Guitar Players: A Conservative Bunch.

[markom89]

I've been doing some research as of late which involved me asking a bunch of guitar players a series of questions regarding aesthetics of a guitar as well as more technical stuff regarding pickup combinations and what not. While a few of them were willing to try something new, most just replied with a "why mess with what's perfect" type reply.

My question is simply "Why?"

Why are we guitarists such a conservative bunch?

I'm adding a poll to this.

Thoughts.

 

[chrisjw5]

For me it's a mix of liking the aesthetics I grew up with and my heroes played coupled with a fear of not being able to sell out on something radical if I didn't like it.

Strats, Teles and Pauls sell for a predictable value. Other stuff doesn't.

 

[chucke99]

I think you'll find most of us are of two minds: We like our vintage gear to be original, without mods, because that's what those guitars should be. But we're all mostly open to trying new things and experimenting, as long as we do it on a newer axe that can withstand the alterations.

Actually, I have the best of both worlds. I've done experimenting on vintage guitars from Japan (not touching my Ibanez's though!) and my next project will actually be to score a blackguard tele from Greco or Fernandes and drop some Don Mare "Nancy" pups in it. I'd never do that to a branded Ibbie, nor to an actual Fender blackguard.

 

[jcmark611]

I think they did enough experimenting in the 80's to teach us not to do it again.

 

[aleclee]

Nothing says rock & roll like conformity.

 

[Tone_Terrific]

I'm not totally sold on 'different,' I'll look, but the reluctance to try something better is puzzling.
The ability to recognize better is, perhaps, limited to those who understand what they have, and the level of ignorance (not here, of course) amongst most, well, almost everybody else, is astounding.

 

[CharAznable]

Cause rock n' roll is about doing what our parents do!

Why mess with something that is perfect? Cracking headstocks, poor upper fret access, rib digging, tuning instability and noisy pickups are just minor quibbles! Why fix them?

 

[HHB]

I play a 50s style strat w/ a small humbucker in the bridge and a Roland GK2 feeding a GR33 and a analog pedalboard into single channel tube amp, I voted undecided but both works

 

[blueshawk1]

I don't know why generally there might be conservatism, and with some of the guitars I see for sale, I wonder if that's true. It would be interesting to know the demographics of the participants, age, etc. I'm inclined to think most conservatism is in the older players, or those of any age who have been playing for a while and been through a number of guitars. I know I tried some that were "different", they were interesting, but in the end, it's the old standards that work best for me. The different ones still catch my eye, the only difference is now, I don't think about buying, or even trying them.

 

[HEY!YOU!]

Only here, I've found........

Quite hysterical at times.

 

[Dave Orban]

I'm probably a fairly conservative guy when it comes to guitar designs, etc.

My main gigger is from '53, and my backup guitars are all basic Tele-style guitars, pioneered in the late 50s and never really improved upon. LOL!

Of the "new" guitar builders out there, guys like Collings and archtop builders like Andersen get most of my attention.

For amps, I'm a bit more "open," but not to things like a Triple Rectifier.

 

[teletran1175]

Don't confuse gear conservatives with fanboys.
Remember when rackmounts, lace sensors and floyd roses were king?
Every fad starts with some merit, but the bandwagon always has room for one more.

 

[markom89]

Eeeenteresteeeng.

 

[DrumBob]

Guitarists like to try new stuff, but basically, I'd say the majority of us are actually pretty conservative in our tastes. If you play any model Les Paul, a Tele, Strat, 335, Flying V, Explorer, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, Danelectro, or any other older style of guitar, you're playing an instrument that was designed 50-60 years ago.

As a drummer, I can tell you that drummers are definitely a conservative lot. They want drums that have nice shells, nice finishes, good looking hardware and superior fittings. In the past, companies like Peavey and others have brought our radical looking drums, and all of them tanked. They were just too weird. A few people have tried selling drums with no shells. They all failed miserably, because drummers are conservative and want drums that look, well, like drums!

I think guitarists want guitars that have a traditional look, vibe and feel. With all the nostalgia and retro guitars on the market, I think that's a fact.

 

[DC1]

Bring it on!

to innovate is to rock. Just don't spell it backwards and charge too much...






dc

 

[Thwap]

Hmmm...I have a wildwood 10 strat...that's rebellious.

 

[Pantalooj]

I like conservative/traditional looking guitars ... nothing pointy, nothing too gaudy. But, when it comes to functionality and playability, I'm open to anything that's an improvement. God bless the creators of:

- locking tuners
- stainless steel frets
- the Suhr SSC system
- two point trem bridges
- pop-in trem arms
- satin finished necks
- heel/body contours
- the 22nd fret on S style guitars

Amps ... I'm an owner of some modelling technology, but my preference by a long way is to plug into a tube amp of the clean to classic rock OD variety.

 

[bynt]

I like conservative/traditional looking guitars ... nothing pointy, nothing too gaudy. But, when it comes to functionality and playability, I'm open to anything that's an improvement. God bless the creators of:

- locking tuners
- stainless steel frets
- the Suhr SSC system
- two point trem bridges
- pop-in trem arms
- satin finished necks
- heel/body contours
- the 22nd fret on S style guitars

Amps ... I'm an owner of some modelling technology, but my preference by a long way is to plug into a tube amp of the clean to classic rock OD variety.

Excellent points. I would second all of those but I still like them on pretty traditional shapes. I don't know why I like what I like, I just know that I do. I don't have anything agianst newer designs, most of them just arent' for me.

 

[Tonemeister69]

Excellent points. I would second all of those but I still like them on pretty traditional shapes. I don't know why I like what I like, I just know that I do. I don't have anything agianst newer designs, most of them just arent' for me.

+1

Old 'school look, new school playability.

 

[Tubes and Strings]

that wasn't always the case...

Nothing says rock & roll like conformity.