Do the ends justify the means...

[cobbler]

I am no doubt one of those guys the pros and struggling musicians hate.

I'm 55 and was so busy with my work (IT for a major aerospace firm) and a sports career (traveled the world playing wheelchair basketball for the USA) that I never got the opportunity to follow a childhood dream and learn to play the guitar. I bought a nice Taylor acoustic in 95 and basically learned the same chords and handful of songs over and over again for over a decade. I finally retired from playing ball in 07 and am retiring this year from my real job. So early in 08 I decided to finally put some effort into learning guitar. Being a techie guy I was also interested in the new boom in home recording. I bought a Strat at that time and have an original 65 Deluxe Reverb that was given to me as a child by a neighbor who worked for Fender. I pulled it out and realized right away that learning and playing at volume does not sit well with the girlfriend and/or neighbors. Heck, it was downright embarrassing. Dogs, cats, squirrels, and children ran in fear. ops

So off to Guitar Center I went to buy a kidney bean I could use headphones with. They were out of stock and I have counted my blessings ever since. I did some research and decided to buy an Ultra. Was it way beyond my capabilities? ABSOLUTELY! But then again, so were my Taylor 810 and American deluxe Strat. But at my age and with my wallet I wanted quality gear and didn’t want to step my way up to it. I have had many friends or acquaintances tell me I don’t deserve such great gear along with all the horror stories of their transition through the amp, pedals, and guitar ranks. My thinking with the Ultra was I can play at low volumes or with headphones and try out all the amps and effects and when I get to where I am happy with my skills I’ll go out and get the real thing and know what I want in the process. No desire at all to do that now.

So I have been learning and consider myself a beginner to intermediate “bedroom” player. I have no desire to play in front of an audience. Now with all that said, I bought the Ultra and Danielle went way above and beyond the call helping me due to a mix up with the credit card company and I was sold on FAS as a small and emerging company along with their vision to be involved in the community and enhance the product whenever possible. I cannot think of a better piece of gear to learn the entire signal chain with. It’s a great learning tool if you don’t let yourself get too frustrated or intimidated. It was all there at my fingertips and would have cost me ten times what I spent simply to tryout what most likely would never be used to any real extent. I now have a II and several other guitars and again they are way beyond my skill level but that gap is closing daily. So yes, many pros and/or seriously skilled players may think its overkill and someone at my level just doesn’t deserve to own such quality gear and to them I simply say “you were not there all those 16 hour days debugging code that gave me the opportunities I have today”.

I have learned quite a bit over the last 3 years about guitars, amps, pedals, audio interfaces, recording, speakers etc. I truly believe, right or wrong, that it would have taken me many more years to get to this point had I gone the analog route of purchasing piece by piece. I owe much of that to the Axe-Fx and the many gracious and helpful people on this very forum. It’s the very reason why I try to do what little I can to answer this simple stuff here from time to time.

And IMO the cost has been relatively cheap when considering the hours on end of fun I have had on this journey. And for those few rare moments lately when it all clicks and I actually pull something off that all of you are so adept at…PRICELESS!!!!

Sorry for rambling...

 

[nikki-k]

I used to tour the A and B club circuit in the US, primarily east coast. I also did FOH and studio work (both sides of the glass) with various bands from that circuit, as well as doing some freelance one-offs with some more well known bands, including doing LD work (I actually love doing LD stuff). I have worked some of the big names in the DAWquencer/plug-in world.

And now I sit in a wheelchair, when I am able. My injuries, and their severity, plus my tolerance for pain, dictate the amount of time I am afforded out of bed. Most of my gear has had to have been sold, for one reason or another. Some of it is what I call "recycled cash"; I sell something to buy a different something. I am currently trying to craft a guitar/bass holder from plywood, corner brackets, and an old, rusty double-brace cymbal stand so that I can play for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. The Axe-Fx has been one of the biggest pushes for me to want to tolerate pain just to play more than that 10-15 minutes. I also have "double tinnitus" (not a real thing; it is simply tinnitus from one injury, and once again, worse, from a second), and blood pressure can make it quite annoying. Other medical conditions make life even more interesting.

So, I guess I am simply a bedroom player. I have nothing to show for it, and no real practical application of my use to share. I can say that the Axe has driven me to find a way to play again, even if it will (likely) never be on a stage, or in a nice, "world-class" studio. But, music has always been for me first. If others like it, cool. And same with my opinion. It is only that.

 

[ianx]

MY NAME IS JERRY AND I AM A TONE CHASER!!!... I'm still searching for the holy grail of tone, but I think thats part of what has been driving me all these years. I started gigging in 1977 at a club called "The Prancing Pony Of Bree", doing Wednesday & Thursday nites, I was in the ninth grade. Pretty much been gigging regularly since. Right now I'm gigging 6-8 nites a month in a classic rock cover band and doing some occassional live production work, I also have a day gig working from home in the IT field, a very understanding wife, and extended family so my life can be very chaotic at times, but i always seem to find time to noodle around with my tone.
I try not to be judgemental about musical styles, I don't think of it as this is bad or this is good, to me, everything is different and has at least some quality that excites my musical curiosity.
I too wish FAS had been around all of those years ago... just think of all of the money I would have saved, not to mention my back... hauling half stacks & racks of gear.

 

[Tone Control]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I really do value your thoughts.

The purpose was my friend in Nashville took a picture of Brent Mason's live board, which had 5 or so pedals on it. He posted it to the gear page, to show what 'real' players were using. I see obsessive people with ridiculous amounts of gear.

Not sure I like the "real" or "obsessive" bit. Anyway, even with lots of gear, as many Pros have, plenty would not choose to take much out to play, depends what range they need to cover. blues player won't need The Edge's rig.
I did cold turkey on pedals for 10 years, and even now would be happy with one nice DDL and a top-notch subtle OD pedal.

btw, When people get better paid jobs, or acquire money somehow, they should be able to buy more kit than is essential, to enjoy as part of their lifetime core-hobby without being mocked - are they supposed to just bank the money, because their lack of fame or Pro credentials means they don't deserve to have more than a basic set of kit?
(actually, I am embarrassed about the kit I own - it is self-indulgent, but excessive not obsessive - spending £20,000 on upgrading hifi in a small 1 litre car would be obsessive. However, I have spent a long time acquiring my kit, it probably averages out OK over time, but the end result does look a little excessive)

 

[Dancing Frog]

I played with a reggae band, a praise band, and a pit orchestra for an amateur theater company at my work regularly until 2009 when I suffered from transverse myelitis, a spinal cord disease, that left me numb below the waist, messed up my back, and took me out of the game. I also was the recording engineer on the reggae band's last album. Since the disease, my health has been kind of dodgy, but I have managed to play in the pit orchestra a couple of times. I came to the Axe Fx because I needed to reduce my rig to components of less than 40 lbs which is the max I can lift and because I needed a boat load of different tones in a highly controllable set up.

I don't consider myself a pro by any stretch of the imagination as being a pro would imply that I am trying to make a living off of music. I respect those who can, but it's not for me. I make a comfortable living in a highly technical profession which some have called "rocket science."

 

[chris]

gigging musician on a break, just getting back into it. most recently played guitar 2-3x a week for 3 years in various bands here. back and forth between drums a lot before that. technical type with a non-engineering mind.

i respect all different types of players mentioned in this thread, but i have to say the "weekly gigging" type has different demands and needs than a bedroom player or a once a month type. for me it's all about consistency and reliability. a touring musician needs even more of that stuff!

 

[rdomain]

I play in a wide variety of bands and ensembles. From ambient minimalism to extreme death metal. Also well respected in the free impro/experimental scene. I've mostly used my AxeFX for live use and it serves me well for the various styles I cover. All original bands btw.

 

[clarky]

Nikki - jeez.. that really is heart wrenching stuff.... don't really know what to say beyond that I really feel for ya....

 

[thewizardguy]

I would think that most of the people that have the time to spend on the forums are generally not the same type of people who would be playing music for money. Different priorities. So based on that alone, you should not be disheartened by a lack of positive replies.

 

[favance]

I play almost every night, at home. I'm currently playing out this Friday (bar band). I try to get out and play a few times/month. It's getting harder and harder, mainly because I always seem to be the one providing, setting up, and running the PA...and it's getting harder as I get older. That said, I'll never stop playing as long as I can...

 

[Sammetal91]

I'm a bedroom dude although I've had a couple of opportunities to join bands yet my protestant upbringing, paranoia and my lack of dedication always made me turn down the offer. Everyone in my general area where I live is into Dubstep, rap, or hardcore and although I respect and dig the stuff, I can't bring myself to play those genres.

After high school I just straight up worked and ate for about a year until I decided my job really sucks and need to go somewhere in life. So I picked audio engineering and have stuck with it since.

I've always wanted to make an album or an ep (especially for death metal) but it seems I can never make anything I'm happy with as I am very self critical. I still cringe when I post anything metalesque of mine but I do it because it won't hurt too much. I have never played live with a band ever but I do play for my church and my axe fx is used every time. But the main purpose of the axe fx for me is having high quality recordings for my engineering stuff without the calling of cops and disintegration of smaller objects in the way of a 4x12.

What's funny is all the advice I give seems to haunt me as I run into the same problems that people I advise run into and think "now what Mr engineer genius advice guy? Try using that knowledge now!" So It's interesting as a budding engineer to tackle stuff with learned knowledge. I'm babbling at this point but hey can you blame a 20 year old whos doing mental health billing at this moment? I need sleep :lol

 

[jon]

Sam my man, i know what you mean - I'm really critical of EVERYTHING I do, and it hampers me from actually releasing stuff. I play it for some friends, and they love it, but I'd listen to it and shudder and go 'meh, that sounds horrible.......needs to be fixed' and go and redo it.....again and again :/ My strong point is songwriting too, and I do the same thing......happens so often that I end up throwing away a lot of stuff, just because I find it's not 'good enough' :/ It's a problem I have, and I'm still figuring out how to manage and fix it :S

 

[Sammetal91]

Sam my man, i know what you mean - I'm really critical of EVERYTHING I do, and it hampers me from actually releasing stuff. I play it for some friends, and they love it, but I'd listen to it and shudder and go 'meh, that sounds horrible.......needs to be fixed' and go and redo it.....again and again :/ My strong point is songwriting too, and I do the same thing......happens so often that I end up throwing away a lot of stuff, just because I find it's not 'good enough' :/ It's a problem I have, and I'm still figuring out how to manage and fix it :S

the difference between you and me Jon is that you have a name for yourself in the music industry. I'm still trying to develop my tone without sounding like garbage being grinded down by an angry garbageman with a cheesegrater. :lol

 

[guittarzzan]

...been writing songs for about 25 years and started getting serious with recording some of them a few years back. Played in a rock cover band for about 4 years. Glad I did because it helped me realize that creating my own music is sooooo much more rewarding than playing others'. It may not pay the bills for now, but I'm very creative and like a shark needs to keep swimming, I need to keep creating. I consider myself a talented songwriter, a mediocre at best singer, a mediocre at best guitar player and a pretty decent home studio engineer hack. Oh, and I can deadlift 405lbs at age 42. Does that count?

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

Does it matter? I'm a bedroom guy...that happens to get press and go on the road. But in the end all this nonsense is just that. If the Axe makes you wanna play guitar and/or your having fun tweaking the money was well spent.
The only guys that get to me is the know it all, amateurs that talk to "lesser" players.

 

[sprint]

I am no doubt one of those guys the pros and struggling musicians hate. .

Same story here:
-50 Yr old Beginner (moving into intermediate I hope) / basement player.
-Always wanted to play guitar and never had the time / means. Decided to do it a few years back.
-Being an IT guy I enjoy the technical side and am not afraid to roll up my sleeves on that stuff.
-Yes - I have too much gear, and yes I am constantly mocked about it but I'm too old to care what people think.
-I recommend any beginner who has the $ to get an Axe-Fx because when you start playing you need all the help you can get and great gear helps a lot. Plus if you quit you can sell an AxeFx for great resale $ and, going the cheap route, you'll probably end up spending the same $ on gear turnovers anyway.
-Like all hobbies I've ever taken up - I like to get into it 100% for maximum enjoyment.

 

[clarky]

there seems to be a recurring theme here about being critical of your music..
couple of things:
- in a home studio these days you can get great results, but you will pretty much never get that polish that a pro studio will get..
those guys will spend more on a mixing desk and outboard than you'll spend on a house..
the guys recording and mixing are often highly experienced
- when it comes to the music itself, you are so familiar with your own style that to you it can seem unexciting, predictable and even a bit lame..
but you listen to everyone else and they blow you away... has it ever occurred to you that your music has the same effect on them as theirs does on you for exactly the same reasons?
- writing alone has it's advantages [you remain focused on the theme, you do not compromise, there's no one else to appease etc]. And with our own home studios it's easy to lock yourself away [I do it myself]. However, do not rule out collaborating because when you find a writing partner that you click with you can really start bouncing ideas off of each other and something seemingly ordinary can really spring to life.
- if you're not a multi-instrumentalist, get help with other instruments.. a guitarist will never play bass like a bassist because they think and approach the instrument differently... and... I can always hear when someone that knows very little about drums tries to programme them.. good drum programming is an art and really requires you to know the basics of actually playing a kit.. so.. if you can't do it yourself but want convincing drums, get help from a real drummer [even if you are programming rather than recording him/her]..
- finally, you need to know when to let go.. when the recording, performance or song is as good as you can get it.. you can lose weeks trying to find something extra and end up not making much of a difference.. never lose sight of the fact that an exciting / emotional performance is better than a perfect one... so know when to stop re-recording cos you have to be able to move on..

 

[luke]

Anytime someone begins their conversation claiming the moral high ground, throws in an insult to others for good measure and finishes up with a pseudo apology we are smack dab in the middle of Trollsville.

I've seen plenty of hackers playing out live during my four year stint "on the road", which was in the 1980s when guitarists were expected to be at least good.

 

[guittarzzan]

I used to tour the A and B club circuit in the US, primarily east coast. I also did FOH and studio work (both sides of the glass) with various bands from that circuit, as well as doing some freelance one-offs with some more well known bands, including doing LD work (I actually love doing LD stuff). I have worked some of the big names in the DAWquencer/plug-in world.

And now I sit in a wheelchair, when I am able. My injuries, and their severity, plus my tolerance for pain, dictate the amount of time I am afforded out of bed. Most of my gear has had to have been sold, for one reason or another. Some of it is what I call "recycled cash"; I sell something to buy a different something. I am currently trying to craft a guitar/bass holder from plywood, corner brackets, and an old, rusty double-brace cymbal stand so that I can play for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. The Axe-Fx has been one of the biggest pushes for me to want to tolerate pain just to play more than that 10-15 minutes. I also have "double tinnitus" (not a real thing; it is simply tinnitus from one injury, and once again, worse, from a second), and blood pressure can make it quite annoying. Other medical conditions make life even more interesting.

So, I guess I am simply a bedroom player. I have nothing to show for it, and no real practical application of my use to share. I can say that the Axe has driven me to find a way to play again, even if it will (likely) never be on a stage, or in a nice, "world-class" studio. But, music has always been for me first. If others like it, cool. And same with my opinion. It is only that.

Nikki,

Don't know if you remember me, but you were extremely helpful a few years back when I was building my first dedicated DAW computer. I have a pretty nice signal path for two channels: Chandler/Vintech-Distressors-Anamod-Burl a/d. If you EVER want to track something and want to use my little home studio, just let me know. I owe ya one.

cheers,
Steve

 

[Robboman]

Just thought I'd share this.. Jack Semple is one of the best guitar players I've ever heard, certainly one of the best in Canada, but still somehow more of a working class semi-unknown. I first heard him in the early 90's when he won a national TV 'top guitarist' contest on MuchMusic (Canadian MTV). Jack is amazing and works constantly, mostly in western Canada. He was in my city this past weekend, sold out the venue as always.

His rig? Peavey Bandit 112 with a Boss ME-30 in front. No shit. I've never seen him use a different Strat in 20 years.



Is his tone the greatest I've ever heard? No.. but it's actually really good for what he does. Even as tone-anal as I am, I don't really notice anyway. When Jack plays I just get lost in the music and his spectacular guitar playing. The packed house sure doesn't care what kind of amp he's using.

Would I ask Jack for tone advice? No way. What works for him simply wouldn't for me. I would get much better value from the advice of all the bedroom shredders on this forum.