Downsizing, Upgrading
When people say upgrade, what do you often think about? Here are some that come to mind: bigger, better, more… This week, I’ve been thinking about my goals as a musician. Is it to be able to boast of a wide array of instruments or of impressive skills? Am I trully going to spend more than what I spent for tuition fees for a bunch of stuff which will merely complement my playing style? Thinking about the musicians which have had a role in my building up as a musician shows me my flaws. Jimi Hendrix just had a Fuzz Face, a Vox wah, and Univibe. Eric Clapton used to use only a treble boost. Jordan Rudess only uses 1 full-sized keyboard with a bunch of rackmounts, but most of the sounds were made by him through sampling and editing. John Myung sticks to his use of a 6-string Yamaha custom bass. The Edge gets his tone from the amount of delays and effects he has, but as it is, without his imagination, none of it would be of any use.
Anyway, my outlook has changed from "better gear, better sound" to "better skills, better sound." And with this I’ve been going for longer times in practicing rudiments (1 hour guitar practice, 1 hour keyboard practice, 1 hour listening to lineup). Hearing myself now and comparing it to last week (when I had a lot more set-up), I like the way I play now.
Of course this is not to say that I’m not going to buy some stuff (which will still cost me around 30-40k). But now I’m not going to focus on drooling for gear, but on looking for ways to improve my playing. I’ve been in a lull for too long. It’s time for a change.
