Mike Fleming
New member
Why?
Because they weren't around back in "my day".....because you guys (and gals) are such great people. Yup...gotcha with that title didn't I?
I want to mention 2 members of Rig-Talk specifically and then I'll give a bit of background here. I just did a deal for some gear and it involved 2 Rig-Talk members. Hope this is allowed, but their names are BIGKAHUNA and Dan who's in Saginaw. I don't know Dan's Rig-Talk "name".
Long story short....BIGKAHUNA and I made a deal to trade some gear. Everything was fine until we looked into the shipping costs which were estimated at close to $1000! Yikes!!
That seemed to be the end of the deal we both wanted - until "Dan" stepped up to the plate and helped us both out by allowing us to ship to his address instead, thereby reducing shipping costs and making the time and effort to forward the gear from me to BIGKAHUNA. The interesting thing here is that the three of us have never met. I don't know these guys at all and they certainly don't know me either. And yet here we are taking a HUGE leap of faith in each other and sending gear worth thousands of dollars to the other side of the planet with no way of knowing for sure if the gear would ever show up. Talk about trust!
Well.....I'm now the proud owner of a Splawn rig and my new Rig-Talk buddy is probably cursing my name right now as he dives into his new Fractal Axe-Fx Ultra and all it's incredible tweaking features! That's not the entire "deal" we made but that's the gist of it. The gear traded doesn't matter - we both got exactly what we wanted...what suited OUR needs.
Incredible - 3 complete strangers interacting from an on-line forum called Rig-Talk and making a deal worth thousands come together...all pretty much based on trust and respect. Nice!
My sincere thanks to both Wendell and Dan!
Background: I have been playing guitar for over 40 years.... professionally touring, recording etc. I love it as much now as I did when I started. I'm 56 years old and see no reason why I should stop playing. Ok...I did put the 80's Spandex away for the time being
I come from this background - playing clubs 6 nights a week plus Sat matinee. Fun stuff!
I did that every day for years. I have done literally thousands of gigs on every possible level. On top of that we rehearsed (yes...hungover) in the clubs every morning before the club opened for business... after a night of shall we say "sex, drugs and rock and roll". Hey - that was never proven in a court of law!
On Mondays it took all day to set up the full double Martin PA rig and 60 par lights on TV towers and "Genie towers" and on Sat night it took hours to tear it all down again and then start the drive home which usually meant getting home around 7am, saying hi to the wife and hope for a couple hours sleep. Truth is...I couldn't wait to get to the next gig on Monday again! And...if you know what a "Genie tower" is you're as old as me! hahaha.
I remember the guys I played with calling me a "gear slut" at the time. Remember...there was no internet at this time and no "forums". To put that in perspective they used to say I should duct tape 2 Marshall 4x12 cabs to my head and use them as "headphones". Ya so??? I don't see a problem with that!
At one gig, at a huge concert room we were playing at, when I got there for soundcheck they had all the monitors, side fill monitors etc ALL set up right in front of me! Excellent I thought! Can't be loud enough! What's with my drummer not understanding that? 
I was there when MTV and MuchMusic in Canada "destroyed" the music business for working stiffs like me. We went from being kinda a "big thing" at gigs to "nobodys" because suddenly you could actually see Paul McCartney, Rush,Triumph, Kiss or whoever on TV all day and night with their larger than life stage sets etc and it made all us working guys look insignificant by comparison. So...people stopped being impressed with live music being performed by REAL musicians and they could sit at home, crack a beer and watch music being performed by bands in the comfort of their living rooms. I went from making a very good living being a "full time musician" to needing to get a day job literally overnight because of all this. Or as people used to say "Why don't you get a REAL job?!"
Don't get me started on what happened to live entertainment when Karaoke hit the scene!
And yes...I agree MTV etc was good for exposing SOME bands that we might not have ever heard about otherwise. No argument there.
Due to all this happening you started to see Managers, Agents, Record companies etc become a little bit more "suspect" shall we say as their income also was drastically reduced and even musicians started competing with each other and eating their own. It was an ugly time to be involved in the business. Bands undercutting each other price wise just to get a gig... not understanding all they were doing was telling promoters, club owners etc that we would basically work real cheap. I went from making thousands per week to what it is now here in the Toronto area - bands get on average around $300 for a Sat night gig playing to 15 people who couldn't care less about your band....or you play for free and try to sell your home-made CD or T-shirt. Yup....they still want to hear "Sweet Home Alabama" too. Wish I wrote that one! This for me was a bit different than when we had lineups down the street on a Monday night. Time for me to quit the music business.
Yup...so I got that "REAL" job after 7 years of trying - that being a professional Firefighter.
Don't get me going on these guys! These guys are crazy...but in a great way! It always struck me that firefighters are the same kind of people as musicians.
So.... having a "real" job now allows me have the basement studio happening and I can once again feed that "GAS" that never went away. I guess once a "gear slut" always a gear slut! I'm still trying to figure out how to get those Marshall cabs duct taped to my head. I need those now because I'm old and deaf....not the same as when I WANTED it that loud! I love it more than ever and as an added bonus my son sings and writes songs and we record together. Nice!
My point in all this?
I left the music business by choice because of some of the more unscrupulous people in it.
I'm now back in, recording and playing every day because I see a different kind of musician out there now - it's people like "Dan" and "BIGKAHUNA" and I'm sure all the other Rig-Talkers (and other forums) who are helping each other, supporting each other, sharing info, sharing their music, discussing ideas respectfully etc. MY kind of people!
And lets not forget the guys that take their personal free time to post videos, music clips etc to showcase gear or give a tutorial...like Mark Day for example. We all love the "faces" etc but he's taking his personal time to educate us, in a fun and funny way...but informative also. I happen to own several pieces of gear I bought based solely on seeing something Mark posted. And how about the guys that spend their time setting these forums up...Brad (?) etc. A big thank you to all of them also!
Holly shit! How long is this post? Sorry about that.
Just wanted to say thanks for being the kind of people you all seem to be and thanks to those who put the effort in on sharing info. While we might not all agree on everything....isn't THAT the best part of all of this? More info and ideas shared.
How cool is that?!
I think I can safely say here in the "insane asylum" of "GAS"... in which we are all inmates....after owning everything ever made over the years and probably more than once ...this Splawn QuickRod rig is the best amp rig I could ask for and it would have never happened without stumbling upon Rig-Talk and it's members.
Geez...I feel a "group hug" coming on here. Not getting all mushy on you - just stating facts and saying thanks for the help. Hopefully some of you enjoyed the trip down memory lane and for the younger people...yup...it sure was different back then. In a way...you missed a great era and that's a shame.
Question: Would it be ok to get the Spandex back out?
I think I could still pull that look off....especially if I can get a gig over at the "Old Folks Home" down the street!
Now....where are my meds?
Because they weren't around back in "my day".....because you guys (and gals) are such great people. Yup...gotcha with that title didn't I?
I want to mention 2 members of Rig-Talk specifically and then I'll give a bit of background here. I just did a deal for some gear and it involved 2 Rig-Talk members. Hope this is allowed, but their names are BIGKAHUNA and Dan who's in Saginaw. I don't know Dan's Rig-Talk "name".
Long story short....BIGKAHUNA and I made a deal to trade some gear. Everything was fine until we looked into the shipping costs which were estimated at close to $1000! Yikes!!
That seemed to be the end of the deal we both wanted - until "Dan" stepped up to the plate and helped us both out by allowing us to ship to his address instead, thereby reducing shipping costs and making the time and effort to forward the gear from me to BIGKAHUNA. The interesting thing here is that the three of us have never met. I don't know these guys at all and they certainly don't know me either. And yet here we are taking a HUGE leap of faith in each other and sending gear worth thousands of dollars to the other side of the planet with no way of knowing for sure if the gear would ever show up. Talk about trust!
Well.....I'm now the proud owner of a Splawn rig and my new Rig-Talk buddy is probably cursing my name right now as he dives into his new Fractal Axe-Fx Ultra and all it's incredible tweaking features! That's not the entire "deal" we made but that's the gist of it. The gear traded doesn't matter - we both got exactly what we wanted...what suited OUR needs.
Incredible - 3 complete strangers interacting from an on-line forum called Rig-Talk and making a deal worth thousands come together...all pretty much based on trust and respect. Nice!
My sincere thanks to both Wendell and Dan!
Background: I have been playing guitar for over 40 years.... professionally touring, recording etc. I love it as much now as I did when I started. I'm 56 years old and see no reason why I should stop playing. Ok...I did put the 80's Spandex away for the time being
I come from this background - playing clubs 6 nights a week plus Sat matinee. Fun stuff!
I did that every day for years. I have done literally thousands of gigs on every possible level. On top of that we rehearsed (yes...hungover) in the clubs every morning before the club opened for business... after a night of shall we say "sex, drugs and rock and roll". Hey - that was never proven in a court of law!
On Mondays it took all day to set up the full double Martin PA rig and 60 par lights on TV towers and "Genie towers" and on Sat night it took hours to tear it all down again and then start the drive home which usually meant getting home around 7am, saying hi to the wife and hope for a couple hours sleep. Truth is...I couldn't wait to get to the next gig on Monday again! And...if you know what a "Genie tower" is you're as old as me! hahaha.I remember the guys I played with calling me a "gear slut" at the time. Remember...there was no internet at this time and no "forums". To put that in perspective they used to say I should duct tape 2 Marshall 4x12 cabs to my head and use them as "headphones". Ya so??? I don't see a problem with that!
At one gig, at a huge concert room we were playing at, when I got there for soundcheck they had all the monitors, side fill monitors etc ALL set up right in front of me! Excellent I thought! Can't be loud enough! What's with my drummer not understanding that? I was there when MTV and MuchMusic in Canada "destroyed" the music business for working stiffs like me. We went from being kinda a "big thing" at gigs to "nobodys" because suddenly you could actually see Paul McCartney, Rush,Triumph, Kiss or whoever on TV all day and night with their larger than life stage sets etc and it made all us working guys look insignificant by comparison. So...people stopped being impressed with live music being performed by REAL musicians and they could sit at home, crack a beer and watch music being performed by bands in the comfort of their living rooms. I went from making a very good living being a "full time musician" to needing to get a day job literally overnight because of all this. Or as people used to say "Why don't you get a REAL job?!"
Don't get me started on what happened to live entertainment when Karaoke hit the scene!
And yes...I agree MTV etc was good for exposing SOME bands that we might not have ever heard about otherwise. No argument there.
Due to all this happening you started to see Managers, Agents, Record companies etc become a little bit more "suspect" shall we say as their income also was drastically reduced and even musicians started competing with each other and eating their own. It was an ugly time to be involved in the business. Bands undercutting each other price wise just to get a gig... not understanding all they were doing was telling promoters, club owners etc that we would basically work real cheap. I went from making thousands per week to what it is now here in the Toronto area - bands get on average around $300 for a Sat night gig playing to 15 people who couldn't care less about your band....or you play for free and try to sell your home-made CD or T-shirt. Yup....they still want to hear "Sweet Home Alabama" too. Wish I wrote that one! This for me was a bit different than when we had lineups down the street on a Monday night. Time for me to quit the music business.
Yup...so I got that "REAL" job after 7 years of trying - that being a professional Firefighter.
Don't get me going on these guys! These guys are crazy...but in a great way! It always struck me that firefighters are the same kind of people as musicians.
So.... having a "real" job now allows me have the basement studio happening and I can once again feed that "GAS" that never went away. I guess once a "gear slut" always a gear slut! I'm still trying to figure out how to get those Marshall cabs duct taped to my head. I need those now because I'm old and deaf....not the same as when I WANTED it that loud!
I love it more than ever and as an added bonus my son sings and writes songs and we record together. Nice!My point in all this?
I left the music business by choice because of some of the more unscrupulous people in it.
I'm now back in, recording and playing every day because I see a different kind of musician out there now - it's people like "Dan" and "BIGKAHUNA" and I'm sure all the other Rig-Talkers (and other forums) who are helping each other, supporting each other, sharing info, sharing their music, discussing ideas respectfully etc. MY kind of people!
And lets not forget the guys that take their personal free time to post videos, music clips etc to showcase gear or give a tutorial...like Mark Day for example. We all love the "faces" etc but he's taking his personal time to educate us, in a fun and funny way...but informative also. I happen to own several pieces of gear I bought based solely on seeing something Mark posted. And how about the guys that spend their time setting these forums up...Brad (?) etc. A big thank you to all of them also!
Holly shit! How long is this post? Sorry about that.
Just wanted to say thanks for being the kind of people you all seem to be and thanks to those who put the effort in on sharing info. While we might not all agree on everything....isn't THAT the best part of all of this? More info and ideas shared.
How cool is that?!
I think I can safely say here in the "insane asylum" of "GAS"... in which we are all inmates....after owning everything ever made over the years and probably more than once
...this Splawn QuickRod rig is the best amp rig I could ask for and it would have never happened without stumbling upon Rig-Talk and it's members.Geez...I feel a "group hug" coming on here. Not getting all mushy on you - just stating facts and saying thanks for the help. Hopefully some of you enjoyed the trip down memory lane and for the younger people...yup...it sure was different back then. In a way...you missed a great era and that's a shame.
Question: Would it be ok to get the Spandex back out?
I think I could still pull that look off....especially if I can get a gig over at the "Old Folks Home" down the street!
Now....where are my meds?
I still don't get it 
