the gear musicians use

[Daveoftheband]

couldn't think of an apt title for this thread but was wondering because of the endless debates i have with people how your taste/preference in gear has changed since you started playing? my taste was totally influenced by what i lsten to.

when i first started playing in bands (1995, i'd been playing guitar for a year) i used this strat i got from my neighbour. it was ancient and chipped and full of dents but sounded amazing, a boss chorus pedal, a shitty delay can't remember who made it but it was dinghy, cry baby wah pedal, and an ancient marshall (yes captain ahab) jcm 600 but that wasn't mine i just used it. it actually belonged to the guitarist in this clubby band my stepdad played for. it was kept at my house.

that was during the time i played (tried) of metalica, pantera, nofx, green day, oasis, blur and manic street preachers and that.

then i bought another strat but it was a squire bullitt series and absolutely dire! so i moved onto buying a telecaster and just used whatever amp i could get cause i was skint as fuck. at that time i was playing pop punk

then the more i got into really fast and more technical music thats when i got into stuff like esp and what i like now (mainly because of the gear strung out and dillinger use)

so yeah. anyone else?

[njw]

As a bass player, I started off with a cheap Ibanez, because it was cheap. All the bands I was into mainly used Fender Jazz and P's, and even as my tastes have changed, they still use these basses. Today I play Fender Jazz... Regardless of musical style these Fender classics are found everywhere, from metal to punk to pop to r'n'b to dixieland to hip hop to level 42.

[I_got_a_mohawk]

I started on an Ibanez bass into a guitar combo, that ibanez bass i have is great, i still love playing it through my current setup.

Ive always leaned towards wanting a dirty sounding bass setup most of the time, but also play alot of cleaner blues and jazz at home.

About a year after playing i got an Ibanez EDA905 bass, which, is great, i really like it, and love the different sound it has, amazing for harmonics!

Soon after this i got my first real bass amp, which was my Peavey firebass 700 with a 4x10 peavey bass cab, for the money, this was a great rig, a bit cleaner that id want, but, still good all round. I soon added aTech21 sansamp BDDI to this setup, that gave some great overdrive to it.

A few years down the line, id aquired an Ibanez BTB406QM 6 string bass, which i love to bits, especially for jazz and blues.

I got an Ampeg SVT-II a year or two ago, because, the tube bug bit, and, it was the sound i wanted, the head was a great price, so, couldnt help it, thanks SAAS!

Soon after getting the SVT, i got a great deal on a peavey 2x15 D BW, i dont know why, ill be honest, i wasnt a huge fan of 15" speakers, but, i was really looking for a different sounding cab, And its great, i still use it alot!

About a year ago (probably less) i got a great deal on an Ibanez ATK 400 bass, these things are very similar to MM stingrays, but, a bit different, great pickup, great punk bass! Also, around this time, i had a bit of cash and decided i wanted a hot rodded bass as a main backup and practice bass for punk. So, i got a dirt cheap Aria Pro 2 second hand, and eventually did a pile of custom wiring to it with new pickups and such.

Then, only a few months ago, 4-5 maybe, something popped up that really caught my eye, a nice marshall sealed 8x10 cabinet, just what the SVT was needing, a ported cab with an SVT just isnt right, and, wow, its such a stereotypical rock setup, SVT into a sealed 8x10, but theres a reason, the sound is just sooo full and just right, no matter what bass goes through it, it makes it sound huge. Using the Tech21 BDDI pedal with this setup is just a perfect tone for me. Any bass i have just sounds "right" through this setup.

I still use me peavey firebass into the 2x15 cab for a big but clean sounding setup and practice at home, but, mmmm, the SVT, cant beat it live or in any band situation!

Guitarwise, i started playing on a peavey raptor years back, and a few months later picked up bass and used the peavey guitar combo as a bass amp. When i went back to guitar that amp just sounded to horrible to me, so, did a bit of looking about and got a peavey classic 30 guitar combo, very nice little amp, was looking for a bigger sound tho, and a bit more distortion, so, recently got a Peavey 4x12 cab and added a Trace Elliot speedtwin amp to that, now playing an Epiphone SG in place of the peavey raptor.

[scottyboy]

i've played guitar less than 3 years. started with a les paul copy because, obviously, i didn't know anything about guitars and it just looked the coolest.

changed from that... didn't have any real money so i got a made in korea peavy generation. (though i quite fancied trying out one of those fender tornado things just cos of the racing stipe). again, due to lack of cash i play through a behringer v-amp, which i have on good authority (mrlizard) is 'shit'. no wait... crates are 'shit'... behringer is worse. so that would make my amp 'worse than shit' or something what i do like about the amp is it has the modelling thing so i can get any kind of tone (albeit a probably shit replica) and the effects. i like the guitar because it plays well and i like the fact its got a neck + bridge humbucker and a middle singlecoil.

as for listening... well i play what i do cos i couldn't really buy anything better at the time. originally i liked to play led zep and blues so a proper les paul would have been great. then i liked playing widdly stuff so i guess an ibanez would have been great for that. still like that but i got back into blues and trying to bring jazz into it a bit. dunno what would be great both. setup does the job but then i've never played through anything that would be considered good to compare.

[Egoslave-Caldo]

So i started playing a jim decon bass a few years back don't know the model or anything it was cheap and really easy to pick up and play. When the student loans stated coming in and i decided to go out and buy a EH Big Muff (Usa), EH Bass Bass (usa) and a Epiphone Thurderbird. the thunderbird was a beast to play so most of the time sat and collected dust.

Around this time i also decided on a amp a Torque T200-1EBH and peavey 2x15 D BW (i think)
Still using this pair today but not a big fan of it.

Since then i have played and ibanez bass borrowed from my guitarist in all the girls. was really nice to play and sounded better than the JD.

When joinin THIS JULY, i decided to get some use out of my Thunderbird for it big fat meaty sound and once i got my hands around it loved playing plus it looked fucking great.

But now i have went and bought myself a Fender Jazz Aerodyne and i love it.
Looks amazing, sounds amazing and plays like a dream.

Over the time i have also picked up a whole load of pedals.

Now its time to hit the amp shop or if anyone has a cheap head at least going let me know.

[Daveoftheband]

Originally Posted by Clogs

As a bass player, I started off with a cheap Ibanez, because it was cheap. All the bands I was into mainly used Fender Jazz and P's, and even as my tastes have changed, they still use these basses. Today I play Fender Jazz... Regardless of musical style these Fender classics are found everywhere, from metal to punk to pop to r'n'b to dixieland to hip hop to level 42.

my brother-in-law swears by fender basses. think he's after a "P" but don't know too much about them as basses are a clue-less subject with me.

[Rosco the Bosco]

i played les pauls, then i played a tele.

[ubermensch]

I'm still, somehow, playing my first electric guitar - an Epiphone SG. It has miraculously survived 6 years of abuse, but I really need to get shot of it sometime soon.

Considering getting a Gibson SG standard, but I'm also considering other double humbucking options...

[I_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by Egoslave-Caldo

Around this time i also decided on a amp a Torque T200-1EBH and peavey 2x15 D BW (i think)
Still using this pair today but not a big fan of it.

Im pretty sure you have the same 215 as me, there were 4 different types, there was the normal cabinet and the deep one, the deep one sounding better, and each cabinet came with either standard peavey speakers (scorpions) or black widdows (better ones, much better, have the silver dustcap). If you runa good amp head through that cab, it can sound awsome

And i still really want one of those aerodynes!

[gav]

got my first guitar about 10 years ago, it was just some crappy les paul copy. couldn't ever get the strings up high enough to avoid buzz on the low frets. borrowed an old old practice amp off my uncle that mustve been about 30 years old. eventually got a peavy rage practice amp, its loud and sounds crap. so i still use this today... great. i got a Washburn KC-70V off a mate a few years later, it was a bit of a change for me cos it had a floating bridge and was a much more metal guitar, only problem was it kicked out a lot of feedback too easily. in the end i sold this and got a sexy looking matt black epiphone SG gothic, in retrospect this was a step down in guitars, but i really wanted it cos it looked cool. once i got fed up with the head heavy design i sold it and got my stupid looking plastic plank last year, for some reason it plays and sounds better than the epiphone, not bad for £60!

after getting that though i decided i wanted a proper amp, so i get a mode 4 4x12, i was assured this would be very loud... pretty sure thats correct. picked up a H&H power amp off ebay for £70 and used it as a guitar amp, for some reason this worked really well, also got my first schecter which again was a step up from the SG. around the same time i bought my first pedals, just a big muff (russian), boss eq, double muff and a line 6 echo park, these seem to do me quite well, but i'm looking to get something that gives a more straight up metal sound.

in march i picked up a sound city 50 plus head, this has been the best buy of the lot. sounds sweet as a nut, so i sold on the H&H. most recent purchase has been another schecter, i tried quite a few different guitars, i really fancied a tele but its still just out of my price range. new schecter feels great though so i'm more than happy with it.

most of my purchases have been influenced by price rather than seeking out items so i can replicate the bands i like. wouldn't mind getting a sound like bongzilla though, proper fat sound.

next purchases shall be an octaver, maybe some different distortion pedals, overdrive pedal, and maybe a sexy tele... it'd also be a lot better if i could play haha

[Shawman]

you're all wrong1 good musicians use crate amps

[Daveoftheband]

Originally Posted by Shawman

you're all wrong1 good musicians use crate amps

right! get out!