I caught a YouTube short recently, I think it was Agufish, not someone I often watch but he's fun sometimes, and he said that a lot of guitarists start out hating teles. Then one day you look at one and go, 'Yeah, I'd like that.'
Which is funny because that's my story too. And I don't even know when I switched. Just some time about 2 years ago.
Frederik, that Godin looks wild. Is that a MIDI pickup?
Huh I thought that was a string mute but now that you mention it I am also curious
Yeah, I found it after I asked.
That's it, yea. It's a ton of fun to make noise with. Bleeps and bloops and strings and oboes and stuff.
So I've been playing guitar for 25+ years, but have never taken it notably seriously; I think I have a really good grasp of melody and rhythm, but that's from endlessly screwing around on mostly acoustics. In my post-daily parenting life now that the kids are off to college, I'm of course finding new stuff to do, and a coworkers invited me to join a little cover band he put together because I'd played with him in the past, and they needed rhythm guitar and some backing/occasional lead vocals. My guitar just didn't sound as good as the other guitarist and my annoying Fender Mustang 2 modeling amp's controls weren't flexible enough, so, well, I appear to have found myself down the guitar pedal rabbit hole, and I now no longer have to actually be good to sound good. Yay!
Oooh! Nice selection.
I hang out at a particular guitar shop because I like they carry more unusual lines; I've bought two Hagstroms from there, plus they also have Reverend and Supro, which both have all sorts of more unique instruments, and the owner is super chill about everything, and it's just a really comfortable place. It's also the shop with probably the best pedal selection in the state, and he has a wall of new and vintage pedals from probably a few dozen lines, so, well, it's easy to get both advice and new stuff, you know? The Big Muff was necessary, and, yes, I did start playing Cherub Rock after I hit the first note, and that little Nux Mod Core was absolutely intended to be the "what do I want" pedal; it does Chorus, Flanger, Univibe, and Phaser, and, while it doesn't do any of them great, it's a solid little learning tool. I've been binging the JHS Pedals YouTube channel, and love how the guy constantly talks about other people's pedals and recommends them, and when I found a Lucky Cat on Reverb for a lower price than everyone else, I bought it; it's got both digital and analog delay, and it'll help me learn what I want. Also, it's pink, sparkly, and has a cat. Also also, goddamn, it sounds great, so many options. I went into the shop last week because I was getting some buzz on that pedal and wanted to check it in a different environment, and it was clean (I think I have a wiring problem in my basement, as it sounded fine the other night at practice), and, well, I'd just been on Reverb looking at reverb pedals, and had literally just been looking at that Keeley Verb o Trem right before I left my house, and, well, he had it for $15-20 cheaper than I was seeing it online, so I shrugged and bought it. It's cool.
The thing is, I'm no planning on keeping all these necessarily, and, once I know more, I'll sell off the ones I don't want, and the difference between what I paid and what I get? That's my tuition for the things I've learned.
Reverend is probably my favorite smaller brand of guitars. I have one and I want more.
I've told myself no more guitars unless I make some money from the ones I have, sell them, or make them. This is sort of back firing in the sense I've just spent that money on pedals but hey those are easier to store at least. Having said that Reverend's stuff is cool and I would like one of those St Vincent guitars someday
Oh yesss. Those are super nice!
Kinda hoping for a new model with her new album out this month but the red one I meant to post is sick as hell. I like the gold too but it's not quite my style
The one advantage of playing lefty is so few opportunities to buy a new guitar. Typically whenever I see a signature guitar I say "Ooooh shiny, is it available LH?...Nope"
I hang out at a particular guitar shop because I like they carry more unusual lines; I've bought two Hagstroms from there, plus they also have Reverend and Supro, which both have all sorts of more unique instruments, and the owner is super chill about everything, and it's just a really comfortable place. It's also the shop with probably the best pedal selection in the state, and he has a wall of new and vintage pedals from probably a few dozen lines, so, well, it's easy to get both advice and new stuff, you know? The Big Muff was necessary, and, yes, I did start playing Cherub Rock after I hit the first note, and that little Nux Mod Core was absolutely intended to be the "what do I want" pedal; it does Chorus, Flanger, Univibe, and Phaser, and, while it doesn't do any of them great, it's a solid little learning tool. I've been binging the JHS Pedals YouTube channel, and love how the guy constantly talks about other people's pedals and recommends them, and when I found a Lucky Cat on Reverb for a lower price than everyone else, I bought it; it's got both digital and analog delay, and it'll help me learn what I want. Also, it's pink, sparkly, and has a cat. Also also, goddamn, it sounds great, so many options. I went into the shop last week because I was getting some buzz on that pedal and wanted to check it in a different environment, and it was clean (I think I have a wiring problem in my basement, as it sounded fine the other night at practice), and, well, I'd just been on Reverb looking at reverb pedals, and had literally just been looking at that Keeley Verb o Trem right before I left my house, and, well, he had it for $15-20 cheaper than I was seeing it online, so I shrugged and bought it. It's cool.
The thing is, I'm no planning on keeping all these necessarily, and, once I know more, I'll sell off the ones I don't want, and the difference between what I paid and what I get? That's my tuition for the things I've learned.
Definitely post here when you look to sell the pedals!
A video showed up a few days ago in my recommendations with this guy's "Top Five Campfire Songs" based on his criteria of easy to play, easy to sing, multi-generational, etc. Quick list was:
5. Margaritaville
4. Good Riddance
3. The Joker
2. Brown-Eyed Girl
1. Country Roads
Of this list, Country Rroads is the only one I have played regularly at jams, so I will definitely try out the rest and see how I like them. Thoughts? What would you add? I really love to jam to Friend of the Devil and The Weight, but they are not as well-known for singing along as these others. Maybe Sweet Home Alabama goes on the list, or Creep.
The only one on that list I play is Good Riddance. Super easy and fun and a way to toughen up the pinky.
I finally found my armless rocking chair for guitar playing:
Now I just need a porch and some grandkids to watch playing in the field or somehting.
Strummin' my six string,
On my front porch swing ...
Now I kind of want a 9 string acoustic so I can play Animals As Leaders on the front porch
I am incredibly picky about the feel of guitars; I have picked up hundreds of instruments since I bought my Hagstrom Super Viking back in 2017, and I've put them all back. I've been playing a lot more lately so have been actively shopping for one, and it's been such a dead end. Thought the PRS Silver Sky looked great. Hated the necks. Went through a load of G&Ls at my favorite store; none of them were right. I've tried Danelectro and Gretsch and Fender and Gibson and just over and over couldn't find anything that felt right . . . until Saturday. I made a pledge long ago to never buy a guitar the day I buy it; I need to think on it so I don't make a dumb decision in the moment. So I thought and thought, and then realized my shop is closed on Sunday and Tuesday, and Monday was a holiday, so I had to wait. Until today.
The Reverend Jetstream 390. This thing is goddamn amazing.
Triple P90s, and the third knob on Reverends is a "bass countour", which basically rolls the bass out of the pickups. When it rolls all the way off, it gets this single coil cleanliness, there's humbucker chunkiness when it's all on, and it's more traditional P90 in the middle. It's bizarre how much of a difference it makes, it's not just another tone knob, totally changes the sound of the guitar in such a huge way.
I adore my reverend jetstream rb. You made a correct choice. The problem you are going to have now is how to justify buying more Reverend guitars.
Congrats on your purchase and I hope you many years of happy musicianing with it.
Also that color is gorgeous!
Why not continue to document my journey and/or obsession . . .
The current chain goes Boss Compressor --> Tuner --> Big Muff --> MXR Sugar Drive Overdrive (Klon clone) --> Wampler Triumph OD (switches between Boss SD-1 style and Tube Screamer) --> Digitech Mosaic 12-string simulator (very niche, but currently needed because I don't want to lug my 12 string to practice anymore and will be selling it) --> JHS Lucky Cat Delay --> Earthquaker Astral Destiny (Octave Reverb, it does cool things) --> Boss SY-200 synthesizer --> Flamma looper/drum machine.
Yes, it's getting silly.
I didn't even want the synthesizer, but, well, I had this old Charvel Desolation I honestly couldn't stand; it was an active pickup, 24 fret shredder that I'd bought for my daughter when she wanted to try playing because it was the right color and was easy to play, and she hadn't touched it in years. I hated that damn thing, it was just so loud and aggressive. I listed it for $350, some retired guy told me he didn't want to spend that much but had stuff for sale, so, well, for $100 and the SY-200, he has a guitar I hate, and I have a frankly ridiculous number of options for a synth I don't want to use much,but I'll play for a while and sell. On that same trip, I picked up the new reverb pedal, so I essentially traded a guitar I never played for two pedals, so, you know, a win.
My old Boss SD-1 OD, Keeley Verb o Trem reverb/tremolo, and NUX Mod Core (flips between Chorus/Flanger/Univibe/Phaser) have been fired; I wish them much luck in finding a future role. The NUX one was good to know what I want, which is, at some point, likely the Boss WazaCraft Chorus (I like Chorus) and a relatively simple Phaser (because sometimes I want my guitar to sound like a spaceship).
Thats a sweet board full of tasty bits right there. I have resisted buying pedals because I understand the rabbit (money) hole you dive into. I am jealous though! So much fun!
Very jealous, but also overwhelmed. I wouldn't know what to do with all those bells and whistles.
It's a definite rabbit hole, but I'm trying to make it a point to buy most of my pedals for less than what I could sell them for on Reverb, so for a lot of them, they're really just a rental while I learn what I like. I signed up for Facebook again after deleting it in November of 2016 CAN'T IMAGINE WHY just so I could buy and sell guitar stuff more easily. I've dumped a guitar, got rid of a Boss multi-effects pedal that annoyed me, acquired the two above, got the looper as well, and have the other three I need to list. It's pretty easy living in a big metro to find and get rid of stuff, so it's pretty easy to try things and then move on.
Very jealous, but also overwhelmed. I wouldn't know what to do with all those bells and whistles.
This was why I resisted pedals; I didn't know where to start, so I didn't start at all. Fortunately, my guitar shop is basically the pedal shop around here, and I just walked in one day and said I was going to buy some stuff to see what I liked. The little NUX modulation pedal has like eight different settings of different modulation effects, so that let me figure out all sorts of things. I started watching the JHS Pedals channel all the time, it's just entertaining info about pedals from a guy who will straight-up tell you somebody else's pedal is better than his, and you should buy it instead. Both my overdrives are based on his recommendation. I've watched stuff on channels for Sweetwater, Wampler and loads of others just to learn, then I go to my guitar shop and he lets me try stuff.
There's absolutely a financial commitment here, but, well, I feel like I spent a minimal amount of money for a solid 20 years where almost everything went to the college fund, paying off the house, or retirement, and I'm finally at a point where I feel like I can actually spend a little money, and it's really opened up the guitar. Plus I can suck technically and still sound cool, that's a big bonus.
Now can I resist that Chorus pedal somebody just posted on Facebook Marketplace about 10 minutes from my house . . .
Just learning to slap.
Why not continue to document my journey and/or obsession . . .
The current chain goes Boss Compressor --> Tuner --> Big Muff --> MXR Sugar Drive Overdrive (Klon clone) --> Wampler Triumph OD (switches between Boss SD-1 style and Tube Screamer) --> Digitech Mosaic 12-string simulator (very niche, but currently needed because I don't want to lug my 12 string to practice anymore and will be selling it) --> JHS Lucky Cat Delay --> Earthquaker Astral Destiny (Octave Reverb, it does cool things) --> Boss SY-200 synthesizer --> Flamma looper/drum machine.
Yes, it's getting silly.
That seems like a nice selection and I wouldn't call it silly. 2 distortion/overdrives with flexibilities, fuzz, delay, reverb is a strong base and pretty fundamental. The Mosaic is useful to your specific needs as is the looper. Only 'silly' thing is the synth but you got a good deal and can have fun with it. I'd also try out some chorus options and call it a day.
Thats a sweet board full of tasty bits right there. I have resisted buying pedals because I understand the rabbit (money) hole you dive into. I am jealous though! So much fun!
A good while back, there was a company that advertised as "like netflix for guitar pedals" meaning the pre-streaming version of netflix where you paid a subscription fee and received dvds in the mail. Seemed like a great idea for somebody who wanted to experiment with pedals, not sink a ton of money into them, and not have to deal with constantly buying (preferrably used) and relisting them. It's not in business anymore though, so while a good idea in theory, I suspect there just wasn't anyway to make it profitable.
I've been learning the main riff to Sonic Youth's Kool Thing and let me tell you, bending two strings on the fifth fret of an acoustic guitar is a nightmare if you aren't practiced. Need to get back to fixing my Jazzmaster...
That seems like a nice selection and I wouldn't call it silly.
Oh, I know, outside of the 12 string simulator and guitar synth, it's a pretty standard set of pedals. The reason it's getting silly is I bought my first pedal about three months ago, and it's already grown to this, and this doesn't include the three pedals I've already kicked off the board. I'm sure we're all obsessive nerds to an extent, this is just becoming my current obsession.
A good while back, there was a company that advertised as "like netflix for guitar pedals" meaning the pre-streaming version of netflix where you paid a subscription fee and received dvds in the mail. Seemed like a great idea for somebody who wanted to experiment with pedals, not sink a ton of money into them, and not have to deal with constantly buying (preferrably used) and relisting them. It's not in business anymore though, so while a good idea in theory, I suspect there just wasn't anyway to make it profitable.
That would be . . . odd. Honestly, if people want to get into pedals, there are multi-effect units that can give you a whole bunch of options in one box. I picked up a Boss GT-1 for $120 a couple months ago, dinked around with it, didn't like it, and sold it for a $120. That being said, it's a good way to know what you like.
Or . . . buy a Boss Katana modeling amp. There are digital emulations of basically all the BOSS pedals built into it, and you can connect via USB and just turn on a Blues Driver or Phase Shifter or anything else. It's a giant world of pedals in an amp that sounds really good on a clean channel, and if somebody's looking for an amp, the V2s are really cheap right now as the V3s came out recently.
MrDeVil909 wrote:That seems like a nice selection and I wouldn't call it silly.
Oh, I know, outside of the 12 string simulator and guitar synth, it's a pretty standard set of pedals. The reason it's getting silly is I bought my first pedal about three months ago, and it's already grown to this, and this doesn't include the three pedals I've already kicked off the board. I'm sure we're all obsessive nerds to an extent, this is just becoming my current obsession.
Ah yeah, that makes sense. But as nerdy obsessions go it's fairly harmless as long as you're not buying a Klon for $5k plus
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