(01-09-2016, 06:22 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: [ -> ]Ikr? In the late 90's I thought it was cool just to have your own 4 track to record with. The advancements over the last 10+ years have been pretty amazing.
I swear, if they had all this stuff back when I started playing (1992) I'd be such a better player. These little ***** today have it made.
I distinctly remember taking whatever little money I had once a month and buying the new Guitar Player so I can actually learn a new song. That was the only way to get tab if you didn't buy the books. And shit, half the time I didn't even like the songs, nor did I own the tapes. So I'm learning shit like Candlebox, without anything to play along to.
That and the old instructional videos were crazy expensive. I bought the authentic Electric Ladyland VHS for 49.95. Nowadays all that shit is on youtube.
Unlimited tab, videos, backing tracks, drum beats, all at the click of a button. And you can get a used POD or V-amp for like $75 and have tons of tone options. I had a Peavey Bandit, a Metal Zone, and a shitty DOD Chorus. And I saved up forever to buy that shit too.
(01-10-2016, 04:03 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: [ -> ]I swear, if they had all this stuff back when I started playing (1992) I'd be such a better player. These little ***** today have it made.
The generation before you said the same thing. They complained because all they had to learn from was audio recordings and they could never see any video of what a great player like Django was actually doing to produce the sound.
(01-10-2016, 04:03 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: [ -> ]I swear, if they had all this stuff back when I started playing (1992) I'd be such a better player. These little ***** today have it made.
I distinctly remember taking whatever little money I had once a month and buying the new Guitar Player so I can actually learn a new song. That was the only way to get tab if you didn't buy the books. And shit, half the time I didn't even like the songs, nor did I own the tapes. So I'm learning shit like Candlebox, without anything to play along to.
That and the old instructional videos were crazy expensive. I bought the authentic Electric Ladyland VHS for 49.95. Nowadays all that shit is on youtube.
Unlimited tab, videos, backing tracks, drum beats, all at the click of a button. And you can get a used POD or V-amp for like $75 and have tons of tone options. I had a Peavey Bandit, a Metal Zone, and a shitty DOD Chorus. And I saved up forever to buy that shit too.
Now they got a damn band in a box. Literally!!
You're absolutely right.
That's why I think we're seeing more and more prodigies.
The access of YouTube and other tools availability is absurd.
(01-09-2016, 06:35 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: [ -> ]I'm surprised you remember that. Yeah I used to love them until I got in a band and started playing them standing up. My hand would always hit that volume knob.
Yeah I remembered it because it's similar to me hitting the pickup selector switch on Les Pauls, and those modeled after that set up.
When I tap it digs into my arm. I like to do that sometimes when I play solos as an accent technique, and not so much VH style full on tapping.
I have to take the tip off of the switch so it doesn't stick out too far.
The PRS Tremonti I have I had to re-wired because the volume knobs were backwards from what I'm used to.
On a side note I'm thinking about getting a PRS S2.
The knock on PRS's is that they lack personality. Which I get. Pauls, Teles, Strats. Rickenbackers, Gretsch, all have those things.
Yet I like that when you dial back the volume on PRS's you can clean them up without losing highs or too much volume.
(01-10-2016, 03:57 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: [ -> ]There's an easy fix to that if it really bugs you, but you still like everything else about them.
1.) Just make the 1st knob a dummy pot. Leave it there, and have nothing hooked to it. Wire up your 2nd knob as the volume and just have one Tone.
2.) If having it there all together just bothers you they make Strat pickguards that just have the two holes where the tone knobs are. Just wire it the same as above.
I do like them. When (not if) I get another strat, I'll have to keep this in mind.
(01-10-2016, 04:03 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: [ -> ]I swear, if they had all this stuff back when I started playing (1992) I'd be such a better player. These little ***** today have it made.
I distinctly remember taking whatever little money I had once a month and buying the new Guitar Player so I can actually learn a new song. That was the only way to get tab if you didn't buy the books. And shit, half the time I didn't even like the songs, nor did I own the tapes. So I'm learning shit like Candlebox, without anything to play along to.
That and the old instructional videos were crazy expensive. I bought the authentic Electric Ladyland VHS for 49.95. Nowadays all that shit is on youtube.
Unlimited tab, videos, backing tracks, drum beats, all at the click of a button. And you can get a used POD or V-amp for like $75 and have tons of tone options. I had a Peavey Bandit, a Metal Zone, and a shitty DOD Chorus. And I saved up forever to buy that shit too.
Now they got a damn band in a box. Literally!!
Back in '99 when I started playing it was pretty much the same. Sure there was internet, but I rarely had access. I bought Guitar World/Player, I had tab books for Nirvana and Pearl Jam ($20 a pop). I'd learn some songs by ear and sometimes a friend would teach me a song. Those were really the only ways to learn anything, and those songs would go on to influence how I play to this day.
I remember sitting at a buddy's house and we were both glued to the TV watching Bernard Allison play on some TV special. Now you can just pull that stuff up any time you want to see it. I remember mixing demos down by hooking a Tascam 4 track up to a karaoke machine and "riding" the dials to get the mix just right. My how times have changed.
(01-10-2016, 07:43 PM)fredtoast Wrote: [ -> ]The generation before you said the same thing. They complained because all they had to learn from was audio recordings and they could never see any video of what a great player like Django was actually doing to produce the sound.
Not really, or they shouldn't have to the same extent. The jump in resources was nowhere near what we've seen recently. It's absolutely incredible what is available today.
For the most part guitar players in the 80/90's were learning the same way guys did in the 50-60's. Perhaps different material, but the process was very similar. The only major difference may have been the use of tablature vs sheet music. But all in all, the bulk of learning was either done by ear or by reading off a page. Well, or one or one instruction. And even when I was a kid, you were probably still using an old mechanical metronome, which was usually Witner.
The instructional video market didn't reach wide distribution to the mid to late 90's. That was found in big box retail and online. Those tapes weren't readily available in most Mom and Pop stores. And even if you could get them at all, you were handed a Mel Bay or Warner Brothers catalog to place your special order. And the cost was outrageous. I didn't own my first VHS instruction tape until I had been playing for about 10 years. And that was when Guitar Center finally came to Cincinnati.
Nowadays, every tape ever is available on youtube for free. The amount of instructional stuff is incredible. The ability to pinpoint and replay specific parts immediately is a Godsend. Being able to slow things down without altering the pitch is amazing. The drum machines, backing tracks, visual aids. It is all such a huge benefit to those starting out.
So, no you can't really compare the jump from the generation prior to mine to the jump seen recently. Any musician will tell you that the technology and resources now have evolved more in the last 10 years than in any other decade prior. It is a fantastic time to be a guitar player.
