Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
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gishuk
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by gishuk » Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:48 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:39 am
Well, having sold one, packed up another pending finding a buyer, and given one to a friend this is how things are looking:

Image

...and a lot of empty Hercules hangers drilled into the wall.
Maybe I should buy a fancy guitar rack that ONLY holds 5 guitars and have that as a physical restriction.
That has been part of my system for a while as I know that any electrics I own that don't fit on the rack next to my amp won't get played, and the rack is full.

Not counting acoustics, Bass VI, ukes or anything else though :D

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by JSett » Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:51 am

gishuk wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:48 am

Image
Good selection there. How's that little Mustang treating you?
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by gishuk » Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:59 am

I really like it, does a totally different sound to anything else on the rack and the small neck width and small scale is actually so comfortable.

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Jan 20, 2022 9:07 am

Singlebladepickup wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:21 am
Some people find restricting themselves to certain tools or methods to be inspiring. There's also the whole thing about only keeping things that spark joy, and having too many material possessions can weigh on a person... Different strokes and all.
I do most of my writing on a cheap Dano U1 reissue. It’s always out on a stand and ready to go. I don’t even plug it in. If I have too many options at this stage I just noodle and never get anything done.

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by JSett » Thu Jan 20, 2022 9:09 am

gishuk wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:59 am
I really like it, does a totally different sound to anything else on the rack and the small neck width and small scale is actually so comfortable.
For sure, it's kinda deep and narrow. My Firestang is exactly the same...great to play if your hands are a little sore or you're feeling kinda lazy
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by SignoftheDragon » Thu Jan 20, 2022 9:50 am

Damn. I have too many 12-strings.

I got into a bad habit of buying, selling, upgrading, and trying to play EVERYTHING out there, and now I am flush with guitars that I won't play- especially with the demise of my band. (Seriously- EFF this pandemic and the ruin it has wrought.)

I mean- I only play 12s, and had gotten into a comfy-ish space where I could have, play, and actually USE 5 (or even 6) guitars on stage during a show:

#1 in drop-D tuning
#2 in Drop-DG tuning
#3 for a backup string-break guitar (usually backing up #1)
#4 (optional) 2nd backup
#5 Acoustic/Electric for our opening sing-along/intro song
#6 tunable feedback machine- basically a guitar facing a small amp just for feedback washes, etc.

Technically, I could pull it all off with one or 2 (I do break a fair amount of strings) and have done when the parameters of the gig wouldn't allow the 'whole enchilada.'

So, I counted yesterday, and I have 14 guitars, 13 of which are 12-strings.

There are 5 of those that I LOVE, and will likely never part with, but the rest are basically there for me to try out during the pandemic, and then sell on. I still have a few that I'd like to seek/try out- I haven't managed to get my paws on a Reverend Airwave 12 or a Rick or Guild, but I'm starting to lose the fire for it, y'know?

The culling is coming- time to re-open the Emporium in the for sale section... If anyone is looking for a 12-string, there are some bro-deals to be had in there before they hit the bay/reverb.

Here's the rack-shot that got me thinking about the end of my "try to play them ALL!" journey:
Image

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Trout » Thu Jan 20, 2022 10:36 am

Hold that thought… oh no it slipped away :whistle:
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Telliot » Thu Jan 20, 2022 10:54 am

As a general rule, I try not to keep any gear that isn't being used regularly, or at least semi-regularly. For one, I have limited space and don't have any tendencies towards hoarding. Secondly, I'm a minimalist at heart; I absolutely loathe clutter in my life.

After growing up with very little, and then going through a phase where I was constantly buying and selling (but more buying), I realized most of what I had was cheap gear that didn't do me a whole lot of good, which prompted me to consolidate. I sold most of what I had and bought my first vintage Fender. (Had I known what prices would be like today I would have made more of an effort to buy a couple others while they were still affordable, but here we are.) Years later, I find myself kind of trapped in that 'buy vintage' mode. I've definitely fallen in love with old instruments, and modern ones mostly leave me feeling lukewarm. At this point, I've got 7 guitars total -- that includes 1 acoustic, 1 bass, and one 12-string. My 2 electrics are my JM and a Tele. (I included my very first nylon guitar my parents bought me for xmas when I was 14 in the overall count, but it rarely gets played, if ever.)

Every once in awhile, I consider going through another consolidation. I'd love a vintage Tele, but goddamn these prices! There are other guitars or basses I've always wanted, as well, not to mention more high end mics and preamps, etc. A pre-war Martin would be so amazing, but I'd need to sell everything I have to afford one.
The cool thing about fretless is you can hit a note...and then renegotiate.

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Larsongs » Thu Jan 20, 2022 11:10 am

Some years ago I had one Acoustic Guitar & used to live in the Woods in Northern Minnesota… Played Solo Acoustic Gigs at Bars & Parties for a year & a half.. Loved it. But, after a while it got boring….

Lived outside D.C. played in a Rock Band & played Gigs for a year & a half. The Dummer & Bass player got arrested & thrown in Jail for dealing Marijuana. I had 2 Guitars. 1 Acoustic & 1 Electric. Loved it while it lasted…

Then I moved back home to So Cal. Since then I’ve played in several Bands. Playing multiple Genres.. As deals came along I acquired several different Guitars & Amps. A couple duplicates but mostly one of a kind Guitars that all do something different… I enjoy picking up a different Guitar & hearing what’s going to come out of it next. I love all of them & all their different Sounds.

I see no reason for minimalism anymore… Been there done that… Like you say, Different Strokes..

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by JSett » Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:11 pm

I'm a realist and I feel I'll likely end up cracking and having 1 more, possibly on a revolving basis. Kinda like having one spare seat on a roadtrip and picking up hitchhikers and dropping them off along the way. Pick them up, get to know them and enjoy their company for a while then leave them at the side of the road when the time comes. Never with the aim of adopting them into the family, just along for a part of the ride.

This will enable me to keep my hobby of looking at gear, and the experience of trying new things, still active in my existence without the committal of trying to convince myself that I should only buy something because I definitely want to love it.

I mean, there's lots of guitars I'd still love to spend some time with, if only for a fleeting and hot affair :D
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Sauerkraut » Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:45 pm

seenoevil II wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:41 am
Sauerkraut wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:23 am
seenoevil II wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:53 pm
There is definitely something super appealing about gear monogamy. We really love the Jonny Greenwoods and the Steve Howells and the Brian Mays and (of course) the Willie Nelsons of the world. It's really romantic. I gotta say that guitars I get the most enjoyment from playing are the ones I've messed up the most.
Personally I'm a little skeptical of the one guitar thing.
Eh, I stand by my points. You don't need guitarsenals to be a functioning or even exceptional guitarist. Some people accumulate them, others don't.
This might be confusing, cause this is the internet and it might seem we’re supposed to, but I don’t actually disagree and wasn’t attacking you. You can be an exceptional guitarist and own just 1 guitar or 2000, or a crap one for that matter. Some bands couldn’t have made the music they did without loads of guitars (Sonic Youth), others don’t need many. Obviously there are no rules and what works for me might not work for someone else.
Personally, one guitar would limit me more than I like. But I don’t need more than 5 or 6 that cover different ground. I totally understand folks who have a “revolving” guitar or two just to try different things. This thread gave me the idea of swapping guitars with friends sometime, just to try models I’ve never played before, haven’t done that before.

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by zhivago » Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:03 pm

JamesSGBrown wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:00 am
I love how this thread about cutting down on gear resulted in the most expensive purchase of my life :D
:D :D :D :D :D
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by mackerelmint » Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:11 pm

I went through a big paring back of my gear a while back, in part because I was moving, but in part because I felt like I had too much just knocking about. And I even set myself a maximum number of guitars I could have: "My guitar rack has this many spaces and I have this many hangers and it adds up to way more guitars than most people have so that's where I'm gonna stop the accumulation".

I think, at some point in the future when there's more space for it, I'm going to let myself toss that one to the winds.

What's stuck, though, is my amp and effects minimalism. I have a tube amp, a clone of sorts of a Vox AC 15 by ace tone. It's a cool amp and a keeper. I also have a pathfinder 15 that I love, and a weird-ass stereo setup with a power amp and a couple of 112 cabs and a preamp pedal that can be changed out to taste. I don't see myself ever expanding beyond that, it's all I could ever need.

With effects, I replaced most of my pedals with a Zoom MS70 CDR, and realized that I just needed a couple of pedestrian dirt pedals and that's it. I can get away with the tuner in the pedal if I want to, although I have a proper tuner pedal. Same story with a compressor.

So my thought process, I guess, was all in putting as much function as possible into a small amount of stuff. The amp can be a Hiwatt or a Fender or a Marshall or whatever I want it to be, more or less. Will it sound exact? No, but I'm not chasing anyone else's sound, really, so that hardly matters to me. I can more or less add an amp by getting a pedal, and the zoom pedal is everything but dirt, which I don't use a ton of anyway.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, my partner's 14 year old has spent the last year learning how to build and fix and mod pedals and has slowly overtaken the office with his GAS. ;D I dunno how many pedals he's up to at this point, but it's a lot. Dozens. When he's not playing "Dopesmoker", he's building a new, heavier pedal to play Dopesmoker through. ::)
This is an excellent rectangle

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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by zhivago » Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:12 pm

Telliot wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 10:54 am
I'd love a vintage Tele, but goddamn these prices!
My god they have shot up through the moon, haven't they? :(

The one last vintage guitar I'd love to have and spend some time with, would be a white guard mid-50s Fender Esquire....preferably round '55, so it still has the flatpole pickup...but my god they are so, so expensive...even refins are getting to the unattainable part and I refuse to get into debt in order to get a guitar.

I keep trying to figure out ways to make it happen, but it would mean giving up guitars I really like...First World Problem, for sure! :-[
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Re: Gear minimalism as a thought process...

Post by Telliot » Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:23 pm

zhivago wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 2:12 pm
It's absolutely insane. No matter how much I look, I keep coming back to the conclusion the Tele I've built from parts checks all the boxes (aside from the vintage aspect). Maybe I could justify buying a vintage body at some point, but I have to ask myself what my motivation is. Is it just to say I have a vintage Tele, or is there some other magic involved?

#rhetoricalquestion ;)
The cool thing about fretless is you can hit a note...and then renegotiate.

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