Marcus Brummel

When did you start playing? What was your first instrument?
After I saw The Beatles on TV in 1964 I wanted a guitar. My Grandfather gave me his guitar, it was a 1940 something Kay Kraft Florentine.

What were the first songs you learned?
I guess the first impressionable song I learned was the G, Em, C, D progression.

Did you take lessons and for how long? What was your teacher like?
No.

When was your first performance? What gear did you have?
My first performance was at an old run down Catholic church. A friend of mine let me use his Fender Jaguar. Ventures and "Keep On Dancing" were the songs.

When did you start or join your first band? What did you play? How long did it last?
See above.

How have your gear preferences changed over time? What is your favorite gear now?
After going through nearly all available brands I found out who made guitars for Lindsey Buckingham. I've settled on Rick Turner guitars ever since.

How much gear do you own? How much have you sold? What are you hoping to own in the future?
I've sold more guitars than most people own. I have over 60 guitars or basses now. Many amps, PA systems and recording equipment.

How have your influences and playing style changed over time?
I play finger style acoustic now for the most part but I also play bass, banjo, violin, mandolin, drums and piano. I think my playing style developed through learning how to play the banjo.

Have you ever had any studio experience? Where at?
I have two recording studios but I have recorded in other studios.

Machine

When did you start playing? What was your first instrument?

I started playing when I was five years old when I got a cheap keyboard for Christmas and I just messed around and taught myself notes and chords.

What were the first songs you learned?

Hot Cross Buns and the such in band, but I had written stuff before I got in 5th grade.

Did you take lessons and for how long? What was your teacher like?

I took lessons for guitar for three years from 12-15 and my teacher was very flexible and let me learn what I wanted most of the time I still think he's the reason I wasn't afraid to experiment with my instruments later on.

When was your first performance? What gear did you have?

Technically at a park last summer where I played some really early Machine+ songs and a bunch of AJJ covers. But officially at the talent show this year where I played a Mac DeMarco song.

When did you start or join your first band? What did you play? How long did it last?

I started my first and only band in 2013 called Stone Down Sunshine with my friend, I played guitar, keyboard, and sang and it lasted until mid-2014 when we quit in the middle of recording an EP.

How have your gear preferences changed over time? What is your favorite gear now?

Not really as I don't have a ton of gear, but right now my Flashback Digital Delay pedal is absolutely amazing and gets a suprisingly amount of sounds out of it for just one pedal.

How much gear do you own? How much have you sold? What are you hoping to own in the future?

My Line 6 amp, custom Tele, Flashback delay that's it. I really want more pedals mainly idc about the amps.

How have your influences and playing style changed over time?

I used to play straight rock and metal I moved on sometime late 2013 to the style I have now which is more drone/punk/noise orientated (and folk on the acoustic).

What were your best / worst performances like?

They've both been pretty alright nothing noteworthy I have to find places to play at.

Have you ever had any studio experience? Where at?

Not at all.

Do you still play? If you don't why did you stop?

Every single ****ing day no matter what I'm always playing.and I write songs quite frequently too.

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boost my ego

listen to me stroke my delay pedal

ever wanted to hear death grips songs... but they're acoustic? me neither.

Mondo Bungle

in just 7 months I have become a self-proclaimed god of noise.

First full song I learned on guitar (my primary instrument, I suppose) was Disarm by the Smashing Pumpkins. It's really only four chords that are all really close together, weird ones though.

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Black Francis

When did you start playing? What was your first instrument?

I started as a drummer when i was 13 or so but eventually moved up to the guitar

What were the first songs you learned?

on drums it was Drain you and on guitar it was about a girl, both Nirvana songs

Did you take lessons and for how long? What was your teacher like?

my teacher was my friend Giovanni, he teached me basic guitar stuff like how to do a power chord, on drums i had no teacher except dave grohl

When was your first performance? What gear did you have?

our first gig was on a public school talent show were 90% of the kids were into rap, i remember it well cause it went horribly

we practiced Alec eiffel by the pixies to perfection but what we didnt do was equalize our instruments for the perfomance lol

When did you start or join your first band? What did you play? How long did it last?

i played the drums mostly but also played bass, me and gio started a band as i was learning how to play so before i even knew how to play i was in a band

How have your gear preferences changed over time? What is your favorite gear now?

im not a gear guy, ive never learned much about the quality of instruments and brands and all that sh*t

i have a basic knowledge about the brands but thats about it

How much gear do you own? How much have you sold? What are you hoping to own in the future?

never sold any gear, i have an electric and a acoustic guitar and for a little while i had piano.

I lost my piano when i moved to another house, idk what happened to it but in the future i plan on buying one.

How have your influences and playing style changed over time?

well, i started with very simple compositions heavily influenced by Nirvana then i discovered Guided by voices and the pixies and they redefined my guitar playing, later i discovered Deerhoof and Django which again has redefined how i play, my biggest influence atm is Django, i discovered him too late in life but to me he represents the kind of guitar player i want to be.

What were your best / worst performances like?

my worst was my first gig (the one i mentioned earlier at the public school) my best was in a local bar where we played with a bomba & plena group at the end.

At the end of the show all the bands joined in for a plena song and it looked like a carnaval. Everybody was dancing with smiles on their faces, it was f*ckin great.

Have you ever had any studio experience? Where at?

no, all my experiences have been in amateur home studios

Do you still play? If you don't why did you stop?

Yes. I play my guitar everyday but i havent played in a band in years

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"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

axstar713

When did you start playing? What was your first instrument?
First instrument I played was the piano when I was 7, played for several years but wanted to play the guitar which I finally did when I was 12, got an Ibanez Roadstar II for Christmas that year

What were the first songs you learned?
On guitar I learned the usual - Smoke On The Water, Iron Man, and We're Not Gonna Take It - all just the root notes lmao

Did you take lessons and for how long? What was your teacher like?
I took piano lessons for about 5 years, great teacher and super nice guy - took guitar lessons for about a year and quit due to my instructor who was a jerk

When was your first performance? What gear did you have?
Never performed outside of a few jams in my friend's garage in front of a few people

When did you start or join your first band? What did you play? How long did it last?
I joined a punk band for all of two weeks when I was in 9th grade

How have your gear preferences changed over time? What is your favorite gear now?
I started playing again a little over three years ago, still love the Jacksons and old BC Rich Warlocks I did back when I was a kid, can't stand the low-end stuff BC Rich is putting-out now, though but the US made stuff is great, the custom guitars are amazing but pricey as hell

How much gear do you own? How much have you sold? What are you hoping to own in the future?
At the moment I only have two guitars, a Schecter Blackjack ATX-C1 and a Jackson Soloist. I'm saving-up for a new Jackson Rhoads at the moment and a Mesa or 5150 head

How have your influences and playing style changed over time?
Not really, still a big fan of all my old heroes, still into metal after all of these years

What were your best / worst performances like?
No stage experience to speak of

Have you ever had any studio experience? Where at?
None.

Do you still play? If you don't why did you stop?
Every day, try to get three hours of practice in a day which is hard but I make the time

Aloysius

When did you start playing? What was your first instrument?
When I was about 8, my mum's Hoffner acoustic - the neck was so warped the action was over an inch high. Almost impossible to play, but I just assumed that's what guitars were like.
What were the first songs you learned?
I played along to Hendrix and Zeppelin records and worked out my own (bad) versions of them.
Did you take lessons and for how long? What was your teacher like?
I've taken a lot of lessons - at 16 I started getting serious about classical guitar, then soon after flamenco guitar. I spent 2 years in Spain studying with a lot of people.
When was your first performance? What gear did you have?
Would have been school performance evenings - can't remember what guitar.
When did you start or join your first band? What did you play? How long did it last?
I joined two bands about 10 years ago - both fairly inactive now. One I played bass in, all Russian gypsy music. They wanted me to play bass Balalaika, but when I saw the instrument I said maybe not - I was only a guitarist pretending to be a bass player for fun, that thing would have taken up more time than I had. The other band was mostly latin jazz - I'm not a great jazz player but have always dabbled.
How have your gear preferences changed over time? What is your favorite gear now?
I use to play steel string acoustic and electric a lot more, now I mostly play flamenco and classical instruments.
How much gear do you own? How much have you sold? What are you hoping to own in the future?
I have 3 classical guitars, 3 flamenco guitars, 2 bases, 1 electric, for gigs I use an AER amp, a couple of JBL speakers if I need more volume, a Neumann km184 mic, and a miniflex 3 mic for places the Neumann is unsuitable.
How have your influences and playing style changed over time?
Now I play mostly classical and flamenco, with bits of other stuff.
What were your best / worst performances like?
Best performance - probably Adelaide International Guitar Festival last year. I had the budget to hire the backing musos I wanted and the house sound system was great.
Worst - when I do weddings work I often have to put together solo guitar arrangements of songs the couple like for the bridal entrance. Usually This is good fun, but once I had to do a Savage Garden song, so I had to listen to it over and over to get a good arrangement going - I'm still suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Have you ever had any studio experience? Where at?
I've done 2 of my own albums at a friend's home studio, a TV advert for a new housing estate at a professional studio, and some work for LTP publishing's guitar tuition books.
Do you still play? If you don't why did you stop?
Playing is my whole income (has been for 20 years), so absolutely yes.

Plankton

I'd love to hear some of your work.

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See location...

Aloysius

Sure, I don't want to break with forum protocol by posting my own stuff while I'm new here though - if you search YouTube for "Aloysius Leeson" some of my stuff will come up.

Plankton

I appreciate that. It's clear you're not here to spam and scram, so no problem. You're quite good, btw.

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See location...

jakeseven

When did you start playing? What was your first instrument?

Technically I first started playing music at around 10/11, when I had piano lessons and played oboe in orchestra- oboe was my first instrument. Recently I've started playing bass and guitar and I really like them both.

What were the first songs you learned?

I played a lot of MCR/FOB covers at first.

Did you take lessons and for how long? What was your teacher like?

Nope, after piano lessons when I was young everything else after that was self taught.

When was your first performance? What gear did you have?

Never performed actually. I do a lot of solo covers, and write my own stuff, but I'd like to be able to show them some day.

When did you start or join your first band? What did you play? How long did it last?

Never was in a band (see above). Except for orchestra in primary school...does that count?

How have your gear preferences changed over time? What is your favorite gear now?

My gear preferences haven't really changed. I've been using more or less the same stuff.

How much gear do you own? How much have you sold? What are you hoping to own in the future?

Bass amp, acoustic guitar, recording equipment (microphone, interface, headphones), my bass...I want to get some pedals soon.

How have your influences and playing style changed over time?

Not that much. Still into pretty alternative/rock stuff. But now some indie, more acoustic, and pop songs too. More or less.

What were your best / worst performances like?

//

Have you ever had any studio experience? Where at?

Nope. I'd like to though.

Do you still play? If you don't why did you stop?

Yes, as much as I can. And write/compose.