Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 6:30 pm

I'm not afraid to share my opinon that JCYPHE is correct.jcyphe wrote:I'm not afraid to share my opinion, that this thread fucking sucks.
+1mickie08 wrote:I'm not afraid to share my opinon that JCYPHE is correct.jcyphe wrote:I'm not afraid to share my opinion, that this thread fucking sucks.
Well, if the rest of your life sucks, true. If things are going OK, a guitar makes me feel even better.Aeon wrote:
1. Guitar fetishism, I have come to realize, is quite stupid. Guitars are pieces of wood and metal, it's what is played on them that matters. Owning multiple guitars will not make you happy,
Erm, every time. at least 2 tunings in one set for me, so thats 2 guitars with no backup. I sure don't want to be the dicknose changing strings for 5 minutes while the bar yells "free bird"Aeon wrote:
2. Backup guitars are (usually) stupid. Seriously, how often do you really need to bring multiple guitars to a show?
I sure don't, at least somebody in the room is taking the shit seriously. I for one, want to sound my best on every song, and be able to compensate if something goes wrong. This section of the rant is indicative of a much deeper thread of society's de-valuing of the arts. This attitude of "it's just a local rock show" is a plague. If the musicians and their friends aren't willing to take the music seriously, why the fuck should the audience? They might as well just sit there and get wasted, screaming into their wingman's ear over the poorly mixed din about how they're totally going to bang that chick with the tattoo.Aeon wrote: 3. I find it incredibly pretentious to see these little local bands haul out a backline of like 5 guitars for 2 musicians. They are playing a 30-45 min set and yet they act as if they are playing some sort of high-production rock show.
I usually take three guitars.Aeon wrote:2. Backup guitars are (usually) stupid..
+1Aeon wrote:Too many people are afraid to make strong statements on guitar message boards in fear of offending other people. Or perhaps those boards are heavily moderated to the point where all you ever see are 'soft' opinions. So this thread is for you to be as direct as you want.
[Rant mode]
1. Guitar fetishism, I have come to realize, is quite stupid. Guitars are pieces of wood and metal, it's what is played on them that matters. Owning multiple guitars will not make you happy, it will just make you a hobbyist. How many of you really have enough time in the day to sit and play more than one or two guitars enough to warrant their ownership? Get a nice acoustic and a nice electric and be done with it. Use your imagination to get new sounds, not a slightly altered variation of the same instrument.
2. Backup guitars are (usually) stupid. Seriously, how often do you really need to bring multiple guitars to a show? Unless you're some sort of Sonic Youth band with a huge amount of alternate tunings, or an ultra aggressive metal band that snaps strings left and right, there's no need. Symphony musicians typically don't carry backup instruments -- do you know how crowded the stage would be if they did? If you own a decent guitar with a decent setup and don't play like some schizo you should be able to make it through a whole set without snapping strings. If you are snapping strings constantly the problem is the guitar, you, or both.
3. I find it incredibly pretentious to see these little local bands haul out a backline of like 5 guitars for 2 musicians. They are playing a 30-45 min set and yet they act as if they are playing some sort of high-production rock show. Worry about that when you have a guitar tech... I think it makes more sense in the long run for people to have just one, maybe two guitars as their main and only instruments. The only time you'd really need/want a lot of variety in timbre would be when you would record an album -- and guess what, most studios have a whole backline of fantastic varied (expensive!) instruments that you would have at your disposal for that purpose. You don't need to have access to 8 different guitars at home, you really don't. Wouldn't it be cooler anyways to have people associate one or two guitars you like with you anyways?
4. There are two types of guitars: Those that intonate and stay in tune properly; and those that don't. Anything else is just taste. In fact, it is often refreshing to see bands play knock off guitars with cheap pickups in them, because they don't sound like everyone else with their Fenders or Gibsons (of which you see a ton of in EVERY genre -- I realize that in some sub-genres like metal you might see stuff like Ibanez more often).
WERDaen wrote:This attitude of "it's just a local rock show" is a plague.
Are you a woman?Aeon wrote: But come on, you don't want to be one of those 50-year-olds with 25 different guitars, do you?
yeah, but check out how much they typically spend on each instrument. and bowed instrument players typically have numerous bows on hand.Aeon wrote:but you really don't see pianists, saxophonists, or cellists hauling around multiple instruments to a show.
Well, if they were different enough...Aeon wrote: But come on, you don't want to be one of those 50-year-olds with 25 different guitars, do you?
No, but I happen to think those types of people on TGP and other similar 'dad-rock' message boards are sort of akin to the dude going through a mid-life crisis and going out to buy a sports car. Or the guys that own multiple Harley Davidsons. It is harmless, but it's sad to watch really.MaMo wrote:Are you a woman?Aeon wrote: But come on, you don't want to be one of those 50-year-olds with 25 different guitars, do you?
Are you telling me that a $1500 guitar isn't of the same caliber as a high-end flute? I realize the nature of the instrument, being stringed and made of wood, will expose it to the challenges of going out of tune frequently, but that's not a good excuse. My first guitar way back when (a Yamaha strat copy), stayed in tune just as well as higher end Fenders.bubbles_horwitz wrote:
yeah, but check out how much they typically spend on each instrument. and bowed instrument players typically have numerous bows on hand.
Lighten up, this is rock and roll. It's supposed to be fun. I particularly enjoy seeing local kids seize the moment, enjoy their time on stage, in front of an audience that may well have payed real money to be entertained. Act out, fucking spazz the fuck out, roll around in glitter and dropkick the drumset because playing on a stage is as much about you as it is about them.Aeon wrote:What irks me is the pretension that is prevalent in local underground music scenes. I've seen it where I live, I see it where I've visited. I hate the stereotypical 'rock-star' mentality, but I hate it even more when I see it in no-name bands that just finished their first demo album thanks to their friend that owns a firepod and a few mics. These are the guys that use guitars as a fashion statement.
This ^laterallateral wrote:
By the way, guys who use guitars for fashion statements are the same people for whom "being associated to one or two guitars" matters.
This I sort of agree with, you've reeled it back in a bit and it's making more sense. You see those old guy's collections and it's like 10 strats, 10 teles, a couple of what they would consider "odd" fender models and I think what's the point? I can totally see the point in having a couple of guitars that are similar though, firstly you've got a reliable backup that's not gonna fuck up your live sound and you seem to forget that guitars aren't just sound and tunings, they are also feel and comfort, two similar guitars can feel very different and this can affect the way you apporach them when you play and what you find easiest to play on them.Aeon wrote:The only point I can see in owning multiple instruments is the aforementioned multiple tunings, heavily modified setups, etc -- and that makes sense. Owning 10 guitars all tuned to E standard doesn't.