154 wrote:Maybe it'll get me to quit looking at the G&L I 'want': a guitar that's like 95% identical to my current guitars..FWIW - In my opinion, the G&L trem feels and works WAY better than the standard vintage Strat one.

154 wrote:That's part of the 5%, but honestly with Graphtech saddles the 6-holers are perfectly fine.Fair enough, but "perfectly fine" is hardly a ringing endorsement.

This is exactly why I just made that parts Fender that I put in the 'projects' thread. Every year when the tax return rolls in I get the itch to buy. I've got 6 guitars...and I haven't played guitar in a band for 3 years, I'm on bass duty now. Shit, I've got 2 basses and a third on the workbench. I've got a half a dozen rad old tube amps, vintage effects that I hardly use...etc. The difference now compared with 15-20 years ago is that now everything works, I know how to use it, I have a band that's been at it for 10 years and we put out records and play shows. I try to scratch the gear itch in a more responsible way than I used to; I look to spend a small amount of money that won't break the bank or fuck with my ability to pay bills. Also, I talk to my wife about it rather than trying to sneak gear into the house and feeling weird about it. She gets it, I'm a tinkerer and I always have been, but now rather than buy a guitar and then put it away and burn with a dull, faint guilt about it, I build something (maybe assemble would be more accurate). But, anyway, I buy something reasonably inexpensive, get to spend weeks and hours enjoying the project, and then I've got something with a story to it at the end. This is how I've sort of managed what used to be pretty compulsive behavior.

Doing my own recording helped put a lot of 'now I want to sound like that' in perspective. Made me realize if I had half the guitars and amps I could still sound the same ... unless I had a couple better preamps.

Whoops I've become an even worse gear asshole than I was last year! At least I've started to sell off some of the stuff I'm not actively using. My excuse for buying more pedals atm is that the band I joined recently is a bit more shoegazy/effects-heavy than I would have come up on my own so I feel it's kind of necessary. Still though, I do feel like the stuff I want to get is ultimately utilitarian in purpose and not completely frivolous, while still feeling I'm one or two things away from going Full Greenwood.

I guess I'll always be tinkering, but in terms of amps and guitars and stuff, I'm reckon I'm good. I have a guitar too many, because I broke my own "one in, one out" policy buying a Tele Custom, and despite my best efforts, no-one's bought the outward bound guitar. My 12 string doesn't get a whole lot of use, but fuck it, I'm keeping it.Pedals, I've got rid of quite a few, but can see me always tinkering, particularly with gain pedals. Why not?

I pretty much am.Just did another purge. Down to one very simple drum kit. My 4 snares will soon be 2. I need to move a few things around, then I'll be down to one guitar and a small amp. Even that feels extravagant. I haven't owned this little gear in about 20 years. Feels pretty good, actually. I wasn't playing most of it anyway.I'll continue to eye every old set of Ludwigs on Craigslist, and maple-necked Teles and ASATs will always give me pause, but I'm following more of a "one-in, one-out" philosophy these days.

Reading the last page of the thread made me seek out this ASAT Special that's been at a shop in town for a while. From playing it months ago, I remembered that the pickups weren't as great as I'd expected, but that the neck was almost perfect. Tried it out yesterday, and I still don't care for the pickups (if they were 15% less Stratty they'd be perfect), but now I also I find the neck too thin and modern. I thought that type could be what I was after ”my Jazzmaster's neck is a fully vintage profile, and my Ric and Hi-Flier are their own things ”but it's not, at least not this week.No sense trying to solve a problem you can't even consistently say is a problem.

I'm pretty happy. I can get basically whatever sound I want with the guitars on-hand. I wouldn't mind replacing some of my cymbals, though. My hihats were cracked when I got them and haven't gotten any better with use. Both of my crashes are Zildjians, one a decent, but worn A and the other a cheap Amir II that came with my craigslist special kit. I'd like to replace them both with 2002s to match the hats and ride. An 18 and a 20, methinks. When I replace the hats, I'd like to go 15 or 16 this time.

Was going to buy a guitar. Wound up rehabbing my dad's old Guyatone instead. Much better idea - I didn't actually need anything I didn't already have.