Guitar-Gearitis

'59

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Ever feel like the current generation of guitar players are more concerned with owning guitar culture than adding to it? Especially with boutique pedals it seems like a lot of people concern themselves more with who's products they consume rather than what they themselves express on an instrument.

I like modifying guitars because I like wood working in general, so I understand that aspect of it. But I'm talking different.

I own a little under a dozen guitar probably totaling $6k in value, probably another $3k in pedals, and an $300 amp [sic]. Sure I use a good bit of it live, but my default live rig is a Mexican strat I got for $250, a DS-1, ODR-1, and a TR-2. I feel half of my purchases were impulse buys, and the other half was stuff that at the time I thought would boost my creativity or have a noticeable impact on my audience but that hasn't really panned out the way it would. Sure I can get any sound I want, but all the sounds I use can be had with minimal hardware.

Seriously, my 2 most played instruments right now are a $300 classical guitar I bought because I wanted to learn how to emulate the wood burn pattern on it, and a $40 ukulele I keep in my trunk so I can play an instrument on my lunch break instead of eating. All the best sounds that come out of my hands come from low quality gear.

In closing, I feel that guitar culture has gone really far down a bad path such that one of the big struggles a lot of people have with it is wrestling with materialism.
 
i feel like this has been around for a long time, but i agree its probably worse now than ever. materialism is rampant and pervasive throughout our society, guitar culture is no different
 
I think we have access to forums and gear videos now. And advertising (and keeping up with everyone else) is pretty persuasive. In many forums, you see gear discussed more than actual playing.
 
I don't really think it's changed over the years. Sure, there is a lot more gear these days, but back in the early 60s when effects pedals were beginning and there were only a few on the market, it was the same.
 
I feel that nothings changed we just have better access to the people that stray a little too close to the edge when it comes to gear. In all my years of hanging around musicians I've only met one person in real life I feel spent more money on guitar accessories than their skill level was worth supporting. On the internet you see it all the time
 
I feel that nothings changed we just have better access to the people that stray a little too close to the edge when it comes to gear. In all my years of hanging around musicians I've only met one person in real life I feel spent more money on guitar accessories than their skill level was worth supporting. On the internet you see it all the time

I regularly see lots of people that have Very Expensive Gear who barely play or record, much less perform.
 
I wonder how many guitars and/or gear would NOT have been bought if there never would have been any guitar forums. I've never done it because I've always bought what I personally wanted, but I think a lot of people have bought a lot of guitars and gear just to impress other people.
 
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I wonder how many guitars and/or gear would NOT have been bought if there never would have been any guitar forums. I've never done it because I've always bought what I personally wanted, but I think a lot of people have bought a lot of guitars and gear just to impress other people.

Or to have the conversation start with 'Actually...'
 
Yes, there's gear-itis. But everyone else being a dumbass doesn't mean you have to be a dumbass.
 
I'm going to be in a lot of trouble if authorities ever enforce a rule that limits gear ownership based on the player's skill. Sounds like some players might already have the inside scoop on the magic formula that will be used to determine this.
 
I'm going to be in a lot of trouble if authorities ever enforce a rule that limits gear ownership based on the player's skill. Sounds like some players might already have the inside scoop on the magic formula that will be used to determine this.

I don't mind gear ownership not equaling a player's skill. It is the people online who profess the ultimate knowledge about all things guitar and gear yet don't actually play.
 
Durned videos of headless guitars
Dang you YouTube dang you to heck

Seriously
I have felt the urge for a NGD when reading others posts

Or seeing those beautiful axes
Crazy deal on beautiful Telecaster
Oh yeah I pop up on Sweetwater to see if it's still on sale.

or the many fuzz pedals that sound so great when someone else plays them

I can see that
 
I don't really think it's changed over the years. Sure, there is a lot more gear these days, but back in the early 60s when effects pedals were beginning and there were only a few on the market, it was the same.

i have bluegrass player friends that nitpick over mandolins and banjos just as bad as any group of guitarists. violins, saxophones... crazy money. its been going on a long ass time
 
Saxophones, whooo. No joke. Was talking to the lady I've been jamming with, she's a sax player first and foremost. I thought guitars and amps were expensive... she could buy my main guitar, amp, and cab new for what a good sax costs.
 
I don't mind gear ownership not equaling a player's skill. It is the people online who profess the ultimate knowledge about all things guitar and gear yet don't actually play.

I'm on the fence about this. I have no problems with people enjoying buying things as a hobby if they enjoy it from a music history perspective, or if they are into to signal/circuit analysis. But then again, if you buy a $3k Gibson because it's your dream guitar but you never play it, what's the point?
 
I'm on the fence about this. I have no problems with people enjoying buying things as a hobby if they enjoy it from a music history perspective, or if they are into to signal/circuit analysis. But then again, if you buy a $3k Gibson because it's your dream guitar but you never play it, what's the point?

wall art
 
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