September Gear Lust
Well, it's Labor Day weekend, and evvvveryone that sells musical instruments is trying to pitch sales to musicians. I've taken some long hard looks at what's out there, and I've been looking at the rig that hasn't changed much since before I left Richland back in 2012. There are a few guitars that I miss, and some specific items I could be making more use of if I'd kept them.
What would I do with a million dollars, music gear wise? Basically all of the guitarists that I'm focusing on play Les Paul's and Marshal's. The second most common rig items are Gibson hollow (or semi-) and Vox amps. Alex Lifeson, Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend, and Zach Blair all play Gibsons and own at least one LP.
So the big gear lust this year is for one of these. It's a spendy piece of work, but has automatic tuners, titanium hardware, high end hardware and wood, etc etc. It's their yearly flagship standard model and the price shows. I imagine an Epiphone LP would do in a pinch, and I'll probably be feeling them out at a local Guitar Center when I start looking more seriously at changing the kit.
I'm also recognizing that I "need" another amp, or to get more pedals than my DS-1, to get more kinds of sound out of my kit. The Blackheart Handsome Devil does a great job clean and "classic", but doesn't crunch up without the distortion pedal. I've been looking at a Jet City 22H, which has an OD channel and would get some meaner sounds. But specific amps seem more of a 'live or recording tone' thing than something to worry about when I'm practicing and goofing around.
All this has been held up by the "practice jar" approach. To say the least, I've spent money faster than I've been building practice credit, and am reminding myself to practice PRACTICE PRACTICE. It's definitely paying off, with the batch of songs that I'm memorizing and the metrics on playing. Heck, I've even started singing a little bit, too -- which brings up mics and acoustic amps, yet another expensive can of worms. But until I put the hours in, I'm going to remind myself not to drop real money on more gear, that I'm not sure if I'll actually use. Especially not gear that I can measure in multiple months of rent!
But hey, a guitarist can lust.
What would I do with a million dollars, music gear wise? Basically all of the guitarists that I'm focusing on play Les Paul's and Marshal's. The second most common rig items are Gibson hollow (or semi-) and Vox amps. Alex Lifeson, Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend, and Zach Blair all play Gibsons and own at least one LP.
So the big gear lust this year is for one of these. It's a spendy piece of work, but has automatic tuners, titanium hardware, high end hardware and wood, etc etc. It's their yearly flagship standard model and the price shows. I imagine an Epiphone LP would do in a pinch, and I'll probably be feeling them out at a local Guitar Center when I start looking more seriously at changing the kit.
I'm also recognizing that I "need" another amp, or to get more pedals than my DS-1, to get more kinds of sound out of my kit. The Blackheart Handsome Devil does a great job clean and "classic", but doesn't crunch up without the distortion pedal. I've been looking at a Jet City 22H, which has an OD channel and would get some meaner sounds. But specific amps seem more of a 'live or recording tone' thing than something to worry about when I'm practicing and goofing around.
All this has been held up by the "practice jar" approach. To say the least, I've spent money faster than I've been building practice credit, and am reminding myself to practice PRACTICE PRACTICE. It's definitely paying off, with the batch of songs that I'm memorizing and the metrics on playing. Heck, I've even started singing a little bit, too -- which brings up mics and acoustic amps, yet another expensive can of worms. But until I put the hours in, I'm going to remind myself not to drop real money on more gear, that I'm not sure if I'll actually use. Especially not gear that I can measure in multiple months of rent!
But hey, a guitarist can lust.
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