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Gearstalkers


Pete Academy
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We must all be Bass Geeks to be on Basschat!

I'm always interested in what gear people have, but I never usually approach them to talk about it unless it's someone I know. Don't mind if anyone asks me about my gear, but it's usually when I'm busy packing away, and I can't be arsed to talk to them!

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[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1318965250' post='1408405']
Nine times out of ten for me its "Does that one go to eleven?" asked by someone who thinks them having asked this is the funniest thing thats ever happened :) .
[/quote]
I usually whip my cock out and say "This one does".

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  • 1 year later...

I was proper gearstalked at the weekend... the guy had watched the set whilst googling everything on stage so he could be informed when he engaged me in conversation. Scary stuff.

Thread resurrection - I remembered reading this thread first time round and just reread it. Got to love a good gearstalker!

Edited by EBS_freak
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Just read through the thread for the first time, thanks to the resurrection.

I'll always have a quick look at gear, more so if it's a professional band - to get an idea of what's out there and worth looking into. Only once had a chat with a guitarist about his set up, as I had problems with mine and his thoughts helped!

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I have my leg pulled about this all the time. :blush:

When we finish playing, people seem to ignore the rest of the band and make a beeline to me wanting to know everything from what effects I'm using through to the brand of strings.

The worst one started off with "I see you're using speakons instead of jack plugs..." :blink:

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[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1267109295' post='757133']
I think this is part of why I have an inverted snobbery when it comes to my gear - my aim on the whole is to use the cheapest stuff that will get the job done. I'd far rather someone see my cheapo "beginner's" bass, expect me to be pretty useless and then be surprised by my prowess than raise expectations with flashy gear only to disappoint them when I start to play. :) In reality, of course, the vast majority of people won't notice or care in the slightest what I use anyway.
[/quote] +1 - Squier bass, dinky little peavey combo, monster sound

Having said that, there are quite a few 'musos' out there that have ALL the gear and none of the talent.


Gearstalking - C'mon, everybody looks don't they?!

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Funnily enough, I got an email this morning informing me that someone had contributed to a 6 year old thread on the Warwick forum, started (by a 'gearstalker'?) in honour of one of my basses. [url="http://forum.warwick.de/showthread.php/3312-Vintage-Streamer-Stage-I-in-concert"]'ave a butchers[/url]

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We had to do a gig at a well known London club as a warm up for an international tour - it was for a boy band and several female vocalists, just a backing band for the names.

Onstage I had; 2 x Fender Strats my first one was a 1960 clone Custom Shop relic in Candy apple red. The second was an SRV with a few mods to make it less SRV'ish and it had the clapton boost fitted. My amps were a Fender Prosonic 2 x 10 and an old Fender Twin 2 x 12. A Dunlop GCB95 Wah wah and 2 boost pedals (MXR clean boost and Ibanez TS9) and an amp switch. Simple setup - Normally I used a JCM800 Jubilee, but I did not fancy hauling the cab about and it was overkill for the size of the gig. A 'fly' rig as such.

A middle aged guy came up to me and said 'Fender amps are sh*t, that is gonna sound so sh*t and why would a boy band need a guitar player?'....he tutted and said something about how I should be using Mesa Boogie if I was a 'real' guitar player.....he said something about his Mesa Rig, pedal board and Gibson guitars, but I was not listening. I was talking with my shared tech (shared with the bass player) about mic'ing up.....

My retort 'What the f*ck is a middle aged man doing at a boy band gig?'

He walked off.....

I hate gear snobbery.......

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[quote name='aende' timestamp='1360761009' post='1975949']
'Fender amps are sh*t, that is gonna sound so sh*t
[/quote]

That kind of statement just makes me laugh. How can anybody tell what an entire rig is going to sound like in another player's hands before they're even started playing? I sometimes groan when I see an amp I don't think very highly of, but I wait until I've heard what the player can do with it before I make any judgement. I hate Behringer amps but I heard one guy make a gorgeous sound out of his! And even if I didn't like it, I certainly wouldn't go up to a guitarist I'd never met before and tell him his gear is sh*t!

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PRS: Great guitar, lovely to play. Mesa amps; well built, reliable and sound great in the right hands ( I find Mesa amps really sterile when I have used them - not suited to my playing style)

But a shitload of cash does not buy talent....And I don't really care what people use as long as it sounds good and makes them feel good.

In the band I play with, the guitar player has a PRS, it is beautiful to play. But he does nothing with the flexibility of the guitar - it is either clean or distorted to kingdom come.....

I have always been happiest with a simple rig; the guitar I used the most throughout my career was a Mexican Fender 'Road Worn' strat with custom shop pickups, played great and sounded great. my preference was for Fender Prosonic amps, but I tended to use one only and have a backup, just in case and very few effects, like 1 or 2 with me.

Even playing a few big Arenas; 2 or 3 guitars, 2 amps and maybe 3 pedals.....job done.

I think that people forget that each member of the band contributes to give the music colour.....An over active ego is very easy to spot and can ruin a great sound.

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[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1360761659' post='1975969']If I see a guitarist with a PRS and MesaBoogie, I tend to roll my eyes in disgust. There goes somebody who has gone into their average high street music shop and bought the most expensive stuff they had... and convinced themselves it sounded good.[/quote]

If I see that sort of gear in a pub I know it's going to be a band I don't like. Probably some old blokes with beer guts playing Eric Clapton tunes. There tends to be more than one guitar per guitarist too, sometimes half a dozen, all in pristine condition, usually with gold hardware. Mid-life crisis gear.

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[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1360761659' post='1975969']
If I see a guitarist with a PRS and MesaBoogie, I tend to roll my eyes in disgust. There goes somebody who has gone into their average high street music shop and bought the most expensive stuff they had... and convinced themselves it sounded good.
[/quote]

Yes, I have never been that impressed with PRS guitars, tonally. But the top end ones are one of the ultimate 'flash your cash' guitars, so if you're the kind of person who solves most dilemmas by throwing money at the most expensive option they will appeal. Despite sounding pretty run-of-the-mill.

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When geeks meet geeks its a beautiful thing.

I always have a crafty peep especially is tghe noise coming off the Bass is a. amazing or b. utter bobbins.

The last band I was in, I doubled up on EUB (one of those rather nice, cheapo Stagg jobs) and Mandolin. I could understand the occasional bemused look by punters at the Bass, but often people would stare at the Mando as if they'd caught sight of Lord Lucan riding Shergar.

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