I love this thread. This might be the best thread ever.

It's a celebration of the fact that we all have stupid, self defeating behaviours, but it's also something anyone can read and realise that they are not the only one doing dumb shit.

Salut, PRF!

Oh shit, I forgot my biggest:

Dude, unload your car after the gig. Sure it's 2AM, you're tired, and you'll be up to unload it in 6 hours. Sure you've gotten away with it far too many times. But you have 3 guitars in your car. One of which you spent a large part of your senior year of highschool paying for in installments. You have a very uncommon Traynor in there that is kind of a white whale. Why risk it?

I didn't follow that advice and it was a huge bummer.

I smell an....actually pretty marketable premise for a documentary. Get some "notable types" in on the action and it'll write itself.

penningtron wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:12 amPlay a guitar that fits, even if that means a 22" scale Strat or whatever. Also get it set up properly with low action, stretch your hands, don't over squeeze, etc..

I think this is one of the big reasons I switched to Gibson and Gibson-style guitars. My early guitars were Jacksons and Ibanezes with Fender scales and wide flat necks. I guess 25.5" scales are fine if your hands are the size of bulldozers, but mine aren't.

jason from volo wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:52 am When I first read FM Garth's post, I *almost* thought it was a joke.

I mean it was...and it wasn't? Like many jokes there's a lot of truth - maybe way way too much truth in this one. But I also know I and probably most of everyone reading absolutely wouldn't have been "happy" going any other route...but I'm not exactly stoked about how things have turned out in my life now so yeah, it would be nice to at least not have to work?

Anyway, yeah this is tech room and not therapy so I'll save the rest for my hired professional.

Buy less. Buy better.

That's it.

ErickC wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 8:02 pm

penningtron wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 9:12 amPlay a guitar that fits, even if that means a 22" scale Strat or whatever. Also get it set up properly with low action, stretch your hands, don't over squeeze, etc..

I think this is one of the big reasons I switched to Gibson and Gibson-style guitars. My early guitars were Jacksons and Ibanezes with Fender scales and wide flat necks. I guess 25.5" scales are fine if your hands are the size of bulldozers, but mine aren't.

My guitar in question was 24.75", but felt like a cross between Gibson and Rickenbacker in terms of thickness and wideness.

Blaming my hand problems on that guitar isn't entirely correct: I was also just playing too much, with not great technique, and unplugged in an apartment (over-exerting), but I also just thought at the time guitars were "something to get used to". It's embarrassing that it took me 10-15 years to figure out that wasn't true!

I fully back that although I ran in the other direction: I have given shorter-scale guitars—student models, dept. store models, sometimes both—so many shots over the years. Thinking "they're not that much smaller than Gibsons, I can make them work, who am I to be so picky about these details." All that ever earned me was hand cramps, plus the need to put the guitar up for sale. Listen to your body!

Selling the EB-0 is ok.

But stick to long scale basses.

Don't sell the 65 Epiphone Coronet. In fact go back to Louisville and buy the other two that they had for $350 each.
Don't sell the sunburst US made Tele.
Don't sell the Les paul special, unless you find a nice Jr you can swap for it
When you replace the bridge pickup in the 85 Les Paul Special, use a soap bar P-90 instead of the 67 dog ear. Or at least see if the 67 dog ear pickup has the holes in it so it can be mounted as a soap bar style. (yeah I really did this)
don't buy that non master volume Marshall head, and when you swap it out for the Dean markely, don't sell the Dean Markley head.
Replace the speakers in the Laney 4x12.
You don't need another cab.
start fooling around with delay and reverb. it might sound pretty cool. but use the effects loop, dummy!

Yeah, move all that shit to NYC and start another band there,
then move all that shit to phoenix and start another band there as well. .

Don't buy that hot rod blues deville, its not you.
don't buy that ibanez talman, its not you and it sucks.
don't buy that paisley telecaster, it sucks

keep in touch with the guys in the band, so when they do a reunion show in 2004, they don't have to get another guy to play your part.