Gear tastes through the years.

[Ian]

Last night I set up downstairs in the "guitar room" and it dawned on me that 15 yrs ago I'd probably wouldn't be using a single piece of gear I now play through, besides the Tele.
Right now, I've got a DRRI, TU-2,Dyna Comp,BD-2,CE-2,DM-2, with George L's cables.
15 yrs ago I had my MIJ Tux Tele w/ EMG's , a Belden Cable, going into a Fender Pro 185 . Finances were a big part of that setup, but the Music I was playing back then didn't need much else. My sound was either Clean or Full on dirt (as much as could get from the 185 anyway). I was playing Metal'ish,Funkish stuff back then and required alot of volume. The EMG's were dead quiet, and I could channel switch the amp for Clean/Gain.
Nowadays, I play 90% of the time with a clean tone, with the Dyna Comp to smooth things out. Sure I play with distorted tones from time to time , but playing wise, my tastes have certainly changed, and have been augmented with roots'ier music (Country,Blues,Rockabilly,Rn'B,ect) , and I gotta admit, nostalgia has got me playin' alot of 80's stuff from my formative years(Police,U2,ect).
I doubt I would EVER consider a 22 watt reissue amp back then!! Or a tasty grind pedal like the BD-2, and on and on. Not to mention a Tele with a huge neck like my FatBack Warmoth, or one with a middle Strat pup like my Blueburst, or God forbid a STRAT!!!!
How have your gear tastes changed over the years??
Just courious...
CHEERS!!!

[Jakedog]

I was always a tele guy, from the beginning. But my taste in other equipment has come around alot in the last 17 years. When I was young, the tele was accompanied by a Boss "Heavy Metal" pedal, and of all things, a Fender Pro 185 amp! Man, in retrospect, those things didn't sound that great, but holy cow were they LOUD! And when you're teenage rebel, what else matters?

Next stage was just guitar and amp, still teles, and a whole slew of channel switching tube amps: Rivera, Crate VC, Seymour Duncan, Marshall, Fender, you name it, it just had to be LOUD. The next stage was pedals, couldn't get enough of them, at one time I ran 27 pedals on stage for every show, and four of them were OD or distortion pedals. DUMB!! Through the last five years, I have slowly weeded out pedals, and am down to only two, both of them TS-9's. I run them into my Hot Rod Deluxe for gigs, and I finally feel like I'm where I want to be tonally.

The next step in the evolution may be coming though. I have recently been bitten by the Gibson beastie. For the first time in my life I am starting to see why people play them. But more on that another time.


Jake

[kid deluxe]

15 years ago a played thru a huge effects rig and two
Marshall cabinets. with all that chorus and delay stuff.
and it sounded like crapp.
I played Ibanez and Valley Arts Strats and had really long cool hair. 8)

I 'm so glad these days are over. Now I just got a Prosonic Amp
a nice Tele and some Pedals. But no hair. :(

[4mal]

Bassman heads just keep staying in style though!

[Captain Simian]

Good topic! The first decent electric I had was a Peavey T-15. Not a bad guitar at all actually but it wasn't "Rock 'n' Roll" enough. Then I got an Ibanez superstrat that I thought was almost the end all be all. I really wanted a Tele but in those days they just seemed out of reach. At first I played through a Peavey Backstage Plus and then I got a Harvard Reverb at a church sale for $95. Traded both the PV and the HR for a solid state 100W Orange head with a Crate cabinet. I had at least 12 pedals if I remember correctly including an original Tube Screamer and Dyna Comp. The sound I was looking for back then was loud and thick. I couldn't imagine playing without distortion and some kind of effect.

Nowadays I have a few teles and a strat that I play through a DRRI. I only use 2 pedals now (Ibanez Rotary Chorus & Rt. 66 Overdrive/Compressor) and don't use a lot of distortion. Now I prefer a more rounded, clean tone. Amazing how much simpler guitar playing is now than it was then yet life was much simpler back then and life now is complicated!!

[Brad]

My gear has remained pretty much consistant for the last 20 some years. With the addition of a few more guitars, amps and pedals, I use pretty much the same type of rig as when I was playing gigs in the late 70's, early 80's. As a matter of fact, I'd love to have some of the gear I let go over the years. It would work very well for what I'm doing now.

The digital revolution has brought many gear changes. I would love to delve into it, but can't justify it ( other than a cheap V-Amp ll ) since I just play at church these days and an occasional blues jam or acoustic coffe house type gig.

I'm lucky that I never got into the whoe 80's rack thing!

[Matt Plescher]

15 years ago?
one acoustic guitar.

now - electric, acoustic, mando, processors, amp, effects...

my music tastes haven't changed though...

Cheers
Matt

[Fret Wilkes]

back in '79 or so I used a '78 Natural Str@t (brass everything), Duncan Fat Str@t pickups, a Crown DC150(?) power amp with a Furman Reverb and an IVP preamp into two 12inch JBLs. I was REAL satisfied....for a bit. Now think Steve Martin: "After a while I said, hey this thing sounds like cr@p so I got the googlephonics...highest number of speakers before infinity...."

Suddenly I felt Buddy Holly had a much better approach...dumped it all and have been using "simple" Fender amps and "old style" Fender guitars ever since.

Basically Guitar....Cord....Amp. It's funny, when I was a young'un less was DEFINATELY not more!

Fret