| In the mid-90s, I was sitting in my practice room woodshedding away to become a good musician.
Suddenly this frustrating thought entered my mind…
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“It’s my gear holding me back…
I need a better guitar and amp. This tired old axe is the problem.”
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At the time, I didn’t have any real pro musicians around me who could actually give me trusted advice on this topic. But I did have this one older friend who played a little guitar. So I asked him.
He started telling me about this AMAZING boutique guitar brand. And another amp company that supposedly paired with it beautifully.
“They’re the best guitar and amp brand in the world,” he told me.
“It will sound so good, and this guitar will even APPRECIATE in value over the years. You can’t lose!”
I foolishly believed him. I was young, and didn't think to consider (1) he had no credibility, and couldn't really play anything. (2) he didn't even own the gear yet. He wanted to buy it himself.
So what did I do?
Well, I went down to the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. You see, there is this long street loaded with guitar shops. They used to call it “guitar row” back in the day. I think now it’s called “Hollywood Rock Walk” or something…
Anyway, I found the shop that sold this boutique brand and started chatting it up with the sales guy.
Next thing you know, I was putting down a deposit on this $3,000 boutique guitar. It was being custom-made. I ordered it to spec and was going to have to wait about 6 months for them to make it. I also bought the amp that paired with it (another $3,000).
Now, at this point, I was $6,000 deep. This adjusted for inflation to now, March 2024, is the equivalent of $12,735.68.
Keep this in mind…my first car – a used blue Toyota Corolla – only cost me $3,000. So I’d just spent DOUBLE the price of my vehicle on guitar gear. This was a lot of paper deliveries!
Long story short, I soon found out this was a…
TERRIBLE DECISION.
I was wrecked. It didn't make me better, and it was too late to go back. I got sucked in and BELIEVED it was the answer.
Years later, I spent MONTHS trying to sell it on Craigslist, But I couldn’t get rid of it. I kept having to drop the price over and over and over...Until finally, some guy came and bought both the amp and guitar for around $500!
It still hurts to this day as I picture the memory of him loading the gear into his trunk in my driveway while I accepted defeat and silently screamed on the inside.
Look, it's so easy to fall into this trap.
Players end up wasting a ton of money buying the wrong gear. They spend countless hours scouring sites like Sweetwater, reading reviews, and getting lost in gear forums searching for answers.
When really the majority of answers they are looking for are much simpler. Focusing on getting the fundamentals of playing rock guitar can go a lot further for your music than gear can. But still...
They’re stuck wondering how to dial in a good rock guitar tone. Their tone might sound nice but it’s not giving them rock vibes.
Now, when it comes to playing rock guitar, there are only a few tones you need to know how to get. Once you can get these, you’ll be set to play 99% of songs.
That’s why in my program Essential Rock Guitar System, I show you what those tones are. How I get them. And how you can get them, assuming you have the few basics needed.
You’ll also get a pedalboard rundown of what I’m using to play both live and when recording my rock video lessons. I reveal the 8 pedals on my board, demo each one, and walk you through how I use them.
You'll see these simple, tried-and-true combinations. And how you can easily get similar results.
And if you still have any final questions…just ask me inside the course and I’ll answer them for you.
That’s something course members get no one else does.
Anyway, if you’re interested…
>>> Here’s where to go next
Jon MacLennan |
