Amp after amp after amp after amp...... neverending cycle for me.
I've been playing guitar since I was 17. Since then I don't know what all equipment I have used. From my mom's genuine vintage Fender Mustang and Princeton Reverb combo to Crate, to Peavey, back to Fender stuff, Mesa, Bogner, Fender again, and again. It's rediculous!! Along with countless effects that I have purchased and shortly thereafter sold (Thank you eBay!!!). My quest for "the sound" is not unlike that of any other musician I would guess, but man does it get excessive!!! Musiciand know these pangs for new technologically advanced audio nirvana!!! Then we seem to always gravitate back to the good ole tube amp in it's many forms and fashions!!!
Why is it this way?
I was talking to my dad about this the other day. He, of course, didn't get it. "Son, I just don't know why you buy these amps and sell them almost immediately! I don't think they make the one you're looking for!!" A completely understandable response!! I don't understand it sometimes either. But as I look over my dad's property and see several projects strewn about, I think to myself," Self, he just doesn't get it in musical equipment terms. He DEFINITELY knows what it is to search for the right parts. The quest for that particular something." And then I started thinking... I know... always dangerous for me....
There are certain things that human beings (not just musicians) go through or experience in one form or another. There are two things at work here IMO, that we all go through.
1- Greed-
That's right greed; envy; jealousy. This is definitely the darker of the two things I think play a role in this "search" for that certain something. Let's be honest: we all go through this feeling at least once and it usually strikes us in the area we care the most about, or at least in an area that we show particular interest. I mean, it's hard for me to be jealous or envious of a television repairman's job or whatever. I'm just not interested in it. But, when I go see a hoppin' (or whatever you kids say these days) band perform, I can't help but want to be up there on stage!!! I always size up the gear and take notes on what/how they are playing. Then later I sell all my amps and buy the one they were playing only to realize that AIN'T the sound I want! :) But I think there is something more important at work when we realize that we're looking for something. Please.... continue..... to number 2
2- We're all searching.... (ok I know it's not parallel, but I couldn't think of one word to describe)
Inside each one of us there is a desire to search; to know; to learn. It's just there. Whether you are that TV repairman seeking a deeper understanding of the LCD or LED or old tube type television sets, or if you're a musician trying to find a "sound". It all boils down to that innate desire to know. to KNOW things about ourselves; about our world, about our environment. Maybe even about why we're here. Doesn't it make sense that all this can be connected? I think it does. I think that it is something that is woven into the fiber of the human thread. Something we can't separate because it defines us. Maybe this is too deep of a though coming strictly from acquiring gear as a musician, but it seems like actually looking at these things in our lives can help us to understand things a little better. Have you ever thought about what you search for? Or why you search for it? Or if it has any bearing on the way you look at life? Next time you just have to have a certain car, or a certain guitar or amp, or a certain house, or etc etc etc, ask yourself why? Think about how that plays into you being YOU. And then tell me it's coincidence that we all feel that way about things.
Nice post Jarrett -
ReplyDeleteThose things you are saying, and the grass is always greener...
I've developed an axiom for myself in these situations and it has staved off many a purchase due to gear lust, and that is:
"What I really need is more time to practice"
When I look at it that way, things become a lot clearer.
I've noticed many guitarists enjoy saying something like "It's all in the hands".
I can't say I agree, it's not ALL in the hands, but IMO it's MOSTLY in the hands. How many stories have you heard or read about such and such famous guitarist walked in, picked up whoever's guitar and gosh he still had that unmistakable, identifiable, unique sound that everyone knows him for, even without his own gear. A lot of it is having a sound in your head and executing it with technique instead of equipment. It's very, very, hard for most of us to come up with a unique identifiable sound. I lieu of that we can borrow other people's until we come up with our own. It's no big sin. Almost everyone does it. Heck, Wes Montgomery did it. Les Paul did it. Chet Atkins did it. And they were certainly not alone in this. They all started out by emulating someone else, having some kind of musical epiphany, and moving on with a lot of effort towards their own musical identities. This may never happen for me. The epiphany may never come. For sure it'll probably never come unless I get what I really need: More time to practice (and perform).
Oh and...remember to contact me before selling off any of your gear ha ha ha.
I agree! And that IS the way it happens. Those who find what they're looking for are content wherever they go and whatever they play through. It's surprising and a no-brainer all at the same time. We say," Man, I could never make that amp sound like that!" Then we say," But it IS Luke playing, so it's no big surprise." But then the rule is there is no substitute for practice time..... except a steady influx of gear! :)
ReplyDeleteSometimes I've found that a new piece of gear (of any variety) can bring on inspiration. It sometimes has a way of opening up secret doors. And sometimes I've just had a feeling about a guitar or whatever without having a clear idea.
ReplyDeleteRight before (maybe 2 weeks) before I left Boston I bought my Gibson ES775. I just had a feeling I'd be playing jazz someday, I'd always wanted a "jazz" gee-tar and I knew I might never get the chance to shop for one again the way I could right then and there. I could never have guessed what would actually follow.