Gear vs Playing out question

[nightterrors]

I was in a few bands from 2008-2012, played quite regularly, did pretty well actually. I quit them all because I felt like I wanted to explore music/gear/sound more.

Started building up on pedals, amps, basses, guitars, cabs etc.. for the past year or so to start the band i'm in now/ another band I want to start.

I do miss playing live... it will happen again soon enough. I'm in no rush, I'm 20 years old.

[ChetMagongalo]

I do miss playing live... it will happen again soon enough. I'm in no rush, I'm 20 years old.

Yeah I feel this way too. I just wanna enjoy myself while i'm young. the majority of the groups I like have older dudes in it, at least older than me.

[01010111]

This is something I think about a lot. I think if you bring gear to a show you should rock the shit out of it, if you bring a massive synth rig to a show and only use it to play one song out of a ten song set, you're not using the synth setup enough to justify bringing the whole synth setup. It's like the tgp guy who takes a $20,000 rig to the local bar to play a couple of Eric Clapton covers, he's not playing his stuff enough to justify having it. I love my synth stuff, but unless I plan on playing at least half the songs with it I just don't bring it.

I've thought about letting people borrow my gear at shows and I always waffle on the issue. I always put a lot of thought into shows and playing out, so why shouldn't other people do the same? And if you're not willing to fork out the money to buy an amp to play shows with, you probably shouldn't be playing shows. On the other hand, if your stuff goes on the fritz at the last moment it would be nice to borrow something to play the show with, but the thought of other people using my shit sure makes me nervous.

[goosekevin]

play maybe 10/12 times a year?
i have an 8 or so pedal setup at a time, use most of them in a gig - if i dont, i will probably trade them. i mostly DI when playing bass, use the venue amps if im playing guitar (i only recently realised, not every venue provides backline) or use my mates if we are playing a gig together

i am pretty easy on lending people things, lent my bass to a guy i had talked to for 2 minutes and was totally cool with it, his jack fell into the bass about 2 minutes before they were set to go on
never been asked to lend pedals, probably wouldnt lend my board but would let people use individual pedals, especially if they need them
have given pedals to people in my band for free before

[coldbrightsunlight]

On the topic of lending, whether I'll do it or not depends on the gear and the person in question. I'm happy to let people I like use my amps, because what are they gonna do to fuck up an amp? But I'd be a bit more cautious about lending someone my guitar because even though I know it's tough and they won't break it, I don't like taking the chance. I normally only play with people I know well though, so I tend to let them use anything.

[skullservant]

I've been debating getting a 2x12 cab for my Traynor, but at the same time I've been trying to JUSTIFY it, because I don't honestly play out enough to NEED it.

[Jwar]

Never play out, and rarely get to play with other people. Mostly due to lack of time now. Oh and drive. Fuck...

My set up is broken down like this

bass-1800
head-650
cab-350
effects- (roughly)2685

5 and a half grand. Is that too much for a guy who doesn't play out? Probably. I have fun though. That's what's important to me. It's gets me inspired and motivated to do other things. Plus there's the eventual thing of getting together to play with other people. I'll never be a pro, but more than likely a garage guy forever.

[hbombgraphics]

dude, I don't even want to total up my pedals and amps and stuff
sadly most of my pedals are worth more than my main guitar

paid 100 for my mexi strat back in 99 and it is still number one
I may total things up later but Jwar just made me sad and happy

[skullservant]

Oh God I don't want to talk about how much things have cost...

[Ancient Astronaught]

Oh God I don't want to talk about how much things have cost...

Agreed......

*edit* but now that its crossed my mind i have to figure it out....

Guitar Amp + Cab = 1200$
Bass Amp + Cab = 800$
Main Guitar + backup = 800$
Main Bass + Backup = 700$
Guitar board = 2000$
Bass Board = 700$
Cables = 300$

Total = 6500$ in gigging gear.
Not including the 4000$ home amp rig and 2 other guitars and another backup bass....

[hbombgraphics]

are we using retail prices to total up the pedal board?

[Ancient Astronaught]

are we using retail prices to total up the pedal board?

I used what I paid prices for everything...... Retail pricing would not look pretty....

[hbombgraphics]

good good
although I can't always remember what I paid for stuff


I am over 3 grand I think on the main board

fortunately I am at like 350 for amps so it all evens out
if loving crappy amps is wrong I don't want to be right

[skullservant]

Main Guitar: $2k
Jag: $350
Kramer: $450
Verellen Stack: $1k
Msc Amps: $250
Pedalboard: about $700
Other pedals: About $500
Pedalboard: About $200

Over the past year (since I joined ILF) I've probably spent close to $8k on gear that's been flipped...

[dubkitty]

if i'd paid retail for my main board it'd be close to $3000, over if we include the looping setup. happily, almost everything was bought used...out of a total of 24 devices on the 2 boards only seven were bought new and the only one that cost over $200 is the Randy's Revenge. i got some KILLER deals e.g. i got the SCF for like $165 when it was retailing for $365. my big worry is that if i take the board out and something happens to it there are some boxes which are out of production and would be difficult/expensive to replace, e.g. the TC SCF and the EMMA DiscumBOBulator.