I gotta confess, I kinda hate nice mic's and guitars

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 4:12 pm

I mean, I gotta couple-5 of each, and I am very careful to take care of 'em, not bang 'em around, scratch 'em, let 'em get dusty.

Whadda drag.

I have more fun with my beater guitars and mic's what I can sweat on, swing around, whack cymbals and the drummer with, risk dropping as I dance ...

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 4:34 pm

I kinda feel that way about stuff in general. Who needs high maintenance, fancy stuff?

dfuruta · Post by **dfuruta** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 4:55 pm

i like nice mics and cheap guitars.

Nick Sevilla · Post by **Nick Sevilla** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 12:24 am

dfuruta wrote:i like nice mics and cheap guitars.

+1

timh · Post by **timh** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 1:15 am

I'll take 'em off your hands...for a small fee, that is.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 7:48 am

Oh, I wasn't offering to give 'em up, just bemoaning the greater impracticality thereof.

Got any you wanna give me?

I'll not charge ya.

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Sun Aug 18, 2013 1:46 pm

dfuruta wrote:i like nice mics and cheap guitars.

Yeah, that can be a totally winning combination.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:31 am

All gear is useful somewhere

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 10:49 am

Yeah but, to re-state my theme as OP, nice stuff is mebbe less useful, to the extent that I feel I should be careful with it to keep it nice.

Once the guitar is scratched I can bang it on the stage or toss it to someone I'm 90% sure will catch it.

Once a mic is dented (I tipped a stand-mounted MXL V69ME last week and gave the gold screen a souvenir), I somehow feel more free to spit on it and scream, don't feel totally obligated to case it vs. a toss into the gig bag.

Jim Williams · Post by **Jim Williams** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:04 am

Me mum said "go first class, or stay home and watch it on the Travel Channel".

Only 10% of stuff is worthy. The other 90% is crap. Took a few years to figure that out.

I'll take the 10 and give you the 90. For me, it's the cream of the crop. That gives me my best MPG.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 1:36 pm

I guess I'm not making myself clear.

When I say "beater", I'm not referring to "low quality", but rather "well-used".

For example, I consider my 80's Tele or Paul or G&L F100's to be well-used, beater guitars, and superior to my newish SG, MIJ Strat, Epi Wildkat and Sheraton II, etc.

When I play the dented and chipped and bled-on former, I rock; when I play the shiny latter, I'm careful of the instrument.

When I sing in my old spit-covered, dis-colored and chipped 58's or 57's or AKG's, what I love, I'm more casual with them than any condensor, or even a newish SM7b or RE320 or 421II.

I have two AKG310's - the old beat one gets used far more, even tho' they sound the same; likewise, I use the beat-up Shures before the newer ones (yes, I tend to have pairs of mic's - I guess I see 'em as testicular extensions or sompin'.

)

Mebbe it's a complex? I always choose the grungier cords or cables for performance, the well-worn picks and loose mic stands and chipped glass slides ...

Mebbe it's 'cuz my moms always says keep nice things nice, so that I only feel comfortable workin' the beaters hard.

But I'll take yer 90!

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 1:41 pm

Now THAT'S an interesting angle.

I knew a guy who was absolutely terrified of doing the "stick across the cymbal" Hollywood horror movie thing for fear or leaving a scrape mark across his Zildjian Brilliants. I'm all for keeping some good gear in good shape, but at some point, fear of stuff like that might just hinder performance.

I was really relived to move my studio into a space with wood floors that were in good shape, but not totally brand new and shiny. I mentioned this to my studio designer and he told me that one of the big LA studios had had a new wood floor installed and the night before the first session, they had a bunch of dudes come in and drag chains around on it for like three hours, just so no one had to worry about being the first to ding-up the floor. I imagine that had some effect on the long-term stability of the sound of the floor, as well.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 1:43 pm

Exactly!

Hinder performance? Hell no! Get out the chains!

getreel · Post by **getreel** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 12:59 pm

I like beat up and older stuff in general but I am usually careful even of my beater instruments because they are irreplaceable due to the vibe etc.

Areas I totally agree with this concept is mics on drums and my car. It's never fun having a drummer whack your vintage 421 or hammer the AT Pro37r that's micing the hi-hat. I use a lot of 57s on drummers

I just sold a sporty little Honda Civic Si and bought a Rav4. No, it's not as much fun as the Si, but I loved the Si too much and it was hard when people scratched in or opened doors into it. Others don't care about your stuff. I will never drive a car that I really love again until I can afford to have a beater care and keep the nice one away except for special drives.

but I don't mind my guitars showing honest wear. I can stand one that's been mistreated just for fun or to make it look older.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:17 pm

getreel wrote: I can't stand one that's been mistreated just for fun or to make it look older.

I fixed that for you?

Because that's how I feel.

If I wanna relic, I'll get it there honest-like.

Message Board

I gotta confess, I kinda hate nice mic's and guitars

I gotta confess, I kinda hate nice mic's and guitars

Who is online