Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

[some_dude]

Having gone through the binge and purge gear cycle a few times now I find that I seem to be going in circles. Buying different versions of the same sh*t, selling it off again later when I figure out that it still isn't working out for me, ect.

I noticed this in a "Your rig at 18" thread in another forum...

18 - Guitar - Distortion pedal - amp (Strat - DOD Grunge - Peavey TKO 75)

today - guitar - distortion pedal - amp (Les Paul - DS-1 - Orange AD30)

Mind you, my rig is defiantly improved since then, but I really haven't come all that far. For instance, last year I binged on Orange and purged Mesa, Laney, and a whole whack of pedals. Plus, after a few disappointing live performances with Orange I'm looking at getting another Mesa.

18 - Guitar - Distortion pedal - amp (Strat - DOD Grunge - Peavey TKO 75)

25 - guitar - Rectifier (Strat/Les Paul - Rectifier Pre/2:100)

today - guitar - distortion pedal - amp (Les Paul - DS-1 - Orange AD30)

next year - guitar - Rectifier (Les Paul - Roadking)

 

[Closed Eye]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

Yes! Although I find myself buying the same stuff over again because it worked better than the stuff I bought to replace it!

I've owned about 2 DD-3's, 2 RV-3's, 2 Digitech Whammy IV Pedals, 4 Dunlop Crybaby (GCB95 version), 3 DS-1's....and now I've got a Whammy IV and RV-3 back on there, am looking at getting another Crybaby, and sticking the DS-1 on my board again as a solo boost!

I just find myself going back to the exact same stuff...you think I would've learned and saved myself a lot of money by now...

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

18- Gibson EB-0; Yamaha 1x15 combo.

Now- G&L L-2000; SWR SM-900; SWR 2x15 cab.

I had a 72 or 74 Telecaster Custom, but no dedicated guitar amp. I'm sure I had some sort of distortion pedal, but I don't remember what it was.

So, is my gear cyclical?

No, just a straight line from the time I was 21.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

18: Ibanez RG170 - Zoom505 - Fender Roc Pro 1000

26: Duncan loaded Gibson LP Studio - Marshall DSL50

God help me if I ever go full circle. It's possible, though. I've still got the 505 in a box in storage, and the Ibanez, while retired, has not yet been given its Viking funeral.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

God help me if I ever go full circle.

Same here. At 18 it was an Aria Pro II --> DOD Supra Distortion --> Marshall 10 or 15-watt SS combo. I'll admit though, that little Marshall gave me a great Marshall tone for recording directly to 4-track tape.

Now it's a Fat Strat --> Voodo Labs Micro Vibe --> Genz Benz el Diablo 60 watt combo.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

I've gone through a lot of gear since I was 12 years old.....about 120 guitars and 89 amps, not to mention rack gear and pedals. I always had a 'main rig' and then toys that I traded like playing cards. Doing the gear shuffle was the only way a brokeass musician like me could afford those toys.

Here's some of the main rigs I've had.

15 - Carvin DC 400, San Dimas Charvel, Risson head, no name 4-12, DOD and MXR pedals.

18 - San Dimas Charvel, Kramer Nightswan, Jap strat, brand new Jubilee 2555 & 2 1960A cabs, Alesis Midiverb II, Boss OD-1, Boss Chorus, Boss Phaser.
Ovation Celebrity.

23 - Gibson LP Std, Gibson LP Classic, Fender US strat, custom tele, brand new Peavey 5150 & 2 1960A, Midiverb II, Boss pedals. Hohner jumbo acoustic.

24 - sold the 5150 and got a Marshall JMP-1/Mesa 295, Quadraverb, Mesa shockmounted rack, 2 1960A's, Gibson LP's, US strats, custom tele.

26 - after trying a Mesa Tremoverb and not liking it, I got an endorsement with a Fender style boutique company, Blues Pearl. I had a wall of heads and cabs from Blues Pearl in navy/white grill. I sold some LP's for PRS's, but primarily used Fender US strats, including the SB one I still have.
Fulltone had just come out, so I had an orange FDII, Stamps DriveOmatic, and finally got a Taylor 410.

28 - Changed bands, so 6L6 Blues Pearls had to go, and I got a 72 Marshall Superbass and vintage 4-12. Ditched the PRS Custom 24's and went back to Gibson and Fender, plus a McCarty. Also got my Matchless Chieftain.
By now Line 6 had come out, so I got the blue and green. FDII and Stamps.
Taylor 410.

31 - Decided I was finished with multi amp rigs, sold all my amps to fund the Bogner Ecstasy halfstack and Matchless Chieftain. I think I bought my Jubilee 50W fullstack just as a toy/investment. All my current LP's were bought around that time. LP's, Strats, McCarties, and my new Martin D-28.
Got rid of the FDII, and found my Klon Centaur. Bought more Fulltone and Line 6.

32 - Aquired studio gear.

35 - Same stuff, but added more strats, teles, and Fender amps.

To see what I currently own, click on my gear pages in my signature. I no longer have the Bassman LTD or lil Marshall 1-12. Still have the rest.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

It's funny...

These past few weeks I've been ramping up to get together with a band that detonated about five years ago. I've had to hunker down and re-learn my parts and some solos and find sounds on my PodXT that work with the songs all over again.

Some of the humor of this is that I played and recorded with a Line 6 Flextone the first time around so there's some serious authenticity going on!

But guitar-wise I got ahold of an old Ibanez RG770 for the sessions. It seemed the logical choice for me since I played an RG550 alot with them. Last night I started going over parts and went through a few different axes to hear the difference.

Curiously, my favorite Telecaster with a Duncan Little 59' in the bridge and a Classic Stack in the neck was the clear winner. The thing had tone for days! It brought a flavor in the Ibanez didn't have.

The irony is that this is the guitar I played the first time I sat in with the band and found it just didn't work. In between then and now I think I've matured tonally but also previously there were EMG's in it.

So, yeah....I guess I kind of am going in circles!

 

[34029324079]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

I really haven't come all that far. For instance, last year I binged on Orange and purged Mesa, Laney, and a whole whack of pedals. Plus, after a few disappointing live performances with Orange I'm looking at getting another Mesa.

hey SD, it is really painful for me to read this. I think you could be happy with mesa or orange or another brand. I hope you find the right one for you and stick with it so you can get to playing and recording the stuff you want. cheers :beerchug:

 

[some_dude]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

hey SD, it is really painful for me to read this. I think you could be happy with mesa or orange or another brand. I hope you find the right one for you and stick with it so you can get to playing and recording the stuff you want. cheers :beerchug:

I think the catch is that I need some sort of Mesa high gain head. It's one of the sounds I've grown up with, the other being 70s rock and metal.

I'm figuring that between owning a Mesa and an Orange I'll hopefully have both ends of the spectrum covered.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

Ha! I'm waiting as we speak for my new (old) Boss CE-2 to arrive. I've been busy re-creating my circa 1984 (age 25) rig. In between, I tried rack effects (the SPX-90 seemed like a good idea at the time), a channel switching amp (red-knob "evil" Twin), and a vintage '72 Tele Custom.

Now I'm back to what I used in my bar-band days: a pair of Tele's (one Nashville and one Schecter PT) and pedalboard with mostly Boss stompboxes. My amp is the one thing I've changed slightly. With age comes wisdom - now I'm using an 18 Watter clone that gives me the tone I wish I'd gotten back then from my over-qualified 2203.

So yes, I have come around in a big circle, but I don't planon going around again.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

i find myself going in circles gear wise a lot... in fact i'm on the verge of getting some modelers just to break things up a bit and try some new tech toys... But over the years i've held onto 80% of every piece of gear i've ever bought... so now i'm sitting on a huge collection... well huge for me... 7 tube amps a few SS and over 21 solid body axes....

After i left Highschool in the late 80's i sold off my amps, a Marshall and a Fender thinking i could get some better stuff... i ended up spending the money and was left with a plywood Kramer and a small Roland SS desk top amp for a few years.... I hated that period of my life.. Once i got a real Les Paul and a better amp i was feeling up and running again guitar playing wise..

I've sold some stuff along the way here and there and missed it... some i bought again for the 2nd time via the used market... some guitars i sold so i could get better examples of the same model...

In the 80's i was using 2 amps in stereo, a Marshall SS Combo, and a Fender SS combo.... sometimes a DS1 and a Chorus.... a strat like Kramer with a Floyd...

Today i have various set ups.... some for home practices, some for lower volume jams, some pro level rig gear as well... One of my set ups is still a DS1 on a pedalboard into some TUBE combos with a strat style guitar...

not much has changed for me..... In the future i plan to continue selling axes and amps to get better examples or models along the way... some i will try to never sell...

But ya i come back to the same gear i started with 20 years ago a lot

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

I solved that problem. I just build amps now. I don't actually pretend I can play. That makes it a lot easier. Seriously, my playing time has come to a big screaming halt over the last year. I'm going backwards I'm afraid.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

I solved that problem. I just build amps now. I don't actually pretend I can play. That makes it a lot easier. Seriously, my playing time has come to a big screaming halt over the last year. I'm going backwards I'm afraid.

you'll not alone there.... i'm not playing anywhere near the amount of time i used to.... mostly because of my job is shift work and my free time is in the middle of the night now...

 

[doveman]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

I did some switching between ages 18 & 22 ... Fender, Ampeg, Marshall ... a bunch of varied LPs

At 22 ... Mesa/Boogie & at 24 Yamaha SA2000 (51 now and it's all still good)

 

[Kelsey]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

I prefer to think of it in terms of upward spirals rather than circles...

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

Heh... big time. Went from a 6 string w/85 at the bridge into a 5150 to 7 strings into a Rectifier or 5150, to 6 strings with an 81 and a JSX, and I'm back to a 5150 with an 85.

 

[Rowan]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

14- fender squire strat and that terrible little fender amp

16- Mexican fender fat strat, DS1 and Crate combo

19- ESP ltd m-255, metal zone, and same crappy crate combo

21- ESP H-400, line6 cab and amp head.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

Hell No!

Why would I want to play a ****ty Jackson through a peavey bass amp again?

Up and Out!

-Hunter

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

Yep, count me in, I'm guilty.

Started off with a Fender MIM Strat and an Epi Les Paul, played through a Fender Vibrolux Reverb and a little solid state Crate. Tried tons of different pedals (MJM Blues Devil was the best pedal I had out of that period), tried some crap like the MXR Double Shot and wanted an amp that had real overdrive/distortion built in (I'm a 90's alternative guy, what do you expect? ). Decided to invest in a serious guitar, I purchased a Gibson Les Paul Standard.

Wanted an all-in-one amp. Enter the Triamp. Wasn't playing in serious bands (bands that actually played out) at the time so it was overkill. During that same time I had experimented with a few different guitars, picked up a Dean Chafin Del Sol (which was a surprisingly nice instrument, kinda wish I still had it today).

Decided to go back down in wattage so I sold it for a Bad Cat Hot Cat 30. Sickeningly cool looking amp, but too many issues (lack of clean headroom, cleans too thin, poor EQ, gritty overdrive, radically different volumed channels etc.). Purchased a Fender Tele-Sonic (a guitar that I kept for a little while).

Got sold to fund a Fargen Epic 30 DC. I used this amp with my first serious band. I had two custom shop Gibsons I went through with that period: a '61 RI Gibson SG Custom and a '60 RI Gibson LP Special DC. The Fargen got overhauled with VOS specs. Amp cleans were too dark and broke up too soon and the overdrive wasn't very versatile and it didn't sustain like I was expecting it to so it got sold. Also messed around with a Warmoth Tele that was pretty cool.

Purchased a Crate (again!) V32 Palomino to cover for the Fargen while it was getting work done to it. Used it to record that band's demo along with the aid of a Fender Tele-Sonic. Still use that amp today.

After selling the Fargen, I needed a suitable replacement so I played a ton of highend gear and the Bogner EL-34 Shiva w/ Reverb I played at a local boutique store was the first amp to make me drop my jaw (and it's a LOUD amp, so once again, back to high wattage). Picked it up, sold my Gibsons and picked up various PRS guitars (3 different McCarties - 2 Soapbar). The regular, no frills run of the mill McCarty stayed while the other 2 got sold. Expanding on my love for P90 guitars, I went to a Collings 290. However, I still missed the design of the LP Special DC, so now I'm back with one again. I have a Fender EJ Strat now (I haven't owned a strat for atleast 6 years).

So yeah, Crate, Gibson and Fender... started out on them and have them today. I went from my first serious investment, a 100w Triamp down to lower wattage/ 30w amps and back up to my 80w Bogner.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

So yeah, Crate, Gibson and Fender... started out on them and have them today. I went from my first serious investment, a 100w Triamp down to lower wattage/ 30w amps and back up to my 80w Bogner.

That sounds a little like my trip.... started at 100w (too loud), down to 30w (not enough headroom), and now the amp I'm looking at most seriously is 50w/100w/120w selectable.