After all of my madness I have settled down gear wise.

[glassjaw7]

Very cool Brad. Good to hear your priorities have shifted to something more meaningful. Not that gear whoring is all bad...thing is, you got to experience all the amps/effects/guitars you've ever wanted to, and you are only keeping what you have really bonded with.

I still haven't been able to buy an amp or rig that truly bonds with my style and inspires me to write great songs, because I made poor career decisions in the past.

I think that is where the line should be drawn. If you have gear that you connect with and it inspires every time you plug in, then I think you are set and should focus on playing music. For me that piece of gear is a Bogner XTC and every time I plug into one, I quit thinking about gear and just want to write! Hopefully I'll be able to buy one soon

 

[Anonymous]

I too have basically stopped the music gear merry go round and it started with a subject someone brought up but can't remember where?? It got me thinking back to when I gigged full time. I used the same 2 marshall heads (1 was backup) and a 4 space rack for tuner,power strip,effects, and a preamp....I used that same setup for 25+ years and never ever even thought of getting anything different!,Didn't want nor need anything and as far as I was concerned..Nothing better! I spent all my time learning new songs or practicing older songs from the set list that we might dredge up that week and needed to brush up..playing my guitar..all the time..not just noodeling as I do now but..serious make my hands hurt practice and learning something. So..For the last 7-8 years or whatever it's been I've not set foot on a stage or jammed with a band of any sort. I think I filled that void and tried to keep the excitement going by...YUP!!!!..I'LL BUY A NEW AMP AND KEEP IT FRESH AND LIVELY!!!!! What a dumb fuck I am...Not only have I spent god knows how much money etc,etc but..the worst sin of all I think...I can't play anywhere near as good as I used to and actually embarrass myself somethimes. Noodle the same shit over and over and over until....I'm bored and NEED A NEW AMP!!! My excitement is full tilt boogie for about a day after recieving said new amp and then..The cycle starts to repeat itself once again...Truly truly sad..God...Grant me the serenity....

 

[Mailman1971]

I too have basically stopped the music gear merry go round and it started with a subject someone brought up but can't remember where?? It got me thinking back to when I gigged full time. I used the same 2 marshall heads (1 was backup) and a 4 space rack for tuner,power strip,effects, and a preamp....I used that same setup for 25+ years and never ever even thought of getting anything different!,Didn't want nor need anything and as far as I was concerned..Nothing better! I spent all my time learning new songs or practicing older songs from the set list that we might dredge up that week and needed to brush up..playing my guitar..all the time..not just noodeling as I do now but..serious make my hands hurt practice and learning something. So..For the last 7-8 years or whatever it's been I've not set foot on a stage or jammed with a band of any sort. I think I filled that void and tried to keep the excitement going by...YUP!!!!..I'LL BUY A NEW AMP AND KEEP IT FRESH AND LIVELY!!!!! What a dumb fuck I am...Not only have I spent god knows how much money etc,etc but..the worst sin of all I think...I can't play anywhere near as good as I used to and actually embarrass myself somethimes. Noodle the same shit over and over and over until....I'm bored and NEED A NEW AMP!!! My excitement is full tilt boogie for about a day after recieving said new amp and then..The cycle starts to repeat itself once again...Truly truly sad..God...Grant me the serenity....

Wow.....that is me to the letter!
I have went thru SOOOO MANY GREAT AMPS......only to sell them to get the BETTER TONE!
Kurt......your my evil twin!
I am finally having a Cameron modded amp.....and a New Engl Fireball. I can cover it all and wait........
IT SOUNDS GREAT!!!
Keep it real everyone.....

Dan

 

[parntz145]

Very inspiring. I was wondering what you had custom done to the twinjet?

 

[King Guitar]

Very inspiring. I was wondering what you had custom done to the twinjet?

I will defer that to Rob at TM as I dont want to step on any toes as he hooked me up with it and as far as I know its just his personal amp and mine that will be configured this way.

 

[JTyson]

Good deal Brad, I have been chasing my daughter all around the southeast for college soccer games, somtimes 2-3 a week. Linda and I would not trade it for anything. When it all comes down to brass tacks, all you have in this life is family, and some good friends. No one ever laid on his death bed and wished he had another amp or guitar. I need to be playing with some other people more, but I am nursing a shoulder injury at the moment that is killing me. Rock on Brad

 

[guitarslinger]

I think it's great you're improving your life, etc., but why can't you use a Mod 100 instead of the CAA?

You don't like the way Egnaters sound??!?!?!?!?!

 

[parntz145]

Very inspiring. I was wondering what you had custom done to the twinjet?

I will defer that to Rob at TM as I dont want to step on any toes as he hooked me up with it and as far as I know its just his personal amp and mine that will be configured this way.

I know then. I talked to Rob about it. Just didnt really make sense to me,but I guess a cool idea.

 

[King Guitar]

I think it's great you're improving your life, etc., but why can't you use a Mod 100 instead of the CAA?

You don't like the way Egnaters sound??!?!?!?!?!

You been drinking? Me think you are little to invested in what other people use. They are both great amps no worries and I think Bruce will forgive me to be playing one of Johns creations.

That said I have been playing my Randall Lynch Box all day with a T/D, VX and Friedman HBE modules with a Fulltone Tape Delay int he loop and it is inspiring. I am leaning toward keeping it as well as I see myself using it. So Egnater will be here

 

[Jay Strange]

I too have basically stopped the music gear merry go round and it started with a subject someone brought up but can't remember where?? It got me thinking back to when I gigged full time. I used the same 2 marshall heads (1 was backup) and a 4 space rack for tuner,power strip,effects, and a preamp....I used that same setup for 25+ years and never ever even thought of getting anything different!,Didn't want nor need anything and as far as I was concerned..Nothing better! I spent all my time learning new songs or practicing older songs from the set list that we might dredge up that week and needed to brush up..playing my guitar..all the time..not just noodeling as I do now but..serious make my hands hurt practice and learning something. So..For the last 7-8 years or whatever it's been I've not set foot on a stage or jammed with a band of any sort. I think I filled that void and tried to keep the excitement going by...YUP!!!!..I'LL BUY A NEW AMP AND KEEP IT FRESH AND LIVELY!!!!! What a dumb fuck I am...Not only have I spent god knows how much money etc,etc but..the worst sin of all I think...I can't play anywhere near as good as I used to and actually embarrass myself somethimes. Noodle the same shit over and over and over until....I'm bored and NEED A NEW AMP!!! My excitement is full tilt boogie for about a day after recieving said new amp and then..The cycle starts to repeat itself once again...Truly truly sad..God...Grant me the serenity....

Truly truly sad..God...Grant me the serenity....

It's INSANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result

 

[Stramm8]

So..For the last 7-8 years or whatever it's been I've not set foot on a stage or jammed with a band of any sort. I think I filled that void and tried to keep the excitement going by...YUP!!!!..I'LL BUY A NEW AMP AND KEEP IT FRESH AND LIVELY!!!!!

Well put I've gone trough my fair share of amps in a relatively short period of time but fortunately have settled on the Einstein. Every time I get the urge to buy something, I head down to the basement, flip it on and tweak till I can dial in a similar tone I heard in some clip of another amp. It's kinda like Gas-X For 17 years I was always in at least one band either on drums or guitar. During that time I got a real job, got married, had kids blah, blah, blah. The rehearsals and gigs got less frequent and I felt like a way to stay connected to the "scene" was through gear. I think to a certain extent, that's been true. So, I too have scaled back (one amp, one 2x12, three guitars) but have decided to get back into what I really enjoy: building guitars I've already started selling off various pedals, drums and the les paul that I don't use and am going to put that money into a couple guitar projects I have wanted to build for a while. I also plan on building an amp at some point too, who knows.

Anyway, I think that your revelation was really great Brad!! I have never met you or talked to you but I have to admit that I thought you must have one the lottery or something based on your purchasing ability/volume Down here in the south there is a saying: "you must have more money than sense". Well, I'm glad you came to your senses, cause at the rate you were going, you were gonna run out of money Good luck to you brother!! I think your going to have a lot more fun jamming than packing/shipping gear

 

[King Guitar]

So..For the last 7-8 years or whatever it's been I've not set foot on a stage or jammed with a band of any sort. I think I filled that void and tried to keep the excitement going by...YUP!!!!..I'LL BUY A NEW AMP AND KEEP IT FRESH AND LIVELY!!!!!

Well put I've gone trough my fair share of amps in a relatively short period of time but fortunately have settled on the Einstein. Every time I get the urge to buy something, I head down to the basement, flip it on and tweak till I can dial in a similar tone I heard in some clip of another amp. It's kinda like Gas-X For 17 years I was always in at least one band either on drums or guitar. During that time I got a real job, got married, had kids blah, blah, blah. The rehearsals and gigs got less frequent and I felt like a way to stay connected to the "scene" was through gear. I think to a certain extent, that's been true. So, I too have scaled back (one amp, one 2x12, three guitars) but have decided to get back into what I really enjoy: building guitars I've already started selling off various pedals, drums and the les paul that I don't use and am going to put that money into a couple guitar projects I have wanted to build for a while. I also plan on building an amp at some point too, who knows.

Anyway, I think that your revelation was really great Brad!! I have never met you or talked to you but I have to admit that I thought you must have one the lottery or something based on your purchasing ability/volume Down here in the south there is a saying: "you must have more money than sense". Well, I'm glad you came to your senses, cause at the rate you were going, you were gonna run out of money Good luck to you brother!! I think your going to have a lot more fun jamming than packing/shipping gear

no lottery, I go to work every day early.

 

[rsm]

Good for you Brad. Let us know if you're slipping back to gear hunt and flipping, we'll stop ya, or at least try to slow you down. You, and a few others, made my gear flipping and GAS seem reasonable. But its never-ending cycle if you get hooked.

I had stopped playing music when I got married because it was so time consuming and an obsession, and I concentrated on life, family and work. Back in the day, if I wasn't working, I would practice, write, be at band practice or at a gig playing or listening. I didn't play for many years, just check my set-ups a few times a year; this worked for many years, and my old ADA (bass and guitar) rigs sat in the corner gathering dust. When my son was born, I wanted to be able to teach him music if he showed any interest, so I started to get back into it. Now, my playing is worse crap than ever, arthritis makes it even worse, and nearly all my ADA gear is gone or one its way out, and I have several new guitars, new amps, pedals, racks, and did my share of flipping...

Now I have gear that is working for me; sure, more than I need, but the GAS is about dead. For me, I finally realized what I wanted from gear, and came to terms with it. I want/need a few more odds and ends that will be less than $500 when its all said and done, and I have a few things to sell off once I find boxes to ship them. So, I plan to be on the forums less in the future, more playing and more sleep, so I have the energy to keep up with my family!

Here's to life and family!

Peace

 

[stephen sawall]

About five years ago I was getting a new amp about every 3 weeks. My band would laugh at me .... then my bass and drummer got the same problem. I wish I had some pictures of the practice space .... It was just crazy. Enough gear for 5 bands or more easy and we were only a three piece. Both me and the bass player each had a wall almost 20 feet long and 8 feet high, the drummer had four kits. I had gone thru a few dozen amps at that time. Easy 50 in my life time. I still pick up one or two amps a year .... only after selling something.

Very glade to hear your health is getting better Brad

 

[Jack Luminous]

Mmmmmh, not convinced. I still want/need more gear !

 

[Anonymous]

Buying tons of gear and flipping it is never a problem when you are flat broke.

 

[glpg80]

Buying tons of gear and flipping it is never a problem when you are flat broke.

+11111

 

[ejecta]

Great post Brad! I can relate TOTALLY. I've been gearing up todo demos for my blog and to be honest having all this gear and thinking about what I've cycled through has made me realise that having all this stuff, while fun to mess with, really takes away from palying the guitar and possibly family if you let it. Not only that I think... while there is gear out there that sounds better than other gear, honestly there isnt a huge difference in the high end stuff for the most part. If I wasnt trying to develope my blog.... I'd keep something decent gear wise and start writing again. Actually if I burn out on the blog then thats exactly what will happen.

Me and my freind Jamie were talking about this post and I told Jamie, I bet these gear makers love these forums.

Thanks for your brutal honesty and I know for a fact a lot of guys including me could say "Wow, he could be talking about me."

 

[FixXxer]

Great to hear you are getting better, and to be honest been going through the same myself. I have a lot of nice stuff and have flipped more than I care to admit.

That said, it was a fun journey but also expensive. I learned more from that, than reading on any forum and the only way to really see what you like is to try it. However with some life changes, and other things on the horizon my purchasing days have come to a hault. I'll buy something if its a screaming deal, but other than that, I'll just say no. Also, if I sell I stick to my price. Its unfortunate with everything that is going on, and people going through fire sale mode that we are where we are.

Getting back on point at the end of the day for me, its a Mesa boogie rectifer, Les Paul guitar with WCR pickups, through a Mills Acoustics cabinet with my Dunlop Rack wah and analogman chorus. That is seriously all I really need. I have a few les pauls to choose from, and I don't believe I'll ever sell any of them as they really are nice for what they are, but i'm pretty much done for a while until I hit some major milestones.

I think a combination of shifting priorities, the economy and everyone wanting a fire sale, combined with other factors is why we are all thinking the way we are. I'd rather keep my gear than get an offer at a ridiculous loss . I can write a book about that as well, but I'll leave well enough alone.

Frankly I've enjoyed not having to tweak my rig for this effect or another and just plug in and let her rip.

Stay healthy!!!!!!

 

[Rogue]

Thanks for your brutal honesty and I know for a fact a lot of guys including me could say "Wow, he could be talking about me."

Yeah, but where would I get my bargain priced gear if not for you?