Why do you use what you use?

I'm bored so let's find out the reasons why people picked the gear they own!

Flying V: For Under $100 it's a great wall decoration, and when needed it's good for experimenting new tunings and styles
Ibanez: I wanted a guitar with a whammy bar, and for a guitar with a floyd rose it seemed like a good deal.
JT Strat: This thing sounded epic, it had the smoothest, thinnest neck I had ever felt, and it was shiny and extremely inexpensive
Acoustic: Impulse, but it got good use.
P-Bass special: I always wanted to try bass, and for $60 a Left handed bass with an extra Jazz pickup, smooth neck, and great tone, I couldn't help it.
Digitech Whammy: tried it, loved it, got it for half off ((floor model)
Dunlop crybaby: Always has been my favorite, got it for 80% off (used)
Fender Frontman: I needed to be heard with a drummer, this thing out did him before reaching volume level 3.

Btw, I never paid full price for any of this. All of it was at least 20% off.

Larrivee OM-03 Acoustic Guitar - Because it was suggested on an acoustic guitar forum as an alternative to Martins and Taylors. I don't like going mainstream, so I took it. As well, I saw a few CandyRat artists use a Larrivee and I wanted it.

Fender Fat Strat Candy Blue - Cause strats are cool.

Alesis Multimix 8 - Our dear old friend Phipmeister suggested to get it. So I got it.


That's about all my gear.

Fender Strat: I like the sound of a nice Fender. I think it's great for a variety of genres, in particular rock and blues. $350 on craigslist in like new condition seemed like a reasonable price. I also plan on eventually getting a semi-hollow guitar, so that would be used more for jazz.

Ibanez Acoustic AEL20E: I messed around with some acoustics at Guitar Center and really thought this was the best bang for the buck. It had a sticker of $499. I saw it on eBay, new, but apparently had a paint blemish on the back of it. I got it for $250, including shipping. To this day, I still cannot see any blemishes whatsoever, and I couldn't in the 10+ pics on the eBay auction either.

Digitech-RP355: I don't have this yet, but I think this is a good multi effects pedal. I saw some video reviews on youtube and it seems like some right up my alley. They are $199 new, so I imagine I can find a used one for a great price!

fender MIM strat because it was pretty (sunburst with a maple fingerboard)

ibanez artcore because i wanted a hollowbody, and it was pretty (transparent cherry red). also because it offers two humbucker pickups in contrast to my strat's three single pickups.

i probably play them 66% strat, 33% artcore

fender "unnamed" frontmant amp (either 1x10 or 1x12, 25-40 watts) because my brother didn't want it anymore

boss ME-70 multi effect pedal, because it offered the most effects to experiment and learn with for a low cost. also offered individual knobs to adjust settings for each pedal (as opposed to the ME-25 which, although cheaper, relied all on button and menu interfaces to change settings)

*** oh we are bragging about what we paid? both guitars craigslist (380 for strat, 250 for artcore), amp was a hand-me-up (handed down from my younger brother?) and the pedal was $200 off ebay.

btimm i would look at the boss ME-70. i paid $200 for it off ebay. i like its construction a lot more than some of the other ME pedals, but what i also like about it is something i remember you mentioning in older posts --- it also includes a phrase loop feature.

NOW i should warn you that it's not a true phrase loop/replay pedal. you can't store a phrase and repeat it later at will. BUT, it is very powerful.

it records up to 38 seconds (i think?) and lets you re-record over it at least 6 times maybe even more? easily enough for you to lay down a rhythm track and then "jam" on top of it. you can also alter the effects for each successive recording. so for instance, i was playing some weezer (blue album one of my favs, what can i say) and you can start by recording the rhythm track. once that is set, you can use the octave -1 effect and record a bass line. it doesn't sound as good as a real bass guitar, but for fun it's fine. now that you have rhythm and bass line down, you can play lead on top of it.

this is on top of the 50+ compression, FX, modulation, overdrive, EQ, and amp settings on top of everything else! i would recommend checking it out. not familiar with the digitech model you mentioned but some of their smaller models look too much like plastic toys with a lot of push-button interfaces. again, the boss has dedicated knobs for each pedal bank.

You can brag about what you paid if you want, but some people would see 5 guitars and a bunch of extras as a waste of money, so I was just showing that I never really paid as much as you would think.
It's kind of hard to convince people you really are broke when they think you have a thousand dollars of "junk"
To be honest I only paid about $300 dollars into that over the course of 4 years. Most were gifts. Others were too good to pass up.

I definitely wasn't bragging about what I paid, but it certainly has a lot to do with why I play what I play, which is the thread topic.

The Me-70 looks really nice. I will definitely have to look into it. And yes, you are right, I was thinking about a loop pedal, mainly to work on improv over a track, so that would work really well for that purpose! The RP-355 has a loop feature as well, but like you said about the ME-70, it isn't like a true loop pedal, but would work for what I want. I will take a listen to some video reviews and read up on that Boss pedal, it seems like a steal for that price.

I use what I use because it's what I can afford.

Dean VMNT: My baby. I play this guitar almost all the time-literally like 99% of the time. Sounds amazing and plays even better.
Dean VMNTX: My first V. It's in Eb so it does get used a couple times for playing with the band but not as much as my other.
Squier Strat:First guitar. Still gets used and is typically in D standard or Drop C.
Digitech Bad Monkey: Best $40 I've ever spent.
B-52 AT212:100 Watts of all tube tone and power. Great buy at $300-plus my other amp was stolen so I sort of needed it.

87' BC Rich Warlock - I traded a Squire Strat and $50 for this guitar to a kid across the street in '89. I had the neck re-fretted w extra jumbo frets and put two SD full metal shred pickups. It also has a coil split and plays like a dream.

01' Schecter C1+ - My rock/jazz guitar.

03' Tacoma D9 acoustic - Same reason as JustJeff's Larrivee

PODXT - Convenience. Good multi-effects processor that works great with an amp or a computer.

Oh boy! Here is a short list of a bit of the gear that has floated my way...

Guitars....

Ltd EX50 - Bought it for $250 after playing my buddies EX260. It was my first 'real' guitar

ESP/Ltd EX400 - The big bad brother of my EX50. I couldn't resist the power of two active EMG'S, the super fast neck and looks.

Washburn EX50ProFE - I went to Sam Ash every day for three months when I 16 just to play this bad boy. Couldn't afford it at the time, but I vowed to play it anyway. Finally 3 years and 3 states later, I was able this lovely discontinued Washburn. This guitar is 24 frets of shred.

ESP CZ - Just because it looked cool. I'd played an EC-1000 awhile back and liked it, so I figured this would be similar plus the cool graphics. Sure enough, she plays like a dream and has great tone.

Bass...

Harkte - don't know what it was. I got it in a bass starter pack when I was 13. All my friends played guitar, so I figured someone has to be the cool one!

Pedals and effects...

POD 2.0 - I got it for free. It was a really solid piece of equipment and had good tones.

Boss NS-2/tuner/metal zone... I love Boss and I love my distortion raw and thick (and I like being in tune and not blowing my speakers :))

Ibanez Weeping Demon Wah - They said Steve Vai used it...It was pretty cool for effects, but I almost never used it.


Gear I most want: Roland GR-55 Guitar Synthesizer. My dad had an old '90's model and that was bad ass. I can only imagine 20 years of improvement leading to one thing... Total global domination! Mwahahahaha!

Epiphone Les Paul - Got it for Christmas a few years ago as an upgrade from my Squire strat, been playing it ever since. It's the best Les Paul I've ever played off the shelf and once I adjusted everything to my preferences it was just great.

Martin acoustic - One of the cheapest Martins available, got it because I wanted to get rid of my Ovation and Dean ML, so I traded them for it and got a few hundred bucks cash-back. Sweet deal, good sounding guitar.

Marshall JCM2000 half-stack - Got it used from a local guy, paid a grand for it and the MF280 cab, which stock would probably be at least $1,500+. Amazing sounding amp, 'nuff said.

Dunlop Wah - Wah is cool, good for leads and funky rhythms, just a classic effect.

Dunlop Rotovibe pedal - I wanted to sound like Hendrix and Frusciante, plus I saw Zakk Wylde do some really cool stuff with it. I got it now it's a main part of my tone.

And since we're talking gear, EB electric strings, .11-.48 (I think) and Martin mediums for acoustic. And Dunlop Big Stubby picks (2mm) because they're the cleanest sounding pick, feel best, and are freaking purple haha.

That's about it. :p

Ozz

carlo robelli nylon acoustic- my first guitar....my pops bought it for me when i was 13. i was super interested in learning how to play it but learning how to play a game was wayyy easier so i became a gamefreak instead..5 years and the tone is still lovely

washburn lyon li15-it was my sisters(who had absolutely no interest in music)....it was pink....but it was what got me hooked in guitar playing. i went from crap to ok with this one. the tone was horrible, the action was sky high, the pickups sucked....but honestly, if i NEVER found out about any of that stuff i would have been using it longer than i did

lyon amp- came with the E.guitar

washburn lyon acoustic- 2nd acoustic...this is when i found out that there were nylon and steel string acoustics....very beautiful sound...i still use it for recording since it can hold the PU and the carlo robelli cant

Ibanez GRGX20- i used to think gio was the good ibanez....i begged for this one when i realized i was too good for the lyon E.gtr....this is when i started to learn a lot and when i got SUPER good. now i realize the PU are perfect for rhythm guitar....now its my "universal tuning" guitar

Peavy....something(cant remember the name lol) 30w- my father got this with the grx20...it was my practice amp until i got the flextone and my father got a strat and took it back to use it for himself(which he NEVER did)

Ibanez RG370DX- My baby :)....last guitar i got.....everything about it is perfect...i use this for everything...its my open D/Dropped C guitar

line 6 flextone II- love at 1st site amp.....now i hate it since i know i couldve gotten a 2x12 spider IV 150 for almost the same price...but its a super beastly amp and i used it to record my fastest, hardest solo ever.

line 6 pocket pod- i got this after my pops took all of the above(except for my sis guitar and the lyon acoustic)...and i borrowed my cousins GRGX40(which most of you saw in my vids)....this is my current "rig"

GRGX40- borrowed from my cousin.....if he didnt have more than one guitar i wouldve been S.O.L. and had nothing to practice with(besides the acoustic)

starcaster flanger pedal- when i first started playing i wanted an effect sooo bad....since my flextone(better yet all line6 amps) has flanger, it collects dust now

some distortion pedal and chorus pedal that i got from my pops....used to be important in my setup....theyre like from the 80's....i think they are BOSS if im not mistaken...lost the battery covers

Elixir polyweb 10's- bright tone....clear as day....and because they are the ONLY strings ive ever used that can handle my extreme finger sweat and playing hours

planet waves locking straps- nice designs....and they lock

Dunlop tortex 2.0- thick enough....and i can change my style of strumming easier while im playing

soon.......DiMarzio PU's......cause they are the sh!t

fender bullet .08s on the strat, ernie ball super slinky (.09s) on the ibanez...