Musicians that buy cheap gear

[wc8485]

A good sound in FOH, and a decent monitor mix is my primary concern.

As long as whover's gear can help and not hurt, then the gear is functional regardless.

[helmvoltz]

Hey Hey My My You pay for this, but they give you that.rust never sleeps

give me an old valve amp any day those transistors are rubbish

dont believe the hype.

[coyote-1]

I know two guys who have Gibsons that cost $1500+ per guitar. Neither of 'em stays in tune for more than a few seconds.... by contrast, I spent a decade beating the hell out of the stock vibrato bar (even snapped the bar twice!) on a 1977 Ibanez Silver Series Stratocaster and I NEVER had tuning problems.

 

or they are trying to tune constantly on stage.

 

It is a mistake to associate expensive gear with quality performance. I judge a performance by the performance, not by the label on the headstock.

[almightycrunch]

You can see what I use in my sig, my other guitar player has a 10 top PRS McCarty and a line 6 HD-147 head and cabinet, the drummer plays DW kit, and thebass player plays this gawdawful peavey millenium 5 string bass that his buddy "custom" painted LOL all covered in big dollops of color and sprayed around the body with a small air compressor, the electronics are all screwed up, buzzes like crazy, and generally sounds like {censored}. And for his amp, its a piece of crap behringer head and cabinet, the head is 259.00 and the 4x10 cab is 259.00, sounds well, about like his bass does. I had given him my Gallien Krueger 800RB head and 4x10 Ampeg cabinet in the past, he ended wrecking the head, dropping it off stage, etc and not sure what he did with the cabinet. I also bought him a Fender American Jazz Plus five string at one point, he ended "losing" it in a deal with an acquaintance if you catch my drift!!! hope he had a good night that night.

[wades_keys]

I had given him my Gallien Krueger 800RB head and 4x10 Ampeg cabinet in the past, he ended wrecking the head, dropping it off stage, etc and not sure what he did with the cabinet. I also bought him a Fender American Jazz Plus five string at one point, he ended "losing" it in a deal with an acquaintance if you catch my drift!!! hope he had a good night that night.

 

Wow - can I be in your band? I could use a new amp and bass

[almightycrunch]

Well, are you any good???? LOL j/k man, actually my supply of cash has dwindled as of late. I have just enough for myself now, the rest of em have to fend for themselves now. BUT, I'll keep you in mind:thu:

[kurtisqpublic]

There is a big difference between cheap and well set up and cheap and I don't care. You can set the intonation, action, and tuning stability of the cheapest guitar and have it play like a million bucks. Same with cheap amps a sovtek mig is pretty low price but in the correct hands, sounds wonderful!

[TheB3Nut]

Guitars and basses I don't mind a lower-cost axe set up well. For keys, I gig with a Yamaha S-80 and a Triton, and for a festival gig last year I borrowed a van and brought my B-3 and Leslie. I will say I couldn't afford the synths I have today in my current situation, I was crazy and single back when I bought them. Now if I want to add a guitar or bass to the herd I have to shop carefully. Heck, I haven't bought a bass in ages (about to buy an affordable fretless 5 and fretted 6 soon from Rondo) but my MIM Standard Precision and Jazz basses have served me well live and recording for years. The P is stock, the Jazz has Quarter Pounders in it but is otherwise stock. That P with Thomastik Jazz Flats made me some decent cash on jingle sessions. I play keys and guitar in my current band, and my main 6-string is an Ibanez SA-120 that cost me $235 new (usually sells online for $300.) It runs through a GT-8 straight to the house (we use processors, DI's and in-ears.) Sounds good in the mix, is insanely comfortable to play, and doesn't look el-cheap-o either. I also run an MIM Strat and Tele at times, a PRS Soapber SE II, and a lovably-pitiful Silvertone by Samick bolt-on LP-ish object that plays and sounds far better than it has any right to. As long as it holds tune, plays well, and sounds good, I'll gig it.

 

But you really can only get away with budget gear with electric stringed critters...keys and acoustics are as noted a different kettle of fish...my only acoustic is a Taylor 314ce...it stung when I bought it many moons ago, but I've never felt the bug to upgrade, and don't regret buying it one minute. (I did buy a cheap $140 Kentucky laminated mando to poke on, but I'm not a mandolin player...it actually sounds good for what amounts to an asseblage of plywood!)

 

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

[cephus]

What bugs me even more is talentless hacks with top notch gear.

 

:thu: :thu:

[Fendercaster]

A few years ago I played in a two piece group-me on guitars and vocals and a keyboard player/vocalist who played hand or pedal bass, and a drum machine. When everything worked, we had a decent sound. But, more than once, we'd have to stop in the middle of a set because something would break in his old Moog pedal bass or his ancient keyboard and he'd have to drag out the soldering iron. It couldn't have been more embarassing! This is a case where a bit more expensive gear was warranted, but most of his discretionary funds went up his nose.

[Kuhnfyoozed]

It seems to me that as long as you don't cheap out on the amp, you'll be fine. There are inexpensive amps, and then there are cheap amps; I think that you can play most guitars through a good (possibly inexpensive) amp and sound good, but you can play any guitar through a bad (cheap?) amp and sound bad.

[TheDoober]

What bugs me even more is talentless hacks with top notch gear.

 

+1 MILLION!

 

I own a Laney VC50 ($500 USD), a Laney AOR ProTube 1x12 combo ($350) and a Fender M80 ($200 and solid state). Guess what? The Fender has had the fewest problems and sounds comparable to my other two amps. I play a guitar that cost 80 dollars before it was modded extensively.

 

Money can't buy you talent. Sometimes it can't buy you tone or reliability either.

[Eleventeen43]

Some people just like to buy {censored}. They feell that they always have to be spending there money on new {censored}. its like drugs. Sometimes it can be a habit. There are also people who get sucked into feeling bad for store owners and buy it anyways. Then theres the people who cant afford {censored} and are use to fixing there {censored} 24/7. But who cares i would just let them be. Its there fault that they cant by decent equip. But i have noticed that those people are the ones who can shred. Its all just personal opinions.

[babyfrank]

I remember attending a showcase gig a few years ago that was put on by a local Guitar Teacher. 2 performances stand out; First was a guy decked out in full 80's metal regalia (Denim, leather, bullet belt, scarves wround the arms, the whole shebang) with a USA Parker Fly and Mesa Boogie MkIV amp who stumbled his way through a toe-curling embarrassingly bad instrumental version of Poison's "Every Rose Has its Thorn".

 

The second was a kid of 15 playing a Squier Strat through a Peavey Bandit who just SMOKED, and blew away most of the other players on the night.

 

You've either got it or you haven't; the best gear in the world won't necessarily make you a better player, conversely the worst gear won't necessarily make you a bad player.

 

Me? Average player, average gear :-)

 

Cheers

 

BF

[newmaxnew]

My amp only cost about $250.00. It is a single ended tube amp kit from AX84. It is only about 12 watts but it sounds real nice to me. I guess I must kinda suck since I didn't pay more than $1000.00 for my amp.

 

Max

[BlueStrat]

 

My amp only cost about $250.00. It is a single ended tube amp kit from AX84. It is only about 12 watts but it sounds real nice to me. I guess I must kinda suck since I didn't pay more than $1000.00 for my amp. Max

 

 

yeah, me too. I bought a Roland Cube 30 for $200, and my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for $500.

[cooterbrown]

Bought my Rivera M100 with matching cab for $600 at a consignment shop.

[Zurich17]

Meh, if bad people* have good gear let them be. Good for them - shows they concentrate on their day job rather than sitting at home on welfare practicing guitar - may or may not be good depending on your viewpoint.

 

*haha what a typo, I'm not going to change it

[MoreGuitars]

If you took this from a purely business perspective, most musicians barring top name performing groups would have a hard time justifying spending top dollar on gear. Most people who spend the money on decent gear are doing this for a love of the art.

 

I could never rationally justify most of my gear purchases based on the economic return of music. I just love playing the stuff.

[Alexy]

The difference between 'cheap' and 'inexpensive' is important. You can buy inexpensive guitars nowadays that play and sound great.

 

+1000.

 

My Reverend Charger 290 is $480 and I would put it up against ANY American-made anything tone-wise -- and looks-wise, too, for that matter. I believe in value!

[Outkaster]

 

If you took this from a purely business perspective, most musicians barring top name performing groups would have a hard time justifying spending top dollar on gear. Most people who spend the money on decent gear are doing this for a love of the art. I could never rationally justify most of my gear purchases based on the economic return of music. I just love playing the stuff.

 

 

Yeah but when you have {censored}ty gear how much do you love the art? It has nothing to do with economic return.

[fuzzball]

 

I've played the same OLP copy, but it was a refurb, so it was seven cheaper. It had one of the best necks I've ever played. The pickups were incredible - neck pickup was soooo smooth with a clean channel and the bridge pickup with an overdriven setting was unbelievable - it had a near perfect balance of drive and breakup, and palm muting chords was a joy. I think the person bought it for around $130- it did need a good amount of setup work, but I did that for free. If it was mine I would have changed the tuners to something better, and knocked down the frets in a couple places, but for about $200 for the guitar + upgrades I would have no problem using that guitar for playing or even recording instead of the les paul I paid $2000+ for.

 

 

 

I have 10 guitars (some quite expensive), I tend to play the less expensive gear at gigs and save the others for the studio. The key is: Does it sound good? DOes it get the job done without problems? In my case yes, if it did not I would take my more expensive gear.

 

I tend to gig with a nice Peavey head and 4x12 cab, a OLP MM1, and a hot rodded Charvel. I also use cheap effect boxes and processors so I can leave the more expensive stuff at home, and I have never had anyone tell me that my gear is too cheap to sound good. SOmetimes too much emphasis is put on cost.

[fuzzball]

I remember attending a showcase gig a few years ago that was put on by a local Guitar Teacher. 2 performances stand out; First was a guy decked out in full 80's metal regalia (Denim, leather, bullet belt, scarves wround the arms, the whole shebang) with a USA Parker Fly and Mesa Boogie MkIV amp who stumbled his way through a toe-curling embarrassingly bad instrumental version of Poison's "Every Rose Has its Thorn". The second was a kid of 15 playing a Squier Strat through a Peavey Bandit who just SMOKED, and blew away most of the other players on the night. You've either got it or you haven't; the best gear in the world won't necessarily make you a better player, conversely the worst gear won't necessarily make you a bad player. Me? Average player, average gear :-) Cheers BF

 

Thoes Peavey Bandits actualy sound pretty darn good. I have an original first run and I still use it today!

[KennethNishimot]

I can't stand people who get all up in arms about cheap gear and thier percieved downfalls. I subscribe to what I call the "ukulele" mentality. A good, usable ukulele that will last for a good long while ought to cost, at most, about eighteen bucks. I've had mine for four years now, it's a piece of plywood with fishing line for strings, I bought it at an airport, and it sings like an angel. Now there are people out there who buy mahogany gold plated, multi-thousand dollar ukuleles, now, where is the advantage? There is none, they just end up looking like douchebags who spent too damn much on an ukulele.

 

This exact same theory applies, in my opinion, to the vast majority of instruments bought and sold in America today. You can get a 50 dollar (with tax and shipping) no name brand strat-clone, or you can get a four hundred dollar limited edition signed Fender Stratocaster, with gold pickguard!! Honestly, having played both, there is little to no difference, and personally, I think that anyone who disagrees is just wanking it, you know? I'm tired of hearing people rag on stuff like pulse drums, rogue guitars, etc... because the truth is, the way they're constructed nowadays, the only reason they would sound {censored} is if you play em like {censored}.

[Outkaster]

 

I can't stand people who get all up in arms about cheap gear and thier percieved downfalls. I subscribe to what I call the "ukulele" mentality. A good, usable ukulele that will last for a good long while ought to cost, at most, about eighteen bucks. I've had mine for four years now, it's a piece of plywood with fishing line for strings, I bought it at an airport, and it sings like an angel. Now there are people out there who buy mahogany gold plated, multi-thousand dollar ukuleles, now, where is the advantage? There is none, they just end up looking like douchebags who spent too damn much on an ukulele. This exact same theory applies, in my opinion, to the vast majority of instruments bought and sold in America today. You can get a 50 dollar (with tax and shipping) no name brand strat-clone, or you can get a four hundred dollar limited edition signed Fender Stratocaster, with gold pickguard!! Honestly, having played both, there is little to no difference, and personally, I think that anyone who disagrees is just wanking it, you know? I'm tired of hearing people rag on stuff like pulse drums, rogue guitars, etc... because the truth is, the way they're constructed nowadays, the only reason they would sound {censored} is if you play em like {censored}.

 

 

 

Yeah undestandable. I am talking about keyboards moslty. Read the thread a few pages back.