You starting out vs. You now

[Webinfront_]

Since I started playing seriously, more subtle delay and WAY less reverb.

[fetch]

Fender Jaguar and Roland Cube.

 

Telecaster and Vox AC4 (stuck with since the 'apartment'--looking to buy bigger since moving back into a bigger place!).

 

Not very different. I still want an offset guitar in the future and want to go back to the Fender sound (would always use Fender patches on C30).

[poolshark]

Stage 1: Played bass.

 

Stage 2: Squier Stratocaster Standard, Boss GT-6, early Peavey Bandit.

 

Stage 3: Hipsterdom. Telecasters, hollowbodies and offsets. Cheap, LOUD clean maplifiers. Lots of pedals.

 

Stage 4: Solidbody guits with low-output humbuckers. Tube amps. No effects. /shunned

[tronus]

 

Stage 1: Played bass. Stage 2: Squier Stratocaster Standard, Boss GT-6, early Peavey Bandit. Stage 3: Hipsterdom. Telecasters, hollowbodies and offsets. Cheap, LOUD clean maplifiers. Lots of pedals. Stage 4: Solidbody guits with low-output humbuckers. Tube amps. No effects. /shunned

 

 

My main rig for quite awhile, that actually got a decent amount of live play, was an Ibanez s470, Boss GT6 (4 cable method), into a Peavey Special. I believe the Special 2x12 was the same thing as the Bandit, but with 2 speakers, or maybe similar. Or not at all heh. One day the magic smoke came out and I moved onto tube amps at that point. (Classic 30 head and cab)

[lolque?]

I initially started with bass, through a jazz style. Picked up guitar by learning jazz. (un)Fortunetly, I still play guitar like a bass player, and everything I do is jazz chord work. I'm getting into math stuff now though, so it's proving to be interesting.

 

jazz -> post-rock ->math.

 

I used to be all about effects, but now I'm pretty stripped down. I've always been a one guitar person, but I'm thinking of getting more. I've definitely done a 180.

[satannica]

When I started more than 15 years ago:

 

+

 

It's pretty much the same, but now add:

 

 

into this:

 

 

 

 

I have little to no interest in crappy vox or fender amps. I like to have plenty of everything. My band has never had a bad show!

[easyliver]

in the beginning: wanted to get teh ladiez

now: had the ladiez

 

seriously, i started on acoustic doing all the dave matthews, john mayer, days of the new, acoustic-rock type stuff i could...loved strats and brown sounds too...

now, it's a tele into a vox/marshall style amp, country and funk tones...still doing the other stuff though so I guess it's just a progression of sorts...

[misterstomach]

 

Since when does a JCM 800 sound disgusting?

 

 

i just wanted to say this. i think that being in the first post discredited the thread for me.

[IamBurnout]

Then:

 

Penco LP->Crybaby->DOD American Metal->Fender Pro185

 

Wanted to play Hendrix and Cream

 

Now:

 

Ibby S7420->Dyna Comp->Small Stone->Hyper Fuzz->RAT->Mars Trem->Marshall Mosfet 100

 

Want to play Hendrix, Cream, Floyd, and Zappa.

[Operator]

 

i just wanted to say this. i think that being in the first post discredited the thread for me.

 

 

Really, dude?

[Kikaruu]

Started on guitar with a FirstAct and some pointers, playing metal. Got pretty good. Switched to shoegaze. Got even better.

 

Went on a hiatus. Haven't played guitar seriously since.

 

So, I've ended in Renoise with 7 albums (5 hours) of all sorts of music to my name and a feeling of satisfaction. I've changed quite a bit. I've learned a lot about music, theory and otherwise, and I feel like I'm not limited by my tools anymore. I understand things now.

 

I am so tired right now.

[duncan]

When I started:

 

 

 

Now:

[TravvyBear]

When I first started I had a cheap ebay acoustic that cost .10 cent with 20 dollar shipping, I bought it myself it sucked pretty bad, couldn't stay in tune, just a pretty {censored}ty guitar overall. I was mostly trying to play Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers stuff.

 

My parents noticed that I was still keeping to it, so Christmas during freshman year they bought me a Fender Starcaster player pack thing. Still playing Nirvana and RHCP, but I was getting a lot better. My first effect was a Danelectro Fab Chorus (Which is still an awesome chorus by the way, the old Junon drummer has it now, I kind of miss it ) Then I got a DS-1. Back then I only wanted Strats and Mustangs (Thanks to Kurt and Froosh). Eventually I got a decent solid state amp (Fender Stage 160, loud as {censored}, I miss it) and a Squier Cyclone (Which I also miss) and a DE-7 I got an electric acoustic after I became a huge Marcy Playground fan.

 

Nowadays I'm playing a Danelectro U1 and an Epiphone ej160e into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Mostly playing my own stuff.

[V]

I guess if we want to go through actual gear stages mine would be something like:

 

Stage 1: Recorder

Stage 2: Flute/Piccolo

Stage 3: Dad's Old Bass then soon after Carlo Robelli 5 String into Hartke Practice Amp

Stage 4: Acoustic/Electric Ibanez into Peavey KB60 Keyboard Amp Add Boss OD/Distortion

Stage 5: Ibanez Millenium Iceman into same keyboard amp. Add Big Muff and a Flanger.

Stage 6: Black MIM Strat (Soon Modified with Don Mare Lace Sensors and Upgraded Hardware) into 1967 Bassman Head With Digitech Reverb and Tonebone Classic Distortion and Digidelay (Still Have all of these things and use them sometimes.)

Stage 6: Add Gibson SG Faded, Blues Jr, G.S. Wylie Moonrock, and DMM (Still Have/Use all except the SG)

Stage 7: Add Traynor YCV50Blue and Fender Stratosonic (Still Have Both)

Stage 8: Add LOTS of different pedals. Most notably Wolf Computers, EHX HO...tons more fuzzes and weird things (Still Have/Use Most)

Stage 9: Add Rickenbacker 330, get rid of SG

Stage 10: Add Ampeg Reverberocket 1x12 Add more effects.

Stage 11: Get rid of Reverberocket (Miss it), Get Dr. Z Maz 18 2x12 Add more effects.

Stage 12: Add Martin 000-15 Acoustic, Add Purple MIM Telecaster and give it a Black 3 ply guard so it looks all spiffy. Add more effects, most notably 2 Custom Wolf Computers. Add MIJ Fender Jaguar Bass.

Stage 13: Build Telecaster out of late 1800s Barn Wood and MIA Tele Neck/neat Handwound Pickups

Stage 14: Add Dr. Z Maz 18 NR 1x12. A few more effects (Most notably El Capistan)

 

 

Current Stage:

 

Guitars: Same MIM Strat (Black), Second MIM Strat (White) (Currently being modified for stereo operation and ridiculous pickup combinations), Fender Stratosonic (Modified with Humbuckers), MIM Telecaster (Purple, mostly stock), Home-Built Barnwood Telecaster, Rickenbacker 330 (Mapleglo Stock), MIJ Jaguar Bass, Martin 000-15 Acoustic.

 

Effects: Oh, God. Lots. Most often used are Custom Wolf Computer/Hi Five Boost (x2), MXR Bass DI+ (Guitar and Bass), DMM, Moog Ring Modulator, El Capistan, Moonrock, Dano CC Drive and Transparent Overdrive, Deluxe Memory Boy, Mid Fi Pitch Pirate, EHX Stereo Polyphase, EHX HOG.

 

Amps: Red Head (Mysterious Local-Made/Prototype Amp which is based on a JCM800 but with a vox-like el84 power section and tube rectified, Newly Added), Dr. Z Maz 18 1x12 (2x12 is being sold on consignment for space reasons), Fender Blues Jr (Stock), Fender Bassman (1967) and 2x12 avatar cab, Traynor YCV50Blue with Extension Cab, Tiny Mellowtone Tube Amp Prototype (2 watts), Even Tinier Mellowtone Stamp Amp

 

Misc: Mochika 2 Synthesizer, Suzuki Omnichord 100, Melodeon

[TomCTC]

Now:

 

Can I just say...

[Fenderman1991]

Me starting out was a Squier strat with a DS-1 into a Vox Pathfinder 15, wanting to learn all these songs that sounded cool, whether I really liked em or not (ie, Metallica).

 

Now I have a few more guitars (still stuck with mostly strats), a hell of a lot more pedals, a Fender Twin Reverb, and am more focused on being a better player overall, learning songs I really like whether they are impressive or not, and focusing heavily on songwriting.

[RoboPimp]

I've been doing the same thing the whole time.

 

the only thing that really matters to me is playing live music with other people, if there's an audience in front of us even better. I pretty much learned from playing in a band and that interaction is what makes me happy so that's what I do.

 

The gear can change but I stay the same

 

I love trying new gear and I have enough stuff to cover anything I might need but the gear is like a dash of spice, the music is the meat and potatoes.

 

really the only thing that ever bugs me about gear is when I run out of volume on my amps Using absurdly loud tube amps has been keeping that problem at bay.

[renula]

then:

 

kramer striker baretta, silverface fender champ & proco rat.

 

now pedals and pedals and epis and fenders...

[royal crxsh johnson]

i think i started out very similar to how i am today. i was a lot more broke, but i used what i had to create sounds that were challenging. i was always trying to think outside the box, even when my rig looked like

 

squier strat>hendrix crybaby>ds-1>russian muff>fab echo>giant old bass amp

 

i was into similar music, i think my tastes have broaded a bit though.

[H.P. Lovecraft]

Then:

 

Fender Tele -or- Strat

 

BOSS DS-1

 

EHX Small Clone

 

Fender Solid State Amp

 

Now:

 

Dan Armstrong Plexi

 

WH Swollen Pickele

EB Wah

MXR Phase 100

Strymon Brigadier Delay

 

Fender Tube Amp

[TheHarakiriEnd]

Traditional Country, Old Time, Bluegrass and Gospel because that is what I grew up around hearing and seeing people play.

 

After I progressed in that I started taking lessons from various rock guitarists ranging from Musicians Institue guys to The Commodores touring guitarist.

 

Got tired of that and took a step back because I got really into punk but also discovered Free Jazz (both seemed to throw all the structure and rigidity out the window). I was playing in a Punk band but jamming along to records by guys like Sonny Sharrock, Sun Ra, etc.

 

Then yet again got tired and went to Birmingham Southern College to study Classical. Did that for 2 years and got a job teaching at the Blount School of Music. While teaching I had gotten way into chord melody stuff (Kessel, Pass, Farlow) and started taking lessons from a Berklee guy, that didn't last long though... I got really concerned around this time with trying to put together all the various fragments of stuff I had learned into a bigger more original whole. So I stopped taking lessons all together (and teaching) and focused on actually trying figure out who I was as a player.

 

Since then I have studied on my own. Recently however I have been playing with this insane Free Improv guy and it has really started to change my perspective once more on how I play and view the instrument. I occasionally take drum lessons but never really play the drums. I bring my guitar and work on different rhythimc ideas, stuff that I had just never dove into head on.

 

The next step whenever I feel like I have picked up whatever I'm looking for from my current situation is the Oud. I got into that sound when I was younger through David Torn and have never focused on it like I've wanted...

 

As far as tones I have been all over the place because I have had so many different requirements and still have several seperate setups. Usually though I have came back to my Steve Klein electric, a clean Fender amp and fuzz.

[misterstomach]

 

Really, dude?

 

 

yeah, dude, really. jcm 800's are awesome amps. i play two of them. i'm not so into the two channel ones, as pictured in the first post, but they're still great amps.

[tri99er]

 

I turned up the mids, turned down the gain, and added delay.

 

 

This:thu:

[easyliver]

Now: In general not much different on the gear front, but my music tastes have certainly broadened.

 

that's do pig, that'll do...

[Operator]

yeah, dude, really. jcm 800's are awesome amps. i play two of them. i'm not so into the two channel ones, as pictured in the first post, but they're still great amps.

 

I just threw that picture up quickly to illustrate my point. I was trying to describe running fuzzy distortion pedals into an 800 for a disgusting sound. I don't think that discredits the topic of growing as musicians.

 

I have a Peavey Butcher which is a JCM 800 clone from the 80s. Put a weird dirt pedal in front of it and I say it's disgusting, dammit!