Expectations for the year ahead

Doctor J

So what is everyone's goal for the new year? Technique, performance and equipment-wise, what are you aiming for in the next 12 months?

feylya

Good thread!

I'm looking forward to getting my Ran and my Edwards. Besides that, a Bacchus would be nice and I'd like to get some stuff recorded and maybe even play live :rolleyes:

Karl Hungus

So far I'm starting to collaborate with a guy in the states, which is going really well, and playing with a few guys here too, one of who seems to be pretty serious, so if everything goes to plan, I'd be very happy indeed. Playing live seems like it could be on the horizon.

As for gear, hopefully I'll get that damned Petrucci sig I've been raving about for so long.

It wasn't me!

No ideas on gear, perhaps fill another slot on what's missing in my life. Get this project I'm working on off the ground and onto a stage, finish composing this enormous piece of mine, perfect my picking and get my coordination and speed to a point where it's respectable at least, perfect a few more techniques, write more.

Bratach Bán

I have a recording project I've been knocking around in my head for the last three years, I finally have to commit something to tape and stop just collecting gear that I might use when I'm playing.

jcoote

i wanna get a band sorted this year and improve my techniques mostly.

i wanna work on tremelo picking and appregios (to start with) as well as hopefully doing a bit of classical training.

gear wise i'd love a JEM or a j custom and i wanna settle on an effects line up (i've never been happy in this area really). just bought a h&k matrix so that will suffice for amp requirements for this year

other than that i just wanna find some cool people to jam wit thats it

what about u doc u haven't mentioned what u wanna get/do this year???????

John

Maybe buy a Jazzmaster at the end of the year and soonish I'll be getting a couple more pedals and a violin bow. After that I intend to up my practice from the 0-2 hours a week now to something like 4-6 hours (not including band practice). Also the new year's coming to a good start as we've got a gig on the 17th (details soon) and hopefully we'll have a few throughout the year. Ambitiously I'd like to get a nice EP done at some stage.

Fingers Mcginty

get famous or die tryin

feylya

jcoote wrote:

other than that i just wanna find some cool people to jam wit thats it

Is there not enough on Boards for ya?

jcoote

RIP fingers

edit: yeah there is loadsa people here but we are all lazy bastards

Patricide

Hopefully an ashdown evo 2 full stack and mabey some new drum stuff.

Also wanna get my bands new stuff recorded its driving us nuts that we got shut down half way into recording.

Rustar

To get a 4x12 to go with the 15......to finally get a semi-pro-ish bass like the Rick or the Line6 modeler.....to do way less gaming and way more recording....to finally perfect my all-at-once BB King/Gary Moore/Santana impression on guitar....to finally get my drumming past early-Ringo quality and all the way up to AC/DC quality....

Voodu Child

Gear wise, im always on the lookout for new Ibanez's. I expect i'll add a neck-thru Ibanez to the collection, and a J-Custom or two. Ive also been thinking about a couple of projects, including a swirled RG/Jem, and a alder bodied RG with strat pickups.

Ive just started building a rack based rig, and it will grow gradually as i pick up bargains off ebay. I can see a couple of different preamps (JMP-1, mesa quad/studio, soldano). My THD univalve will fit into the rack system somehow, probably running the speaker output dry into one half of the cab, and running the slaved output through my GT8 for delay/reverb etc. and then into the mesa 20/20 and then into the other half of the cab, or another cab altogether. With some kind of switching to bring the other preamps in instead or something...

I havent really figured out the details of it yet , but it should be pretty good

steveland?

Gear-wise getting cracking on customising up my faux-Les Paul I've had sitting around since I was 15.

So far I've taken the neck and hardware off, started sanding but ran out of wrist power so am going to get one of the little padded power sanders to finish it off. The wood actually looks good underneath the paint, doesn't seem to be any dodgy joins so far so I may just leave it as a natural finish.

I've bid and won on a Seymour Duncan SH1 '59 and a DiMarzio Breed DP165F so when they arrive I'll buzz into town and get some new pots and a new input jack and then have great fun trying to figure out what bit's soldered to what other bit.

Karl Hungus

If anyone wants to hear what my collaboration with the guy in the states is going to sound like, you can hear the little bit we've done so far here.

Oh yeah, and I should have a new Mark Tremonti Power Wah in the next week or so.

DeadSkin

Dudes ye seem to have some pieces of gear on this forum, seems I'm in over my head lookin at some of it!!!

Anywho, what I've been doin a lot of is playin tunes from tab, so this year I'm pushing myself to concentrate more on scales, chords and doin' more finger exercises etc.

Playin songs from tab from the beginning is what got me into playin, but now the time has come to push myself further and stop neglecting the basics.

Then, hopefully at the end of the year I can reward myself with a new guitar;) .

Karl Hungus

Hey DeadSkin, if you want to get some serious finger workouts, check out John Petrucci's DVD Rock Discipline. It's quite phenominal, and I still haven't stopped learning from it, it's definetly the most useful instructional item I've got.

Doctor J

jcoote wrote:

what about u doc u haven't mentioned what u wanna get/do this year???????

Ah there are a lot of things going on at the moment which could change things dramatically and make any plans of the moment irrelevant.

But if I stay in this rut...

...Ideally what I'd like to do is just get a balance going. In the last few months I've been too busy, had too much going on between work, band, studio and personal life and to be honest, wasn't making much headway from being spread too thin. I suppose my main musical priority is the band, got some great musicians to work with, we've got some killer riffs and it'd really be a tragedy if I blew it because it's something I really believe in. It's been a long time since I was the main songwriter and I need to improve and work on my work ethic. I'll need to get my **** together playing-wise too (it's been almost 14 years since I played guitar in a band) and I'd like to add a bit more dressing, let's say, to my meat and potatoes style since it's a one-guitar, one-bass, one-drums and a singer line-up. I've found though, that when I concentrate on guitar playing my bass playing suffers and, at the moment, I'm not entirely happy with my bass... need to tidy up there big time. I've also decided to give up drumming altogether and just focus on guitar and bass. I enjoy drumming but I need to focus this year and stop being jack-of-all-trades.

Gear-wise, I'm never happy, but I'm at a point where I really don't need anything (yeah but when has that stopped me ). I've some nice guitars, some stunning basses and amp-wise I think I'm sorted, though I'd love to add a 2x10 to my 1x15 bass setup, we just don't have the space and I've no bass gig to justify it. I'm thinking about a pod xt or something like that just for doing demos at home. We have one in the studio and I'm very impressed, especially with that guitar rig software. I'm hoping to spend less time in the studio but get better at mixing, do less projects but give a better product, if you know what I mean. I want to finish the Edible album this year, but I say that every year and I know we'll get some Acrid Nebula stuff recorded in the next month or two. First though, I've got to record the vocals and mix the Celtic Frost cover we're doing for a compilation CD

Busy, busy, busy but I wouldn't want it any other way

DeadSkin

Karl Hungus wrote:

Hey DeadSkin, if you want to get some serious finger workouts, check out John Petrucci's DVD Rock Discipline. It's quite phenominal, and I still haven't stopped learning from it, it's definetly the most useful instructional item I've got.

Thanks Karl, must see can I get my mitts on that.

Ancient1

I'm planning on finishing sanding that Strat body this year. Failing that, I'll shoot for early 2009.

I haven't bought any gear whatsoever during 2006, so I might treat myself to a new plectrum or something this year.

Doctor J

Ancient1 wrote:

I haven't bought any gear whatsoever during 2006

Ehhh... shouldn't this guy be banned for that?

Ancient1

I should be congratulated for my superhuman perseverance!

Hanging out with you lot and not being able to satisfy GAS - try it man, I don't recommend it!

les-paul

To balance things out, a month ago I bought my first guitar in 4 years! And thanks to the resident gearheads at this board, I just can´t thank you enough!

On a side note for 2007 I'd like to improve my tone, thanks to my new Edwards and a Pod XT I got on Ebay, you gotta love that bean! Learning some scale other than pentatonic would be a great plus, yes I´m that lame!

Quattroste

I don't expect to buy any more in the way of Guitars or Amps but I may improve my recording and PA capabilities.

Other than that its trying to find the time, and will, to devote myself to practice so I can improve. Sometimes after busy days in work I just don't have the energy to practice.

Also finding people to jam with or start a Jammin Night in a rented hall or club or something.

david

Win that damned Blast:Beat thing in February or at least put on a memorable show. Write More Songs. Record an EP. Buy an ibanez AD-9 and some sort of Orange. No guitars for me, i bought my last and final guitar ever on 12/06/06. Meh feck all these new years resolutions about improving your playing, im happy at where im at, i dont wanna be some weird neoshredder guy. Just play with attitude like you mean it and youre part of the music. Thats where i wanna be on 31/12/07.
Oh and a pass in the old leaving cert might be a bonus too.

fish-head

Ah the auld leaving cert. My folks took away my guitars coming up to that last year.. be warned! Greatly improved my harmonica technique though.

As far as new gear goes, I'm finally going to get the Gretsch I've been banging on about (no thanks to you, Thomann).

I've got some new pickups on the way from GFS for my Telecaster (which I should really post some pics of) and Sheraton. They're dead cheap but have been getting rave reviews all over the gaff.

I'd also like to pick up some kind of lofi vintage guitar like a Danelectro or Kay or something, to satisfy the lowdown bluesman inside me.

I've convinced myself I need an acoustic aswell, so that goes on the list aswell as decent tremolo and delay pedals.

Technique wise, I need to pick up my notation reading, I've really let it slide. Speaking of slide, I need to work on my slide technique.

I'm gonna keep working on the Charlie Christian solos I've been doing with my teacher, they're fantastic for pinching licks off of and are really helping me along the way to becoming a competent jazz player.

Also, I'm gonna work on getting some Chet Atkins songs down, no small task I tell you.

Beecher

Amp wise I just bought a Laney head last night to get that lovely Paul Gilbert tone. I have really become fond of that unique Laney voicing. Along with my JMP-1 that should tide me over for a while.

Guitar wise I ordered an Ibanez PGM recently but it was out of stock so I canceled the order with a mind to ordering a RGA121 or something similar. While contemplating what do I blocked off the trem on my RG1820x and now dont feel the need to ordering a hard-tailed Ibanez. For once I feel quite satisfied with my guitar collection.

Recording wise I have a nice little setup going on here and I really want to learn how to make the most of it. Sample of something I did this morning.

Theory wise I really need to learn this. I can play fine by ear, and have no problem jamming along to something. However when writing music I sometimes get this idea in my head and it takes me long enough to figure out how to express that on guitar. Im hoping theory will aid me with that.

The Freeman

hmmmmmmmmm....

i'm gonna start to learn full songs more this year as regards to learning solo's i like, aswell as that to learn a couple of more scales, gonna pick up a pod live xt when i get back from spain next month too, i'm really looking forward to nailing a good tone AND to get in to recording at home too, just starting to jam with a couple of lads now and would love to start a local blues band in galway in the year which galway doesn't have(if i;m not sunning myself in s.e. asia:D )i've got my eye on those budget price prs's on ishibashi too(danger danger)....



.....wouldn't mind upgrading my amp from a marshall 100 watt to something a little more versatile, anyhow we'll see how we get on sure.;)


actualy forgot to mention i'm getting epi sg std for a hundred quid in a few weeks(only a few years old and hardly used)strip it down and put a design that i come up with(with the aid of my sister who is an artist)prob stick in nice set of creamy blues gibson pickups aswell .

ferdi

play some gigs for money

LundiMardi

Band.

That is all... Find a band that i'm happy with, write incredible song, play incredible songs. Be happy.

I've absolutely no aspirations for new gear, although my trip to NYC next week may tempt me so....

Band first, after that my need for new gear will come naturally as i will want the best sound possible for said band.

Seany

Jaysus, I just realised that I have picked up some decent gear over the past 12mths:

Rickenbacker Bass
G&L L2000 (now sold to fund Ric)
Pro-Tools 6.7 & Mbox
Vox AC30
Hughes & Kettner 250W BaseBass
BOSS DD6


So my intention is to start using them a bit more!

Towards the end of 2005 I started playing in a band again and between myself and the other chaps involved, we wrote a few good tunes...of course the arse kind of fell out of it in mid 2006, but my intention this year is to get the tunes we worked on for over 9mths recorded, mixed and finished!

Depending on how much of my time that takes, I might look into a new project or at least a jam with some friends a couple of times a month

Squirrel

I want to move from beginner guitarist to intermediate. And by Christmas I'd like to have a nice guitar, maybe a '72 Telecaster Custom in black or a Les Paul/SG. I don't know as of yet but hopefully all will turn out well

Yakult

Will this year I plan on getting a JCM 900 head, Vox AC-30 head and run em both thru a MArshall 1960a Cab. and buy an american Fender H-S-S config.

technique wise, Im gonna improve my soloing, learn some sweeping and **** loads more!!

Over the summer plan to record an EP with my band and get a good rep around Ireland!!

Thats it for now!! lol

Baggio

Well..........
awaiting my 2 new snares from Mapex shall be goood

one a 14/5 cherrywood with all 24kt Gold Hardware, the other a Mapex 12/7 Black Panther maple/cherrywood cracking pair of snares.

other than that the year ahead?..get both bands up and gigging more regular and take the two of them outside Dublin and rock outside the pale!

ciao' amigos...hapy new year all...Baggio.....

fitz

Get a drummer to replace Eoin, get back gigging again.
Put the finishing touches to the ep and album recordings.
Pick up my DW kit next weekend. Nice.
And I think that this year I should really buy a Jap Telecaster.