One Sunday when I was kid, we went to church as was the standard practice in my Catholic family. There were five of us kids at the time (three brothers and one sister) and on this Sunday, I was next to my sister. Fairly random ordering but here we were sitting, standing kneeling as the service required. My sister looked down and whispered, “She has gas!“ as she pointed to the bottoms of the shoes of the girl who sat in front of us.
Gas Shoes were new in those days and “Gas” was imprinted on the soles. This sent me into a fit of uncontrollable giggling. My parents were not amused and scowled at me as I desperately tried to stop. Every time I sat down, I would see the soles and start chortling all over.
This is not about that kind of “Gas” nor is it about the other kind of gas that makes little boys laugh uncontrollably and little girls embarrassed.
Time for some gear!
Image by Michael Henry on Unsplash
As your skills on the guitar improve and you want to get an electric or install a pickup in your acoustic, the irresistible allure of pedals, amps and even more guitars will begin to take hold – Gear Acquisition Syndrome!
Sound familiar? A friend of mine introduced me to the term. There is even a YouTube channel dedicated to helping guitarists “Get the most music from the least gear”, Five Watt World. Check it out, you will be glad you did.
Anyway, I have never collected much gear due to limited budgets and lack of opportunities to use most of the stuff. I’m a practical (i.e. cheap) guy at heart. If I can’t find a use for it, I will not buy it (usually) 😉 I do love to learn about the new flashy gear and I always have a catalog from a music store coming so I can drool over the latest guitars and stuff. Reverb.com is an especially guilty pleasure for me. My collection of guitars is one that serves particular styles and I have interests in many styles. Just talk to my wife!
What gear should I buy?
So, you have your basic instrument. Now you find that it would be cool to add something to make it sound more like a recording you fell in love with. There are pedals for just about every additional effect you could possibly want. Many of them are combinations of effects and some are modelling. We’ll get into that in a minute.
Due to the plethora of videos delving into the equipment of almost any guitarist, you could research what they are using for a start. Another plan is to get a close up look at what is being used by the musicians playing your local venues. People love to talk about their setups and give advice. I would also suggest looking into what the different effects are called. For example, reverb and delay are different. If you are new to gear, that may not be apparent to you.
Going virtual
You could go entirely virtual. Modelling pedals and amps, such as those by Line 6, are good options. Try them at your local music store and see what you think. They can be amazing but also intimidating as the options available can overwhelm you.
I have chosen to go down the Amplitube by IK Multimedia path. The options are endless but the initial freebie software is a good starter. If you don’t know what you are looking for and just want to try stuff out, this a way to get your feet sopping wet. If you have never tried an envelope follower, for example, this is a great way to try it without spending major coin.
The home studio
One huge advantage I have found with my virtual gear is home recording. I can run my bass and guitars through almost any signal chain imaginable. Setting up my amp and pedals is a pain in my small space and I may not be able to get the tone I want in the end. I just don’t have the time, space and money to grab every pedal or amp I could want or need. I suspect you are in the same or similar situation. If you do have the time, space and money… spend some time with the Five Watt World mentioned above 🙂
For now…
As you explore, let me know in the comments any questions you may have. Hit us up on Facebook, above, to let us know if you would like a course on this stuff or some particular aspect of effects and signals. We would love to cover this topic for you! Until then, keep exploring and learning Just 2 Play Guitar!