Under the influence ?

[Eggy]

I'd like to know your feelings on this subject but I don't want to knock or flame any other members, I'm just looking for an opinion.

Many folks on this board post up questions along the lines of "should I buy this?", "which of these should I get ?", will this pickup be ok for me?", "I have a trs trem equiped guitar on order should I cancel?" etc etc.

How many of you have acted on the advice/suggestions give in the forums?How many of you ignore it and carry on down your own path ?

I ask this because I own/ have owned many guitar brands equiped with pickups, trems, strings etc that the average Jemsite member would tell me I need my head examined for buying them. Had I followed advice/ trends I feel I would have missed out on some cracking guitars.

IMHO there is a general ill feeling on this board towards certain pickups trems etc and I was wondering if anyone else had noticed this, what your thoughts are on it ? and have you ever made any purchasing decisions based upon it ?

Ben

BTW this is NOT a thread to flame indeviduals or to suggest he/she is a sheep and always follows the trend etc. I was just curious to know if you'd noticed and what you thought ?

[supermau]

Well I did buy my Jem 7vwh from Rich based on advice from this site and I'd say I made the right choice in that department! Before I found Jemsite I didn't know jack about Jems or Ibanez in general so this place was a huge help.

Other than that purchase I tend to follow my own path. I've been around gear long enough to know what I'm looking for generally speaking.

I'm old.

[Jaden]

well, I cant deny that I have learned a lot by being a member of JEMSITE but you kind of have to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to advice so.... I would say that I listen selectively !

[Eggy]

^^^^ A very good point !

Y'know when someone posts up and says " Im about to change the pickups on my guitar" and 5 people post up straight away with "Oh you must get Air Norton/ Tone zone combo".
How much do you rate the advice of someone who has never heard you play and you've never heard them play ?

Ben

[jono]

I think everyone acts advice to a certain extent, whether consciously or sub-consciously, or positively or negatively. Sometimes the advice of one person is sufficient to make a person rush out and buy an item.

Other times if someone says "you'd be mad to buy one of those" it's sufficient to make you realise your OWN opinion and decide you want one anyway. You're not following thier advice, but you're still acting on it.

I tend to weight up what folks say and allow that to contribute, in whatever part to my decision.

Having said that, and again reiterating what Eggy said about not flaming, but, I think there are a lot of folks on guitar sites (and the internet in general) who hand out advice, left, right and centre without ANY understanding on the matter. The inexperienced, naive and overly opinionated, have found their perfect home on the internet.

[Jaden]

yep, and age is also a factor, even though there are some amazing young shredders out there I sometimes find myself looking at someones profile after they have offered 'firm' advice only to find out that they are about to enter puberty
no offence intended to any pre-pubescents out there !

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by jono

I think everyone acts advice to a certain extent, whether consciously or sub-consciously, or positively or negatively. Sometimes the advice of one person is sufficient to make a person rush out and buy an item.

Other times if someone says "you'd be mad to buy one of those" it's sufficient to make you realise your OWN opinion and decide you want one anyway. You're not following thier advice, but you're still acting on it.

I tend to weight up what folks say and allow that to contribute, in whatever part to my decision.

Having said that, and again reiterating what Eggy said about not flaming, but, I think there are a lot of folks on guitar sites (and the internet in general) who hand out advice, left, right and centre without ANY understanding on the matter. The inexperienced, naive and overly opinionated, have found their perfect home on the internet.

very good points made there matey !

[andy7jem]

I think it's a good way to get opinions but the decision HAS to be down to the buyer. I agree some people don't seem to be able to make there own decisions, but it is a good idea to come here and ask just to get views from people who have experiences. Admittedly,as already mentioned,there are some who don't put their experiences down as advice in a constructive way,but it's worth sorting the "wheat from the chaff" ( ).

But in the end i would make my own choices on what i want.

[jemplayer55]

Originally Posted by jono

I tend to weight up what folks say and allow that to contribute, in whatever part to my decision.

That pretty much sums it up! It pays to educate yourself as much as possible, then get the opinions.

[Davey]

I'd never take one person's view as gospel, although it is nice to find out what is possible from a certain piece of gear.

I totally get what's being said about certain gear being blasted in a trend-like way. People say TRS trems are terrible and I guess they are, BUT that doesn't make the guitar crap even though a lot of people would have you believe that, it just makes the trem crap. I had an RG450 that I wish I'd of never sold but I did because I didn't like the trem (these days, I'd of just blocked it and used it as a hardtail.)

The only thing that gets me though (without naming names) is there is a certain young chap on the board that pops up in every advice thread and gives absolutely nonsense advice, which some newbs will take as gospel. It sucks because 9 out of 10 times it's posting for the sake of it.

As far as tech advice goes, there are more than enough competant websites out there with the info you need. I think I've only made about 2-3 tech threads for my own knowledge (which Rich has been gracious enough to answer me on) although I have contributed to hundreds.

[Eggy]

^ It is those "trend-like" views that I would urge people, especialy newbs to take with a pinch of salt. I have a Dinky that cost £200 brand new. Now you can't tell me the Jackson branded trem is going to be any better quality than a TRS (and I'm posting this having never played a TRS though) but it drops pitch then raises pitch and returns in tune. Surely that's all we're looking for isn't it ? Of course Ibanez's stock pickups are not the best ones available in the world but all too often they are labeled as "rubbish" or "crap". Surely there is a little bit of band wagon jumping going on there as anyone who's had them through a head/ 8 x 12 at gigging levels will tell you that they're not realy as bad as they're made out.....................surely not ?

Ben

[OLIE_ROCKS_THE_80'S]

It depends on how reliable the source of information is and I would also need to form my own opinion about it, analyze all the facts and then act on it.

[BozTheK]

Originally Posted by Eggy

^ It is those "trend-like" views that I would urge people, especialy newbs to take with a pinch of salt. I have a Dinky that cost £200 brand new. Now you can't tell me the Jackson branded trem is going to be any better quality than a TRS (and I'm posting this having never played a TRS though) but it drops pitch then raises pitch and returns in tune. Surely that's all we're looking for isn't it ? Of course Ibanez's stock pickups are not the best ones available in the world but all too often they are labeled as "rubbish" or "crap". Surely there is a little bit of band wagon jumping going on there as anyone who's had them through a head/ 8 x 12 at gigging levels will tell you that they're not realy as bad as they're made out.....................surely not ?

Ben

well said, as soon as someone pipes up and says "this is bad quality" or "this trem sucks" or "these pickups are horrible" then there is bound to be a crowd of people who start agreeing with them. What people really should say is "this isn't as good as that" or whatever. Obviously, brands that specialise in making pickups is going to do a better job than the pickups you would find on a standard Ibanez guitar, such as an RG. It is known that the Ibanez made in Korea are lower quality than made in Japan, so it is clear that certain things will not be as good, such as the trem system. These things aren't awful, they just aren't as good as what you might expect to see on a "decent" guitar.

I would only follow some advice on the boards, and I would be quite cautious about it too. Because there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to these things, it all depends on how you play/ what you play really.For example, if you don't use trem much, then a TRS isn't going to kill you. The best idea is to work things out for yourself.

[dex]

It's all ice cream.
Buy what you can afford, play what you like and just have fun.

Too many people spend $$$$ on gear thinking it'll make them sound better but the only thing that'll make you sound better is practice.

[Angelo Guitars]

I think that most people who ask for opinions, suggestions and advice kind of "know" what the answer is anyway. Sometimes they might just be looking for "someone else" to affirm that answer.