Excuse the click-baity, dramatic title.
Feeling a bit down about guitar stuff today. I sold the Kemper because the only profile I was using was a clean Laney profile. So with that in mind, I purchased another Laney Lionheart, like my fifth in 10 years. I've built a solid collection of nice pedals that sound good with that profile and (stupidly) thinking everything would just translate nicely with the real thing, I plugged in yesterday and was underwhelmed and feeling sorry for myself.
The amp is faultless, I think they've upped their game with these newer Lionheart's, it's better than all the ones I've had before in terms of build quality. Sounds fantastic with the Strat and Broadcaster but I was left really underwhelmed with the Les Paul, which I'm sure is partly down to a weirdly hot neck humbucker.
Furthermore, many of my nice pedals now sound either shit or too aggressive with the amp and not as good as what they did with the Kemper. I'm not saying I'm pining for another Kemper, I'm not, there's a reason I sold it, but the amp has caused me to have to rethink the entire setup now, which was never the plan - and frankly, to do the job that these pedals did with the Kemper, I wouldn't know where to even start and don't really want to start the search for alternatives.
If I just played one style of music, with a Strat and Tele, I'd be loving life, but I don't and can't afford three different setups to suit my needs.
As dramatic as it sounds, I've trodden this road so many times, I'm ready to knock it all on the head. You know what they say about doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results...insanity!
Comments
Are you chasing the if i buy xyz pedal or xyz amp i will sound /play better ? Because it's the old adage .
Jeff Beck with a Yamaha Pacifica and Boss katana amp v joe bloggs with his Fender custom shop strat and boutique amp and hand made pedals
,.....guess who still sounds amazing ?
I'm guilty of it myself , this place doesn't help .
Best things i've bought are the spark positive grid amp and set of AKG headphones find myself practising more instead of looking for 'the next big thing '
I stopped worrying about gear a long time ago because it largely doesn't matter.
Get into your playing, learn a bunch of more songs, transcribe solos, play with people more.
Most of the playing I do is into a small solid state amp.
It doesn't sound great- I don't spend much time tweaking it, because I am working on my *playing* not my *sound*.
Leave it a month before you buy or sell anything.
Focus on the craft of guitar playing.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Football is rubbish.
Most guitar players don't hang around on forums and endlessly trade gear. Especially most pro's. I've realised I'm way more interested in playing than gear. Tbh, having few available funds very much helped with focussing on needs Vs wants.
View my feedback at www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1201922
View my feedback at www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1201922
Either way the answer is the same, play more!
(As an aside I’m bloody sick of the word ‘tone’ and all it implies).
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