or another - Not many left for sale, as @HarrySeven got there before you

guitars4you

MikeP said:

People have got better at playing the guitar, fast, clean etc. Haven't noticed the music getting better though. 

So true - I'm a bit of a Ten Years After fan and it was deemed at the time, thanks to Woodstock, that he was the fastest kid on the block - Listen to Going Home now and his playing is neither fast and a lot of the time 'scratchy' - Whilst we all know speed is not the be all and end all (might not even be anything for many of us) but agree that many players have mastered the art of speed

victorludorum

MikeP said:

People have got better at playing the guitar, fast, clean etc. Haven't noticed the music getting better though. 

You beat me to it. Maybe it's to do with hunger and determination.

DuploLicks

Has there been a better time to be a performing guitarist though? There seems to be less bands,
less venues, less interest in music generally. 

Are we just a bunch of old codgers enjoying the change but the following generations will be sparse thanks to a cultural blandness 

impmann

"You've never had it so good"

Thats so true. I did a bass gig the other day - three songs to help out an old friend - on a bass I bought on here for £180 (Squier Jazz), through a Sansamp pedal into the PA. Sounded marvellous, the monitors were spot on and a good time was had by all.

Thats so far removed from early gigs on bass lunking a Carlsbro 2x15 cab and an HH head to a gig, not being able to hear a bloody thing on stage because the Shreddie Van Draylon was too busy being a cock god with his 100w Marshall flat out into a 4x12 whilst Captain Meat built a shed with Thors hammers on his Pearl Export kit. The wedges squealed each time Clint Thrust grabbed the microphone. And the crappy Westone bass I had weighed the same as the average hatchback and sounded... pants.

There is a lot of inexpensive, great sounding and playing kit available. Sadly, there's nowhere to play it unless you are doing dull covers or tribute bands - especially if you step outside of London.

Philly_Q

OilCityPickups said:

There's never been a better time to be a guitar player 

Hmmm, maybe I should take it up.

brojangles

No question there's better gear, cheaper, than ever before. On the other hand, it was probably more fun when there was crappier gear but guitar was central to pop music and ordinary kids sometimes struck lucky in the pop biz. 

scrumhalf

Starter/inexpensive gear is light years ahead of the crap that many of us of a certain age learned to play on.

But I think that there's too much choice. There are more presets than anyone could use, more pedals and tone-tweakers than your imagination can sensibly find a use for.