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5 years it is.
Guitars and Gear (and other lesser instruments)
- Thread starter Dropbear
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Alice in Chains had a great run from Facelift through their self titled album. Their unplugged was pretty groundbreaking.
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Too Led Zep for me. I caught them in Berlin as a double bill with Screaming Trees in 1993. The latter were really good.
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Alice in Chains? You have legit some of the wildest music takes I've ever heard man.
The Ernesto
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You two need a podcast. 
belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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Well, you called GnR a “punk flavored hard rock” band and Weather Report “shitty music”…. Not sure which of the two of you is more insane.
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I could live with that. Certainly better than having to listen to Alice n Chains.
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Duff McKagan and Steven Adler were both punk rockers prior to bring in Guns. Hell, Duff was in 10 Minute Warning. They both brought a big dose of punk to the song writing and aesthetic of GnR, it's not really something obscure or up for debate.
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So in actual gear talk, if you guys ever are looking for something different, check out Nightowl. Boutique amps and pedals that are hand made in very small batches. It's done by my best friend growing up, who was other guitarist in our old band.
belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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Oh well, if it’s not up for debate I’ll pack my toys and leave, I guess.
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I mean you can debate how good they were till your hearts content, I've kind of gone off them almost fully since that utterly pathetic reunion money grab so I wouldn't push back all that hard, but no, you really can't debate the punk influence, it's really well known and documented.Oh well, if it’s not up for debate I’ll pack my toys and leave, I guess.
belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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Oh, I was a big fan, saw them live in Buenos Aires back in 93, and I agree that McKagan and Adler had a punk past, that is a fact indeed.
Being a big fan of punk rock myself, I dont think punk rock is such a relevant influence in GnR music, or at least as much as some music critics claim, particularly when compared to other contemporary LA bands (Metallica) or Seattle/Grunge ones.
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You can argue by the time Adler and Izzy were gone with heroin enthusiasm and Axl went full bloat with Use Your Illusion they didn't have so much punk sensibility, it was a different animal, but Appetite was punk as hell imo. They were just gutter trash playing thrash. And Duff was one of those Seattle guys, that's where he started. 10 Minute Warning was one of the seminal Seattle bands before Mother Love Bone et al.
I love punk rock too. Social Distortion is my all time favorite band without question. A lot of the stuff I wrote had a pretty strong punk influence.
belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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Say more?
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So I went and trolled some old pictures to see if I had some gear pics, found some old shit I haven't looked at in years. In the studio almost 30 years ago, a show too. My live rig from early 2000s. Gave me a chuckle. Got one shot with a rad early 80s Charvel for
Dropbear
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Dropbear
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belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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Your rig is very Slash-like indeed! 
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About my songwriting style? Not sure I can say much. Very much rock based. Lot of punk influence tending towards simplicity. Do have a lot of influence from bands like Pink Floyd on production and atmosphere from time to time but not really in terms of structure.
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Your rig is very Slash-like indeed!
Indeed, was not exaggerating! It's basically a Slash/Mike Ness hybrid with the goldtop and vintage Bassman with David Gilmours pedal board (simplified of course)
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Punk history isn’t the same as influence though. I mean, Billy Idol and Adam Ant had some punk cred when they were younger, too.
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All this reminds me of the early 90s metalheads versus grunge, GnfnR versus Nirvana tiff.
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Billy Idol was punk AF the whole way.
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I have no recollection of this, I quite liked both of them.
belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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Admittedly, in hindsight it was as much about image and attitude as it was about music - but back in those days there was a big divide between the indie/alternative/punk kids and the mainstream/metalheads. You could be Robert Plant or Joe Strummer, but not both.
Guns N' Roses vs. Nirvana: A Beef History
We chart the once-bitter feud between the Guns N' Roses and Nirvana camps, which seemed to reach to a peaceful conclusion Friday in Las Vegas.
www.rollingstone.com
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Yeah that was between the bands, as a fan I don't really think it was that much of a thing even amongst the teenagers of the time. All the Grits, punks and Grunge kids got along pretty well in my high school. Most people actually listened to all of it.Admittedly, in hindsight it was as much about image and attitude as it was about music - but back in those days there was a big divide between the indie/alternative/punk kids and the mainstream/metalheads. You could be Robert Plant or Joe Strummer, but not both.
Guns N' Roses vs. Nirvana: A Beef History
We chart the once-bitter feud between the Guns N' Roses and Nirvana camps, which seemed to reach to a peaceful conclusion Friday in Las Vegas.
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Cufflinks
Can't believe there's no thread on cufflinks? Anyway, there I was sorting out the further reaches of my wardrobe and I came across a Laco watch box... Those are all from the mid-2000's and I completely forgot I had them. Was rather chuffed. And Etro, what are they doing now...
www.dressedwell.net
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When I was a teen in the mid to late 1980s it was a hard and fast line. There were the bands in NME and on Peel and there were the bands on sleeveless t-shirts - and a whole lot of animosity between the two camps.
Edit: also largely a class thing. Metal was blue collar and punk was middle class by that time.
Ironically, I think Nirvana-Geffen ultimately killed that whole indie-punk subculture purity thing.
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I'd agree with the class distinction. But being from a beach town, we were all surfer punk metal heads. It was pretty much all one entity.
And my closing argument is Kurt Cobain was a massive fan of Heavy Metal Parking Lot. It's all the same at its core, even if the aesthetics were a little different in certain cliques of kids.
Also, I still wear sleeveless Motorhead t-shirts on the reg.
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There was definitely more musical overlap than anyone wanted to admit at the time - aside from the gratuitous cockrock/rock pig guitar and drum solo wankery.
I think my teen experience was a lot more tribal. Surf, metal and indie/punk cultures didn’t really meet. I was probably a bit dodgy for surfing, even if I didn’t buy into the whole subculture around it.
I think my teen experience was a lot more tribal. Surf, metal and indie/punk cultures didn’t really meet. I was probably a bit dodgy for surfing, even if I didn’t buy into the whole subculture around it.
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belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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Yeah I commented on these ones in the OP. They are fucking amazing, love themCufflinks
Can't believe there's no thread on cufflinks? Anyway, there I was sorting out the further reaches of my wardrobe and I came across a Laco watch box... Those are all from the mid-2000's and I completely forgot I had them. Was rather chuffed. And Etro, what are they doing now...www.dressedwell.net
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No doubt, that was my point with the old Jackson ad with all the glam guys. Warrant, Ratt and all that crap was totally out. GnR, Metallica, Megadeth all kept on trucking along. Megadeth actually had their biggest albums in the mid 90s. GnR essentially blew themselves up as opposed to any seachange in fan tastes.
This conversation actually reminds me of one of the best shows ever, GnR and Faith No More. FNM is right up there with Social D as my all time band. The Angel Dust album was ridiculous
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So I went looking for some other gear photos but all this shit is so old I don't have it on digital.
Found a better photo of the Charvel for
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My pops J Bass forbelinmad
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Also my 1996 American Standard Plus Strat and my old SG
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I love the SG for chunky Husker Du chords. I think Ben Deily from the original Lemonheads played one.
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The SG is a super unique and badass sound. The alpine white is what Ian Mackaye played in Minor Threat. There's definitely a crowd that appreciates the slim solid mahogany Gibson stuff, LP juniors, double cutaway LP Juniors, Melody Makers...
I have this old early 60s Melody Maker my dad pulled out of a music store dumpster back in the early 70s when no one cared about them. It's been on my list to rebuild for years. Plan on loading with a P90.
As an aside, I can never hear the words Lemonheads and not think of tormenting one of our best girl friends who was a huge Lemonheads fan by calling Evan Dando, Evan Dildo. Lol.
belinmad
Damn Tacky Big Collar Daddy
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omg that’s beautiful. I have a 77 J bass, similar finish.
Top left. Heavy AF.
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I might have told my Lemonheads story already but here it is again: we were huge fans of the original line-up and specifically all of Deily’s material. When they broke, Deily’s song Name In Vein pretty much summed up everyone’s dislike for Dando and his decision to keep using the band name.
Anyway, on his Australian tour he stopped in our city for about a month and shacked up with a girl in the some circle. We were all over there at the share house and a few people were swooning over the celebrity. When I was introduced to him I said (totally rehearses in my head): ‘oh hey, you used to be in Ben Deily’s band, right?’. I got a grunt and ignored after that (until he wanted a heroin connection). I told that story to Ben years later, who thought it funny - though they are friends again these days.
Anyway, on his Australian tour he stopped in our city for about a month and shacked up with a girl in the some circle. We were all over there at the share house and a few people were swooning over the celebrity. When I was introduced to him I said (totally rehearses in my head): ‘oh hey, you used to be in Ben Deily’s band, right?’. I got a grunt and ignored after that (until he wanted a heroin connection). I told that story to Ben years later, who thought it funny - though they are friends again these days.
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Yeah, I've loved that thing since I was a child. I'm J Bass all the way. Most of my bassists have played P Basses ironically.
The best thing far and away about his J is the pre CBS pickups. They get so freaking low and rumbly.