Guitar Gear Questions
Guitar Gear Questions
What guitar gear does a guitar player need?
A good amp, several good guitars, and a good cable is a start. However, it goes much deeper than that. You would like to have it all, I know I would, but you need to prioritize as to what is most important first and know what it is, how good it is, and how it works.
Guitar Gear Pages
On the Guitar Gear Questions page, and associated pages about gear, we want to look at topics like guitar effects. What is a flanger, what is a chorus, what’s a good delay pedal? Should I get a rack rig or a guitar amp? Are tube amps really that much better than the alternative? What does composite sound mean?…..and on and on.
Some people are gear heads, and others are looking for basic knowledge. I fall into that second category where I rely on advice of the experts. For example, when we talk about pickups, I seek the advice of those experts that have tried every pick up and are excited about the fact that one pickup has 100 more winds than another. These are people who actually read books about wiring diagrams from cover to cover. What I am interested in, is let’s boil that down to: this one sounds warm, this one sounds crispy, this one will spank your face, and that kind of thing.
What Do You Need
My short answer is that guitar players need lot’s of stuff, and more than one of everything. I have 9 guitars right now. That is not unusual for a guitar player to have that many. I know several players that have over 20 guitars. It is not a case of redundancy.
Each guitar has a different tone and a different feel. It’s tough to go to a music store, and after playing a guitar for just 15 minutes know that is the guitar that you want to play for the rest of your life. You need to work the axe and see what it can do and how it feels in your hands after time. It will sound different through your rig than it does through the amps at the store. One guitar might be good for Blues tracks while another feels and sounds better for Rock. A couple of good acoustic guitars is desirable. Acoustic guitars can have a wide range of tone or fullness. Sometimes you want that thin sound and sometimes you want the sound to be fuller and richer.
It is also always nice to have a throw down guitar that you can take to the lake camp and not worry about if it gets scratched or dinged.
Amplifiers
Amplifiers are unique. I have 4 of those and a rack rig. Two are solid state and two are tube amps. You can certainly spend a fortune trying to find the perfect amplifier. I have two friends that have done just that. One can just afford the expense, so he buys the amplifiers new. The other guy is not as wealthy, so he swaps and trades and barters. My friend who barters goes through amps like crazy. He really is a gear head.
The truth is that your overall tone is dependent on the whole package. In other words, which guitar you are using, with which kind of pickups in that guitar, with what kind of strings you use, with what kind of pick you use, in combination with what kind of amp you use, at what wattage, with what size speakers, with what brand of speakers, at what ohms is all part of what gets you the tone that you are after.
That is a lot! If we boil all that down, a guitar player needs at least two amplifiers. You’ll need one at small wattage for quiet gigs or practice, and one with large wattage for bigger venues.
What Else?
We’re not just talking about the guitar rig, but also practice space, travel cases, studio gear. Ideally, you can set up a space in your home where you can practice and not be disturbed.
An environment that is comfortable, well equipped, and puts you in the right mind frame. If you are a vocalist you need to sing really really loud, or have a PA System. I’m just kidding…..you need a PA System. In the space that I use to practice, I like to have some way to easily record ideas. I have found that sometimes, the musical ideas sound different to me when I listen back to them than when I am performing them.
A music stand makes practice much easier than staring down at a desk or table. I like to have some surface where I can quickly tab out, or notate out a phrase.
Too many of my ideas have been lost by my misconception that I will remember it the next day. The next day usually all I remember is that I had a cool idea the day before.
Reality
In reality, depending on your goals, you can get by with your guitar, your creativity, and your personality. You can get gigs, write songs, and be a guitarist.
However, if you want to be a bit more fundamentally equipped: 2 electric guitars, 2 acoustic guitars, 1 throw down guitar for camping, 1 small amp, 1 large amp, cables, guitar cases, a music stand, some way to record, vocal microphone, PA System, picks, strings, transportation, delay pedal, reverb pedal, distortion pedal, chorus pedal, a space to practice in, and some friends to jam with.
Questions and Answers about Guitar Gear
