Who are we?

PhilKing

Sorry, I was there about 10 years before in the 70's.

munckee

McToot said:

No way!! If you were at JSG (later Spectre IIRC) anytime from about '83-88, then I would have been one of the manky teenagers who used to come in with enough money for a Mars bar and a plectrum and stay for hours. 

Anyway...

I'm Jules (one of several Julians I know on here) and I'm getting on a bit, though not as close to retirement as I'd like to be. 

I started plinking away on guitars in 1983, but lacked the inclination to ever actually learn properly, choosing instead the '100 monkeys in a room on typewriters' method instead: eventually, I thought,  I'd stumble on something that sounded good and might get me laid. I kind of did and it kind of did. 

Like a few of those that have posted I played a lot until Uni with friends and in a couple of bands, but then kind of lost the ambition (ie I had to sell my gear to pay for beer). But I picked it pack up half-assedly in my late 20s and then properly in my late 30s.  I think I was one of those that enjoyed buying/selling the whole GAS thing more than actually learning and improving, but one way or another I did both. 

I still mostly play at home for my own amusement but have really enjoyed the jam days put on by this wonderful community - both for the music and the camaradery. I have also met many forumites and would even count quite a few as friends (though I'm not sure how they would feel about that). 

Last year I drifted away from the community and from my 6 guitars and took up golf: a healthier obsession for someone of my vintage with a dicky ticker and a loathing of gyms, I thought. The course is now closed and I'm working from home in the room that has all of my gear in it.

So I'm back. Get used to it bitches.  

Welcome back Jules, tbh we are a bit awash with people called Julian but the more the merrier : )

proggy

My name's Tommy and I used to work on the docks.

skullfunkerry

I'm Kerry. I used to be in a band called Skullfunk, hence Skullfunkerry - it's not "skull fun Kerry", as some people think - I'm not some sort of twisted mind games enthusiast or serial killer!

I too heard Money for Nothing and was blown away by the riff (which I've since gone on to never learn). I got a crappy classical guitar, I can't even remember where from, and apart from a couple of lessons and reading a couple of books kind of taught myself. I saved up and bought an Epiphone superstrat thing, which I used to play through my boombox with a DS-1... at the time I thought it sounded amazing!

I spent a long time too scared to play in a band although I did do a few things with friends, none of which were ever likely to gig. When I moved to Derby I finally got my band mojo together and in fairly short order was in a band doing classic rock originals and covers, and another band doing metal originals.

I spent a good few years gigging around the Midlands, and while I don't think I'm a great guitarist (I'm certainly not as technically proficient as teh guys you see on YouTube playing Steve Vai stuff) I think I hold my own. The two proudest moments of my guitar career were the bass player from Skullfunk being short of a guitarist for an 80s rock thing he was doing and telling me that he didn't ask me, because he knew I would sound like me and it would overshadow the songs; and during a long discussion on fb about the merits of a speaker cab at a rehearsal studio, the owner telling everyone that I was one of a handful of customers who he thought of as a guitarist, rather than "someone who plays the guitar".

When I moved down to Southend Skullfunk limped on for a while (we did a gig down here, at Chinnery's - it was one of the best we'd done), but the distance meant that it folded. I didn't play much for a couple of years, due to living with a mental woman who claimed that even when I had headphones one and went upstairs she could still hear me over the TV.

Since I've been living where I am now I've got back into playing in a big way, and after buying and selling a shitload of gear last year, I'm settled on what I have now (although I did take delivery of a bass today), and I've got a new band going (in theory) with some of the guys from Skullfunk and the other bands in Derby. I'm using the lockdown to get some songs written and sent to the drummer so that he can record some drums and we can get them finished, ready to hopefully do some gigs once the world gets back to normal.

This is Skullfunk:

And this is the stuff I'm doing now:

midlifecrisis

Richard, im 57, learnt classical guitar as a kid, teenager then went over to electric to play rubbish music as my dad liked to encouragingly called it. Played in a couple of bands up to my early twenties, got disillusioned, put down the guitar and didnt touch it again until nearly 30 years later. 
suddenly had an urge to learn some songs again on an acoustic, about a year later started jamming with people, joined a newly formed covers band and 2months later did our 1st pub gig followed by about 100 more over the next 18 months. due to "musical" differences i was given my resignation but immediately joined another gigging band, which i was in for 4 years, then another one which . been in 4 years also which up until the virus kicked off we gigged most weekends. I love playing covers, mr brightside, sex on fire, summer of 69, i really don't care, i have no ambition to create anything original, for me, its all about playing live, so im feeling a bit lost at the moment. 
Nowhere as skilful as my time playing would indicate. In fact over the last 2 years i dont think my skill has improved but i know a lot more material.
Im not really a gear head, never been attracted to expensive gear to bash about in pubs. My current armoury is a Gibson LP studio, Fender modern player tel, an epiphone 335, epiphone 339 and a couple of weird oddball things i own. Amps at the moment are Boss katana 100 combo  and peavey valveking, cant be bothered with pedals . Ive meant some wonderful people through music and on this forum and wish you all well and keep safe.
 

thecolourbox

My name is Jack White, and this is my big sister Meg White on the drums...

No not really.

I'm Matt, my parents started me with classical piano lessons when I was 7 because when I was a toddler, I could be easily soothed and rested by playing CDs of Beethoven Piano Sonatas

I did all the playing and theory grades up to and including Grade 8 on piano, but stalled after A Level because I didn't get an A in music so could not do it at Uni. Could have gone to Birmingham Conservatoire but wasn't sure I was good enough to do anything but teach afterwards so didn't bother.

Around 2003 when I was 16, I heard The Hardest Button to Button by the White Stripes and that changed my tastes instantly. I'd been trying to learn acoustic and was getting bored playing Simon & Garfunkel songs, so decided I wanted to play electric instead.

Basically since then I've been trying to play that kind of stuff without the proper gear and volume trying to find a voice of my own but never having managed it, I should probably give it up.

Other music jobs I've had have been as a jazz pianist at a Vienna cocktail bar, and as a church organist. Despite not knowing anything about jazz or church organs. Life baffles me.

p90fool

I'm yet another Julian, I started on a broken nylon string kid's guitar with fishing line on it in 1978, some time later I bought a whole set of six strings and borrowed a floppy vinyl record with the correct notes to tune to (depending on turntable speed). 

I'm entirely self taught and I think if you were feeling generous you'd describe me as an "instinctive" player.

I bought a new USA Fender Bullet in 1981, left home at 16 and joined a prog rock band and started gigging fairly heavily, enough to buy a nice ’63 Strat, which I only sold a couple of years ago. 

Did that for a couple of years until it all imploded as usual, then gigged a bit with Alexis Korner when I was 19, before buggering of to live in Amsterdam to play with a multicultural Santana-type project. 

Then lived in Paris and Cologne for a while before moving back to Wales to start building choppers out of old Brit bikes and then mainly Harleys. Threw the Strat under the bed for eight years and stopped playing completely. 

Into the 90s I started dabbling with bands again, then sold my house and buggered off to France again where I hooked up with a semi retired Joe Cocker-type singer who'd been pretty successful in the 70s and was getting back on the road. Ended up doing a couple of lengthy European tours with that and another band and a few studio sessions at various French studios. 

Came back again to Wales, met my current wife, and have gigged with a dozen or so different bands since, for a while professionally and now strictly semi-pro, with my wife on drums. 

I am currently totally skint due to my entire calendar of gigs being cancelled, but am thoroughly enjoying the break from gigging every week. 

I have a home studio, which I mainly use for building arrangements around local singer-songwriters for small amounts of cash occasionally, usually in a dance style because I've kind of had enough of guitars if I'm honest.  

This is what I sound like when home noodling, though I almost never play lead guitar when gigging these days, I'm a bit of a pop rather than rock fan these days really.

chris78

p90fool said:

I'm yet another Julian, I started on a broken nylon string kid's guitar with fishing line on it in 1978, some time later I bought a whole set of six strings and borrowed a floppy vinyl record with the correct notes to tune to (depending on turntable speed). 

I'm entirely self taught and I think if you were feeling generous you'd describe me as an "instinctive" player.

I bought a new USA Fender Bullet in 1981, left home at 16 and joined a prog rock band and started gigging fairly heavily, enough to buy a nice ’63 Strat, which I only sold a couple of years ago. 

Did that for a couple of years until it all imploded as usual, then gigged a bit with Alexis Korner when I was 19, before buggering of to live in Amsterdam to play with a multicultural Santana-type project. 

Then lived in Paris and Cologne for a while before moving back to Wales to start building choppers out of old Brit bikes and then mainly Harleys. Threw the Strat under the bed for eight years and stopped playing completely. 

Into the 90s I started dabbling with bands again, then sold my house and buggered off to France again where I hooked up with a semi retired Joe Cocker-type singer who'd been pretty successful in the 70s and was getting back on the road. Ended up doing a couple of lengthy European tours with that and another band and a few studio sessions at various French studios. 

Came back again to Wales, met my current wife, and have gigged with a dozen or so different bands since, for a while professionally and now strictly semi-pro, with my wife on drums. 

I am currently totally skint due to my entire calendar of gigs being cancelled, but am thoroughly enjoying the break from gigging every week. 

I have a home studio, which I mainly use for building arrangements around local singer-songwriters for small amounts of cash occasionally, usually in a dance style because I've kind of had enough of guitars if I'm honest.  

This is what I sound like when home noodling, though I almost never play lead guitar when gigging these days, I'm a bit of a pop rather than rock fan these days really.

I know this is a guitar forum but you can’t possibly post that and not throw a couple of bike shots in

THR1LLHAU5

Really cool idea, this thread. Great to get an insight into some of you folks' stories!

I suspect my own is not that different. As an 11-year-old kid someone dropped Nirvana's "Nevermind" and The Offspring's "Americana" in my lap and hearing music that wasn't Heaven 17 (which my mum had on repeat for I presume, 20 years at that point) for the first time I almost wore out my CD walkman listening in my bedroom.

Fast forward a year or so and an older friend showed me how to play "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on an old Stagg strat and I was hooked. My mum agreed to getting me bass-guitar lessons, as she "knew a guy" and I settled for that, it looked basically the same right?!

Eventually I did end up getting a guitar - and an absolute shitload of them have come in and out since. Particular highlights that I sadly no longer own include a belting early 2000's ESP Eclipse that I bought from Steph Carter of Gallows, and a lovely Mexican tele of a similar age, from Lags, also of Gallows fame (no prizes for what my favourite band was when I was in my late teens). I also had a banging 80's Strat Plus for a bit that I traded to @blueskunk on here, as it happens!

I currently play an Orange Rocker 30 or a Jet City 100LTD into a Zilla 2x12 with Creambacks, A Shergold Masquerader, a Gibson Les Paul Studio, a murdered out Partscaster Jazzmaster with 1 pickup and a brushed black metal pickgaurd, a PRS SE Tremonti and a ash tele copy...usually not all once. 

https://i.imgur.com/GAcyp8G.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QlsJz3N.jpg

By day I'm an IT and Digital Tech manager for a well-known supermarket, and by night/weekend I play guitar and shout very loud in a hardcore punk band. We were on a slew of gigs around the country until this virus mucked everything up. So I'm stuck screaming and strumming at home...the jury is out as to whether or not the cat is appreciating it to quite the same level as the crusty punks at our shows. 

https://i.imgur.com/idBiWAD.jpg

If that racket sounds like something you'd be stupid enough to be into you can look us up on spotify, bandcamp, instagram etc, we're called Fatalist. 

https://fatalistpunk.bandcamp.com/releases

TheOtherDennis

Snags said:

We are not men, we are Devo!

Oh, no, hang on.

My name is Pete, started to teach myself in my mid-teens after jacking in classical piano having go to Grade 6 and decided it involved too many tears for both me and my piano teacher.

Immediately disillusioned to discover that simply knowing the chords to a song didn't mean you could play it (WTF is a riff? etc.).

Stumbled on in fits and starts of slowly decreasing incompetence over the years. Played in church bands since forever, initially blindly bashing out chords regardless, then gradually developing some pride and a passing attempt at subtlety and finesse. A handful of failed attempts to get bands going in my youth because absolutely none of us had the first clue what to do.

The advent of t'InterWebz and marginally more self-discipline has led to some improvement but basically i'm still pretty shit and don't see that changing any time soon. Currently (Corona-aside) doing various open mics, the odd duo thing, and in a band which has yet to gig in a fully-formed state. We were about to, and then ... you guessed it.

The wow I would have awarded you for remembering Devo has been withheld due to you misremembering the line - it's not a statement, it's a question. 

"Are we not men? We are Devo."

Sorry, shouldn't be such a pedantic arse.

I first wanted to pick up a guitar when I was in primary school, because my big sisters snd brothers were into The Beatles and the Stones and The Who and stuff like that and being popular seemed like a nice thing to be.

However, I grew up in a small town with no music shop, and the one I knew in Glasgow was staffed with patronising wankers. "You want to play guitar? Hahahaha, you cannae play the guitar! Ahahahaha!"

So I left it as a secret desire till I was nearly 40, when I saw an ad for a partwork called "Play Guitar' that featured people making complete tits of themselves playing air guitar in various settings. The idea was instead of pretending, why not learn to do it for real? But the clincher for me was that the songs were ones you'd actually want to learn, instead of Shenanfuckingdoah or such like.

I practised a lot and went to evening classes in the local college and really started to improve and get to a fairly decent intermediate standard and then it all went to shit because I discovered putting kits together.

For several years I spent a good 10 times as much time making them as I did playing them and as a result I regressed pretty badly.

I've played in a couple of bands that have dribbled out to nowhere, got a gig with a half decent band but got fired because the lead guitarist didn't want a rhythm player in the band (they never replaced me), then tried the bass for a couple of years but my heart wasn't in it.

With my wife succumbing to a serious and all-consuming disability down the years, any desire to play in a covers band vanished as I had no time to do it properly.

I nearly quit from lack of desire when for some reason I never understood, I went looking for an acoustic singaraound in 2017. I found one in Wymeswold, which I used to go to every month until the lockdown. I love that, because even though I'm a chronic singer and barely competent strummer, they're very welcoming and friendly and there's a huge range of both abilities and music played on those nights.

So after roughly 20 years of playing I sound like I've only been playing for about 20 months but I don't care. I've finally become resigned to my crapness and I have almost as much fun being crap, as I did when I wasn't that bad, really.

MagicPigDetective

Geraint, 43. I was inspired to pick up a guitar by Nirvana, Teenage Fanclub, Ride, Hendrix etc when I was 16. A few lessons form an old hippie taught me Purple Haze and Stairway. When I was 18 I got involved in the local band scene in my hometown, which being a small town (Newtown, Powys), was a very small but great scene! Anyway I formed a band to play a one off support slot. We were called the Monkey Magic Appreciation Society and we played some Nirvana and Offspring covers to a drunk and moshing crowd. I had a few jam sessions with mates, all great fun and good times.

Off I went to Liverpool Uni. I had a mate who played guitar, but to be honest I spent three years getting stoned and achieved nothing. Post Uni was about finding work, women, my place in life. Guitar playing gradually drew less important and eventually I stopped completely.

When Bowie died in 2016, something happened, I got the urge to learn how to play Space Oddity. Doing that reignited the spark. I still had a crappy Washburn from the 90’s but decided  that as it was my 40th year I would buy my first decent guitar. An American Standard Strat was soon it’s way to me. Since then I’ve been on a journey of learning and improvement, had some lessons which sorted out bad habits and got me focussing on my weak points (timing!). I’ve played solo once and did the Bristol Jam last year which was amazing. But just a bedroom player who loves playing guitar.  

DB1

Hi, my name's Dave. I like honesty, laughter, walking in the sand, romantic evenings in, and goats. Actually,  just goats.

Brummie by birth, moved up to  Lancashire, and down to Stafford in 1974. I'm 60 in 11 days and never saw that bugger coming.

I am a big Buddy Holly fan and was taught my first few chords at the age of about 12 by my next door neighbour in Bolton, a Glaswegian lorry driver called Joe. I think they were the chords to Peggy Sue and Heartbeat, played without an amp on his Strat.

Tragically, Joe was killed a few weeks later in a motor accident. and I didn't pick the guitar up again for quite a while. I do remember being particularly besotted with a Winfield 'S-type' in Woolworths in Bolton. I think it was £14.99, which was way out of my budget by about £14.99.

Fast forward to Stafford and I fancied trying again, so actually saved up a few quid and bought a Columbus 335-type. Words can't describe how bad it was, but I've tried here....    https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/153423/1960s-70s-columbus-es-335-style-guitar-needs-sympathetic-weird-new-owner#latest

I learned a few chords, but didn't do much with it really, although I played a few times in public, badly. I joined a band in about 1982 and we did the club circuit, mainly to uninterested bingo punter in smoke-filled dumps in Stoke on Trent. And believe me, it wasn't as glamorous as I've made it sound. Our bass player left by popular demand, and I thought 'how difficult can this be?'

I took over on the bass, and found that I had more of an aptitude for it than the guitar, which I'd stagnated with. I became a reasonable bassist which culminated in co-writing and playing on a record which actually got played on Radio 1. Once. Which, honestly, was more than enough.

Anyway, I had a row with the drummer, the noisy git, who thought he was a star because his brother was a big name guitarist, and decided to leave. That was it really - I picked the guitar up again a few times after that, made more comebacks than Sinatra, and packed in again, as my heart wasn't really in it.

My big obsession became cars, and I've had well over 100 of them. I decided that maintaining about 12 at a time was a bit much, so I though 'why not pick up a guitar again and see if I can learn a few things?' So now I've had over 140 guitars in the past three or four years. What a berk.

My music, I suppose, is swing and jump blues - I like the jazzy side of blues more than the bluesy side of jazz if that makes any sense.  I've bought and sold stuff on this forum quite a few times, and have been a member of the forum for about two and a half years. I've met, and dealt with, some great people from this forum, and I'm sure the pleasure has been all mine!

I'm down from about 35 guitars to a Martin 000-18, an ES-330, a lovely old 1953 ES-295, a 1955 ES-130 and a 1963 Guild Capri. Oh, and my Columbus. No-one wants the Columbus.

Danny1969

My names Danny and I was born in 1969 so 50 now

I took up guitar and keyboards when I was 14 and been in bands since then. I started out on a Kay catalog guitar which was basically torture to play on and improved upon that since then. Years of gigging on Satellite, Kimbara's  and Hondo's  have left me very unfussy about what guitars I use now ... being as all modern guitars are a million times better than the pieces of shit I learnt on
Work wise I was apprenticed in the building trade, done decorating and building, taught myself how to build clone PC's in the early nineties .. started Clone UK computer services in the late nineties, made loads of money ... lost all that operating a large recording studio for 5 years ...so fell back on electronics repairs like laptops, phones, ipads, cars and mobility scooters ... literally anything. then worked for a couple of years doing nothing but gigging for money (seven different bands) . Then invented some popular gadgets so now work home manufacturing those and only giging in 3 bands now. Still involved in electronic repair but pick and choose what I do. 

I like so many different kinds of music ... everything from Beatles to Deftones but love Pink Floyd, Kings of Leon, Deftones,, Nathaniel Rateliff, Radiohead, Billy Eilish, Johnny Cash 

Band wise I gig in Superheroes, Marvels and a Kate Bush tribute ..... all 3 bands earn good money and I'm lucky to live in a area where live music is popular and well paid. I've been lucky enough to gig in front of 100,000 at Portsmouth's biggest ever event  and lucky enough to play with or dep with some of Portsmouth's top bands over the last 10 years. 

Guitar wise I don't own anything expensive, a couple of partscasters and a Tokia Strat from the eighties. Amp wise I own an HT5, a Hotrod and a Bugera BC30. I have a home made pedal board with some pedals brought on here. 

PhilKing

TheOtherDennis said:

 I found one in Wymeswold, which I used to go to every month until the lockdown. I love that, because even though I'm a chronic singer and barely competent strummer, they're very welcoming and friendly and there's a huge range of both abilities and music played on those nights.

Is that Wymeswold in Leicestershire?  My sister lives there, I didn't realise there was that much happening in the village.

TheOtherDennis

PhilKing said:

TheOtherDennis said:

 I found one in Wymeswold, which I used to go to every month until the lockdown. I love that, because even though I'm a chronic singer and barely competent strummer, they're very welcoming and friendly and there's a huge range of both abilities and music played on those nights.

Is that Wymeswold in Leicestershire?  My sister lives there, I didn't realise there was that much happening in the village.

Yup. Not sure it comes under "that much" though - it's an acoustic singaround once a month.

munckee

My name's Adam I'm 45.

I distinctly remember 89 listening to the stone roses with my mates aged 14 and promising we would form a band - we didn't.

Jump to aged 21 my brother as a totally random christmas present bought me an encore acoustic (I later fell into it while drunk trying to remove my jeans and snapped the neck, it never recovered) and a kids teach yourself guitar book.  I spent a few years teaching myself.  I was given a pointy strat copy and a gorilla practice amp and fell in love with electric sound.  My first song I remember playing on electric was tonight tonight by the smashing pumpkins.  Aged 25 I met missus munckee bought houses and had kids.  I semi retired from playing in my late twenties and kids arrived.  I had a G&L tele, a Laney Linebacker, an Arion distortion pedal and and a simon and patrick acoustic - none of which I still have (okay I have the arion pedal).

I got back into it approaching my 40th and bought myself a classic player strat for my 40th.  Taught myself to play again with no intention of ever playing with anyone or joining a band.

Roll onto 2018 and on a whim I decided to go to water rats on a fretboard jam, had never played along to a record let alone played with anyone else.  Agreed a couple of songs and turned up with no idea.  Had the very good fortune to literally bump into @mctoot, @Flanging_Fred, @mtb and @sev112 on the way in and practiced with them before having to try it out for real - will never forget that.

Have since embarrassed myself in front of numerous members of the board always enjoyed it and consider a number of you amongst my chums - whether you like it or not.

Best thing is my daughter has caught the guitar bug, she started last september and has already surpassed me.  We went shopping for her first guitar and got her a washburn acoustic from PMT.  She is desperate for an electric and I recently drove to London to collect a radically modded tele from @lysander which will be her Easter present and first electric to fulfill her whim to play nirvana!

Shrews

Shrews (as birthplace is Shrewsbury) - real name Paul, now aged 53 and very much still at the novice stage

Always wanted to play guitar but never bothered until 6 or 7 years ago when my late wife got fed up of me saying I wanted to learn and bought me a Stagg acoustic. Tried to teach myself but didn't end up achieving much, got bored, put it back in the cupboard where it gathered dust for about 5 years.

About 2 years ago my wife was attending the hospice and the chaplain there was also a guitar tutor and she bought me some lessons for Christmas.  He basically put me on the right path.

Since then, I've had lessons on and off, my wife passed away and I lost the learning bug. She had bought me an electric (Epiphone LP Standard), but can't say I've ever taken to it.  I bought an electro-acoustic (Fender Hellcat) which I've had for about a year which I love playing.  I guess I know about 20 chords now, but really just stick to the ones I know I can play quickly and even those I 'bodge' because I'm just lazy and just like to play stuff.  

But I love playing and that's the whole point I suppose. Great for getting rid of daily stresses and emotions, wish I'd have learned 40 years ago before my fingers lost their stretch capability and my brain lost its spongelike ability to learn.

Here's me attempting Live Forever by Oasis.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsg55Ke3pMk&feature=youtu.be

Bellycaster

I am the Reincarnation of Buddy Holly...All bow down and Worship me!

Cookiemonster

the_jaffa said:ths

Cookiemonster said:

the_jaffa said:

I'm Matt,

In 1989 at the tender age of 14 I heard the Stone Roses for the first time and things changed. I went from dancing about with a tennis racket as a faux guitar to actually wanting to learn to play one so I could be as cool as John Squire.

I picked up my little sister's 3/4 nylon strung acoustic and started trying to work stuff out. I didn't even know how to tune a guitar so everything was on one string to start with. I "borrowed" a book from the school library that I still have and started to learn a bit more. Things like tuning, the pentatonic scale shape and how 12 bar blues work before getting a Hondo Les Paul copy for Christmas 1990.

From here I tried to learn more and listen to stuff to try to figure things out before starting a bit of a band in 6th Form. We played one gig in the bass player's living room for his brother's 18th birthday and that was it.

After that I flirted with a number of local bands but never went anywhere and before too long I was resigned to playing at home. I had a few lessons for a bit but they weren't great.

When I moved to University at 26 and from my own house into a student room guitars were not really playing big part of my life and were a big thing I could leave behind and save space. Eventually I sold my stuff off and that was that.

Fast forward to 2012 and somewhere I stumbled across Squier releasing their VM Jaguars and as I had always wanted a Jag after seeing John Squire with his (although I subsequently found out more about this) I went to buy one. Except I actually preferred the Jazzmaster and bought one of them instead. Plan was to just get that and twiddle really but ended up buying a Vox VT20+ too.

Anyway, through that I found myself really enjoying playing again and with the internet now being a thing started learning way more about playing, gear and music. Ended up going to a couple of jam nights and eventually got up enough courage to play at my local blues jam doing some improvs and some covers.

From there, my Squire obsession has developed and I now have a Gretsch Country Gent and a pink Strat, I've built my own copy of his Jaguar hybrid thing and am currently trying to build a replica of his splatter painted Hofner. I've got a silver face Vibrolux (should really be a Twin) and a pedalboard that pretty closely resembles his 89 set up. I regularly get to act out my homages at a local jam night and have even done a couple of proper gigs.

I'm far from amazing at the guitar, I lack any originality and I struggle on but I enjoy it and it's a fantastic distraction from real life. Once my kids are little bit older I will hopefully get something more proper going as a band which might even be a tribute band. Who knows.

Do you have photos of the Squire Jag ? Also what pedals are you using for his sound ?

@Cookiemonster ;
 
There's a thread from my new guitar day here:

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/83655/ngd-custom-build-jaguar-strat-hybrid-inspired-by-john-squires-original/p1

There's pics in there and a link to the build thread too.

Pedals wise, the main ones are a Fuzzface, TS9, CS9, BF2 and a DF2 (although that is pretty niche and only really for the feedback bits at the start of Standing Here). The main extra addition and pretty important to the overall sound is an Alesis Midiverb 2.

This is so cool. Love it. And what a great job you did on this.

 I thought I remembered it being a bass body or something on Squires is that right..

Thanks for the tips on the pedals, I think if I can see some cheaper boss pedals for sale I will try and get some of these. I have not had that many Boss pedals before, just DD3, Blues Driver and ME50

thegummy

munckee said:

Jump to aged 21 my brother as a totally random christmas present bought me an encore acoustic (I later fell into it while drunk trying to remove my jeans and snapped the neck, it never recovered) 

My first ever guitar had a similar drink-fuelled fate



RIP 1995 - 2003