Diego
New member
1) High action.
These last months I've started to lower my action and straightening my necks more and more.
I used to be a huge advocate of having a bit of a fight with a medium action and some relief, and enjoying a better feel out of my guitars as a result.
Now almost all my guitars have a decidedly low action. None is shredder low but it's oh-so-close to that. I lower my strings until I get buzz when bending, then I lightly raise the action and add a hint of relief if needed and that's it.
Plugged, the tone is as good as I want it to be. I'm also picking way lighter than in my last years, which allows me to go low without buzzing. If I go James Hetfield on my strings I'll get terrible buzz right off.
Benefits? I can play for longer periods of time, intonation is much easier to achieve across the neck, and I can use heavier strings with no drama. I have 11-50 strings tuned to E in my 339 and I'll play and bend on it for hours without fatigue.
2) Tinkering too much, instead of playing more.
I'm done with having a constant runway of pickups, pots and parts in every guitar I own. I really don't wanna bother myself with this anymore, and my last two guitar purchases are guitars that I feel are right as they are.
I know it's criminal to do such a statement here, but I really want to focus on my playing for once.
There's no point in spending time and money in premium pickups, NOS tubes and 10 flavors of overdrive pedals if I'm gonna play the same ****ty licks I've done since I was 25.
3) Go bottom-feeder cheap with my gear.
For the same reasons I just stated. Look, I've got a Affinity Strat I bought used for peanuts in 2010 that I liked a lot. Right now it needs a new nut, its frets are shot and the electronics are noisy and failing.
So as fun as it was for a while, it's now become a hassle. I don't wanna sell it because it's so cheap I'll get nothing, and it's a pretty guitar actually, but IMO it's pointless to invest on it because it needs a lot done and I don't have any spare parts for it. And I certainly don't want anything with the word "project" on my to-do list.
So I think my next guitar purchases will all be over a certain pricepoint that guarantees a good life, without falling to pieces.
Just venting out a bit, as well as trying to get an idea regarding how you deal with your gear and your priority changes during your years.
These last months I've started to lower my action and straightening my necks more and more.
I used to be a huge advocate of having a bit of a fight with a medium action and some relief, and enjoying a better feel out of my guitars as a result.
Now almost all my guitars have a decidedly low action. None is shredder low but it's oh-so-close to that. I lower my strings until I get buzz when bending, then I lightly raise the action and add a hint of relief if needed and that's it.
Plugged, the tone is as good as I want it to be. I'm also picking way lighter than in my last years, which allows me to go low without buzzing. If I go James Hetfield on my strings I'll get terrible buzz right off.
Benefits? I can play for longer periods of time, intonation is much easier to achieve across the neck, and I can use heavier strings with no drama. I have 11-50 strings tuned to E in my 339 and I'll play and bend on it for hours without fatigue.
2) Tinkering too much, instead of playing more.
I'm done with having a constant runway of pickups, pots and parts in every guitar I own. I really don't wanna bother myself with this anymore, and my last two guitar purchases are guitars that I feel are right as they are.
I know it's criminal to do such a statement here, but I really want to focus on my playing for once.
There's no point in spending time and money in premium pickups, NOS tubes and 10 flavors of overdrive pedals if I'm gonna play the same ****ty licks I've done since I was 25.
3) Go bottom-feeder cheap with my gear.
For the same reasons I just stated. Look, I've got a Affinity Strat I bought used for peanuts in 2010 that I liked a lot. Right now it needs a new nut, its frets are shot and the electronics are noisy and failing.
So as fun as it was for a while, it's now become a hassle. I don't wanna sell it because it's so cheap I'll get nothing, and it's a pretty guitar actually, but IMO it's pointless to invest on it because it needs a lot done and I don't have any spare parts for it. And I certainly don't want anything with the word "project" on my to-do list.
So I think my next guitar purchases will all be over a certain pricepoint that guarantees a good life, without falling to pieces.
Just venting out a bit, as well as trying to get an idea regarding how you deal with your gear and your priority changes during your years.
