A Student Told Me He Wanted To Quit:

Inspector #20

Inspector #20

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Adrian and I were talking this morning and I decided to post this.

A student came in a couple of months back and told me he was thinking about quitting.

I asked him why.

He has a Squire Made in China and a Fender Champion 40 amp.

He's been asking otherguitar players for advice and posting questions on some music forums.

He's been told that "Squires suck" and you need a "PRS Silver Sky or a "real" guitar like a Gibson Les Paul.

I laughed and told him, "Dude, a Silver Sky is basically a Squire with a 3+3 headstock. Why you letting these fools rain on your parade?"

He said that he's been told he can't get a good tone with a Champion 40 and that he needs a "real amp" and he proceeded to tell me the list of recommendations, from EVH III (China builds) to Bugeras, to Marshalls.

He was so bummed out I felt really bad for him and he's not able to "step up" to better gear.

I told him, "Dude...none of these guys play for a living. Their opinions are meaningless. What do YOU want??"

He replied, "I want to get a good sound and I want to get better so I can join a band, and everyone's telling me I need this or that to get better tones and I can't afford this stuff."

So, I told him this...

"Tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna send you my Purple Schecter home along with a Marshall DSL40C loaner. I'll do a pro level setup on your Squire and I'll play the Squire through your Champion 40 at next rehearsal and you tell me what you think about all the bullshit these guys are pushing on you..."

I did a pro-level setup on his Squire, 7-angled the nut so the stock tremolo stays in tune, put good strings on it (properly) and dialed everything in to factory specs.

The following Saturday, I played our rehearsal with his Squire through the Champion and he was amazed.

I asked him, "So, did the Schecter and the DSL40C give you the tones you were looking for???"

He said, "They are really nice, but I didn't notice much difference in tone..."

To which I told him, "See! These forum bullshitters and bedroom wankers got you ready to quit and their bullshit theories don't hold water. Tube amp superiority is an absolute myth. Don't buy into that."

I then gave him a tutorial on settings and how to get a good tone out of any guitar/amp combo and I sent him on his way.

The following Saturday, he was in early for his lesson and was super enthusiastic.

He was happy and showed greater progress than he had the previous 2 weeks. What a cool feeling!!!

These kinds of scenarios play out day after day and it's one of the reasons I'm so outspoken when I hear about "musical truths" that in reality are based on nothing more than personal preference and tastes.

Such a cool thing to be able to dig these guys out of the mud and give them a renewed sense of direction.

Wishing you success and prosperity...

- Rob
 
Robert Herndon said:
So, I told him this...

"Tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna send you my Purple Schecter home along with a Marshall DSL40C loaner. I'll do a pro level setup on your Squire and I'll play the Squire through your Champion 40 at next rehearsal and you tell me what you think about all the bull:poo: these guys are pushing on you..."
Click to expand...


Chili paraphrase, Robert Herndon " I'm gonna blow your mind with what you've been told is crap,"

"Now, let's get you back on track so we can make your dreams of playing guitar in a band come true"
 
Last edited:
no braggin rights in a squire Norm....

This fella could play the SNOT out of a guitar ... and had enough success to have any model he wanted --- he chose SQUIRE very very regularly
1644766338785.png

but then .......well..... he didnt SEE LABELS just heard and felt what played well now didnt he ??(sorry if some find that comment RUDE or crass but it is harshly true)
1644766574146.jpg

1644766632500.jpg

AND to be fair he did play Fenders and jacksons and taylors .... but his "main" rig was a Squire
 
eSGEe said:
no braggin rights in a squire Norm....

This fella could play the SNOT out of a guitar ... and had enough success to have any model he wanted --- he chose SQUIRE very very regularly
View attachment 80285

but then .......well..... he didnt SEE LABELS just heard and felt what played well now didnt he ??(sorry if some find that comment RUDE or crass but it is harshly true)
View attachment 80286

View attachment 80287

AND to be fair he did play Fenders and jacksons and taylors .... but his "main" rig was a Squire
Click to expand...
When he plays it like a lap steel, it trips me out!
 
eSGEe said:
no braggin rights in a squire Norm....

This fella could play the SNOT out of a guitar ... and had enough success to have any model he wanted --- he chose SQUIRE very very regularly
View attachment 80285

but then .......well..... he didnt SEE LABELS just heard and felt what played well now didnt he ??(sorry if some find that comment RUDE or crass but it is harshly true)
View attachment 80286

View attachment 80287

AND to be fair he did play Fenders and jacksons and taylors .... but his "main" rig was a Squire
Click to expand...

And I might add he was one of the most highest rated guitar players in the World...according to Normology....








 
Last edited:
Robert Herndon said:
Adrian and I were talking this morning and I decided to post this.

A student came in a couple of months back and told me he was thinking about quitting.

I asked him why.

He has a Squire Made in China and a Fender Champion 40 amp.

He's been asking otherguitar players for advice and posting questions on some music forums.

He's been told that "Squires suck" and you need a "PRS Silver Sky or a "real" guitar like a Gibson Les Paul.

I laughed and told him, "Dude, a Silver Sky is basically a Squire with a 3+3 headstock. Why you letting these fools rain on your parade?"

He said that he's been told he can't get a good tone with a Champion 40 and that he needs a "real amp" and he proceeded to tell me the list of recommendations, from EVH III (China builds) to Bugeras, to Marshalls.

He was so bummed out I felt really bad for him and he's not able to "step up" to better gear.

I told him, "Dude...none of these guys play for a living. Their opinions are meaningless. What do YOU want??"

He replied, "I want to get a good sound and I want to get better so I can join a band, and everyone's telling me I need this or that to get better tones and I can't afford this stuff."

So, I told him this...

"Tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna send you my Purple Schecter home along with a Marshall DSL40C loaner. I'll do a pro level setup on your Squire and I'll play the Squire through your Champion 40 at next rehearsal and you tell me what you think about all the bullshit these guys are pushing on you..."

I did a pro-level setup on his Squire, 7-angled the nut so the stock tremolo stays in tune, put good strings on it (properly) and dialed everything in to factory specs.

The following Saturday, I played our rehearsal with his Squire through the Champion and he was amazed.

I asked him, "So, did the Schecter and the DSL40C give you the tones you were looking for???"

He said, "They are really nice, but I didn't notice much difference in tone..."

To which I told him, "See! These forum bullshitters and bedroom wankers got you ready to quit and their bullshit theories don't hold water. Tube amp superiority is an absolute myth. Don't buy into that."

I then gave him a tutorial on settings and how to get a good tone out of any guitar/amp combo and I sent him on his way.

The following Saturday, he was in early for his lesson and was super enthusiastic.

He was happy and showed greater progress than he had the previous 2 weeks. What a cool feeling!!!

These kinds of scenarios play out day after day and it's one of the reasons I'm so outspoken when I hear about "musical truths" that in reality are based on nothing more than personal preference and tastes.

Such a cool thing to be able to dig these guys out of the mud and give them a renewed sense of direction.

Wishing you success and prosperity...

- Rob
Click to expand...

Tell that student Fender Champs are some of the best amplifiers ever made!

I have a ‘73 Champ that I gigged with for years. When mic’ed to the PA they sound huge. I realize you’re talking about a Champion 40, but the same principle applies.

You don’t need to be paid to make music to know that! You just need to listen.
 
smitty_p said:
Tell that student Fender Champs are some of the best amplifiers ever made!

I have a ‘73 Champ that I gigged with for years. When mic’ed to the PA they sound huge.

You don’t need to be paid to make music to know that! You just need to listen.
Click to expand...

Well, the newer China Champions have that "stigma.. "
 
You are a good dude, Robert.

At student level, kids shouldn't be worrying about the gear so much yet. I've known people to get into learning to play after having spent all the money for all the gear, and they still didn't sound good... and they were discouraged...because they still didn't know how to play.

All the greatest gear in the world won't help anyone sound great if they're not proficient at playing their instrument yet.

And then the gear itself is something entirely different that also needs to be learned. It's not going to happen overnight.

I can relate to that kid's point of view, but it never made me want to quit. It made me have dreams and gave me goals to achieve, and along the way, I just kept playing and improving.

We don't teach kids to drive by putting them behind the wheel of Lamborghinis. How many kids want to just say "screw it, guess I just won't drive at all" when they learn that they can't just have/drive a Lamborghini as a learning tool? Probably none of them.
This isn't a whole lot different.
 
"What does a teacher make?
A Teacher makes a damn difference!"

An excellent post, and an excellent save. I'm so glad you said that to the young man.
Maybe parts of this post ought to be made into a sticky, because it ought to be quoted
early and often in many threads I've seen. It's gear snobs that suck, IMHO.

The rest of us ought to just play the instruments we can afford, to the best of our ability.
(but get them set up!)
 
Col Mustard said:
"What does a teacher make?
A Teacher makes a damn difference!"

An excellent post, and an excellent save. I'm so glad you said that to the young man.
Maybe parts of this post ought to be made into a sticky, because it ought to be quoted
early and often in many threads I've seen. It's gear snobs that suck, IMHO.

The rest of us ought to just play the instruments we can afford, to the best of our ability.
(but get them set up!)
Click to expand...

That's awfully kind of you, Colonel.

I'm a nobody, really, but I do take my job seriously.

Bless you...
 
mcblink said:
You are a good dude, Robert.

At student level, kids shouldn't be worrying about the gear so much yet. I've known people to get into learning to play after having spent all the money for all the gear, and they still didn't sound good... and they were discouraged...because they still didn't know how to play.

All the greatest gear in the world won't help anyone sound great if they're not proficient at playing their instrument yet.

And then the gear itself is something entirely different that also needs to be learned. It's not going to happen overnight.

I can relate to that kid's point of view, but it never made me want to quit. It made me have dreams and gave me goals to achieve, and along the way, I just kept playing and improving.

We don't teach kids to drive by putting them behind the wheel of Lamborghinis. How many kids want to just say "screw it, guess I just won't drive at all" when they learn that they can't just have/drive a Lamborghini as a learning tool? Probably none of them.
This isn't a whole lot different.
Click to expand...

Me neither. I had horrible gear, but I never wanted to quit...

This song from 1990 became my anthem...

 
Cool of you to send him some upgraded gear to try out! But i think he got the moral of the story: he had upgraded gear and still didnt notice the difference in his own sound. That's the harsh reality too many people have got to suffer, especially people with endless financial resources. You can have a $10k rig and if you dont put in the time, it'll still sound worse than someone with a $250 rig that knows what they're doing.

Good news though, is he seems to have realized that putting the work in will make himself sound better. Its easy to get distraught and frustrated, but nothing good was ever going to be easy anyways.
 
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