Do Forum Guys Obsess to much over details

[Spaceboy]

I would like to say it's the destination for me, but I'd be lying. I've always been a collector, even when I was little. I collected baseball cards, action figures, POGs, whatever... I've always been a pack rat and it hasn't changed as I've gotten older, it's just a slightly more expensive habit/collection than baseball cards.

 

[Code001]

I would like to say it's the destination for me, but I'd be lying. I've always been a collector, even when I was little. I collected baseball cards, action figures, POGs, whatever... I've always been a pack rat and it hasn't changed as I've gotten older, it's just a slightly more expensive habit/collection than baseball cards.

FUCK YEAH! POGS! I used to be big into those way back in elementary school. I even went to competitions and shit.

 

[Spaceboy]

I still have something around 3000 different POGs in page sleeves back at my parents, and a tub full of doubles, and three 10" tubes full of slammers. I've since sold my TMNT action figures, my baseball collectables, MtG cards, and all my other dumb collections, but I will never get rid of my POGs!

I also have a stockpile of Ral Partha, D&D, Warhammer/40K, and Blood Bowl models too.

 

[ttosh]

Yes, and 98% of the time it's a worthless obsession.

If it makes you happy then it's not worthless. For many it's the chase and the journey, not the destination. I would love to sit in a room full of gear for a week straight and solder cables, route pedalboards and racked pedal trays, and try countless combinations of amps in WDW setups. It's something I enjoy so who cares?

The problem with comparing the average forumite to someone like Derrico, is that most of us will never get the chance to do a tour of that status. If I was offered a chance to play with Pink, I could take a Deluxe Reverb or Bassman and a small pedalboard, one guitar and be set. It's not like we need lots of gear to play, it's just fun and some people are more techy than others.

Just think, if everyone was grab-and-go simple, then we wouldn't have people like Dave Friedman designing killerrigs and amps. This topic has way too many variables to be a yes or no answer.

Very well put!

 

[MYLILSS]

it seems to be people with regular access to the internet music forums who obsess or take more pride in there gear IMO. like a few days ago i went to a local show. one of the dues who plays in the band i know of and he visits internet forums regularly. he was playing all ibanez prestige guitars through an engl amp head with an orange cab. then there is the other guitarist in his band they just picked up who plays through a marshall mg halfstack with a prs se ... from what i gathered from him, he isnt much into the online music forums

 

[saxxamafone]

Most guys who tour hard don't seem to care about the little things as much as some of the dudes i've seen on forums

I myself will spend time on a forum and start thinking about something minor in my rig...then get out on the road and realise it doesn't matter

I find it funny when guys on forums say they CAN'T use a boss TU-2 to tune coz it's just not good enough for them (they've seen all those TU-2 VS other tuning pedals on youtube)...then almost EVERY pro rig you see posted has a TU-2 on the board

 

[guitarslinger]

totally agree about keeping cables out so they can be replaced/rerouted/etc.

I switch out my pedals and rack units far too often to keep everything tidy and bundled.

My setups seem to be simple enough not to run into any serious noise. so. :idk:

 

[Diezels]

One thing many musicians dont understand is.......


...its about the SONGS

 

[glpg80]

came across this doing a forum search, worth a good read right now IMHO

 

[70strathead]

when it comes to gear, YES! But playing an instrument, I think its fine to obsess over a piece of music whether it be writing/arranging/composing or transcribing an inspiring piece of music.

 

[mboogman]

We can't forget about today's live touring rigs, meaning the FOH PA. Most of, even the best, super high end touring PA rigs top out at around 16 kHz when we're truly honest. That and the band usually has the snot compressed out of it at the console so the vocals can be hear. Then there's the full 4 band parametric eq on most of today's digital consoles. At that point, you stop hearing the guitar players rig, and hear the PA, and the "personality" of the FOH engineer.

$.02

 

[joepete77]

Since I found rigtalk I have spent alot of time checking out gear instead of practising!! On another note, Most pro musicians I know who gig and record dont let things like nitro finish, true bypass, nos capacitors, etc . deter them from owning or playing an instrument as long as it sounds an or plays good. These things usually dont get in the way of writing good songs, and the crowd usually doesnt notice the trivial things we fuss over as long as the songs or performance is good.

 

[Ventura]

Great thread, and my answer would be 'yes'. The reasoning behind it, as I see, is that cats who make a living playing music don't have time to sit behind computer screens, or perhaps, don't need to sit behind computer screens as much as 'we' do. I'm generalizing about the majority of us here - save for the chubtones, dstrouds, Peter Thorns, Mark Days, etc.

One thing is for certain, we're all gear heads or tonal purists. So when we're not playing, but rather sitting at work, goofing around with down time, unwinding at the days' end, or doing anything BUT playing; RT and gear is a way for us to stay affixed mentally on the stuff that makes us tick. It's easy to get into the 'perfection' loop when we're not actually playing. It's a mental game...there is no perfection that lasts forever, so we can cosntantly up the ante with everything from picks to plugs, always tweaking our 'supposed' reality. When you're out there clocking long days, and doing gig after gig, shit man, you just want it to "work", and sound consistent. It's a job, not a hobby. Hobbyists go apeshit for the details, hence the hobby passion - working guys get the job done, that's it that's all.

Peace,
V.

 

[Chris6870]

Yes. Thats the difference between forum guys and gigging pros.
For pros, gear are the tools they use to get the job done. You won't see many mechanics polishing their wrenches, waxing their toolboxes, using fancy organizers or the latest high tech toy. They use what they need to get the job done as efficiently as possible.
The automotive hobbyist will have a spotless toolbox,clean tools neatly organized, making sure the lighting hit his toolbox just right.

I took this pic of Andy Timmons board. Nothing that would impress forumites, most would probably laugh if it was a members pedal board.

 

[polaris20]

See the racksystems sub-forum.

How do these look?

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=69121

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=75094

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=70685

Ha, I can tell who's the first rig is without even looking at the title. As a fellow MIDI guitar guy, I love Steve's rig. His playing and taste are just fucking awesome.

As for the topic, well I don't have the gear some of you guys do, but I've chosen carefully based upon my taste, and it gets me by, for just playing for fun. It's not like I'm playing a Spider Valve.

EDIT

Damn, just saw Paisley's rig; I can't say I've ever seen an APC in a guitar rack!! I'm used to seeing those at work (I'm in IT). That rack has to be heavy as hell!!

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Yes. Thats the difference between forum guys and gigging pros.
For pros, gear are the tools they use to get the job done. You won't see many mechanics polishing their wrenches, waxing their toolboxes, using fancy organizers or the latest high tech toy. They use what they need to get the job done as efficiently as possible.
The automotive hobbyist will have a spotless toolbox,clean tools neatly organized, making sure the lighting hit his toolbox just right.

I would guess that some of the house collectors don't even play that much, and spend the majority of their time making purchases and arranging their gear at the best possible angles for photo shoots to post online.

 

[ttosh]

Firstly - you watched a Pink DVD?!
Second - those DVDs are all touched up in post , so who knows how much of the live tone was edited, cleaned up, reamped ...whatever. I'm sure he is a badass player..
Third - yes we do obsess on these forums, but I don't think having a cleanly wired rig means anything beyond the desire to keep it clean...And I think we all have our own reasoning for obsessing

I have a switcher and pedals in a rack, but I also can plug right into the front of the amp if the stuff goes down and get thru a show.

This forum has been invaluable in terms of getting ideas and building a better rig, it also has caused me to spend tons of money on gear I didn't know existed or thought about...But my rig gets used live a lot and is super simple compared to some folks around here...

But I have to point out that most mega pros have sick rigs that are immaculate...and huge...

Muse, aerosmith, u2, vai...hetfield, that list goes on and on.

I would say they don't obsess because that's what they have techs for...to sweat those details....

WOW this thread was raised from the dead.... LOL

First, yest I did listen to a Pink DVD, I really dig Justin's playing and I think she has one of the best voices for a female singer since Benatar and Jett. She has a rock attitude and I dig her singing and showmanship.

Second, I totally agree with everything you said it is all very true. I guess my initial point if I can remember back that far was that I have seen so many great players play live not just from this DVD with equipment we would laugh at on this forum and they sound better than most clips out there. I think Chubtone as provided proof of this as well.

Lastly, I am like you and most everybody on here. I obsess over gear and love to do so. I love amps and guitars, etc... To the point of the analogy somebody stated earlier in this thread it is like when we were kids and would stare at the Sears Christmas catalog... LOL

When I originally wrote this I was just analyzing my current situation and finding I obsess more than I practice and worked to change that. I have changed that quite a bit since that time and based on another thread you can find that I posted recently I have found that practice and working on technique and phrasing can change your tone (or maybe the way the tone is perceived) quite a bit.

As far as gear and wanting cool stuff. Well I want a CCV, and I doubt many pros even have those yet, since not even many of the guys on the forum that want them have them yet.

On that last note if I do get a CCV this is just another special shout out to Brad, because without him that most likely would have never even been a possibility. Also to summarize and merge this thread with the tone is in the hands/fingers thread. (I am really hoping if I get a CCV it makes me a better player). . . . .

 

[ttosh]

Well then Fwiw I played the proto CCV the other day at tone merchants and it was a very inspiring tone, I dont think it made me better , but it made me play with fervor and excitement and inspired some great riffage, so in that respect , gear can make you a better player if it inspired you to play more!

Yes I saw your post the other day, thanks for the added GAS!!!! As far as the inspiring you to play better but not actually make you play better I understand and agree. I joke a lot on the forums with everybody about tone and stuff. I would love to get out to Tone Merchants and play the CCV in person. Thanks for posting up your opinion on that btw!!

 

[Tawlks]

My pedalboard is pretty messy and consists of a daisy chain 9v adapter and four boss pedals, a tuner, a boost, an EQ and a gate. I don't give a fuck. I like my tone.

One other thing I think should be noted is that a lot of people on this forum simply have more money than a lot of touring musicians, if you look at some of the setups that people here have and compare them with the respective member's favourite live tone, there seems to be, more often than not a large difference in the value of the gear.

Also, it sounds weird saying this, but from what I've heard, endorsements make a fair percentage of some guitarists' income, which is probably why you see so many expensive, brand name amps in massive stacks and a 5150/other cheaper amp and a Mesa 412 behind the stacks.

 

[Chubtone]

Great thread, and my answer would be 'yes'. The reasoning behind it, as I see, is that cats who make a living playing music don't have time to sit behind computer screens, or perhaps, don't need to sit behind computer screens as much as 'we' do. I'm generalizing about the majority of us here - save for the chubtones, dstrouds, Peter Thorns, Mark Days, etc.

Peace,
V.

You have to take me off of this list. I spend way too much time on Rig Talk and really consider this the modern day equivalent of hanging out with guitar friends. In the old days I was constantly talking to other friends who played about who used this and who used that and who we had just seen and what they were using. The problem is that most of those friends have grown up and joined the real world and either don't play at all anymore or barely play. What these forums provide us is a place for all of us gear obsessed "survivors" to meet others as deranged as we are and talk about what we still want to talk about. If I would stop spending so much time doing this, I would have my next CD done already which is full of acoustic steel and nylon string stuff in a style my own wife describes as "panty melters". I have been informed she doesn't want me gigging these songs anywhere unless she is able to go

So I appreciate being included on the above list with those great players, I don't deserve because i think they are all working harder than I am.