We are so lucky these days

[Twincam]

Been reading the book British rock guitar which is an updated version of 17 watts by mo foster.
It's basically a collection of often very funny stories by famous names, talking about there first guitars, first amps, experiments etc etc. It's a really good read!

What got my attention is the fact that it's so much easier to get equipment that actually works, even the cheap gear. And we have internet so learning and music in general is so accessible.
It's so much easier in every way. We are indeed lucky.

However why I'm I yearning that it was still a bit like that.
Even when I was fairly young in the 90s it was still easier than the 50s, 60s and so on. Although I am still relatively new to playing it would of been much easier when I was young to do so. So I never got to really experience the "struggle" of previous decades.
The experimentation of it all seems really exciting. Even the crap instruments and struggling to get even the latest record has a certain fun element.
I can't help thinking in a way lacking all that now has lost us something, some magic in it all.

[Woodinblack]

While I am not one of the 'things were better in the old days', I do feel that music had more significance back a few decades ago, because it was harder to come by and more precious in a way. I seem to remember there was more around but that is probably youth, and the fact I went to more, but to find out about a group you had got interested in you had to put a lot more effort, there was more of a buildup. I lived in portsmouth but we would have days out to london or brighton where we would scour the record shops for things we didn't have.
Ultimately there wouldn't be a point to that now, there is nothing you cant get on the internet, or at one of the cloned town centers.

So yes, opportunity is better now, but maybe it has less value because of it. I do wish when I was growing up I had access to the quality of instruments i have now. It does greatly amuse me when you get in those groups or on eBay, "classic kay guitar from the 70s / 80s" for stupid money. Yes, they are rare, thats because anyone with any sense smashed them up or burned them!

[blue]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1461018965' post='3030791']
Been reading the book British rock guitar which is an updated version of 17 watts by mo foster.
It's basically a collection of often very funny stories by famous names, talking about there first guitars, first amps, experiments etc etc. It's a really good read!

What got my attention is the fact that it's so much easier to get equipment that actually works, even the cheap gear. And we have internet so learning and music in general is so accessible.
It's so much easier in every way. We are indeed lucky.

However why I'm I yearning that it was still a bit like that.
Even when I was fairly young in the 90s it was still easier than the 50s, 60s and so on. Although I am still relatively new to playing it would of been much easier when I was young to do so. So I never got to really experience the "struggle" of previous decades.
The experimentation of it all seems really exciting. Even the crap instruments and struggling to get even the latest record has a certain fun element.
I can't help thinking in a way lacking all that now has lost us something, some magic in it all.
[/quote]

Agreed, I started gigging in 1966 and a lot of the magic and enthusiasm for gigging is now gone. Most are content in their bedrooms noodling away.

To each his own.

Blue

[SICbass]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1461018965' post='3030791']
So I never got to really experience the "struggle" of previous decades.
The experimentation of it all seems really exciting. Even the crap instruments and struggling to get even the latest record has a certain fun element.
I can't help thinking in a way lacking all that now has lost us something, some magic in it all.
[/quote]e

This is so true. The thrill of finding a record you had wanted for ages (and at a moment when you had the dosh) was something special. Getting to see a favourite artist live was a total dream.
The thrill of the chase.

Edited April 19, 2016 by SICbass

[elephantgrey]

I think that the availability of decent (well definitely playable/usable) music equipment can only be a good thing.

How could more people being able to start to make music (and in more genres to boot) be a bad thing? Especially when it's now also easier to reach people that will listen to whatever neash genre you want to make.

Also, there still can be that hunt for new music, that just takes place on the internet instead of in record stores.

[Leonard Smalls]

And people will still pay £thousands for a 60s bass!

[Dad3353]

An anecdote..? Oh, go on; only a (fairly...) short one. I can..? Ah, well then...

My parents met and courted during WWII, and founded a (large; 8 children...) shortly afterwards. They both worked hard, but money was pretty tight, so luxuries were...well, luxuries, so we seldom had any. One of the fashions back in those days were for fur coats; all the 'stars' had 'em. Too expensive for most folks, but one could dream, couldn't one..?
The children grew up and left home; Mum and Dad would have, little by little, a bit more disposable income. In secret, and over a decade or so, my Dad put away a medium chunk of money and, as a surprise 50th wedding anniversary, presented my Mum with a splendid mink coat, just like the ones seen on the silver screen in their younger days. Of course, she was delighted. However, their social circles and way of life had changed a lot over time, and she had less occasion to wear it than in the past,and, frankly, fashions had moved on.
The moral of the tale..? It's a question of dreams. My Mum had gained a much-coveted fur coat, but had lost a dream of having a fur coat. She was the first to admit that, whilst being very grateful for the intention and attentions of my Dad, the dream was, in fact more valuable to her than its concretion. Back in the '50s and '60s, rock'n'roll, and modern music in general was a dream for many of us, and an almost unobtainable luxury. Not so these days. The current generations have their own aspirations and dreams (X-Factor..? Top footballer..? Fashion designer..? I dunno...); it's the dream that's got value. The realisation of one's dreams is not, always, desirable, or, at least, should be followed by further dreams to aim for. Are we really luckier these days..? Hmm... Not for those still dreaming...

Edited April 19, 2016 by Dad3353

[TimR]

Does anyone rehearse at someone's house?

In the 80s we took it in turns to rehearse at each other's houses. We even managed to hire a school classroom as our guitarist worked for the local council. By the 90s small rehearsal studios were becoming more widespread and affordable. Up to then I think most were dedicated recording studios and too expensive to use as rehearsal rooms. Although I could be wrong and it may have been we were earning more money by then.

[colgraff]

I spent my formative years in Abedeen which, at the time had two musical instrument shops. The range of second hand equipment was dismal at best. Because the town was such a long way from anywhere, a variety of good music was not easy to come by and I can only imagine how much richer my musical development would have been if the internet had existed thirty years earlier.

[RockfordStone]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1461057070' post='3030939']
Does anyone rehearse at someone's house?

In the 80s we took it in turns to rehearse at each other's houses. We even managed to hire a school classroom as our guitarist worked for the local council. By the 90s small rehearsal studios were becoming more widespread and affordable. Up to then I think most were dedicated recording studios and too expensive to use as rehearsal rooms. Although I could be wrong and it may have been we were earning more money by then.
[/quote]
i used to in the early/mid 2000's becuase i thought that was how you did it back then... now i am just too damn loud

[BigRedX]

[quote name='elephantgrey' timestamp='1461051923' post='3030887']
How could more people being able to start to make music (and in more genres to boot) be a bad thing? Especially when it's now also easier to reach people that will listen to whatever neash genre you want to make.
[/quote]

Is it easier to reach people with your music these days?

It's certainly easier to make your music available - anyone with a recording and $50 can get their stuff up on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify etc. But does that mean that anyone is actually going to listen to it, let alone pay 99p to actually buy a track?

It's great for people who want to listen to new and old music as pretty much everything is out there somewhere; you just have to search for it and most of the time that's not too hard. For musicians trying to build an audience it's hardly changed; you're still mostly playing to family and friends and a handful of fans.

In many ways the more things change the more they stay the same. My band's music is available to stream and download all over the world. We've been on podcasts and proper broadcast radio in this country as well as Europe and the US. We've even had a track on a magazine's cover-mounted CD. However no matter how easy it is to listen to or buy our recordings we sell many times more actual physical product (CDs, vinyl and cassettes) at gigs than all our internet sales - digital and physical - put together.

[4stringslow]

Times change - and a good thing too. If they didn't, we'd still be living in caves. Lusting after a past that has long gone is a sure way to waste your life. Standing on the shoulders of giants is the way forward.

[FinnDave]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1461057070' post='3030939']
Does anyone rehearse at someone's house?

[/quote]

We rehearse in our harp players house, have done every week for the last three years, much friendlier than using rehearsal rooms. He does have very tolerant neighbours!

[BigRedX]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1461057070' post='3030939']
Does anyone rehearse at someone's house?
[/quote]

For the first 25 years or so of playing in bands I rarely set foot in a rehearsal room, and for most of the 80s my choice of living accommodation was very much influenced by how suitable it was as a place where my band could rehearse and record. It has only been since I've been playing in bands with drummers who use an acoustic kit that I've stopped having regular practice sessions at my house, although it is still my preferred location for working on new songs with Mr Venom before we present them to the rest of the band in the rehearsal room.

[Dan Dare]

Yep. Nostalgia's not what it was. If you'd shown me back then the instruments I own, things I can do, etc now, I'd never have believed you. Would I have wanted them back then? Oh yes indeedy.

[Lozz196]

Yep, budget instruments/amps are so much better nowadays, as are rehearsal rooms. It`s so much easier to publicise gigs, and a lot easier to get them due to t`internet. Plus a lot easier to keep in touch with people who like your band, and a lot easier to both buy your band merch, and then to subsequently sell it. Recording costs are much lower in comparison to years back, and the quality of those recordings is a lot better. And due to having given up the copious amounts of alcohol I used to consume I can actually remember the gigs I do now, as well as them being a lot easier on my pocket.

[bubinga5]

Music back in the 60'70's was such more harder to learn.

[leschirons]

In 1967 we used to rehearse every Sunday in the other guitarist's parent's house. Colin Sangster his name was and at 4pm. on the dot, Mrs Sangster would come into the front room with four teas and sandwiches on a tray. I would bang my drumsticks onto the arm of the sofa, my brother would make weird noises on his Vox Stroller and Watkins amp, Colin would be attempting to give Green onions the rock treatment plugged into his Dad's radiogram and our bass player would sit there with his 66 jazz with no amp to plug into.

Yes, it was harder, but so much more fun.

[alyctes]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1461057070' post='3030939']
Does anyone rehearse at someone's house?

[/quote]

Yes. Three-piece, no drummer, so it's definitely easier. (Mind you, they had a drummer before I joined, and still rehearsed there.)

[blue]

In my 50 years of playing bass in rock bands, rehearsals have always been in someone home.

I would never join a band that was paying for rehearsal space unless they were making big bucks.

Blue

[4stringslow]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1461030251' post='3030813']

Agreed, I started gigging in 1966 and a lot of the magic and enthusiasm for gigging is now gone. Most are content in their bedrooms noodling away.

To each his own.

[/quote]

1966, coincidentally about the same time that your musical heroes lost their enthusiasm for gigging. IMO, The Beatles best work came about during their years of 'bedroom noodling'

(Ok, their 'bedroom' was in Abbey Road, but even so . . . At least the Stones have stayed on the road).

[RockfordStone]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1461119452' post='3031628']
I would never join a band that was paying for rehearsal space unless they were making big bucks.
[/quote]
if we had that attitude over here the majority of us wouldn't be able to be in bands.

[ivansc]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1461119452' post='3031628']
In my 50 years of playing bass in rock bands, rehearsals have always been in someone home.

I would never join a band that was paying for rehearsal space unless they were making big bucks.

Blue
[/quote]

I was about to say "there werent any rock bands 50 years ago" till I realised I did my first paid gig in.... 1954!
Time flies!
October-ish of this years I have 62 years of gigging (at least semi-pro) in!
Wow.

I remember thinking I would probably quit once I hit about 25.....

[BigRedX]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1461119452' post='3031628']
In my 50 years of playing bass in rock bands, rehearsals have always been in someone home.

I would never join a band that was paying for rehearsal space unless they were making big bucks.

Blue
[/quote]

That's a luxury that only someone living in a country with plenty of space can indulge in. Here in the UK only if you are very lucky will one of the band members lives in a detached house with understanding neighbours. For everyone else the rented rehearsal room is a necessary evil.

[Twincam]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1461151950' post='3031876']


That's a luxury that only someone living in a country with plenty of space can indulge in. Here in the UK only if you are very lucky will one of the band members lives in a detached house with understanding neighbours. For everyone else the rented rehearsal room is a necessary evil.
[/quote]

Indeed!
You can only just get away with a guitar or two and bass, noodling or song writing etc for the most part. Rehearsal or acoustic drums no chance.