Random (Music and Guitar Related) Thoughts Thread

[sixesandsevens]

I never thought I'd say this, but I love playing 8 string guitar.  

 

 

[LucSulla]

How quickly an I'm-great-at-guitar-day turns into an I've-wasted-23-years-trying-to-be-good-at-this kinda day. 

[diablo175]

17 hours ago, LucSulla said:

How quickly an I'm-great-at-guitar-day turns into an I've-wasted-23-years-trying-to-be-good-at-this kinda day. 

All too familiar story of my life.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Losing my GAS feels pretty much what I imagine losing my sex drive would feel like.

[Toadroller]

On 3/30/2017 at 1:46 PM, sixesandsevens said:

I never thought I'd say this, but I love playing 8 string guitar.  

 

 

We'll start calling you SixesandSevensandEights.

[gorch]

On 18.12.2016 at 7:54 PM, LucSulla said:

I think if I would sell my Standard and Tally.  I find I'm growing less and less enthused about missing them other than having so much money sitting in guitars.  I think I may not be able to live in a world where I have only one truly top shelf guitar and others that I am into for less than $1k.  

Fixed for ya!

[Steve Haynie]

Inspiration for John 5... 

 

[diablo175]

I've arrived at what I feel is a reasonable criteria for limiting and simultaneously validating GAS. Being in a gigging band is justification for acquiring guitars, ergo, the cessation of said gigs or the band altogether means no more guitars may be bought without sell/trading one already in the herd. In the case of the complete dissolving of all musical endeavors (outside of bedroom variety) the herd must be thinned. Them's the rulez.

[LucSulla]

2 hours ago, diablo175 said:

I've arrived at what I feel is a reasonable criteria for limiting and simultaneously validating GAS. Being in a gigging band is justification for acquiring guitars, ergo, the cessation of said gigs or the band altogether means no more guitars may be bought without sell/trading one already in the herd. In the case of the complete dissolving of all musical endeavors (outside of bedroom variety) the herd must be thinned. Them's the rulez.

I actually buy less when I am playing.  I think I sublimate my lack of stage time into building a collection, and since I don't find it ultimately as satisfying as playing, it tends to get out of hand because I'm slaking my thirst with something other than what is necessary to quench it. 

Jesus - I think I just wrote a metaphor about my being single as well.  

[diablo175]

5 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

I actually buy less when I am playing.  I think I sublimate my lack of stage time into building a collection, and since I don't find it ultimately as satisfying as playing, it tends to get out of hand because I'm slaking my thirst with something other than what is necessary to quench it. 

Jesus - I think I just wrote a metaphor about my being single as well.  

Ouch. Agree that's there's no substitute for performing live. For years my wife has suggested that my buying guitars was an effort to fill some other hole in my life/soul. Ironically and at the risk of being crude, my taking up guitar was, in part, an attempt to find more hole to fill in my own special way.

[LucSulla]

1 hour ago, diablo175 said:

Ouch. Agree that's there's no substitute for performing live. For years my wife has suggested that my buying guitars was an effort to fill some other hole in my life/soul. Ironically and at the risk of being crude, my taking up guitar was, in part, an attempt to find more hole to fill in my own special way.

I think that is why most people do it.  I was that weirdo that at around 13 thought, "If I don't find an outlet, I'm either shooting myself or blowing the school up.  I like music... maybe I'll try that first."

And it actually worked, thankfully.  

I didn't strike me until my late 20s that even I could successfully use playing music to fill other spaces.  It wasn't that I was too good to give it a go at 19, I just didn't seem like an available option. 

[mrjamiam]

Like the Spanish Inquisition, no one expects to walk into his local big chain grocery store and hear Slade playing over the PA.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

On 4/26/2017 at 4:48 PM, LucSulla said:

I actually buy less when I am playing.  I think I sublimate my lack of stage time into building a collection, and since I don't find it ultimately as satisfying as playing, it tends to get out of hand because I'm slaking my thirst with something other than what is necessary to quench it. 

Jesus - I think I just wrote a metaphor about my being single as well.  

Set it to music, and you've got a hit song.

[Toadroller]

20 hours ago, Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame said:

Set it to music, and you've got a hit song.

I dunno, needs some word-smithing yet:

it tends to get out of hand, girl

because I'm slaking my thirst, yeah

slaking it with something,

something other than what is necessary to quench it. 

See, it kind of falls apart on that last line.

 

 

[The Shark]

On ‎4‎/‎26‎/‎2017 at 1:45 PM, diablo175 said:

I've arrived at what I feel is a reasonable criteria for limiting and simultaneously validating GAS. Being in a gigging band is justification for acquiring guitars, ergo, the cessation of said gigs or the band altogether means no more guitars may be bought without sell/trading one already in the herd. In the case of the complete dissolving of all musical endeavors (outside of bedroom variety) the herd must be thinned. Them's the rulez.

Man, that's really funny.  And by funny, I mean peculiar.  I'm totally the opposite.  As my band gets back into the swing of things (we've had the same guys for 35 years, but have been dormant for the passed eight other than once or twice a month practices), I find my GAS subsiding.  I think it's because I'd become a collector more than a player.  Now, getting all these wonderful guitars out and actually playing them in a band setting I realize I needed something to fill the void.  I was on the hunt all the time because it filled said void.  Makes sense to me.  But I completely understand that life sometimes takes us to the same end through very different paths.  GAS is a fickle affliction! 

[Armitage]

On 5/8/2017 at 8:52 PM, mrjamiam said:

Like the Spanish Inquisition, no one expects to walk into his local big chain grocery store and hear Slade playing over the PA.

 

Nothing makes you feel older then your music, turned to Musak.

[diablo175]

I encountered one of the best feelings this morning when every guitar I picked up sounded good. Mind you, I didn't say, were played good <well>, I said. "sounded good." I picked up no less than 6 different axes from Charvels & Jacksons to Hamers. All sounded pretty damned good. That's something of an anomaly. Usually, in a multi-guitar jam session, one will standout to my ears as most pleasing. The rest: irritating or frustratingly meh.

 

 

[Jakeboy]

I am so digging the Duesey Les Trem ii I put on my Artist....

[mrjamiam]

On 5/10/2017 at 6:10 AM, Armitage said:

 

Nothing makes you feel older then your music, turned to Musak.

Same store, yesterday, playing "Nights in White Satin".  While that is in no way my music, I can see a trend.  I'll have to think of a nickname for it.  Atlanta had a Disco Kroger (and a Pickup Publix) when I lived there.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

So I finally killed my guitar GAS by discovering I like scalloped fretboards.  Now I have nearly-uncontrollable GAS for scalloped fretboards...

[LucSulla]

A good SG through a good Bogner Shiva is a pretty damned good time.  

Whoever had this house before me had a kid that put those glow-in-the-dark stars all over the ceiling of one of the bedrooms.  I turned off the lights and just had the green light on the Bog and the stars on the ceiling for light.  That was really satisfying. 

[mrjamiam]

5 hours ago, LucSulla said:

A good SG through a good Bogner Shiva is a pretty damned good time.  

Whoever had this house before me had a kid that put those glow-in-the-dark stars all over the ceiling of one of the bedrooms.  I turned off the lights and just had the green light on the Bog and the stars on the ceiling for light.  That was really satisfying. 

 

[Tortious]

I got a new EVM 12L delivered tonight. Picked up the box and it was moving around. Crap. Opened it, the cheesy styro piece inside had fallen apart, little bits of busted styro all over the speaker, and creases in the cone. Filled out a return/exchange request. I hope the next one doesn't arrive the same way, but seeing how that was factory packaged, I'm not hopeful.

I hope the MBA who thought it was a good idea to save half a cent and use such poor packaging for such an awkward, heavy speaker drives the BMW he got with his bonus money into an abutment.

Years ago I had a Rivera M100 112 with one of the original EVM's in it. That's one of the few amps I wish I had kept. If I ever get an operable speaker I hope to get something close to that unique sound. I guess they're not made in the US anymore, so I'm not even sure on that front.

Rather aggravating.

[sixesandsevens]

New strings arrived for my Boden 8.  The ones that are on there are still surprisingly fresh given it's almost all I've played for 6 months.  I caved and got the recommended strings from Strandberg which are a custom balanced tension set from a collaboration with GHS.  

Pricier than I would have liked (no free shipping), but looking forward to the string change tho.

[LucSulla]

Is there anything more pretentious in all of guitardom than tube discussion threads?

Everyone goes the same way - 

"Hey, I was wondering about this new tube I saw in my XYZ amp."

The next answer is usually -

"Oh you'll want this or that NOS tube."

Variations include - "Hey, I was curious what you guys think of the new Mullard EL34 vs. Electro-Harmonix."

Response:

"Wehhhhhhllll... first of all, those are NOT Mullards.  The originals were great, but those new ones are not AT ALL the same.  I highly recommend you pick up this-or-that-now-defunct brand.  They are a steal at the moment for only a first born child!"

All to go in like a Peavey Classic 30 or something that some weekend warrior is just trying to rock at his weekly open mic.  I have to wonder if these people ever actually gig this stuff.  I don't care how good old Mullards sound vs a Ruby.  I'm not loading up $500 worth of glas to play Al's Blood Bucket and Bar-B-Q.  I know the patrons will long for the silky highs and warming mids in between Cuervo shots, but I just can't do it.