My conclusion about guitar gear forums

This forum is one of my favorite gear-based forums because sometimes solutions pop up for problems I never knew I had. Or random pieces of education that I wasn't looking for, but made positive impacts. Because of this forum, I have gone IEM, have gone full FRFR, have converted to a wireless mixer, and a bunch of other things. After absorbing or acting on bits learned here, I feel like I'm in a better place each time.

Thanks to yek's guides, I've learned more about tube amps in this single place than I learned in a lifetime up to this point. It's educational to see the approach fellows like simeon and fremen have in making presets. I've even bought a preset from Moke that helped get me through a gig.

A lot of what I get on other forums is just social enjoyment (or guitar/game/etc GAS lol). But this particular forum has had a tangible impact on me, and aside from the social aspect, I like the random bits of practical/useful info that frequently appear.
 
When there is nothing going on for months at a time, you check far less. I still check daily, but I don't expect to find much. The heyday of this forum was awesome. The ride up was exciting. I use chrome and I have a few set pages that come up every morning. This is still the first one I check. I guess I'm waiting for the next product to drop, because whatever it is I'm buying. I love this company!!!
 
Karl Houseknecht said:
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So I removed myself from TGP for a month, and guess what happened? I was happier, practiced more, played more, and was happy with the tones from my gear. I don't have GAS for anything. And...the same debates rage on those forums with or without me.

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I did this over 5 years back. I was out of patience with some of the more shrill aspects of that place. I took a month off to see if I could do it, and I just never went back. You're EXACTLY right, I played more, and was a much calmer person. Nothing like arguing with people who's only real duty in this world is to stir the pot (and who's minds will not see another viewpoint regardless of how delicately, diplomatically, or eloquently written.)

I check in occasionally, but I'm able to objectively look at that site and honestly say 'I don't miss it.'

FWIW, this goes for pretty much all other gear forums;TGP is not unique. (Outside of here obviously.) Some of the others were Huge Racks Inc before it went t!ts up, and others just plain had too many unbalanced people to even read casually (There was a small amp maker...you would know the name...even offered to fly out to my location, meet me in a McDonald's parking lot, and kick my @ass; very nice of him! I can't give the reason, as it will probably expose who it was.)

Anyway, congrats on your decision!
 
Hey Karl, I think you've done your fair share of guitar forums. I remember you to be very helpful on the pod pro/XT forums circa 2006/07. I can still recall the controversy of Hadley's "Harmonic Converger". Happy days. :):)
 
I lurk on TGP, but never registered for the same reason. I find it entertaining to read sometimes, but I really don't leave the soundhound lounge and the pub. Kinda funny, I go to the Gear Page for the non-Gear forums.
 
I find a lot of guitar forums are filled with lot of people who pontificate about tone, amps, guitars, gain, pedals, etc. who have never played a gig nor even jam/play with a real band. Not that there is anything wrong with that at all, but many of those guys strive to be the 'voice of authority' on gear and come across like they've invented everything and are the end-all-and-be-all of all that matters. Ultimately, the signal-to-noise ratio is unbearable and it's hard to find any useful information/takeaways from most discussions.

Camera forums are much the same way...guys who shoot pictures of brick walls and go on and on about barrel distortion, edge sharpness, etc. who never use their cameras in any kind of artful, useful, real world manner. While getting deep and techie about gear is awesome, too many miss the forest for the trees and have no context that I can relate to. And since so many are simply 'blowhards' I rarely frequent gear forums at all, and haven't for many years.

Having said all of that, I love this forum and check it daily...!!
 
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faulknier said:
I lurk on TGP, but never registered for the same reason. I find it entertaining to read sometimes, but I really don't leave the soundhound lounge and the pub. Kinda funny, I go to the Gear Page for the non-Gear forums.
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Seriously, Scottsville, VA? I live in Lake Monticello.
 
I think about this subject often. I enjoy guitar forums, and have been a member on many. TGP has been changing, as they always do. A lot of new blood coming and going.

I used to be quite the gear trader. Made a few bucks, but mostly to go through the gear to try out. I would probably go through ten to twenty guitars a year, about the same on amps. Try to buy local then ship when I was ready to move on. TGP was a great tool for information and values. But the market has grown weak, and will continue to slide for many reasons. Add to that unbelievable shipping costs, and it just isn't worth the trouble anymore. I've learned a lot from flipping gear. I know what I like now, and what works for me. So, I'm pretty set for gear. Still have too much.

But, I learned about fractal from guitar sites, so they can't be completely worthless!
 
Some of TGP's rules have me shaking my head some parts of their policies seem to violate other parts of their policies.

The other thing is, there seems to be members who deal with absolutes regarding gear a lot more the evolving shades of grey that most of us deal with when looking at gear. What one views as perfect gear is very individual and always a moving target IMHO.
 
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I've never been on TGP, but the stories being told about TGP on DIY forums always made me chuckle. Or facepalm. Never both though.

I used to be really addicted to a sci-fi forum, as I'm a sci-fi nerd, actively engaging in thread wars and stuff. Then I noticed that I was sometimes spending hours on end typing just a single reply. And for what? Because of what some guy on the internet was saying? It was also getting a bit way too PC for my taste and those weren't the discussions I wanted to engage in so I stopped, and like the OP said, the world moved on, the board moved on in my absence, and I gained a lot of useful time to spend on other things. Nowadays I only frequent forums that are useful me to and which don't sap most of my free time. A lot of DIY forums, because I like to build stuff, and this one because I own an Axe. I do frequent to off topic parts of those forums, which tend to be places that sap free time. But still nothing compared to that sci-fi forum. And even then mostly when I'm..., *cough* at work *cough* and looking for a little distraction. At home, not so much. Most weekends I hardly post here.
 
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