I have a few gear confessional threads strewn about. My OD search/journey. Various "I'm a [insert guitar type/brand here] guy?" threads. Amp of the week club membership.
Yet here I am. FINALLY (I think?) ready to admit: it's really not about the gear. Cycling gear for a perceived 2% difference, or due to boredom, or the endorphine rush triggered by watching a new review or a new release is and expensive way to move sideways at best.
I have definitely slowed down. But still, I'll cycle something in, try it out at rehearsal, and even invested in the process and expenditure, realize - meh more often than not.
Here I am, back to having two SGs. (@theprofessor, are you listening?) One ebony with Phat Cats and one red with Antiquities and a Maestro. Just where I was (and very happy) 4 years ago. Except the black one had the Maestro then. And spent, what, 4x the price of those SGs if I had just stuck with them? Best case?
Amps. Don't get me started. I've owned the Marshall Origin 50 I think 5x now? (My same unit 4x, I kept trading it back and forth.). Same with Tonemaster DRs. And DRRI's ('68 and '65). And PRRIs ('65 and '68). But, I like reverb in an amp. And a mid knob. And a MV. So why the **** do I keep trying to force it with amps that don't have all 3? They never work for me (cool as they may be).
And when I plug back into my trusty JC40, that is the sound in my head, the sound that works best for me. Followed closely by my HRD IV.
Pedals. I keep flipping back and forth between digital all-in-ones and my trusty modest pedalboard. I think I finally, finally realized that I just can't beat the simplicity of my simple board with 4 pedals that just work.
I don't really have much point. Half cautionary tale. Half confessional. Half a laugh at my own expense. And half holding myself accountable some small way. Yeah, I realize that adds up to more than 1. I'm a bundle of contradictions, ok? And it's in keeping with paying at least 4x for everything that did work for me when you factor in all the transaction/cycling costs. At least. And only that low because I'm frugal, rely on trades, used and timing to hold things and move them when they have more value.
Except when I get impatient and don't. Dammit.
Yet here I am. FINALLY (I think?) ready to admit: it's really not about the gear. Cycling gear for a perceived 2% difference, or due to boredom, or the endorphine rush triggered by watching a new review or a new release is and expensive way to move sideways at best.
I have definitely slowed down. But still, I'll cycle something in, try it out at rehearsal, and even invested in the process and expenditure, realize - meh more often than not.
Here I am, back to having two SGs. (@theprofessor, are you listening?) One ebony with Phat Cats and one red with Antiquities and a Maestro. Just where I was (and very happy) 4 years ago. Except the black one had the Maestro then. And spent, what, 4x the price of those SGs if I had just stuck with them? Best case?
Amps. Don't get me started. I've owned the Marshall Origin 50 I think 5x now? (My same unit 4x, I kept trading it back and forth.). Same with Tonemaster DRs. And DRRI's ('68 and '65). And PRRIs ('65 and '68). But, I like reverb in an amp. And a mid knob. And a MV. So why the **** do I keep trying to force it with amps that don't have all 3? They never work for me (cool as they may be).
And when I plug back into my trusty JC40, that is the sound in my head, the sound that works best for me. Followed closely by my HRD IV.
Pedals. I keep flipping back and forth between digital all-in-ones and my trusty modest pedalboard. I think I finally, finally realized that I just can't beat the simplicity of my simple board with 4 pedals that just work.
I don't really have much point. Half cautionary tale. Half confessional. Half a laugh at my own expense. And half holding myself accountable some small way. Yeah, I realize that adds up to more than 1. I'm a bundle of contradictions, ok? And it's in keeping with paying at least 4x for everything that did work for me when you factor in all the transaction/cycling costs. At least. And only that low because I'm frugal, rely on trades, used and timing to hold things and move them when they have more value.
Except when I get impatient and don't. Dammit.