More discussion of making do with the gear you have.

[EricJohn]

I decided to man up and just sand the {censored} out of the neck on my Epiphone '56 LP. Best decision I ever made. I'm going to do more today.

 

 

How are you sanding it? I'd like to try that with the SG copy that I'm playing.

[SrMeowMeow]

How are you sanding it? I'd like to try that with the SG copy that I'm playing.

 

 

0000 steel wool, half of the neck at a time. Like this:

 

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Dude is that an original Breadwinner???!!!

Yeah, c. 1973. It was my main guitar all through the '80's and the one I played at my first band gig:



Back to discussion! Sorry for derailment.

[Special J]

I will always be on the lookout for good deals, and every once in a while I get GAS for something in particular. Overall, though, I'm pretty happy with what I have. I've been working on fixing up some of my gear and modding it to taste instead of buying more. Currently in the stable - Charvel CX290, '57 AVRI Strat, '60's HRRI Strat, 2 Hamer Specials (one with mini-buckers, one with P90's), DGN Custom (semi-hollow), and an Ovation Preacher. This offers me a huge variety of sounds and feels, as do my modest amps and effects collection.

I do almost miss the days when I only had 2 guitars, 1 amp, and just a couple of effects. I never felt limited in what I could do or the sounds that I could achieve. I had what I had, and I made it work for me. But hey, you get older, start to accumulate stuff, and then you maybe start to have a disposable income...

[jamdogg]

Oh I still definitely plan on getting one

[EricJohn]

I will always be on the lookout for good deals, and every once in a while I get GAS for something in particular. Overall, though, I'm pretty happy with what I have. I've been working on fixing up some of my gear and modding it to taste instead of buying more. Currently in the stable - Charvel CX290, '57 AVRI Strat, '60's HRRI Strat, 2 Hamer Specials (one with mini-buckers, one with P90's), DGN Custom (semi-hollow), and an Ovation Preacher. This offers me a huge variety of sounds and feels, as do my modest amps and effects collection. I do almost miss the days when I only had 2 guitars, 1 amp, and just a couple of effects. I never felt limited in what I could do or the sounds that I could achieve. I had what I had, and I made it work for me. But hey, you get older, start to accumulate stuff, and then you maybe start to have a disposable income...

I'll have to wait til I'm about 58 to have disposable income

[Bbreaker]

I'll have to wait til I'm about 58 to have disposable income

 

 

I am 58 and it's the toughest financial time of my life.

[r0bo01]

yep. i just went from .011's to .009's, then brought my jackson up to e standard (was in c# since day i got it). like getting a new guitar!

[nuke_diver]

Though I am sure I could work myself up to buy a guitar a week, I just cannot rationalize the collecting as this is purely a hobby for me. I have a pittance ( at least compared to folks on HCGF) of two guitars, but they definitely cover a broad spectrum. So for now and the foreseeable future, I am certainly happy with what I have...now I just need to practice.

You need an acoustic

I have no guitar gas at all. What I have covers everything I would need to do as far as I can see. And like mnewb (actually much more than him) I need more practice. I occasionally think about another pedal (mainly a Fuzz) but I don't "need" one and while I might get one one day I'm not particularly desperate to get one

[EricJohn]

I am 58 and it's the toughest financial time of my life.

 

 

I was estimating when my youngest son would be graduating. I suppose saving a little bit each week towards a goal of some sort would be a good idea.

[mymindsok]

Well...

I have about five or six guitars and I say "about" because one of my Squier 51's is in pieces and while I still have GAS from time to time, I'm pretty happy to own what I have. Since I don't depend on playing for my rather meager income and considering the state of the world economy, it's easy for me to be happy because there have been times when I've had nothing.

The thing that I do want is a few new pedals, so I'm keeping my eye on Ebay. (A Pickup Booster, a FullDrive, a Blues Driver maybe or a Big Muff and thats about it.)

I think that many of us lose sight of what this is all about, fall into the trap of getting off on owning the hardware and forget that this is supposed to be about the music. I've been refocusing on practicing and playing and letting the other stuff take care of itself and it sure feels good!

[scuzzo]

more stuff is just more stuff and just because you buy more stuff will not always = better tone or playability.. mho... guitarist are a funny lot.. very resistant to change or adapting to change .. the whole... well they are all different guitars because they have different pickup configs... i play that card.. but i also know in my heart that is just rational justification for me to buy more stuff.. i know that a pickup value/heat can be accounted for with a tweak of the amp... but i still have 4 strats.. so guilty i stand... but im ok with it.. but in the end its just you and a guitar.. you just need to get on with it... just play...

[animalwithin]

I currently have two guitars, a great acoustic, and imo the best semi-hollow out there. All I want now is a good shredder, which I'll be getting at the end of this semester in the form of the Schecter Loomis FR (a 7-string) and I badly want the Gibson Zakk Wylde Les Paul. I"m getting a used Peavey Bandit soon, with the above mentioned, I'm set for many coming moons, although won't be getting the ZW LP for a long time and when I do it will be used.

[EricJohn]

more stuff is just more stuff and just because you buy more stuff will not always = better tone or playability.. mho... guitarist are a funny lot.. very resistant to change or adapting to change .. the whole... well they are all different guitars because they have different pickup configs... i play that card.. but i also know in my heart that is just rational justification for me to buy more stuff.. i know that a pickup value/heat can be accounted for with a tweak of the amp... but i still have 4 strats.. so guilty i stand... but im ok with it.. but in the end its just you and a guitar.. you just need to get on with it... just play...

 

 

You know it's funny, I've been thinking "I gotta get that bridge humbucker to get the sound I am looking for. But I've been playing this Tele a lot lately and it crunches pretty damn good with just that single coil.

[Willyguitar]

 

You know it's funny, I've been thinking "I gotta get that bridge humbucker to get the sound I am looking for. But I've been playing this Tele a lot lately and it crunches pretty damn good with just that single coil.

 

 

In my experience, you do need a bridge humbucker, or at least a bridge P90 to get 'that' crunch.

[Doctor Morbius]

In my experience, you do need a bridge humbucker, or at least a bridge P90 to get 'that' crunch.

Agreed. That's why I put this together.

 

[Valtyr]

I kept settling for gear that wasn't what I really wanted because what I wanted was too expensive. I found that I kept looking for better and churning through gear, ultimately paying more over the years with less overall satisfaction. When I realized I had already paid more $ than if I had just gotten what I wanted years ago, I changed my strategy.

Amp GAS disappeared after I got my Mesa combo because it covers everything I wanted in an amp.

I just got a Parker Fly Classic, the guitar I always wanted. I'll be selling gear I no longer use as much (now that I have my dream guitar) to pay for it.

If you get what you really want, are you "making do" at that point?

[Willyguitar]

Agreed. That's why I put this together.

 

Goooooooood!

[mistersully]

i'm probably about to sell all but 3 of my electrics ... with the view to adding a trussart tele style (and possible a national reso tone) at some point down the track

[Elias Graves]

 

I kept settling for gear that wasn't what I really wanted because what I wanted was too expensive. I found that I kept looking for better and churning through gear, ultimately paying more over the years with less overall satisfaction. When I realized I had already paid more $ than if I had just gotten what I wanted years ago, I changed my strategy. Amp GAS disappeared after I got my Mesa combo because it covers everything I wanted in an amp. I just got a Parker Fly Classic, the guitar I always wanted. I'll be selling gear I no longer use as much (now that I have my dream guitar) to pay for it. If you get what you really want, are you "making do" at that point?

 

 

Like the old saying goes: "Buy good stuff and you only cry once."

If you have stuff you like, no it isn't "making do" at all. It's called knowing what you want and running with it.

 

Think about most well known players. While some do have large collections, most are associated with one or two guitars.

 

Clapton and Knopfler play strats.

Page is known for a few guitars, but his burst is the sound most people think of.

Setzer plays a gretsch, and etc.

 

I say you're far better off getting a good guitar and learning how to nuance it. I'm down to nothing but my Junior at the moment and spending so much time with one instrument, you really learn what it can do. There are some very subtle things you can bring out with a guitar you know well.

 

EG

[EricJohn]

Agreed. That's why I put this together.

I would LOVE an axe like that? What you put in there?

[EricJohn]

Like the old saying goes: "Buy good stuff and you only cry once." If you have stuff you like, no it isn't "making do" at all. It's called knowing what you want and running with it. Think about most well known players. While some do have large collections, most are associated with one or two guitars. Clapton and Knopfler play strats. Page is known for a few guitars, but his burst is the sound most people think of. Setzer plays a gretsch, and etc. I say you're far better off getting a good guitar and learning how to nuance it. I'm down to nothing but my Junior at the moment and spending so much time with one instrument, you really learn what it can do. There are some very subtle things you can bring out with a guitar you know well. EG

 

 

So true so true.

 

EVH made their 1st and maybe greatest album with a guitar made from spare parts.

James Hetfield recorded Kill 'Em All and Death Magnetic with a cheap Flying V copy

Keith Richards has Micawber; his old, trusty, beat-up Tele.

 

I've found recently some things I hadn't known about the guitars I play. The harmonics on the Les Paul come out so easily. The Tele's neck is so solid I can bend notes by bending the neck. After thinking that the Telecaster neck was too ncomfortable to play, it plays so nice now after the adjustment of the action.

[Willyguitar]

Like the old saying goes: "Buy good stuff and you only cry once." If you have stuff you like, no it isn't "making do" at all. It's called knowing what you want and running with it. Think about most well known players. While some do have large collections, most are associated with one or two guitars. Clapton and Knopfler play strats. Page is known for a few guitars, but his burst is the sound most people think of. Setzer plays a gretsch, and etc. I say you're far better off getting a good guitar and learning how to nuance it. I'm down to nothing but my Junior at the moment and spending so much time with one instrument, you really learn what it can do. There are some very subtle things you can bring out with a guitar you know well. EG

 

 

I am a massive fan of the Les Paul Junior. In a nutshell it sums up this thread. You can get 90% of what you need just with a pickup, and tone and a volume as far as the guitar is concerned... so long as the pickup is a good 'un and the guitar sings. What more could you really need? The other thing is, once you have a really great guitar, all of your other instruments tend to sit around. The really great guitar (for you) automatically makes the others redundant, it becomes your friend and the thing that you decide to play most things on.

[EricJohn]

I am a massive fan of the Les Paul Junior. In a nutshell it sums up this thread. You can get 90% of what you need just with a pickup, and tone and a volume as far as the guitar is concerned... so long as the pickup is a good 'un and the guitar sings. What more could you really need? The other thing is, once you have a really great guitar, all of your other instruments tend to sit around. The really great guitar (for you) automatically makes the others redundant, it becomes your friend and the thing that you decide to play most things on.

 

 

Now THIS is truth so pure. I've bought and sold and traded and pawned probably 20 guitars or so in my life and I have gravitated back to ONE guitar. It's a relationship that cannot be duplicated. You get to know the nuances and what it can do and it doesn't fight you.