Too precious about equipment?

[4 Strings]

Years ago equipment used by bands I used to see was always pretty tatty, well used and often had the band name stencilled on and plenty of stickers on guitars, amps etc. Nowadays, despite the relative cost of the gear being much lower, we seem to be much more materialistic and frightened to even pull off clear plastic protection (reference a member of this site asking whether to take off the US flag sticker from the scratchplate of his new Fender).

This went recently on ebay and took me back to those times:
[attachment=107493:Fender Bassman.jpg]

you know the sort of thing:
[attachment=107494:Stickers.jpg]

I know some will like to keep their expensive equipment pristine etc but this seems to be the norm nowadays but not so much in the past. There was another chap on here describing how he pulled the plug on someone who put a beer glass on his cab (isn't this where they always go? Tea mug in rehearsals).

This is definitely not a criticism of at anyone at all, its just I found myself not liking the big advertising sticker which came on the top of my brand new and painfully expensive Streamliner amp and rather than screw it up into the bin, I put it on the bottom. Why did I do that? What am I scared of? Reduced resale? How much have a saved by doing that?

Are we more precious than we used to be? Are these our tools or our precious pearls?

[discreet]

Tools. I know exactly what you mean. I wouldn't wilfully damage or deface gear, but I don't handle it with kid gloves, either. Wear and tear due to frequent use is pretty much unavoidable. Though these days 'wilful damage' and 'relic' are the same thing, are they not..?

[Skol303]

I guess for some people it's as much about collecting stuff as it is making music.

Some of us like to play with our train sets; others like to keep them pristine in their little boxes... metaphorically speaking.

Nothing wrong with looking after your gear, provided it doesn't get in the way of having fun with it.

[Adrenochrome]

Yes, I think musos generally are much more precious about their gear than when I started, although I'm not sure of the reasons why. Drummer in my last band is terrified of anyone going near his mega-expensive kit which doesn't sound much different to cheap kits (just louder). Why not just get kit suitable for the job if you're playing pubs with drunk people dancing inches away from you?

[Lozz196]

I`m one of those that looks after their gear, but if any of my gear gets a knock I won`t beat myself up about it either. I figure it will last me longer if I take as much care of it as possible, but accept that it`s all tools for the job, and the fact they are being used in pubs it`s inevitable knocks/dings will happen.

[neepheid]

PERSONAL OPINION ALERT - THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK ON THE OP (OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER)

I don't abuse my tools, I don't abuse my car, I don't abuse my house, am I being too precious? Sure wear and tear through use is normal, accidents will happen, but an amp is not a table to put beers on, never has been - it's just stupidity or reckless bravado and asking for trouble. Cigarette burns on the headstock? Absolutely ridiculous behaviour. What's precious about being careful? Am I precious for using a stand to put my bass on during the gig? Am I precious for wiping the rusty WD40 off a spanner after I remove a seized nut?

I remember on an old game of Snakes and Ladders when I was a kid - at the top of the biggest snake was a kid laying into a toy car with a hammer and at the bottom of the snake was the kid crying cos his toy car was wrecked. The lesson is there, and has been since way before I was born. Look after your stuff, because you should be bloody grateful that you have it at all.

EDIT: Just googled the board and I got my stories mixed up - the boy laying into the toy car is the first snake you encounter and he's just looking kinda gormless afterwards. There's a snake with a girl shaking her doll and her crying at the bottom because the doll's in bits. Got my heavy handed morality kids board game elements confused but the lesson is the same

Edited May 10, 2012 by neepheid

[flyfisher]

Tools. But a good craftsman will always look after his/her tools to kept them in tip-top condition to allow them to do their stuff. A blunt saw is no good to anyone.

As far as I'm concerned, the pleasure is not in owning the tools but what they allow me to do. Tools can be broken, fixed, stolen, replaced, but the music and the memories will alway endure.

[risingson]

There's a lot of stuff that dictates whether or not you 'take care' of your gear, I think what it usually comes down to is the type of music you play, the image you wish to project and finally, just the kind of person you are. Me, I like my gear relatively clean looking, that's just the kind of person I am.

[Conan]

Tools.... but loved tools.

[TheGreek]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1336641933' post='1648700']
PERSONAL OPINION ALERT - THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK ON THE OP (OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER)

I don't abuse my tools, I don't abuse my car, I don't abuse my house, am I being too precious? Sure wear and tear through use is normal, accidents will happen, but an amp is not a table to put beers on, never has been - it's just stupidity or reckless bravado and asking for trouble. Cigarette burns on the headstock? Absolutely ridiculous behaviour. What's precious about being careful? Am I precious for using a stand to put my bass on during the gig? Am I precious for wiping the rusty WD40 off a spanner after I remove a seized nut?

I remember on an old game of Snakes and Ladders when I was a kid - at the top of the biggest snake was a kid laying into a toy car with a hammer and at the bottom of the snake was the kid crying cos his toy car was wrecked. The lesson is there, and has been since way before I was born. Look after your stuff, because you should be bloody grateful that you have it at all.
[/quote]

Here, here...

[thepurpleblob]

Well.... I have a garage/workshop behind my house full of all sorts of tools. I'm the sort of guy who (tries to) keep them in the right place and always cleans them before they go back. It's expensive stuff and I like it to work properly and to last.

Musical equipment - same. I'm not especially precious but I don't want it knackered.

[MrTaff]

I'm not that precious about stuff, certainly not with stuff as cheap as bass gear but there's a difference between damage from use or abuse, putting a beer glass on top of my cab or amp is abuse and is asking for trouble.

[BigRedX]

I think that potential for resale has a lot to do with people's attitude towards their instruments and other gear. In the past once you'd worked your way up to your ideal Fender/Gibson/Rickenbacker you thought you were set for life. The idea that these things were actually going to be worth more than you'd paid for them at some future date was unthinkable. They we're necessarily abused but they would get well used over the years, and wear that is slowly accumulated over a long period of time doesn't register as much.

A case in point: my first 5-string bass bought brand new in the late 80s. I used it as my main bass for a couple of years until I got my first Overwater and then it was my backup bass for the next 10 years. It's didn't get a lot of playing time once I had something better, but it came to all the gigs I did and was in and out of it's case at those and every rehearsal and recording session. I can remember the first couple of dings it picked up, but after that I didn't really notice. It then sat in its case in storage for another 5 years until I spotted an ad on here from someone who wanted to buy this particular model. When I got the bass out and had a good look at it for the first time in ages, I couldn't believe how many chips and marks there were in the finish and I spent ages photographing them all for my prospective purchaser. When I had the bass around and saw it every day they didn't seem like a big deal, but seeing it for the first time in ages it looked a bit of a mess.

I'm sure that the amp and speaker cab in the OP were exactly the same...

[Adrenochrome]

I'm not at all precious and my main bass has plenty of dings - but my basses get cleaned and go on stands at gigs, and my drink always goes on a holder attached to my mike stand.

[BigRedX]

It also seems weird those at a certain point damage/wear to instruments and equipment suddenly turns into "mojo" and it becomes more valuable if you leave it as it is rather than try to repair or re-finish it.

[Nyl]

As i've gotten older i've tended away from my careless ways, but i see nothing wrong with making your instrument your own.

I think it boils down to respecting your gear, yes its not going to be pristine forever but why prematurely cut short its life span

[LiamPodmore]

My basses are dinged up, my P has got sme nice chips from it's years of service in the hands of my uncle, my Ibanez has a huge chip where a stand snapped and it had a glorious fall onto various pieces of Yamaha motorbike engine, and also when it was involved in a minor car accident (In a gigbag, on my back, on a BMX). My Squier has a few chips in places from gigging, accidental drops etc.. I don't treat my gear like a 2 day old baby but i don't deliberately smash it up either. My drinks either go on a nearby table, on the floor next to the monitors, or on the drum riser if there is one.

Liam

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1336642777' post='1648730']
Here, here...
[/quote]
[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1336641933' post='1648700']
Cigarette burns on the headstock?
[/quote]
do people still do that? just cos they think it looks cool when keef or jimmy do it?
or is it all aspiring to be like the gallaghers now or something?
seriously?
who knew!

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Nyl' timestamp='1336643682' post='1648747']
As i've gotten older i've tended away from my careless ways, but i see nothing wrong with making your instrument your own.

I think it boils down to respecting your gear, yes its not going to be pristine forever but why prematurely cut short its life span
[/quote]

This. In the past I've done some serious customisation and personalisation to my instruments but it was always done to the best of my ability and finances of the time. My synth band in the 80s had all its stage gear painted and customised to the band image, but we did it to most professional standard that we could and at the time it was the only way that you could have synthesisers that didn't look exactly like everyone else's. If anyone ever comes across a bright red Yamaha DX7, a yellow Casio CZ5000 or a red and black tiger striped Yamaha KX5 they used to belong to us.

These days there I have less need to apply my own personalisation to my instruments because there is far more variety and I can find something that already looks how I want it.

Edited May 10, 2012 by BigRedX

[BottomE]

I like my gear and will always look after it as best i can. It earns me decent money and i spend decent money on it so i want to look after it.

[musophilr]

I paid good money for my gear and couldn't afford to replace it so I take good care of it. Ultimately my gear is tools not family heirlooms so wear & tear happens but even so I'll do my best to minimise that wear & tear.

As for drinks on amplifiers? Well if the results of liquids spilt onto hot valves doesn't bother you, go ahead, but not on MY gear ...

[Jono Bolton]

I bought an American Standard Precision about 3 years ago on here from Clarky, which he'd bought from Nick (Old Horse Murphy). The two of them had done a fine job of keeping it looking pristine, and such was my fear of being the first to scruff it up, I barely played it. I like to keep nice things looking nice, but not if it's interfering with my use of it.

I've got an MIM P Bass now that I previously owned and received back in a trade, and I'm much more comfortable with it. The original owner had it in a bit of a state and I preceded to clean it up and make it servicable, and someone who's had it between when I first owned it and when I received it back last year has added a few more dings and done a terribly sh*tty job of trying to drill the bass for pickup and bridge covers, which ruined the scratchplate and left a 5p coin-sized chip out of the finish by the bridge. This "mojo" (or whatever its called, I like damage)means I now have a bass that's great to play, and I'm much happier playing something that's a bit battered-looking, because I don't have to worry as much about damaging it further. Obviously I'm not going to go Pete Townshend on it or anything, but if it picks up a few knocks here and there, it's no big deal

[RhysP]

[quote name='musophilr' timestamp='1336645088' post='1648764']
I paid good money for my gear and couldn't afford to replace it so I take good care of it. Ultimately my gear is tools not family heirlooms so wear & tear happens but even so I'll do my best to minimise that wear & tear.
[/quote]

This.

[4 Strings]

I think we should try to avoid extremes, it isn't between treating like glass or abuse, or between putting a glass on a cab and pouring beer down onto valves etc, no-one is going to do that, just being much more precious about the gear than we used to. (If a glass gets knocked on a cab you'll need a j-cloth, not the end of the world.)

Fewer stickers, less lending, more wardrobes of guitars at home cased up in pristine but unplayed condition.

Refreshingly I enjoyed a gig in Kent a short while back, several bands all with respect for each other sharing their gear (none pristine) without inhibition for the good of the gig. Nothing got damaged of course. Made for a good evening and without a guitarist/bass player attracting comments about his anality.

I'm looking forward to the first dig in my new amp so I can enjoy using it.

[Lozz196]

It`s funny, but I like the look of a well-worn Fender (which is why I bought my 77, it looks worn, but not mis-treated) but to me, a Gibson has to look pristine.