Earliest "Shut-down" memory

Ghostman

Ghostman

Ambassador of the SuperNatural
Country flag
How about some early memories when we started to play, when we were given that piece of "constructive criticism" that struck home.

When I was first out on my own and really getting into gear and playing, I hung out at a cool local shop and got to know the two owners really well. My dad passed away and I was in a position to buy some more expensive gear. These two guys hooked me up with some really nice stuff, a few guitars that I really loved, and finally, my first half stack. I wanted to go the route of rack gear so I bought a small rack, a Mosvalve Power amp, 412 cabinet, and they set me up with a Peavey Rockmaster preamp.

I brought the gear home and spent the next few weeks playing through it and I really didn't like the sound of it. I was dating my wife at the time and I kept complaining how it sounded like poop. I went into the shop more than a few times complaining to the guys and finally one of them just told me, "bring the gear back and lets check it out." So I did.

He hooks up everything in the store, fires it up and starts to riff through a bunch of different settings and every single one of them sounded great! I was like, "WTF?!"

I'll never forget, my "girlfriend" turns to me and says, "well. I guess you just suck."

f3jbfrh.gif


The sales guy just stops dead and says, "oh man, that's cold!" we had a good laugh about it and it made me want to practice more and really learn what I was doing instead of just trying to noodle and jam without any purpose.
 
Ghostman said:
How about some early memories when we started to play, when we were given that piece of "constructive criticism" that struck home.

When I was first out on my own and really getting into gear and playing, I hung out at a cool local shop and got to know the two owners really well. My dad passed away and I was in a position to buy some more expensive gear. These two guys hooked me up with some really nice stuff, a few guitars that I really loved, and finally, my first half stack. I wanted to go the route of rack gear so I bought a small rack, a Mosvalve Power amp, 412 cabinet, and they set me up with a Peavey Rockmaster preamp.

I brought the gear home and spent the next few weeks playing through it and I really didn't like the sound of it. I was dating my wife at the time and I kept complaining how it sounded like :poo:. I went into the shop more than a few times complaining to the guys and finally one of them just told me, "bring the gear back and lets check it out." So I did.

He hooks up everything in the store, fires it up and starts to riff through a bunch of different settings and every single one of them sounded great! I was like, "WTF?!"

I'll never forget, my "girlfriend" turns to me and says, "well. I guess you just suck."

f3jbfrh.gif


The sales guy just stops dead and says, "oh man, that's cold!" we had a good laugh about it and it made me want to practice more and really learn what I was doing instead of just trying to noodle and jam without any purpose.
Click to expand...
Cool story. Does your wife still say you suck?
 
I will go back to my OWN message of you suck.

Having loved guitar and R n R since I was little, I took it up at about 13-14 and had a good teacher, but terrible rental acoustic with such HIGH strings they hurt so much to play. I gave up, until high school when a friend and I went to Gordon Miller music and I got to try out Marshall amps, a some Strats and Teles, and even spent other days at his house plinking on his Strat and Peavey amp. So at around 1982-83 I get the itch and found my first love, the play wear Relic'd Black 1979 LP with uncovered T Tops.

Having learned some good skills in a guitar class during college in my junior year which was likely 1984, I got better but never got good at chord changing or fast scales or anything, SO by the early 90's I decided, I suck and now sadly regret giving up and selling my dear Black baby.

That is my story,,,,,,,,,,,, till about 2000 when I tried drums for the first time. Having picked up drumming pretty easily and feeling confident, I decided to give guitars and bass a second chance. The rest is history.
 
I remember a story where Joe B. is talking with a kid; I think the kid had made some kind of comment about "its easy if you have talent", or some dismissive or simplistic statement.
He told the kid he could be a good player; IF he plays 6 hours a day, everyday, for 10+ years, like Joe did, or something along those lines.

My own chances at greatness are severely hampered because:
I started seriously playing Dec. 24, 2014 at age 50; I'll be 57 in 3 months.
(I had a few half hearted stints earlier in life)

I can only find about 90 min a day to play, yet rarely miss a day.

The left hand does not appear interested in what the right hand is doing.
I'm not fooling myself or anyone else, lol.

I'm happy with the statement "Tis far better to suck at playing guitar, than to not play at all".

Maybe, I should have been a poet or maybe.......
I'll just keep my day job.
 
jtcnj said:
I'm happy with the statement "Tis far better to suck at playing guitar, than to not play at all".
Click to expand...
Roger that. Said this in a different thread. But we can all be self deprecating. And we have all levels of talent in this forum. And to a person, I’ve heard you guys be harder on yourself than anyone else could ever be. I commented one time about being average at best. Mr. Herndon pointed out that I was still making music. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Reminds me.... that yes. I’m not all that good, but I’m doing something the vast majority of the population can’t do. That would be making music.
 
My earliest memory is when I was still at school, I always wanted to learn how to play guitar and my family took me music school.

There was this teacher, and she was testing kids if they were tone-deaf by playing the beat on the table with her hand, and you had to repeat it.

Well I could not do it, and she branded me tone-deaf, as a kid is heartbreaking when someone tells you suck....... I had any different teachers as kid, but i didn't learn anything from them, I wanted to play music i liked ( the chug) and they were trying to teach me :poo: folk song...... in the end i gave up on teachers. Fast-forward into 2000 i met this guy at work he was wearing a maiden shirt, so we got talking, i found out he was a bass player we ended up jamming. he was teaching me few things on guitar. He was like Ramo your guitar is out of tune.... lol he also had a brother and one day after work we went to his house and his brother was ripping on guitar..... to me that was the coolest :poo: ever see someone rip like that other than on TV...

so from that day on i dedicate myself to get better and be able to play like that... me and bass player recorded some cringy song lol even rap( his idea not mine).In 2007 i met one of my favourite guitar player in Georgia through a forum friend.

he taught me how to play pentatonic scale over backing track, and it opened many doors for me. over the years lot of people have said to me, you suck but my guitar teacher who taught me the scale and improvisation... he always had faith in me and he still dose. every time i make new video or a song he analyses and gives me low down without filter lol which is good as it makes me better player. After all these years I still suck and, but i still play.... im power chord and pentatonic guy wannabe chugger.... but i have fun doing it.....


edit



hardest shut down was from my last band, ( i just remembered) long story short i knew this singer from other audition for other band, and i kept in touch with him. when band need singer i called him he got the gig then he convinced other guitar player that i sucked and on last rehearsal i was feeling something was not right. we done the rehearsal i went home and he wrote me on Facebook that i sucked bla bla i was not good enough and so on... could not even tell in my face... anyway i got booted and that was it. it really hurt me as i considered them as my brothers/friends. After that i stopped playing for 5 years or so completely as it was really hard to accept my suck-eg... after while i had this hurge to play and i pulled my guitar from under bed and started to remember things i knew and now here i am :)

sorry for long post. :)
 
Last edited:
Ramo said:
My earliest memory is when I was still at school, I always wanted to learn how to play guitar and my family took me music school.

There was this teacher, and she was testing kids if they were tone-deaf by playing the beat on the table with her hand, and you had to repeat it.

Well I could not do it, and she branded me tone-deaf, as a kid is heartbreaking when someone tells you suck....... I had any different teachers as kid, but i didn't learn anything from them, I wanted to play music i liked ( the chug) and they were trying to teach me :poo: folk song...... in the end i gave up on teachers. Fast-forward into 2000 i met this guy at work he was wearing a maiden shirt, so we got talking, i found out he was a bass player we ended up jamming. he was teaching me few things on guitar. He was like Ramo your guitar is out of tune.... lol he also had a brother and one day after work we went to his house and his brother was ripping on guitar..... to me that was the coolest :poo: ever see someone rip like that other than on TV...

so from that day on i dedicate myself to get better and be able to play like that... me and bass player recorded some cringy song lol even rap( his idea not mine).In 2007 i met one of my favourite guitar player in Georgia through a forum friend.

he taught me how to play pentatonic scale over backing track, and it opened many doors for me. over the years lot of people have said to me, you suck but my guitar teacher who taught me the scale and improvisation... he always had faith in me and he still dose. every time i make new video or a song he analyses and gives me low down without filter lol which is good as it makes me better player. After all these years I still suck and, but i still play.... im power chord and pentatonic guy wannabe chugger.... but i have fun doing it.....
Click to expand...
If you suck , then ive got a snowball's chance in hell at playing this damned thing anymore lol
 
Clockworkmike said:
If you suck , then ive got a snowball's chance in hell at playing this damned thing anymore lol
Click to expand...
I heard you play mechanix its damn good, but i need to see you play man, stop being camera Shay and post some chug.

i do suck if you hear my leads it's all basic :poo: and all i play is power chords.

But thank you for the compliment. i have new song recorded waiting @Metal89 to add bass, and it should make you smile when you hear it. oh by the way i used @Mitch Pearrow SJMP inspired riff in song. i guess it's some kind of collab? :)

I'm waiting when your majesty will decide to do song with me :)
 
Ghostman said:
How about some early memories when we started to play, when we were given that piece of "constructive criticism" that struck home.

When I was first out on my own and really getting into gear and playing, I hung out at a cool local shop and got to know the two owners really well. My dad passed away and I was in a position to buy some more expensive gear. These two guys hooked me up with some really nice stuff, a few guitars that I really loved, and finally, my first half stack. I wanted to go the route of rack gear so I bought a small rack, a Mosvalve Power amp, 412 cabinet, and they set me up with a Peavey Rockmaster preamp.

I brought the gear home and spent the next few weeks playing through it and I really didn't like the sound of it. I was dating my wife at the time and I kept complaining how it sounded like :poo:. I went into the shop more than a few times complaining to the guys and finally one of them just told me, "bring the gear back and lets check it out." So I did.

He hooks up everything in the store, fires it up and starts to riff through a bunch of different settings and every single one of them sounded great! I was like, "WTF?!"

I'll never forget, my "girlfriend" turns to me and says, "well. I guess you just suck."

f3jbfrh.gif


The sales guy just stops dead and says, "oh man, that's cold!" we had a good laugh about it and it made me want to practice more and really learn what I was doing instead of just trying to noodle and jam without any purpose.
Click to expand...
Just remember, theres always worse out there. That gets me thru no matter how bad i am lolz7zWALc.png
 
Ramo said:
I heard you play mechanix its damn good, but i need to see you play man, stop being camera Shay and post some chug.

i do suck if you hear my leads it's all basic :poo: and all i play is power chords.

But thank you for the compliment. i have new song recorded waiting @Metal89 to add bass, and it should make you smile when you hear it. oh by the way i used @Mitch Pearrow SJMP inspired riff in song. i guess it's some kind of collab? :)

I'm waiting when your majesty will decide to do song with me :)
Click to expand...
Name on my friend, ill gladly attempt a butchered collaboration on my behalf! Lol
 
Beagle said:
I don't think anybody every told me I sucked. Don't give up the day job? Many times...

I sucked when I started playing back in the 70s, I suck again now, somewhere in between I reached mediocre...
Click to expand...
The “day job” thing. No ones ever said that about my guitar. Only gig I’ve had was at church. Those folk tend to be nicer.

Singing on the other hand........ :pound-hand:
 
I have been playing for 50+ years. The best advice I EVER got came just a few months ago. I plugged my guitar in, didn't even turn it on yet....and my dog ran out of the room. Now, if I even approach my guitar, he bolts. I love him to death...he has an honesty that is not found in many people.
His name is Bennie, and no he is not named after Benny and The Jets. He is actually named after Pat Benatar, long story, but the first concert I ever took my daughter to (because she liked her and I could tolerate her and like Neil Giraldo).
5uQ2r3n.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top