Te WAW factor

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

Just a bit fun for discussion,
My description of the WAW factor would be …...A first time player with a very cheap guitar playing thru a small tranny radio sized amp !!
Lets say this poor guy buys a decent amp and WAW the sound is greatly improved(the waw factor could be 10)
Lets say the guy improves over time and buys a good guitar,good vol pedal and,leads etc. With each addition the WAW factor is somewhere around 9.
The WAW factor decreases dramatically when adding new items and eventually there is a factor of less than 1.
Do We stop or do We believe the advertising hype that a certain piece of gear will make You sound and play better.? Suggestions become subjective,I recommend Guitar brand "A" with pedal "B",
Probably the bottom line is to work on Your technique until You reach a very high level.
I personally know one player who has made hardly any changes over the years and He always has a great sound He is a very satisfied player.
I will never buy any new items after I make My next purchase.
Stay safe Gents.

[Danny Mitchell]

Well Billy,
That first paragraph summed me up perfectly, a Carter Starter, a nasty wee amp and zero technique...AND, I had the brass neck to appear on stage at the Grand Ol Opry. Luckily, no one could hear me. At one point, DJ Rowdy asked if I could play solo, but on reflection he was probably asking me to turn down.
Now, armed with all my 'good' kit, I don't know where I factor on the WAW scale, except that it's still a high number.
If I had my life to live over(aaww), I'd start on lap steel, get my chops and ear together, before proceeding with the pedal steel, instead of jumping in at the deep end, and sinking.
BTW, is the acronym, WAW? What A Walloper.

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

Danny,My first pedal steel was an Emmons SD 10 push pull and was quite expensive,had I purchased a cheapi I would have given up after about a month.I was determined to learn to play and get value for My money and eventually managed to progress to"band" level,I became the ultimate gear freak and probably owned every delay,reverb pedal and multi effect device on the market and the WAW factor slowly diminished with every one I bought.I would appear to have settled down now although I did purchase some new equipment within the past year or so and I have no desire to buy any more gear unless......

[Danny Mitchell]

I have no desire to buy any more gear unless......

Delicately put Billy
I reckon that thought's shared by every muso on the planet.

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Interesting post Billy. I don't think I would sound better behind a more expensive guitar or one that was supposed to be mechanically superior, I am happy with 4 knee levers though two would probably do and my Roland cubes are cheap as chips but have served me well. I had Bruce Zum build me a "State of the art" D10 but the later type pedal spacings blew it out for me and I kept it about three months now Dunny has it......, But, I would love to have back the 1988 model that I used to own now that guitar was a "Keeper" OOPs!
Some of the new guitars are so pretty but for me the pushpull is a timeless classic and I still think Buddy Emmons got it right....

[bazmusicman]

Well as a newbie PSG player ( I haven't even sat behind one yet, my one will be delivered this week!) I've had to have one built because I am left handed.

I have been 'plonking' on a 8 string Lap Steel for the last 18 months, so that has got me started with some basic picking just playing along to some Country Records.

Regards,
Baz.

[Danny Mitchell]

Good luck on your journey, Baz Exciting times lie ahead.

[Donny Johnston]

I have never been a gear junkie, I have always thought and still think the pedal steel only needs reverb and perhaps a little bit of delay, I have only ever used the spring reverb in the Fender amps I have used, up until now, I have used a Fender Twin, Fender Steel King, and now use a Fender Acoustasonic. All the changes were made for financial or health reasons. The guitars I have had over the years are: Rotosound S10, Fuzzy S10, Blanton D10, Springfield D10, Williams S10, Justice S10. If I could lift the Blanton I would still be using it and wouldn't have bought any other guitars. I have never lusted after a piece of kit like Danny lusted after a Little Izzy, I couldn't hear enough of a difference to make it worth while,but then, Danny has ears like a long eared owl, after having spent years in the studio with his cans on, and if Danny says he can here a difference I believe him, even if I can't. Everyone to there own opinion, this is just mine.

[hickenjr]

The gear improvements definitely get more slim as you go up the rankings. Tone and feel is all personal preference but I don't think it's a problem to aspire to have the best you can afford, but it does need to be done in the correct manner.

I always advise beginners not to bother with expensive gear. Play a Carter Starter for a couple of years through a Line 6, persevere, get moderately decent and then go ape with gear once a good level of steel playing is gained. From my experience of doing this, I got more of a preference of what kind of instrument I wanted and what style of gear I liked, and when I jumped onto my fancy guitar I could actually play it and didn't sell it after a few months of finding out its harder than it looks.

Some people tell me they prefer the tone of their guitars to my Show Pro and my Dad's Sho-Bud so everyone is entitled to an opinion...
Also noted is that with that you should also aspire to have the best limbs and brain you possibly can too, not just gear.

[bazmusicman]

Good luck on your journey, Baz Exciting times lie ahead.

Thank you Danny....yes exciting times indeed. At 76 years old I'm a very late starter with PSG, I've heard you have to do ten years before you can even tune it!

I have bought a Peterson Stroboplus Tuner so I might be able to 'fast forward' the tuning bit and gain a few years!

Regards,
Baz.