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How Anal are you with your rig?

dbase

Supporting Member
Jan 3, 2008
8,228
28,214
South Jersey, USA..
Whenever I buy anything new it doesn't leave the music store unless I have a cover on it. After a few years and I trade in for something new, my rig looks better than the new. I even put rubber pads between my cabs when I stack them so they don't leave footprints in the cabs tolex. My bass, don't even go there. After a gig, I just about do a total car detail on it before it goes back in the case. The case must have over 10 coats of Armorall on it. How anal am I?
 
totally anal
very anal
somewhat anal
hardly anal
carrot colored TP
:hiding:

I fall under somewhat anal. I keep my gear clean and well maintained, but not to the point of obsessive. It's very rare that I let anyone use my gear but me. Or does that make me very anal? Ok I choose carrot colored TP... ;)
 
Not anal at all.
My bass cost $75, I'll knock the cymbals once and a while with the headstock just to annoy the drummer.

My cab is a $200 craigslist carvin 4x10, It gets beaten up and stored in my garage.

My amp is a GX backline 600 I bought at a resale shop for $100. I take the best care of this thing, which means I don't throw it in a puddle.

If I had expensive gear I would prolly treat it all better.
 
Yeah... I'm severely OCD about my stuff. My stuff HAS to be covered when not in use, my guitars have to be put back in the same place every time, I have to apply Finger Ease to my guitars each time before rehearsal (and go about applying it the same way each time), if I have both of my basses at rehearsal, one goes on one side of my rig and the other goes on the other side; I plug things in in the same order every time, I try to setup to the drummer's right whenever we gig (space permitting), I only drink one beverage at rehearsal (Coke Zero, FWIW), I only use one type of string, one gauge... and my OCD doesn't end there.

I have Trace Elliot gear, and HAD to get matching neon green low imp cables to connect the head to the cabs (even though no one would see it unless they were behind my rig), HAD to get matching Trace Elliot logo'd covers for both cabs, HAD to get a TE cover for the head, the rig MUST look perfect (no flaws, no scuffs), I HAD to have black and green guitar cables, HAD to have ESP logo'd cases for my two ESP LTD basses, HAD to get a Boss FS-6U pedal for my Boss ME-50B pedal AND matching Boss carrying bag. I HAD to get guitars from the same company, roughly the same scale, same number of strings, same body style, basic pickup placement (one's natural and one's red).

I'm even looking for a Trace Elliot logo'd stool to use but haven't had any luck but I won't use one with another logo, like Fender, or RoadRunner (although plain black is OK for now).

But I'm the same way with my computer (has to be Apple logo'd stuff or I won't use it at home), my car, my hobbies (for instance, I love to cook, so it extends to my cookware, knives, plates, glasses, flatware; I love to paint, so I'm OCD about my paint, easel, canvases, palette knives, etc., my stereo has to be all Quad of England components, blah blah blah)

Yeah, if it's something I love (like my gear or my hobbies), the OCD can run to the EXTREME with me.
 
Gigged my new Orange rig last weekend for the first time since I got it. Went to load up for practice a few nights ago and found that some of the tolex got hooked in something and scored a little gash out of it. Initial reaction was G## D### it! Then I was like 'Oh well. Battle scar #1.'
 
More concerned with operation and reliability than looks.
I don't buy this stuff so it'll be pretty, I buy it to use.
Strings are cleaned and instruments wiped off.
(Clean strings last longer: don't have to be replaced as often)
I'll sweep out the cobwebs and dust down the gear periodically.
If there's something crucial coming up,
then I'll get out the flat-black and touch up the dings.

Do have to go through the road rigs frequently and tighten stuff up.
Hate missing screws, feet...........


My girlfriend doesn't have a problem with anal.
My wife: no way.:D
 
I like to keep my stuff as pristine as possible.
It took me a long time to have some nice gear, and I can't afford to ruin it by carelessness.
Gigging takes a toll on everything, but you can at least try to keep it to a minimum.
I use covers, take care when packing/unpacking and moving my rig.

If we play locally on a Saturday night, we usually pack up Sunday.
I have church commitments, so by the time I get home (noon), often the gear's already done, even though I tell the guys when I can be there.
When the other guys pack my stuff they lose the covers for months on end (very annoying).
I had cloth amp covers made for one of my amps, and three of them are history.
No idea where they went.
 
I used to be very protective of my stuff, but no matter how careful I was, something always happened to it. That first ding was oh so painful, but every ding after the first one hurt less and less.

These days I really don't care all that much. The sooner I get that first chip in the head stock, the sooner I can get back to playing the damn thing.