Not using valuable gear...

[Mr. B]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

It's a real shame that some people's "investments" put certain instruments out of circulation among players.

That said, I am extremely careful with my older guitars when I take them out to gig, or even when playing them at home. I don't leave them out of their cases or out of my sight unless they are about to be played. I have three '68 guitars, and they are all 100 percent undamaged and 100 percent original. I'd hate to have to replace anything on them, or do any repairs. However, if these instruments were truly "investments" for me, I'd already have sold them. I think it is a dirty shame to have nice tools that sit unused.

FWIW, all accidental damage to any of my instruments has happened at home.

Look at the first page in catalogs like Sweetwater. A lot of these instruments are being produced solely for collectors. I don't care that the select grade, flame maple top, custom color, Sweetwater-special-specs Fender Strat is bought by some wealthy lawyer and stored in a climate controlled vault. I was never going to play that guitar anyway. I have a couple of backups to my main Gibson SG Standard and one never gets played. Are you going to be mad in 20 years when I am too old and arthritic to play and post those on Ebay in pristine condition for you to own? Have you noticed that the fat-necked standards with 490r/498t pickups have suddenly changed into SG 61 reissues for 2013? If we had all beat the crap out of our older fat neck SG standards, you would never be able to find one in perfect condition.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

I sold most of my things a while back to pay medical bills and living expenses, but I kept my '63 Strat and my '54 Tele. Those stay at home and never leave the house except for occasional recording sessions. I gig with my 2001 ES-335 and my MIJ Tele Custom, MIJ Strat and homebrew Strat.

My '51 Fender Super also stays at home but I do gig with my blackface Fender amps: two Deluxe Reverbs and one Princeton Reverb. If I'm going to continue gigging with them I need road cases because the Deluxes are taking a beating. Not so much the Princeton - it's small and light.

I'm in a bit of a quandary right now because I just sold my '34 Rickenbacker lap steel and got enough to buy another vintage Princeton Reverb (which was my goal in selling the Ricky) and I'd like to gig with two of those. I like the tone better than the Deluxe Reverbs and they're lighter and smaller and easier to move.

But I could get a used reissue Princeton Reverb for 1/3 as much as a vintage Princeton and have enough left over to get some other things I haven't had the cash for, for quite a while. Like a Klon reissue or Wampler. Or road cases.

Or I could get two reissue Princetons, gig with them, and leave all of my old stuff at home.

Also thinking about getting a couple of used Fender Pro Juniors ($600 total) and having enough left over for some other toys I haven't been able to afford for a while. Not sure I could get a clean enough tone though...even through two Pro Juniors.

I do like the way Jeff Beck sounds through 2 or 3 Pro Juniors, but I play with a cleaner tone than he does.

I do like this guy's tone, but again, I play cleaner than this:



Being a skilled woodworker and furniture maker, I could make some new Pro Junior cabs that would take 12" speakers. Maybe I'd like that better?

 

[everdrone]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

everyone gigs with in used prices:

1) a $1000 head
2) a $600 412 cab or two
3) a $1000-$2000 guitar
4) $500 of pedals

you really need that stuff it seems. anything more means more security issues with when to set up and break down the set and when to leave in your car etc...but stuff gets stolen and forgotten behind and mixed up.

so I am going to put orange hazmat materials stickers on all my gear to differentiate it

also, I do not like it just sitting in the car, but I let the cheapo backups just sit in the car: a backup bass amp head and $100 bass, and I will keep my EHX 44 magnum in my car when I get it.

 

[ErikH]

Not using valuable gear...

I've got a guitar that is more sentimental than anything and I don't gig with it much out of fear of it growing legs. My frankenstrat is so ugly up close that nobody would want it but my old Baretta has a paint job that could attract sticky hands.

I say play em but that's up to the player themselves.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

I sold most of my things a while back to pay medical bills and living expenses, but I kept my '63 Strat and my '54 Tele. Those stay at home and never leave the house except for occasional recording sessions. I gig with my 2001 ES-335 and my MIJ Tele Custom, MIJ Strat and homebrew Strat.

My '51 Fender Super also stays at home but I do gig with my blackface Fender amps: two Deluxe Reverbs and one Princeton Reverb. If I'm going to continue gigging with them I need road cases because the Deluxes are taking a beating. Not so much the Princeton - it's small and light.

I'm in a bit of a quandary right now because I just sold my '34 Rickenbacker lap steel and got enough to buy another vintage Princeton Reverb (which was my goal in selling the Ricky) and I'd like to gig with two of those. I like the tone better than the Deluxe Reverbs and they're lighter and smaller and easier to move.

But I could get a used reissue Princeton Reverb for 1/3 as much as a vintage Princeton and have enough left over to get some other things I haven't had the cash for, for quite a while. Like a Klon reissue or Wampler. Or road cases.

Or I could get two reissue Princetons, gig with them, and leave all of my old stuff at home.

Also thinking about getting a couple of used Fender Pro Juniors ($600 total) and having enough left over for some other toys I haven't been able to afford for a while. Not sure I could get a clean enough tone though...even through two Pro Juniors.

My 2 cents Lew...The Pro Jr's are cool amps but for players that like clean tones they simply lack the headroom and clarity for that.

Also, if I were you I'd avoid the PRRI amps...cool, sure but your ear is very much in tune with old Fender amps that are running in tip top shape and I just have a gut feeling that the PRRI will leave you wishing you'd sprung for the real thang!

As for the Klon...I'd say save your money but I am in the camp that the Klon is mostly hype and little else but I am in the minority,

 

[some_dude]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

My mentality has always been that I can't afford to buy anything I won't play. I have a couple of custom shop Les Pauls (R6 and R9) that I bought with the express purpose of having well made player guitars. I try to be careful and don't go out of my way to beat them up, but they were made to be played and sometimes sh*t happens.

That said, I'm not stupid. I have an SG that looks nice from a distance but up close looks like it was owned by a pot-head who's ex-girlfriend threw it down several flights of concrete stairs. Despite it's looks it sounds good and it goes all the places my Les Pauls won't.

Most of the other stuff I use is fairly generic. Mesa amps and cabs, Boss and Dunlop pedals.


That's not to say that I care what others do with their money or their gear... just that at this time I can't afford to buy something I won't play.

 

[Drunken Bowling]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

Yup. If you don't use it, you wasted your money.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

I sold most of my things a while back to pay medical bills and living expenses, but I kept my '63 Strat and my '54 Tele. Those stay at home and never leave the house except for occasional recording sessions. I gig with my 2001 ES-335 and my MIJ Tele Custom, MIJ Strat and homebrew Strat.

My '51 Fender Super also stays at home but I do gig with my blackface Fender amps: two Deluxe Reverbs and one Princeton Reverb. If I'm going to continue gigging with them I need road cases because the Deluxes are taking a beating. Not so much the Princeton - it's small and light.

I'm in a bit of a quandary right now because I just sold my '34 Rickenbacker lap steel and got enough to buy another vintage Princeton Reverb (which was my goal in selling the Ricky) and I'd like to gig with two of those. I like the tone better than the Deluxe Reverbs and they're lighter and smaller and easier to move.

But I could get a used reissue Princeton Reverb for 1/3 as much as a vintage Princeton and have enough left over to get some other things I haven't had the cash for, for quite a while. Like a Klon reissue or Wampler. Or road cases.

Or I could get two reissue Princetons, gig with them, and leave all of my old stuff at home.

Also thinking about getting a couple of used Fender Pro Juniors ($600 total) and having enough left over for some other toys I haven't been able to afford for a while. Not sure I could get a clean enough tone though...even through two Pro Juniors.

I do like the way Jeff Beck sounds through 2 or 3 Pro Juniors, but I play with a cleaner tone than he does.

I do like this guy's tone, but again, I play cleaner than this:



Being a skilled woodworker and furniture maker, I could make some new Pro Junior cabs that would take 12" speakers. Maybe I'd like that better?

The PRRI is fine. If you're gigging with it I'll bet you that 99.9% of the audience would not know the difference between the RI or a vintage PR.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

The PRRI is fine. If you're gigging with it I'll bet you that 99.9% of the audience would not know the difference between the RI or a vintage PR.

Since when has the audience's opinion of tone mattered? It's what the player thinks that counts.

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

So you're telling me that if you owned this: http://www.williesguitars.com/index.cfm/used_fender_electrics/2/inventory/2 that you'd just whip it out at a practice or gig and start bashing away on it?

I would. What's the point of having guitars that you don't play and share with the rest of the world? It's just a Strat no matter how old it is. It's still good for settling a bar fight and then playing some blues.

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

everyone gigs with in used prices:

1) a $1000 head
2) a $600 412 cab or two
3) a $1000-$2000 guitar
4) $500 of pedals

you really need that stuff it seems.

I'm not so sure. I have a gigworthy setup that consists of a $500 combo, a pair of $300 guitars, and a $150 multi-fx unit. I play all my instruments, but there is a time and a place for everything. I'm not going in there to show off my gear to a bunch of drunks. (That's what SDUGF is for!) The audience cannot hear the sentimental value of an instrument.

There is a big difference between playing this gig:



...and this one:

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

Hmmm. Interesting to think about the total cost of the gigging rigs. I don't have a lot of pedals, so that keeps it down. I use between $80 and $500 of pedals at a gig. ($500 would be the absolute most, very rarely.) The guitars I play live range in original cost from $350 to $1,800, not counting the "vintage" ones, most of which I inherited. The amps range from $100 to $1,600.

So, at its cheapest, the live rig is about $600. At its most expensive, probably $4,000. Usually it's probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,200 to $2,000.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

I've got a bunch of old/modded crap that's not worth much to anyone else, and I don't currently play shows.

That said, if I were playing gigs, I'd be more like "look at my cheap old crap blow your expensive/new **** off the stage, ****ers!".

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

My gigging rig cost:

Guitar - $800
Amp head - $600
Amp cab - $400
Pedalboard - $3000

Yeesh - $4800

But it's worth it, because I'm happy when I play all of that gear.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

used prices, my guitar rig would cost: $800 guitar, $1200 head, $400 cab, $300 pedalboard = $2700 for guitar rig.

I am sure it could be done for less, but that is about what other peoples rigs are worth when I see local bands play every other week or so too; usually a bit more with gibson lp standards and big pedalboards.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

I won't take my better gear to a club that is known for gear getting "Lost"! In fact I try to avoid playing them entirely. My guitars are valuable to me(regardless of what I paid for them) and my amps as well. I usually have someone watching the area when we load in & also have someone watching the stage as well. Once the show starts its just a matter of keeping an eye on everything until the show is over. When it is over and all the gear needs to be moved out. Someone watches the cars & someone watches the stage. Its really pretty simple..... I'm not afraid to use it but I also don't want to lose it.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

oh, I forgot to add my backup gear that I leave in the car: $200 guitar, and $100 amp (I hope to get an EHX 44 magnum)...also I wanna add a second cab to my rig ($400)

 

[Ascension]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

I could even understand if you don't want to bring something vintage and VERY valuable out to a club or something, but at least use it to record or jam or something, lol.

Agreed on the at least do special events and record with it.
I keep my cheap Jet City JCA 22H at my home church instead of my 1990 JCM 900 Marshall MK III Dual Master for example. I do this because although the Marshall sounds GREAT, it's a pretty scarce amp and is near mint + at going on 23 years old had got to be getting a little fragile. Also lets face it the church house mix is pretty lousy and no one will ever hear the difference out front anyway. I do gig with the old girl at times but for regular road duty that is the job of my Zinky Velvet. I however do take the Marshall out on gigs where I need that classic tone and use her in the studio regularly. We have a TSO style Christmas Concert that I am doing the arrangements for coming up in a few weeks and you can bet that the old Marshall will be on stage with me for that event.
At one time I had a bunch of case queen and road case only high end guitars and amps but no more. If it's not some thing that will get played out regularly or at the least give me a unique tone in the studio or live it don't stay.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

I won't take my better gear to a club that is known for gear getting "Lost"! In fact I try to avoid playing them entirely. My guitars are valuable to me(regardless of what I paid for them) and my amps as well. I usually have someone watching the area when we load in & also have someone watching the stage as well. Once the show starts its just a matter of keeping an eye on everything until the show is over. When it is over and all the gear needs to be moved out. Someone watches the cars & someone watches the stage. Its really pretty simple..... I'm not afraid to use it but I also don't want to lose it.

I feel you only I don't play clubs but Churches. If you play Black Pentecostal meetings a lot like I do they many times are in the inner City and it gets pretty rowdy some times ( think Blues bros 2000 the tent scene with John The Revelator !!). Truth is there are some places that I simply don't bring some of my really high end stuff because of the real risk it's going to get nicked.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Not using valuable gear...

I buy guitars and warn them that they will get the crap beat out of em. I sometimes wish I was one that liked pretty pristine guitars, but I love the misfits and beaters.

At the Egnater amp class, Bruce had an old epiphone wilshire that was beat to crap and even had the headstock epoxied back on... I think his daughter even painted strawberries on it. I loved it. That guitar had a story to tell and was loved and sounded great. Most cringe at my explorer... But they shut up when they hold it and or hear it!

So in short... If you want your guitars staying pretty, don't let me play em!