How much does what you learned to play on still influence what you use today?

[VonBonfire]

i learned on Fenders. Longer scale equals more work string bending. String bending means soul. I don't have Stevie hand strength so I'm all about them Gibsons these days cause I can get more soul out of them with less fighting. Grew up on solid bodies but found semi hollow and hollow guitars got more soul. Grew up using a flat pick but found that thumb and finger picks got more soul.

 

[G.Rotten]

My first guitar was a department store Harmony f hole. My first electric was a pickup screwed onto the Harmony. My first amp was a Wollensack tape recorder. Let’s just say there’s little in common between the gear I had then and the gear I have now.

Lol. I had forgotten I did that before I had my first amp. My family had this massive unsightly 'Boom Box" cassette player that had a microphone input I would plug my Strat into.

I think it was this one.

Though I have Strats now, my first Strat isn't the reason. It was the reason I didn't play Strats for 15-20 years despite the fact that in hindsight it was a good one.

 

[Killing Floor]

It was a violin. So umm…

I can do vibrato properly and I don’t look at the neck very often. And I learned to sight read which has helped a lot.

 

[loudboy]

I learned on an electric, so altho I own a nice one, I really cannot play acoustic guitar. Two different animals.

 

[G.Rotten]

I learned on an electric, so altho I own a nice one, I really cannot play acoustic guitar. Two different animals.

Technically my first guitar was an acoustic in the mid 80's. I briefly took lessons but all that guy wanted to teach me was The Eagles. I quickly quit guitar and suddenly hated The Eagles.

In 90 or possibly 91 I bought myself a used Strat and then taught myself how to use it "right".

This many years later I still don't own an acoustic or even listen to much acoustic music. I don't hate The Eagles anymore because I know it wasn't their fault and Joe Walsh is a Rockstar!

 

[Jared Purdy]

View attachment 940841
Well, this was my gear back in 1994 Aside from the blue guitar and both amps, I still own all of it.

So what was my set up in those days?
My Squier strat into my Squier Sidekick 15 and my GEM Mars 50 with a Boss DS-1 and an Ibanez Phase tone as my pedals, that was all.

So how does that influence the gear I use today?
- Well I still use solid state amps, I used Hiwatt maxxwatt, Marshall Valvestate and a TON of Peaveys over the years but always came back to Fender amps.
- Likewise, I keep returning to Fender Style guitars, mainly strats, it's just what I'm used to.

So what about you guys?

Yes and no. I started playing the harmonica first, and dug into that heavily for the next seven years. When I was 20, I bought my first acoustic guitar. What I learned on that, and the types of music I learned on the harmonica have not changed in over forty years. I play the same music on my acoustic or my electrics. The approach is different, but I can easily play Five Foot Two on my Martin as on my Les Paul or Strat.

 

[VonBonfire]

Lol. I had forgotten I did that before I had my first amp. My family had this massive unsightly 'Boom Box" cassette player that had a microphone input I would plug my Strat into.

I think it was this one.
View attachment 940937
Though I have Strats now, my first Strat isn't the reason. It was the reason I didn't play Strats for 15-20 years despite the fact that in hindsight it was a good one.

Man wish I still had one of those. Quality and features. A nice condition premium model Panasonic etc ghetto blaster like that fetches a tidy sum nowadays on the used market. Record yourself playing 12 bar blues rhythm and solo all afternoon into the night! A great way to start a music career!

 

[G.Rotten]

Man wish I still had one of those. Quality and features. A nice condition premium model Panasonic etc ghetto blaster like that fetches a tidy sum nowadays on the used market. Record yourself playing 12 bar blues rhythm and solo all afternoon into the night! A great way to start a music career!

After I did get an amp it became the PA system. It worked for a long long time but eventually the buttons for the tape controls ceased and that was that. Until then a lot of fun was had.

You know, record an insult for your older sister, crank it and hit play as you run by. You could only do that when you had a half store's worth of D batteries.

Good times!!!!

I still have it's successor. A JVC dual tape deck with mic input. It's still alive because it wasn't portable.

 

[stxrus]

My first instrument was the clarinet
My first guitars were low end but they were great to my unknowing mind
My first amps were potentially killers… literally
When I wanted to upgrade I was on my own. My parents had bought me 3 guitars and 2 amps
I always upgraded and learned about good guitars and amps

The only influence is that I wanted better and tried all kinds of things. I learned that I preferred tube amps over SS. Fender amps were my favorites overall. Marshalls seemed to just be out of my reach for years. My #1 amp is a Reinhardt 18w 1x12 combo Marshall clone. My #2 is a 1974 PR.

I preferred Gibson over Fender for guitars. SGs and LPs were my favorite. I have a MIM C50s tele that I love. I’m a huge disliker of Strats. I love the way they look, sound, but I just can’t bond with them

 

[Red Ryder]

I learned to play on swings, monkey bars, slides and climbing trees, stuff like that. I don't do any of that anymore. Occasionally I throw stuff at the dumb old girl that's been hanging around for the past 35 years. She gets mad and I laugh and run.

 

[VonBonfire]

After I did get an amp it became the PA system. It worked for a long long time but eventually the buttons for the tape controls ceased and that was that. Until then a lot of fun was had.

You know, record an insult for your older sister, crank it and hit play as you run by. You could only do that when you had a half store's worth of D batteries.

Good times!!!!

I still have it's successor. A JVC dual tape deck with mic input. It's still alive because it wasn't portable.

A friend had a nice dual tape deck with twin 1/4" inputs that we used to make many half decent recordings. I find it funny some of those tape decks made richer, warmer recordings than budget digital gear does with a whole lot less messing around save for maybe bouncing some tracks!

 

[G.Rotten]

A friend had a nice dual tape deck with twin 1/4" inputs that we used to make many half decent recordings. I find it funny some of those tape decks made richer, warmer recordings than budget digital gear does with a whole lot less messing around save for maybe bouncing some tracks!

100%. The first song I ever recorded was with that JVC. I did one guitar track for the intro, put the tape in the play only side, recorded the main guitar, then put that in the play only and put in the fills/lead.

The result was a nice warm guitar tone. Much nicer than what actually came out of the Fender Stage 112SE I was using.

Years later I digitized that but because I don't really write music never did anything with it. I mean I have words and a Melody but also a terrible voice IMO.

 

[Rufus]

I learned that I don’t want to have to play a right handed Strat upside down, but strung left handed, ever again.

 

[1955]

I started on a Guild classical and an old Kent acoustic with jacked up action. The strength I developed on the Kent and the stretch required on the wider neck of the classical made barred shapes much easier on the telecaster. It was an unintentional consequence and nice surprise, because I never imagined I would play a telecaster, or any guitar for anything other than writing songs. Turns out I spent over a decade making a living at it.

 

[P Thought]

Yooge.

My first Takamine is gone now, victim of a schoolroom accident, but I've been a dyed-in-the-wool Takamine nut since I bought it in 1976. I'm down to three Taks now, but they're very good Taks!

 

[P Thought]

Alas, though I literally learned to play on the Yamaha, I almost never play nylon string guitars anymore

Me too, with my Takamine classical, but when I do play it I love it.

 

[Ebidis]

Not at all. My gear now is completely different to what I learned on.

 

[DekeDog]

None at all. I learned Dylan songs on a crummy flamenco guitar back in '63 when I was ten.

The first decent guitar I ever owned was a Takamine F-341 I bought around '85. It was my fourth. I still own it, but rarely play it. I'm mostly electric now.

 

[Doomguy]

I still have my first guitar (an Epiphone Les Paul). It's alright but I rarely play it. My first amp was a Fender Mustang that I couldn't get rid of fast enough.

The main thing all of this taught me was to research gear before you buy it. I wasn't going to get the tone I wanted out of that set up, now I'm very happy with what I have.

 

[keithb7]

I learned to play on a mid '60s Gibson ES-125 TDC. It was pretty beat up and hard to play. I struggled with it and carried on.
I put it away as soon as I could afford something easier to play.
30 years later I saw an ES-125 TDC at a guitar show. Exactly same as the one I had. I picked it up and tried it. A real nice example. Nicely set up. I did not like it. I played it for a bit, no thanks. The nut was quite thin. It never influenced me it seems.