Guthrie Govan Discussion

[alexkhan]

While in China I've had some time to visit a few gear forums I used to frequent back in my boutique gear days. And I just saw this:

http://www.hugeracksinc.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=95305

Mike is one of my favorite players and I knew he had been using some Vertex gear but I had no idea about this wah pedal controversy or fiasco. Reading this and a few other threads about it, all I could think was, "Man, am I glad I'm not in that boutique cesspool anymore."

I learned a lot about good quality gear during my decade at Tone Merchants and Suhr but I've definitely moved on - both from a professional aspect and personally in regards to the gear I now use and enjoy. In the end, the most valuable lesson I learned is that there is no such thing as "best" gear and good tone is in the hands and the mind of the player.

Personally, I've never been happier with a guitar rig than what I have now - a Strandberg Boden 8 (soon to add the Charvel GG whenever it finally ships) and the Axe-Fx II with the Atomic CLR active speakers. This is high-end professional quality stuff but I wouldn't consider it "boutique" which, to me, is mainly just tweaking and refining stuff that has been around for many decades.

I've come to see that this maniacal pursuit of "The Holy Grail" tone I see in the boutique world is just a whole lot of silly tail chasing that is counterproductive to why we pick up the guitar in the first place: making music and enjoying that experience. Plus, just like music itself, tone is subjective. What works for you may or may not work for others and vice versa. Why get bent out of shape and get into endless arguments and debates over the minutest details of a piece of gear and tone that really have no bearing in the quality of the music?

But that's just how that world works, I guess... If people want to argue heatedly over the value of some capacitors in an amp or a pedal or the characteristics of the metal alloy in the components of a guitar or whatever, fine. Have at it. I'm just so glad to be out of that world and having to repeatedly explain the difference between such things that really don't matter in the big scheme of things.

I certainly value the experience and the knowledge I was able to gain in the boutique realm as it serves as a stepping stone to much more productive ventures I've got going and planned for the future but that's all I see it as. There's a lot of viral hype in the boutique world and I used to get caught up in it a lot as well in the past but, again, these are just opinions of people (including myself) who may often have very different tastes from yours.

This Vertex incident is a cautionary tale of sorts. How many variations of the wah, a Tube Screamer, a boost pedal, a Marshall clone, or a 60's Strat pickup can you possibly go through to decide what's right for you? There are literally over a thousand pedal makers out there, hundreds of pickup winders, hundreds of amp builders, many dozens of Strat copy makers, etc. I suppose choice is good but, in the end, the differences are minimal between many and in this Vertex case, it's an identical copy of something else and was marketed and sold as different.

When I was running Tone Merchants, the first type of products I bailed out on was the pedals. It was so easy to get caught up in the "flavor of the month" pedal that quickly got replaced by the next "hot" thing. Same with amps. It became literally impossible to keep up with all of 'em. Out of curiosity, I'd try out some of these "must have" products and quickly realize it's just same ole stuff tweaked a wee bit different and packaged differently with a good deal of marketing hype and jargon.

There's certainly a lot of good products out there and it's great for us players to have so many choices but it's easy to get caught up in things that don't really matter to our enjoyment of playing the guitar and making some music. I've moved on from the business and the gear itself although I suppose some people can say a Strandberg guitar (as well as the upcoming Charvel GG) and the Axe-Fx are "boutique" as well. For me, it's become a lot more about practicality and convenience while still being able to enjoy world-class quality, flexibility, and versatility.

I'm having more fun with this rig than I ever have before and, consequently, I'm actually playing more than I ever have when I was in the boutique business. No, a Fender Tweed model in the Axe-Fx II isn't exactly like the real deal but it's plenty good enough for me in the bedroom when I want to savor that sound after bludgeoning my ear drums with some 8-string "djent" riffs or shred-noodling with a cheesy delays-drenched 80's arena rock patch. Hey, Guthrie recommended the '65 Bassman patch in the Axe-Fx II to me and I think it sounds and feels great. I'll take it any day over having a room full of amps, cabinets, effects, switchers, and cables strewn about all over the place.

My advice: just find what works for you and ignore the hype. I've found what works best for me and I can't be happier. I still check in on the boutique world every now and then more for business reasons than for any interest in the gear for myself. Overall, I now find the boutique realm very uninteresting. From what I can see, it's totally saturated with the same ole stuff and there's nothing new or exciting being developed whatsoever. There are a few exceptions, of course, like the Victory V30 Countess amp that can be carried on board in a plane, which is really cool.

It's gotten to the point where you can blindly pick an amp X from a certain kind of category (vintage-type Marshalls, for instance), guitar Y from a number of Strat-clone builders, pedal Z from a plethora of bedroom pedal builders, etc. and get something that'll be virtually indistinguishable from a different set of choices from these product categories.

The most profound lesson I learned during my years in the boutique realm is that the player makes all the difference, not the gear. Guthrie's first clinic at Tone Merchants was a major revelation to me because I heard some good players afterwards who played Guthrie's rig (same guitar, same amp, and even the same pick) and they sounded nothing like Guthrie tone-wise. I saw that being repeated over and over again - identical rig but different good players playing it and their sounds were completely different. Ultimately, it's you - the player - who can make the difference to sound and play better.
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.

[Carlo]

Excellent points Ed! And I agree 100%

The gear/tone chasing journey is a strange beast and there was a period when I found myself getting too carried away in the obsessive pursuit of tone, getting caught up with marketing hype, instead of the pursuit of making music.

The journey has been a good learning experience for me but I am glad to have also have moved on from that obsession and focus performing and making music now. I play mostly modern acoustic finger style now; I feel more inspired now and slowly finding my own comfortable voice.

For me, buying gear now is mostly for reliability purposes. I still play electric guitar, and I love my Suhrs because they are so low-maintenance guitars and stable as hell. But great sounds is definitely all in the hands.

[frankus]

I don't have the nerve to flog all the pedals and amps that I'd need to to get the AxeFX ... I enjoy running a Line6m5 into a Adrenalinn III into an EHX2880 looper... run from a FCB1010 .. but I also enjoy making pedals.

I did enjoy reaing your take on the Vertex situation.
_________________
Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"

I have the power!

[alexkhan]

[alexkhan]

[Carlo]

I love my Axe, but yeah that learning curve intimidates me still.

I have only programmed one amp patch my entire two years of owning one, lol. I use a Marshall Plexi patch…..just amp and cab, no effects (I like it dry). Maybe I should branch out a bit and try other simulations LOL.

But I am really happy with the tone. And it responds to my volume knob very well, so I have all the tones I ever could need.

[alexkhan]

[Carlo]

I still have so much to learn about the Axe. Those amp sims you listed sound tasty. I think my setup is also keeping me from using the Axe to its full potential. I'd love to get an Atomic speaker one day because I'm using pretty mid level monitors through mine.

But you motivated me to get workin on some patches this weekend, starting with some Bassman tweed tones

I'm definitely the type with a short attention span and have trouble concentrating fiddling with knobs and parameters lol

[alexkhan]

[Carlo]

I actually don't have a proper computer at home, lol I've been stuck using the tiny green lcd screen to do all my edits It definitely adds to my laziness. The only time I use a desktop, is at work, using the latest Mac.

But I did just get an iPad Air recently, so I am going to try to use that to control my Axe now

[alexkhan]

[Carlo]

[journeyman]

Interesting take on boutique gear. One in which I think you have hit the mark. Nostalgia plays a formable role along with the silly notion that tone can be purchased.

The one thing I do like about "boutique" is the passion. The gear spotlight is always moving, just like the music we listen to. It is nice that there are people/companies is out there listening to what musicians want. It's hard to please very picky music nuts, however the always fanatical movement that is known as nostalgia can end up hurting music. Innovation should be the driving force that keeps us inspired to create.

The thing that blows me away is how much this stuff costs. I wonder if so much of this equipment is bought solely as status and bragging rights and not because they plan to log a few 1000 hours enjoying the gear.

Its just a matter of time before we figure out how to align the ones and zeros to replicate every sound possible. A feat in the works for many years, maybe that time has come.

[alexkhan]

[alexkhan]

I have to say that what makes working in the "boutique" segment of this industry fun and rewarding is being able to connect with the customers one-on-one and offer personalized service. I absolutely believe in great customer service at any level - whether it's something as large as GC or something as small yet fast-growing as .strandberg*. It's about being fast and responsive to their needs and offering solutions and the services they need. Overall, it's very simple: treat your customers as you'd want to be treated as a customer yourself. I normally respond within an hour, very often within minutes. When I get that kind of response consistently, I'm a customer for life.

A .strandberg* customer who recently received the Boden OS 7 that I do the QC/setup work on posted this blog about his experience. It's something like this that makes the work I do very rewarding and which goes far beyond just the money. I dunno... Money has never ever been the driving factor for whatever I do in my profession in this industry. For me, it's about the best possible products and services: entry-level low-cost high-volume acoustic guitars for GC, working with Guthrie and The Aristocrats, the .strandberg* electric guitars business, and now working with Plini... I love 'em all and I can put may passion behind each one of these endeavors. And if I do a good job, money will naturally follow and, to me, it's secondary anyway. I really can't relate to people or businesses that only chase money. It's one reason I really admire Apple: make great products and do a great job making and selling them and the money stuff takes care of itself.

Anyway, here's the blog by a very satisfied .strandberg* customer.

http://www.mindofmiked.com/thefeed/2015/2/23/im-completely-infatuated-with-strandberg-guitars
_________________
Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.