TONE QUEST: Did you get MORE or LESS picky over time?

[Mincer]

I will clarify that I definitely cannot usually just buy what I want whenever I want. I am often like that with very inexpensive things, in part because I have as much fun with them as I do the pricier stuff. I usually have to save up a bit and hold off buying pedals for a while to get an amp or guitar. I bought four guitars in 2020, got rid of three rarely-played guitars in 2021, and I have a nice guitar coming in May that I ordered in October. I dont really have much in the way of amps right now. The highlight would be a Tone Master Twin Reverb from last fall. I recently bought a pretty clean example of a delightfully terrible amp I played through when I was just starting. I am planning a couple of fun little amps in the next couple of months and thinking over whether I want to get a nice tube amp in the next couple of years, and what the hell that would be.

We are lucky that most guitar stuff is pretty inexpensive. I mean, you can spend a lot of money, but you don't have to for good stuff.

 

[formula73]

I can get what I want out of almost anything.

 

[Erlend_G]

More or less picky?

Well, when I got my first real tube amp (Blackstar HT-20mkII), - I could tell, that there was no going back, (to SS and digital amps)

It's not the very best -but; with a od/preamp in front, and EQ in the loop. I'm actually happy with how it sounds! .

Too bad I need to use it sparingly; since we're short on tubes over here now.

...If all else fails, I'll play my acoustic .

 

[Wolfshead]

Way less. I really don't care that much any more. It was fun trying all the different Duncan models, magnets, capacitors, string gauges, pedals etc over the years and I have my favourites but now I kinda have MY sound that I like and I know I can get it quite easily without too much messing about. If you're playing live tiny tonal nuances get utterly lost anyway, and if you're recording you can tweak EVERYTHING very easily so it's really kinda pointless to me to chase "tone" these days.
With that said, I'm 45 and do NOT play live and rarely have time to record - I hope there's still young guys out there going through what we all did/do on here over the years, arguing about how the JB is like an icepick in a Les Paul unless you put a certain magnet in and so on

 

[LLL]

Hahaha .. "strewn about"

Well, metaphorically so.

 

[Bogner]

I get more particular as time goes on. No need to try fitting a square peg into a round hole.

 

[Bogner]

It's never too early for a new beginning.

 

[dystrust]

It's strange. I'd say that over the years I've become both more AND less picky about tone. In terms of 'tone I could live with for a gig', I'd say I've become less picky over the years. If I can't use my own rig, I could get by with a humbucker guitar and a vaguely Marshall-y amp with sufficient gain; ie recent-ish Marshall, Recto, 5150, etc. I could be equally happy with similar tones coming from a modeler or Sansamp pedal.

In terms of my own tone I've become more particular as I've sorted through things that work for me and those that don't. I tried several permutations of amp & pedal board, rack, multiple amps w/ pedal board before settling on my current amp & effects rack. In terms of amps, the only one that ticks all of the boxes for me has been a Marshall Jubilee since 2001. Learning more about gear and improving technique has helped me to overcome the issues I'd had at first with lackluster clean tones. This latest iteration combines everything I liked about my previous amp & pedal board rigs with the single-button preset changes I loved from the rack days. I know that nothing is ever truly done when it comes to gear, but I'm closer now than I've ever been.

 

[maug2122]

I am to the point that I can get any amp to sound good.
All it takes is experience, patients, knowing what you want and zeroing into that " tone zone " Thang of yours.

I've discovered that some of the " trendy new gear " is over hyped or under rated, some of the old gear is the same way too.
For instance, I think the Ibanez Tube Sceamers and Klons are over rated, much like Dumble amps.... well , at least for me .

 

[Dave Locher]

I remember in my 20s and 30s questing for something called "the sound in my head", but in retrospect it was just G.A.S. and lack of knowledge. Now several decades on, I find I'm less picky about my tone. I can get most gear to work.

If you read TGP you are left with the impression that a bunch of old men are engaged in a high stakes game of cork sniffing. For me, the opposite has occured. I'm less particular about my gear.

For instance... I know the kinds of pickups that work for me. I could probably pick 5-10 different pickups from the Dimarzio and Duncan catalogs and be fine with any of them. For that matter, even stock pickups can sound pretty great. I find that if you buy a pointy guitar, it usually ships with the kind of pickups a pointy guitar player would want. If you buy a vintage guitar, it usually ships with the kinds of pickups a vintage player would want. Maybe guitar electronics have gotten much better, but I've been pleasantly surprised with stock pickups and don't have an urge to "rip them out".

Same is true with amps. I know the kinds of speakers I like. I know how to use EQ and boost pedals. I also know that when I play something long enough, my ears and expecations morph so that I'm able to get the best from what I'm using. I have some amps, some effect processors, some plugins that work just swell and I don't think my life will be enriched by changing to something else.

Even if something is not amazing (like the reverb on my amp), it doesnt really matter to me. It does what it does, it doens't mean its time to buy a new amp. I actually prefer delay, but if I don't have a delay pedal handy, I will just turn up the reverb and live with it.

Me too. I've been playing since around 1983 and was on stage by 1985 or so. The first several years were a never-ending quest for better gear, mainly because I had almost no spare money to spend. I was constantlywheeling and dealing and slowly getting better gear. But I listened to some of the demos my various bands had recorded and realized that I sounded mostly the same even though I used a different guitar and amp on every single recording. At that point I stopped my quest for "better" gear. Good enough is good enough. Feel is #1, sound is a close second, looks are third and impressiveness is not even on the list.

But...a couple years ago I decided to try some new pedals and I think I flipped my way through a dozen boost pedals, half dozen compressors, and at least 20 or 30 OD/Distortion pedals over about two years. I guess I'd say that was pretty picky of me! The couple I kept were nowhere near the most expensive, though, and it really was more of an exploration than being picky? Maybe I'm just a bundle of contradictions!

 

[Ashurbanipal]

We are lucky that most guitar stuff is pretty inexpensive. I mean, you can spend a lot of money, but you don't have to for good stuff.

This.

Guitarists should ask those who play in orchestra how much a concert level violin, wind or brass instrument costs, and they don't even come with Seymour Duncans!

 

[solspirit]

I've gotten less picky about equipment but much more picky about my playing and the natuaral tones I can achieve with just my fingers and phrasing.

But I have to say in respect to the equipment, that I know what I want and what works for now, for the most part.

 

[solspirit]

I know we're in amp central but I have gotten way more picky with acoustic guitars now that I know what I really like and what guitar will do it.

 

[Bogner]

I've gotten less picky about equipment but much more picky about my playing and the natuaral tones I can achieve with just my fingers and phrasing.

But I have to say in respect to the equipment, that I know what I want and what works for now, for the most part.

What would that be?

 

[solspirit]

I still don't own a tube amp and I would probably love it. But which one?