How many of you take the "easy way out" ?

[RD]

My trusty... Hello Kitty Strat and Roland Microcube!

This was taken at about 4 or 5 am when my buddy from Washington and a couple friends from San Diego came out and helped me dust about 3 cases of beer and a massive amount of bbq, don't really remember playing this until the next day when brandon posted it on the internet!

Vid 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnBLRAdvm34

vid 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5BnhrfUTeM

a while back before I joined Motive (2000) I was in my band "Exiled" signed by - Hellion Records" I was also in a Slayer Tribute band named "Raining Blood"... we played 40+ slayer songs live

[Mat]

not taking the easy way out, still tweaking; the quest for tone!

my shamray w/ bill lawrence XL pickup > mxr blue eq with my settings (none of that V shape or 'scooped' bullshit)> isp decimator into my powerball (with my settings, which are a bit harsher than most would recommend)

also tune half or 3/4rs step up at times on the E, but hey, it works

[MetalMedal II]

I read in an interview with the Late Great Dimebag Darrel that he considered getting a winning combination of a well known guitar and a well known amp, the "easy way out"

Honestly, Dime would sound good thru any decent rig. I, however, need all the help I can get!

[straycat]

In that photo Dime has a Washburn.

[straycat]

:ROTF:Totally killer Randy.:ROTF:

[RD]

:ROTF:Totally killer Randy.:ROTF:

Thank you brotha thank you...

[skorb]

According to Dimebag it was more challanging to make unusual combinations work,

that sounds like total bullshit to me.

to work with "more challenging" equipment just because - right, that's a player's goal.

he played whatever he was paid to play or got free gear from. like all the other guys.

[Franx]

Jackson -> Hughes & Kettner Switchblade (3/4 stack) with a Wah in between.

... and you got a point, Skorb ! It sounds a bit like "I'll do it with my eyes closed, just to have a challenge" !

And my "combination" is NOT the "easy way out" - it took me years and thousands of $$ in buying/selling gear to end up with this

[Rsmacker]

The time you "experiment" with getting a good combination of kit is when you are a kid and/or you are totally skint, out of necessity.

You start to play guitar on Dad's old Aria Pro2, find you have a talent for it, and soon you have an old Fender Dual Showman that's been sitting in your uncle's garage for 25 years. He gives it you for free, along with some nasty old WEM cab someone else finds in their shed. All kinds of family and friends remember old shite that previous boyfriends left in their house, so you soon amass piles of home-made pedals and cabs etc. Someone says that you can have a flight case they have had sitting about.

What? A real flight case? Wow, very professional!

You skip round there all excited to find that it's actually a box someone has knocked together out of MDF, painted black and stuck some aluminium edging on.
"Ah, OK, thanks Granny. No, it's perfect, really. Thank you."

So, you have some gear (and a natty "flightcase"), you join a band, make a row, and maybe, just maybe it sounds passable.
You then need a motor to get to practice so you save your money, keeping the same setup for ages because you have better things to spend your money on.
After a while people start to notice your band and start to ask about your distinctive sound. You sagely tell them you spent many years in the wilderness experimenting with sonic textures. Much of the equipment you are using is virtually impossible to get, you would have to go on a serious quest to find the same rig again.

The fan listens in awe. You are just soooo wise, a real guru.

Then, when you get some cash, you fuck all that old shite into the nearest skip, and go out and buy a Marshall head, 4x12 and a Soloist, which is what you asked your Dad for in the first fucking place.

If you are really unlucky you will get caught in the trap of being seen to have a magical setup, and end up feeling obliged to play a guitar made from bits of fireplace for 30 years (like Brian Fucking May).

Only misers and obstinate cunts who don't have to service these old bits of shit love them. Ever tried getting a pot for a 1943 steam-driven Tuba wah pedal at 6pm Friday night in fucking Telford becuase Mr Special Needs simply can't go onstage without it? No, nor me, but I bet it's a nightmare. What happens is, you tell him it's fixed, plug him into a cheap Chinese throwaway unit, and he's none the wiser.
Conclusion - It's all in your head.

Sooner or later in the quest for your optimum sound, you will hear it and want it. That's when you will find out it's the same combination you had 3 years ago but punted on for something else.

[FastJunkie]

Then, when you get some cash, you fuck all that old shite into the nearest skip, and go out and buy a Marshall head, 4x12 and a Soloist, which is what you asked your Dad for in the first fucking place.

One would have to have pretty wealthy parents to ask for a Marshall head, 4X12 and a soloist

[zeegler]

Here's what I'm using at the moment in the band:

B-52 AT-100 head
Peavey Butcher 4X12 cab
Lado FV
Washburn FV-20V
Jackson KV-1

[Endrik]

I'm doing it the Keith Richards way lately

Tele-->Mesa Mark series amp
and...ummm.... loud

[DumpyWumpy]

I play a 5150, it doesn't get any easier than that

That story is so true Rsmacker haha... For years I played an 80's Washburn Stage model through a Peavey Supreme head and Korg AX1000G effects processor for all my distorted tones. Now I have a 5150, an ENGL Blackmore, a Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier and a custom shop Carvin. Do I miss that old setup? Give me a break.

[Rsmacker]

One would have to have pretty wealthy parents to ask for a Marshall head, 4X12 and a soloist

Not really. I used to ask mine for those all the time, along with private skiing lessons and holidays in Mustique. Asking and getting are 2 completely different things though!

[akoch]

A Jackson archtop / Seth Lover pickups via VHT 50CL green channel. Ghmmmmm .... Ibanez works just as well....