You don't need better gear

what?

better gear makes you better. we all know that.

that's why "better" is in the phrase.

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brb, buying the latest thing.
 
Better gear does make it easier though, trying to learn double kick with a $100 PDP double kick pedal and you feel like a goon, hop on a demon drive and all of a sudden you can play bleed by wiggling your big toes
 
But what if I have more money than I do time and talent ?

Sure I could practice a ton and sound a lot better with what I’ve got, but, it’s simply so easy to just click “buy” on the internet and imagine my new stuff will make me sound better without putting in any additional effort.

Isn’t that the “promise” that always comes with a new guitar, new golf clubs, tennis racks etc ? That we can buy a shortcut :)
 
shatteredsquare said:
That's when you get to be sad because then you know the reason you still can't play. 'There's nothing left to buy and I still suck!' :confused:
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But I'm totally fine with never being a world class guitar player. I'm at an age where its simply not going to happen, and I have no desire for it to. I simply play for fun, just as I build guitars and effects for fun, buy gear for fun, and interaction with all you fine folks on this forum for fun.

There is no end game, no goal in sight. Its simply one of my many hobby's, and the enjoyment is simply in the doing. Its like playing golf... I don't think if I got better I'd make the PGA tour... I'm already too old for that lol, and I'm not going to be good enough to make the senior tour either. I simply enjoy smacking the ball around and walking a nice course. Hell, if they had a cheap option to pay $5 and just take the walk, I'd do that half the time LOL

I don't fault those who do dream of more, who want to get really good, join a band, get a popular record etc. Tons of people chasing that dream and I say keep on chasing it. BUT, also have to be somewhat grounded in reality. I'm 5 foot 11 and had a bunch of friends who were 6 4" and taller back in high school. When we'd play basketball they always liked to working on dunking, and as for me, it was like "nope", that simply isn't going to happen with my height and athletic ability.

Am I sad about that though ? Do I think think... man.... decades keep passing and I still have never dunked a basketball ? Not at all. Be happy with what you've achieved and where you are in life. Doesn't mean you can't try to improve in some areas but don't let those goals determine your happiness or lack there of.

Besides, there will ALWAYS be something more to buy =)
 
I thought buying gear replaced all that boring practice time :)


Satriani, Vai, Eric Johnson, Van Halen etc... could already play and used gear to embellish that even more. Nowadays it seems a lot of people (me included) come at it from the other end. I do plan on returning to practice more and the possibility of changes in my work may help that to happen.

On a side note I do believe practicing using what gear you have is as important as practicing new playing techniques.
 
Vai has like 400 guitars though, and he's really good.... so maybe adding a few more guitars is the key to being better ? If your still not better maybe you haven't found the right number of guitars ?
 
lqdsnddist said:
Vai has like 400 guitars though, and he's really good.... so maybe adding a few more guitars is the key to being better ? If your still not better maybe you haven't found the right number of guitars ?
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Having a different guitar and using it as a paddle to spank every possible note variation is definitely a good strategy :)
 
lqdsnddist said:
Vai has like 400 guitars though, and he's really good.... so maybe adding a few more guitars is the key to being better ? If your still not better maybe you haven't found the right number of guitars ?
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This is probably the best advice I would give anyone ;P. But I think it's short sided because you definitely need 10 plus amps in your collection to along with your Fractal gear to achieve any sort of skill. At least that's my experience. I've only got 5 guitars and my playing shows it. I could spend hours on hours practicing but I think I'm better off spending my money on guitars
 
shatteredsquare said:
he is using a knock off pig nose guitar with a peavey backstage 30 with a digitech rp 200
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When I reach Satriani's guitar abilities (will never happen) I will sell all my gear and buy a knock off pig nose guitar with a Peavey Backstage 30 and a Digitech RP 200.

Until that happens (never) I will play the best gear I can afford.

Oh ... and Satriani still sounds better with his real gear. So ... :cool:
 
Tone has always been in the fingers. Because how you approach your instrument, play your guitar, your playing habits, those are what make you instantly recognizable. That's why you can give shitty gear to a guy like Satriani and he will still sound like himself. The rest, getting the exact same gear, amps, pedals, guitars, that's just filling in frequencies. When you turn on the radio and hear a song and think 'is that Clapton playing?' you're not recognizing his tone, you recognize his playing style.
 
shatteredsquare said:


he is using a knock off pig nose guitar with a peavey backstage 30 with a digitech rp 200
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Maybe I don’t need better gear but I need more - starting with a pig nose guitar, peavey backstage 30 and a digitech 200. Then I’ll be able to play like Joe.
 
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