- …when the music gear in the back of your car is worth more than the car.
- …when you’re content just to stare at your rig. Not turn it on. Just stare at it.
- …when you look for a pedal to buy that has a British name, because that would make your board look really cool.
- …when you describe your work day in pedals. For instance, if you make $20 an hour, and you worked an 10 hour day, you just worked a Zendrive.
- …when you hear about the economic crisis, the first thing you think about is if the price of a used Analogman Sunlion might have dropped.
- …when you have pedals on your board that you haven’t turn on in more than 4 months. But whoa, do they look good on that board!
- …when your guitars have names. No, not names like ‘64 Fender Telecaster.’ Names like ‘Bob.’
- …when your amps’ speakers have more total area than the sound system at the gig you’re playing at.
- …when you go out for an evening, you call home to make sure your gear is alright. If the phone doesn’t ring, it means the house might have caught on fire, and your gear is burning up. This ruins the rest of your night.
- …when you get excited because your flight is ‘delayed.’
- …when you give your amp a quick ‘good game, sport’ pat on the tolex after a good sounding show. Don’t lie. I know you’ve done it.
- …when someone asks you if you know the riff to a certain song, you just point to a pedal and respond with, ‘What do you think.’
Please feel free to add more as you see fit. 
Splendid.
Karl.
how about when it take 4 (yellow) extension cords just to power your rig on stage?
or when it takes two people to lift your rig off the stage?
or when you get excited when a professional photographer takes pictures of your rig?
man I’m on a roll and I don’t even have a rig. well, I do, if you consider a 12 year old multi-effects acoustic pedal, gear. That’s right, I’m the proud owner of a DOD Acoustic 1 Mult-Effects Processor. Purchased in like 1996 for $200, worth $75 on the gear black market now… it’s RAD!
Karl, you know I’m just giving you a hard time. I wish we had more pro shots of the gear on stage and around LifeChurch! Wait… I wish we had more gear period. Wait, I AM a gear junkie!
heh, my guitar has been named Ashley for years….
and last Sunday I was asked about a riff, I pointed to the TS9, then my delay, and said “I guess I could…” with a smile and wink.
and my TS9 is named Bob. I’ve gone so far past that I’ve named my pedals.
I think one needs to be added is: when you are asked to play a new song and immediately don’t think you can do it without the Analogman KOT (or other boutique pedal respectively).
- when you’ve wondered if your GUITAR is true bypass…..
ha, forgot one— my car was a 92 Sentra, 4 speed manual. “mostly” red color. In 2003, it was worth 700 bucks. Guess how much my equipment was in the back? Well, at the time- no pedal board, just a few boss effects- about 1500. Now, i think my board alone is 2000 grand on a slow day.
When you realize it would take 6-10 hours to answer the question, “What do your pedals do?”
When you buy gear you have no intention of using/keeping just to hear what it sounds like (I got a used stock BD-2 just to hear how it differed from my keeley BD-2).
When you can look back and laugh at the number of times you thought you finally had your sound and were done buying gear only to swap out half your gear 6 mo later.
When you’ve convinced yourself playing with your strap the wrong way sucks tone.
When someone asks you about one of your pedals and you end up presenting your whole board while they slowly doze off, but you don’t care you just keep talking anyway.
“- when you’ve wondered if your GUITAR is true bypass…..”
this is the funniest & the scariest thing!
…you play with a 6-inch guitar cable to preserve “as much tone as possible”.
…you find yourself playing a worship song that you don’t know the words to. Yet you know your delay is set to 800 milliseconds.
…you’re continually frustrated at how few lines from “Spinal Tap” can be repeated in a church environment… and you consider joining a local club band just so you use the rest (e.g. “This one’s called “Lick My Love Pump”").
…you have 2 of every guitar you have (because not having a backup would be irresponsible).
…you believe the Holy Spirit will not show up if you use a cheap delay pedal (He loves ambiance).
I currently drive a 2000 Chevy Cavalier with 130,000 miles on it and 50% of the paint pealing off (+ about 20% of the tinting). My ‘board, amp, and 2 guitars would easily run close to 10k. My car’s worth about $1k! I have my priorities straight…
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Ha! Blogsology, I must have gotten busy writing another post and totally missed your last two comments here. I just linked back to this from your blog. hehe Those are awesome! And yes, I have gotten to church on a Sunday and realized I hadn’t even read the lyrics to a song because I was setting my delay properly all week. And yes, nothing will kill the worship faster than a cheap delay pedal. lol
And +1 on having a rig worth more than your car!
karl, im with you on the blue LED thing…
so
you might be a gear junkie when…
you honestly believe that blue LEDs add tone to a pedal.
also are blue LEDs not mezmerizing…theyre so pretty. a true gift from God.
