The Gear Code of Silence

[Gas-man]

Here is why you rarely get the straight dope on expensive gear.

If an expensive piece of gear is dissappointing, the owner isn't going to post about it because:

1. He will feel foolish for the purchase

2. He wants to resell it

But hey, I could be wrong (I mean, I doubt it, but...)

I think this Code Of Silence permeates TGP.

[Sam Sherry]

One person's "disappointing gear" is another person's "ideal solution."

Today's "ideal solution" is tomorrow's disappointment.

That's the way it goes with the stuff that doesn't matter.

[mbargav]

Someone posted this on a thread I participated in a while back. My own views aren't so extreme (I don't disagree either), but this is definitely a very good point:

Originally Posted by ibodog

Many TGP'ers that are not manufacturers get upset over anything that could be perceived to lower the resale value of equipment they own. This includes cheaper clones and anyone honestly saying they didn't like the sound of something. This whole board exists to keep resale value of guitar equipment up. That's what most of the rules in the discussion and emporium forums are designed to encourage. If the cloning is perceived to increase resale value it is looked on with approval. If it is perceived to decrease resale value it is disparaged. Any other perceived "norms" about when/if cloning is OK are subservient to this rule.

[clarkram]

Originally Posted by Gas-man

Here is why you rarely get the straight dope on expensive gear.

If an expensive piece of gear is dissappointing, the owner isn't going to post about it because:

1. He will feel foolish for the purchase

2. He wants to resell it

But hey, I could be wrong (I mean, I doubt it, but...)

I think this Code Of Silence permeates TGP.

sounds more like common human behavior not limited to TGP

[daddyo]

Originally Posted by mbargav

Someone posted this on a thread I participated in a while back. My own views aren't so extreme (I don't disagree either), but this is definitely a very good point:

I don't think the whole board exists as a marketing tool, but many manufacturers of boutique gear have used TGP as an alternative to traditional wholesale/retail marketing models. And I agree that nobody will slag their own gear until after they have sold it. But I think the vast majority of gear esposed here is actually of very good to excellant quality.

[germs]

i think that a lot of the expensive boutique stuff gets hyped up as a _______ killer.

then, it fails to live up to whatever expectation set by the hype and the very subjective opinion of the new owner. to slag something based on hype and opinion is not really fair to the builder - who isn't doing anything differently than he/she has ever done. i don't think that anyone here is doing that anyway. shady business practices, yeah - i see some comments...

at least with off-the-rack stuff you have the option to get a good feel for it before hand, in most cases.

[mbargav]

I wonder if most people learn to handicap for this fairly soon. I remember the first month or so I was on here, I just wanted to buy every single thing I read about. But as time goes by, it seems to get much easier to filter through the hype.

I've only been here a year, but already I can see amps that everybody was talking about a year ago now seem to muster up zero excitement.

[whitehall]

And here is why cheap gear gets raves...there are a lot more poor people than rich people. Copy guitars...most of these things are remedial at best. It's unlikely that the copy kids have ever actually owned say.. an R8. And let's face it, most of the people here have never even set foot in a music store...so how could they know. So one kid raves and the rest pile on. Now the guy with the R8... he's not gonna stoop to defend his gear. He doesn't have too.

[Gas-man]

Originally Posted by whitehall

Now the guy with the R8... he's not gonna stoop to defend his gear. He doesn't have too.

Have you missed all the Gibson owners who get irate at anyone suggesting that Gibson's quality is less than perfect?

There are dozens of pages of these battles.

[Jon Silberman]

Originally Posted by Gas-man

Here is why you rarely get the straight dope on expensive gear.

If an expensive piece of gear is dissappointing, the owner isn't going to post about it because:

1. He will feel foolish for the purchase

2. He wants to resell it

But hey, I could be wrong (I mean, I doubt it, but...)

I think this Code Of Silence permeates TGP.

You're right, but you're only half right. The other half are folks who owned and have already sold the gear in question. Those folks are likely to be - and are often - brutally honest about it. So, taken as a whole, I cannot agree with your position that "you rarely get the straight dope on expensive gear." But even when you don't, it merely underlies the key principle that we must take personally responsibility for our gear choices and that includes listening to and playing the gear ourselves rather than relying on 3rd party opinions.

[MisterTV]

I think Point #3 in your Code of Silence theory should be:

Fear of becoming an easy target for the desciples of whatever boutique gear you don't like.

Which is why you rarely, if ever, see threads like "I hate Reverends."

(Which, by the way, I don't. They're awesome. Please don't PM me! )

[semi-hollowbody]

Originally Posted by Les Gear

One person's "disappointing gear" is another person's "ideal solution."

Today's "ideal solution" is tomorrow's disappointment.

That's the way it goes with the stuff that doesn't matter.

This needs to be a sticky...it sums up the subjectivity of guitar gear...not to mention all the variables (guitar, pic, strings, effects, room/accoustics, finger callouses, etc) never mentioned when praising or slamming an item...

what never fails to send me into laughing fits is when someone reviews an item on (for example) musicians friend and they "have heard about it" or "have tried it"...how the hell can you give an accurate review of an item after playing it for 10 minutes in a guitar center, or never playing it but hearing your metalhead friend talk about it???

Reviews and opinions are most informative when the other gear used, where you play and what volumes, and the type of music you play is mentioned...

[Mark Kane]

Well, mostly what you're talking about are opinions and they are at best subjective. Poor, sloppy workmanship, something not working, etc... are easy to rate. What something sounds like isn't at all. Threads go on and on here with blathering over infinitesimal differences in poorly recorded sound clips every day. Why consider those as anything more than mildly amusing. Yet a few will go on and on over the subtle nuances they hear that no one else can. In the end you have to try stuff for yourself, no one can make those decisions for you and you shouldn't get mad because they don't.
After all the years I've been here I can only count on one hand the folks whose opinions on tone I would take at face value. There's no substitute for experience.

[somedude]

I agree with the OP about people wanting to protect the value of their shit. It's kind of instinctual... not much to be done about it.

But there's more to the issue about about getting the straight dope than just value... people have different needs and expectations, and there are a number of people who'll give a mixed review realizing that while a piece didn't work for them, that it would be really good for someone else.

I have noticed that over the past couple of years (I've been a member since 2004) that the cork sniffery has toned WAY down and "practical" content is way up.

Then again, maybe my shit filter has become so highly tuned I don't notice the cork sniffery anymore.

[Neer]

I've learned that I don't trust most people's opinions on gear anyway. If someone presents tangible evidence of inferior quality workmanship, that's one thing, but as far as offering critique on a guitar or amp's sound, I have to weigh that against the fact of whether or not I value that person's aesthetic judgment.

In all of the years that I've been gigging, with a ton of different guitar/amp combinations, I have to say, it's been a rare occasion that I have not been able to find a good, workable sound out of any amp (even a Peavey), be it tube or solid state. Players/reviewers need to have more flexibility in evaluating gear.