Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

[Andrew Lamprecht]

That's how I felt a week or so ago and I felt like a freaking dumbass. I wanted an SG Classic for a year and I finally got it. Then I figured I wanted an LP, then a Strat so I put a bunch of my stuff up for sale so I could get a Am. Strat (which was nice). Then I realized that I felt like there was always something that could be better, I could change the pickups or tubes in my amp or do this and that. I just forgot that I'm supposed to play.

When I really sat down and tried to figure out what I wanted I ended up going back to the Classic. I felt like an idiot and still sorta do for ever considering it. Has anyone ever had that happen to them where they get too caught up in this stuff????

(BTW, I love my guit.)

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

I had did that too for a while. I started playing guitar because of angus young, so I thought the SG was the most awesome guitar ever, so I got one.....and then I got into the 80's shredders like Demartini, EVH...and I really wanted a floyded strat, so I got one and played that for a while.....then I got into les paul players like slash, jimmy page, joe perry.....and now I thougth the les paul was the coolest guitar ever. So when I was in high school I worked all summer and saved my money and bought a Gibson LP, now im in college and guess what? the les paul in still the coolest guitar to me. So you might look and change for a while, but you'll figure out what you like and stick with it.

For me.....Its les pauls and marshalls

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

For me.....Its les pauls and marshalls

For me it's P90s and Tweed....

[BloodRose]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

Guilty as charged. Spent more time swapping pickups and tweaking setups when I should have been playing..
The good thing to the gear slutting ways was that I finally discovered what Im most comfy with.. So, in that regard, it was good.. But I have alot of practice to catch up on..

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

playing guitar is an expensive hobby. LOL

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

I'm too broke to get caught up in that ****. I know what I like and you can be damn sure I do my research before I pull the trigger on anything.

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

playing guitar is an expensive hobby. LOL

It can definitely be if you get too caught up in it.... which a lot of us do!!

It can also be a cheap hobby though if you find what you want and stick with it. I know a guitarist who is 38 years old and he hasn't bought anything expensive in 19 years. He got an Am. Strat, ES-175, and some Fender amp (forgot what it was) when he was 19. He hasn't bought anything since other than picks and strings, and he is still completely happy.

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

It can definitely be if you get too caught up in it.... which a lot of us do!!

It can also be a cheap hobby though if you find what you want and stick with it. I know a guitarist who is 38 years old and he hasn't bought anything expensive in 19 years. He got an Am. Strat, ES-175, and some Fender amp (forgot what it was) when he was 19. He hasn't bought anything since other than picks and strings, and he is still completely happy.

Thats why Im making sure, while im 21 yrs old, still in school and living at home to buy as much gear as I want before I get a real job and move out on my own/have a family to take care of. I have a gibson les paul and a Marshall JCM800.....As long as I dont have a sudden and complete change of heart, like start liking strats and Messa's....I should be good for a long time with the gear I have.

[TimmyPage]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

At this point, for me, if it has strings and a tone knob I can do something with it. Someday I'll have myself a nice hollowbody made but for the most part, most guitars I see don't really do it for me or really hype me up at all.

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

Hanging out with the old-skool collector-types on the JCF got me in a mindset of a "me too" collector, where I'd hunt down something similar to whatever they were showing off at the time - San Dimas Charvel this, early 80s USA Jackson that, this model, that model, on and on. Trying to run with the big dogs buying and trading and selling, etc etc.

I finally realized what I was doing, which was basically wasting my time and money, since I didn't really share the whole "mojo" mindset they did. While the old San Dimas stuff was good, there was no emotional attachment for me like it was for them. For them, it was "I saw this in a store when I was a kid and couldn't afford it/it reminds me of when I was a kid and EVH and Rhoads were the best/etc etc".

For me it was "oh, you've got one of those? me too!"


So I stopped doing that and went for a more technical approach: questions had been asked constantly about "how does x model compare to y model?" (necks, scale lengths, bodies, etc) and I had one of every model - Kelly, Warrior, Rhoads, King V, Soloist, Dinky, and Fusion - so I could answer those questions. I sorted through the various models and noted what the major differences in feel and tone were between them.

For the bolt-on models, I experimented with neck-swapping to see what could and couldn't be mixed. I even settled the question of putting a 24 3/4" neck on a body that originally came with a 25 1/2" neck, since that was hotly debated.

Then I got into searching for "my" Jackson, and eventually found it in the JacksonStars NASL. I sold almost all the others to buy more of those. Sold my USA Les Paul Standard to buy another one (a guitar which I had for over 10 years and swore I'd never sell).

However, the GAS bug bit again and I bought this model and that model, then sold them to buy another NASL.

Then I went through a ton of Charvel SoCals, and had 7 of them at once before I realized they conjure up an early-80s vibe that I was never into. I never got into all those hair metal guys like Lynch and DeMartini because IMO they weren't doing anything I cared about, so having one "just like them" didn't do it for me. I did keep one because it's great for playing along to old Iron Maiden, but that's about it.


I certainly can't stick with just the NASL though. The Warrior has always been my favorite shape, both in style and for playing comfort. As well, I've always got some wild idea for a mod, and need a victim to perpetrate it on

But when I want to actually play the guitar seriously and write new material, it's always back to the NASL. I may grab the War Angel or the Halford Warrior just to see what the new piece is going to sound like through it - maybe a little more punchy or biting - but generally I stick with the NASL.


I have thought about getting another Les Paul, though. However, I know it can't match my NASL, and it's more of a "classic vibe" thing which doesn't concern me. I've had a few SGs over the years as well, and thought about getting another, but it's the same thing for me - an old skool thang I'm just not that interested in.

[viewaskew2k5]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

Did that with my 72 tele. So i 'casually' pick it up now, just so i don't get 'tired' of the sound.

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

I definitely got into this mindset until I realized I just really love the tone of Gibson hollows and semi-hollows into old school (styled at least) Fender amps.

I have a Gibson ES-135 and a Gibson ES-137 Custom into a 1970 Fender Super Reverb and a '65 Reissue Super Reverb....I'm pretty much set for life.

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

Used to, but I got better.

I bought a Blackheart Little Giant at the beginning of the low wattage tube amp craze.

I learned that they're not for me, and, in retrospect, I should have seen it that way all along. I love full rich bass, deep cleans, stout overdrive - basically stuff that low wattage amps can't do, by design.

Anyways I got a Squier '51 in 05 during the Squier '51 craze, I got a PRS SE Soapbar during the "holy ****, the SEs are good" craze, I got an SX Tele during the SX craze, and so on.

I am done with being susceptible to hype. It was immature of me.

I have a whole pile of mediocre gear at home because I let hype guide me instead of experience.

I now have excellent self control with guitar gear, and my last guitar gear purchase was a slab of raw mahogany.

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

[sosomething]

Re: Do you ever feel like you get too caught up in all the hype?

I will get stuck on an idea sometimes. I'll get a certain guitar or amp idea wedged in my brain and the end result is always me buying something; sometimes at the expense of another guitar I was already happy with.

This has happened with all kinds of stuff.

P-90s.
Telecaster.
Ernie Ball guitars.
Semi-hollow.
Super strat.
Resonator.

I've just listed my 6 most-recent obsessions.

I've also listed the 6 guitars currently hanging up on my wall at home.

See how this works?

I do have a few obsessions I've never followed through on... though I probably will at some point. Jazzmaster. Gibson Songwriter. High-end Parker. Various small luthers. The list goes on and on and on...