General Music Chat

I just have moved back to atlanta and had to leave my gear I have been trying to get a kit or atleast find some one that has one that I can just sit down and play. Everytime I get the money to buy another kit something comes up and I have to spend my money on car repairs or something like that and I am having that itch to play anyone that is a real musician knows what I am talking about should I just give it up or keep trying to find something?

I know how you feel.

My guitar is in the shop for major tuneup: bridge work, EMG pickups, shielding, frets etc. So I have no guitar for three more days and I am going nuts.

Well, you are a drummer I take it. Your choices are:

1) Church band - their kit. (if you are in to that sort of thing)

2) Save up for real this time and get a kit than you need rehearsal space and at least a bass player

3) Save up and buy electric kit. It does not sound as good as real kit but better then nothing it is not too horrible and you can play in headphones in your apartment or a house. Also you can even collaborate with some one online because you do not need to mic and mix it.

4) Change instrument.

5) Give up - get drunk, and feel sorry for yourself.

I would not choose option 5 if I were you.

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maybe shoot for a cheaper/used kit? Ebay always has good deals if you are patient and diligent, and the recession means it's a buyer's market on used goods.

A lot better than buying new. I generally shoot for buying only used gear these days.

I just have moved back to atlanta and had to leave my gear I have been trying to get a kit or atleast find some one that has one that I can just sit down and play. Everytime I get the money to buy another kit something comes up and I have to spend my money on car repairs or something like that and I am having that itch to play anyone that is a real musician knows what I am talking about should I just give it up or keep trying to find something?

Suggestion: Use buckets, you should see one of this street entertainer in New York City what he can do with those. Check it out



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFOIb7V2Mro

thanks you guys i will see what will happen

Dude I guess I am spoiled. I cannot for the life of me imagine any reason I would move without my equipment. Unless I was on the run from the law.
Many people have put themselves in the financial shitter for Christmas due to a total lack of self control. (or comon sense)
Start watching the pawn shops in your area. Tis the season to hock your set. As it were.
Many Pawn businesses will also do a lay-away program too.

maybe shoot for a cheaper/used kit? Ebay always has good deals if you are patient and diligent, and the recession means it's a buyer's market on used goods.

A lot better than buying new. I generally shoot for buying only used gear these days.

A few years back when I got myself straight I had no guitar no amp nothing. I baught an eppi sg with a bolt in neck for $50.00 and over time I got an old crate head for $100.00. I hooked the head up to a home stero speaker. Played threw that for about a year. Then I found a carvin cab for $75.00 and Its a bass cab one 15". I now have two gutars, a piano, set up to record, it keeps growing. My point is, if you do like Kramerguy said, or start buying one peace at a time you will get there. BUT DONT EVER GIVE UP. I am no where near having pro gear but I sure love playing my cheapy sg, cause over time it now has nice bridge keys and EMGS. I know drums are alittle diferent but if I was a drumer I wold start peacing somthing together so I could keep jamming.PEACE

Listen to Eddy123. You can do well by yourself by practicing on cheap equipment.
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For years and years I played on crap guitars. High action cheap stuff . . .
There was a lotta stuff I couldn't do with them.
Some parts of a song didn't sound good on a cheap guitar - so I had to find another way to play that part of the song on that guitar.
But I practiced, and I eventually was able to get the crappy guitars to play some decent music. And so they sounded like 'regular' guitars in my hands.
It just took 3 times as much work, is all. And - that is a good thing . . .
It was a great thing . . .
.
Crappy equipment forced me to develope my playing ability beyond my contemporaries - just to sound even as good as them.
They could only sound decent with good equipment, I could sound decent on crap.
When I play a good guitar - life is just easier. But a good guitar lets me take all kinds of musical shortcuts.
Best thing I ever did was to practice on cheap guitars. . . . forced me to learn more.
.
I sometimes bring along a guitar which I bought brand new from a store for $75. Yep, I bought a $75 guitar.

Best thing I ever did. It FORCED me to learn new stuff . . . just to play it.
.
Sometimes when there's a crowd around, I'll play some of my jazzy-rock 'Bradley-esque' stuff on this bottom-of-the barrel piece of hardened pond scum w/ strings on it.
And then sit back and listen to the comments. I hear stuff like "Wow, that's a really good guitar!" or "Wow! what kind of guitar is that?" or "Geezz, that guitar sounds great! You must've paid a lot of money for it!"
Hehehe . . .
I love it.
'course, most any guitarists can see that it's a cheap piece of crap. Then they ask if they can try it out.
It's kind of funny watching their eyes cross as they try to play it, and then see them wincing in pain after about 2 minutes . . .
.
My friends, never put a man down for playing inferior equipment . . .
.
Buy what you can afford, and don't worry about it . . .
.
By the way, half of my practices are still with that guitar . . .
Because I haven't finished learning my lesson . . .

I understand exactly what Alan is saying here. If your are truly dedicated to perform nothing will stand in your way. Way true! Yet most people lack that kind of determination, and if the purchase of a better quality instrument is a motivator for them then so be it.
You can become a world class shooter with a $200.00 gun. But in the end if you want to compete with the guys with the $2000.00 comp gun you will have to step up beyond the limitations of your equipment.
This is why what many people consider "sport" is beyond my definition.
Much of Rodeo is based on he who can afford the best horse. As is horse racing.
Poor analogy, sorry.

Eh, if the strings are too high, or the intonation sucks, just use it with a slide & fuggettabowtit.

On drums - I worked with a guy who had two sets that were totally mismatched - just stray pieces he found here or there & bought on the cheap. He put together a pretty good sound with these things, but they looked like crap. So he went to WalMart & bought a bunch of material, & simply glued it to the kits. They look quite unique & still sound good. One of them is fuzzy fake leopard print - cheesy enough to use with Richard Cheese & Lounge Against The Machine. The other is just as bad in black with orange flames in some nylon/satiny stuff. (In all honesty, some ppl like these.)

Point is, you can do it & get what you need, if you're patient & driven.

well guys luck has just paid off I put an add up on another site and some one hit me up and gave me a crappy kit so hells yeah son

Crappy equipment forced me to develope my playing ability beyond my contemporaries - just to sound even as good as them.

I hear that RythymMan. Drummers always have trouble if they can't jam, don't know how my brother survives...or how he thinks he can get away with buying a kid that doesn't have a volume knob living with two kids and not having his own house

I went through a period like that after getting practically EVERYTHING I owned stolen outta my van in OH. I had no gtr, no bass, no clothes , no Cb radio's, TV , PA, everything!!!A boom box ,drums and bass amp were all I had cause they were at TJ's (club).I took a pic of the pitful little bit of equipment left.Stayed drunk for 3 weeks,then decided, damn, I got too much going on to give up so workin for 3.50$/hr and playin weekends, I slowly got it all back. Ya learn to fix cheap stuff up to work better.
A 100 $ Aria 12 string is played on some of my best old casstte 4 track stuff..I took excellent care of that thing becuase it meant SO much to have a gtr back in my life after a period of having nothing.

I understand exactly what Alan is saying here. If your are truly dedicated to perform nothing will stand in your way. Way true! Yet most people lack that kind of determination, and if the purchase of a better quality instrument is a motivator for them then so be it.
You can become a world class shooter with a $200.00 gun. But in the end if you want to compete with the guys with the $2000.00 comp gun you will have to step up beyond the limitations of your equipment.
This is why what many people consider "sport" is beyond my definition.
Much of Rodeo is based on he who can afford the best horse. As is horse racing.
Poor analogy, sorry.

For my first 10 years, I played on shitty guitars.

At the time, I didn't know they were THAT shitty.. Just always had to really work hard for tone and retuned alot.

Once I got a 'real' guitar, it's been hard to play substandard ones.

Right now, My Kramer needs to be refretted, so it's temporarily retired, and unfortunately it was miles ahead on tone, sustain, and feel than any of my other guitars. What's killing me right now is the sustain issue, I replaced the pup on my cheapo, and it does actually stay in tune pretty well, has okay action, just not quite as comfy and the sustain sucks...

200 bucks to re-fret Don't have the extra cash right now.