But as a guitarist who genuinely loves all this music, I need these tones. Throw in some other major influences in my life, such as Slash, Gary Moore, Peter Green, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton and all of a sudden, perception of “tone” get’s muddied. I’ve had a “tone” in my head since the age of 16, listening to David Gilmour play the long solo on Comfortably Numb and listening to Mark Tremonti thrash out some huge power chords in his days with Creed and more recently with Alter Bridge.Īny guitarist who is familiar with these artists, their music and knows gear, will understand that these are sounds that sit at almost polar opposite ends of the spectrum. There’s an elusive tone in every guitarist’s head whether they are keen to admit it or not, it’s there. The side effects of both are, “how do I get it there?”, as in, physically and “how can I improve it?”, as in, sound-wise. Although these prized possessions were my pride and joy, they didn’t bring me happiness - quite the opposite, and they defined my life.īeing a guitarist, you have many things to consider, two of those could be, ‘how does it sound when I’m at home practicing?’ and ‘how does it sound when I’m playing with others?’. It looked impressive and was a conversation starter when people visited.
It was the same story there, I would spend hours looking at endless shelves of colour, wondering which movie to watch. I no longer wanted to be bogged down by physical materials, bulk and weight. A year later, I’d sold close to 1,000 DVDs, 500 Blu-ray’s, 200 box sets, nearly 1,600 CDs and an entire collection of computer games and Metal Gear Solid memorabilia. This started back in 2014 when I came to the realisation that my life as a collector (hoarder, more accurately) was getting me down and holding me back. The last couple of years, I’ve been yearning for something more both creatively and figuratively. It’s impressive in the way it sounds, and it looks amazing when all set out in front of you.
Put it all together and it’s an impressive set of things to behold. I’ve got a beautiful amplifier, and four guitars that some could only dream of. I’ve spent the last five years amassing the most incredible lineup of pedals, the tools that help define and sculpt my tone…my sound.
The rig of my dreams…but it didn’t last long.