RANTING/VENTING MEGATHREAD 3.0

My band has a gig at a university culture festival tomorrow, so I should practice for it when I get home from work. Unfortunately, my sinuses don't seem to have gotten the memo. I hope this splitting headache goes away sooner rather than later.

You got the headaches too? I've had them for the last 2 days and blamed my massive new TV though now I'm starting to suspect the pollution.
What you play, brother? Guitar?

I've been struggling to find the discipline and motivation to practice these last few years. Before I came to Korea I could practice 4-5hrs a day, 365 days a year, no problem and with shitty gear. These days I've got a badass tube amp, nearly a dozen pedals and two dream guitars yet I can't manage to muster the willpower to do anything more than a bit of noodling every few days.

You got the headaches too? I've had them for the last 2 days and blamed my massive new TV though now I'm starting to suspect the pollution.

I always get crazy headaches during seasonal transition, when the temperature can't decide whether it wants to be warm or cool. The constant fluctuations just wreak havoc on my sinuses. I do suspect that the air quality has been exacerbating things this year, though.

What you play, brother? Guitar?

I've been struggling to find the discipline and motivation to practice these last few years. Before I came to Korea I could practice 4-5hrs a day, 365 days a year, no problem and with shitty gear. These days I've got a badass tube amp, nearly a dozen pedals and two dream guitars yet I can't manage to muster the willpower to do anything more than a bit of noodling every few days.

Bass. I've been playing guitar since 1995, but after I'd been in Korea for two years I decided to make the jump over to bass, because I figured it'd increase my chances of finding bands to jam with. It worked out pretty nicely, and I've gone from playing with zero bands to playing gigs with five different bands over the past two and a half years. It turns out everybody and his brother plays guitar, but bassists are a bit harder to come by. Especially actual bassists, rather than just guitarists playing a bass with a pick like it's a guitar tuned an octave down, so I've been putting extra effort into being a "real" bassist, haha.

I do have an assortment of basses and guitars here that is... uh... way larger than it needs to be. Some might say I have a problem  . I don't have an actual guitar amp anymore, because I'm content to just use my AxeFx 2 & headphones, but I've got a bass rig for those occasions a venue doesn't have house amps or doesn't want me playing DI into front of house. I have a small pedalboard, too, but it's pretty spartan because I take public transportation to and from most gigs and I don't want to have to lug too much crap around.

I just took delivery last Friday on a custom bass I ordered a year ago from a one-man shop in Scotland called ACG, so I'm pretty stoked to gig with it tomorrow. I've played it at a couple impromptu live jams in a local bar, but it'll be nice to see how it performs on a "real" stage through my own rig.


...Sorry, everyone else. Music/gear is one of a handful of topics that can get me rambling at the drop of a hat. 

...Sorry, everyone else. Music/gear is one of a handful of topics that can get me rambling at the drop of a hat. 

Please ramble further.  Especially about bass... I'm keen on picking one up when I migrate back home.  If you've got any tips for a beginner, I'm all ears.  I play violin but I'm tired of playing melody, haha.  Right now I'm researching inexpensive bass options for an amateur.

You got the headaches too? I've had them for the last 2 days and blamed my massive new TV though now I'm starting to suspect the pollution.

I always get crazy headaches during seasonal transition, when the temperature can't decide whether it wants to be warm or cool. The constant fluctuations just wreak havoc on my sinuses. I do suspect that the air quality has been exacerbating things this year, though.

What you play, brother? Guitar?

I've been struggling to find the discipline and motivation to practice these last few years. Before I came to Korea I could practice 4-5hrs a day, 365 days a year, no problem and with shitty gear. These days I've got a badass tube amp, nearly a dozen pedals and two dream guitars yet I can't manage to muster the willpower to do anything more than a bit of noodling every few days.

Bass. I've been playing guitar since 1995, but after I'd been in Korea for two years I decided to make the jump over to bass, because I figured it'd increase my chances of finding bands to jam with. It worked out pretty nicely, and I've gone from playing with zero bands to playing gigs with five different bands over the past two and a half years. It turns out everybody and his brother plays guitar, but bassists are a bit harder to come by. Especially actual bassists, rather than just guitarists playing a bass with a pick like it's a guitar tuned an octave down, so I've been putting extra effort into being a "real" bassist, haha.

I do have an assortment of basses and guitars here that is... uh... way larger than it needs to be. Some might say I have a problem  . I don't have an actual guitar amp anymore, because I'm content to just use my AxeFx 2 & headphones, but I've got a bass rig for those occasions a venue doesn't have house amps or doesn't want me playing DI into front of house. I have a small pedalboard, too, but it's pretty spartan because I take public transportation to and from most gigs and I don't want to have to lug too much crap around.

I just took delivery last Friday on a custom bass I ordered a year ago from a one-man shop in Scotland called ACG, so I'm pretty stoked to gig with it tomorrow. I've played it at a couple impromptu live jams in a local bar, but it'll be nice to see how it performs on a "real" stage through my own rig.


...Sorry, everyone else. Music/gear is one of a handful of topics that can get me rambling at the drop of a hat. 

That's me, played bass just to create backing tracks, at least I always considered the tone of picking bass rather crappy and opted for fingers, though I'm definitely not a bassist by any stretch.

My gigging and band days are pretty much over, I'm content just to be a bedroom guitarist.
Looking back, an Axe FX might've been a smarter choice than a 50w HR Deluxe. Though I love the high headroom, especially since I'm a pedal whore, it's waaaaay too fragile and good God does the Fender support in Korea suck ass. My FX loop is busted and it occasionally switches channels, but I soldier on.

I've got 2 guitars, a Fender USA HSS strat and my custom Suhr Standard, I've never justified owning more as they're really versatile and I only go for high-end guitars, I might get a cheap acoustic though. My pedalboard is quite large, but I mainly stick to a few favourite pedals, particular my Fulldrive 2, Cathedral Reverb and Keeley modded crybaby.

I made sure to buy my gear before getting married, I can't get away with buying an Axe FX (when my amp eventually conks) or my final piece of dream gear (a Nord Electro 5d) any time soon.

I'm trying to get a routine together to finally master cliffs of dover and wonderful slippery thing, but the dedication just isn't there anymore. Let's see if I can set a goal to get my act together during Chuseok.

...Sorry, everyone else. Music/gear is one of a handful of topics that can get me rambling at the drop of a hat. 

Please ramble further.  Especially about bass... I'm keen on picking one up when I migrate back home.  If you've got any tips for a beginner, I'm all ears.  I play violin but I'm tired of playing melody, haha.  Right now I'm researching inexpensive bass options for an amateur.

Well now there's a potential can of worms...

Understand right off the bat that "inexpensive" might mean something completely different to me than it does to you  . When I see a $300 bass, I think "that's dirt cheap," but people who don't play might think "$300?!? It'd better be made of diamonds!"

Then again, you play the violin, and symphonic acoustic instruments tend to be several orders more expensive than electric instruments, so maybe my gear is chump change to you, haha.

Aaaaaanyway, I think one of the best companies to look at for a beginners bass is Squier, which is the import brand owned by Fender, pretty much the biggest name in the business. Their designs have been the industry standards for sixty years now, and there's good reason for that. You would be able to find cheaper stuff from other companies, but I'd seriously recommend paying a bit more if you can afford it.

The cheapest option before it gets into what I'd consider "too cheap" is probably a $199 Jazz bass from their Affinity series:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JazzAffSSLVR

Nothing too fancy, just all the features you need to get started. Jazz basses also have fairly slim necks compared to some other models, so that might be nice for you.

If you're willing to spend a bit more, I'd stay with the same brand, but go up to something from the Vintage Modified line. That line is very highly regarded in the bass community for bang-for-the-buck quality and performance, so I think you'd really be hard pressed to find something better at the $299 price point than something like this Vintage Modified Jazz bass:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JBassVMSQ3TS

You'd need an amp, too, of course, but honestly you don't need much of an amp for just noodling around at home and learning the instrument. Just a little thing with an 8" speaker and in the 15-25 watt range would more than suffice. Luckily there are plenty of options to go around from a number of well-known brands to choose from, like...

Ampeg ($99):

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BA108V2

and Fender ($79):

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Rum15

I have to stress that you won't get gigging volume from that sort of amp, but it will be fine for the bedroom, and to help you decide if you like playing enough to stick with it and buy a bigger, nicer amp in the future.

Accessories you'd need would be:

A gig bag, like this one from the respected brand SKB ($45), or something similar from a brand like Gator or Fender:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SKBGB44

A tuner, which can be either one you plug in to, or one you just clip to the bass' head, like this one from Snark ($14):

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SnarkClip1X

And of course, a guitar cable. I'd recommend getting one that's 10' long, and if you go with a Jazz bass, make sure to get one with a right angle jack to plug into the bass. Something like this one from D'Addario/Planet Waves ($10):

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PWCGTRA10

So that'd be between $349 and $469, depending which bass and amp combo you go with. There are of course many, many other options to go with, but those are the sorts of things I'd look for, from brands I trust.

Sweetwater is a great company to order from, incidentally. Great customer service. If you aren't from the ol' US of A (I don't remember where you've said you're from), there are always stores/sites like Long & McQuade (Canada) and Andertons Music (UK) to browse, and the results should be similar. Can't help if you're an Aussie, Kiwi, or Saffa, though. I guess just check local stores/sites for the stuff I mentioned. 


See? Told you I can ramble.

My gigging and band days are pretty much over, I'm content just to be a bedroom guitarist.
Looking back, an Axe FX might've been a smarter choice than a 50w HR Deluxe. Though I love the high headroom, especially since I'm a pedal whore, it's waaaaay too fragile and good God does the Fender support in Korea suck ass. My FX loop is busted and it occasionally switches channels, but I soldier on.

The AxeFx is definitely a nice piece of kit. It isn't cheap, but it's a damned site cheaper than buying all of the amps, cabs, and effects I use it to emulate would be. 
My bass amp is an Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 head into a MarkBass 2x10 cab, and apart from the mismatched brands gnawing at my OCD, I really can't complain about the tone I get out of it, haha. For shows where I use a house amp or FOH, I bring a tiny pedalboard that I can clip to my gig bag, and its mainstays are an Aguilar bass compressor, Creation Audio Labs Grizzly (OD/Dist + tone shaping), and an MXR Bass preamp/DI. There's room on the board for one more pedal, which is either an MXR bass envelope filter or an Aguilar Fuzzistor, depending on what the gig calls for.

I've got 2 guitars, a Fender USA HSS strat and my custom Suhr Standard, I've never justified owning more as they're really versatile and I only go for high-end guitars, I might get a cheap acoustic though. My pedalboard is quite large, but I mainly stick to a few favourite pedals, particular my Fulldrive 2, Cathedral Reverb and Keeley modded crybaby.

In the interest of not bogging down the ranting thread too much more than I already have, I'll just mention a few of my main pieces, haha.

My main gigging basses are a Fender USA Tony Franklin signature fretless Precision 4 string and an ACG fanned-fret 6 string. I used the former for the blues rock band I'm in, and the latter for the jazz band I was playing with for a while until that split up recently. I'm hoping the ACG 5 string custom I mentioned earlier will be able to take the place of both of them live, so I guess we'll see how that goes.

Guitar-wise, the most recent one I picked up was a Gibson SG Standard in ebony, which I got as a 3 Years Sober present and because I've wanted one since I was fifteen, haha. The other one I'm most likely to grab is my Ibanez Tosin Abasi 8 string (the Indonesian one, not the Japanese Sugi Custom Shop made one. I'm not made of money  ), because deep down I'll always be a metalhead, no matter how many blues rock bar gigs I play. I gotta have something tuned looooooow, and since my baritone Gibson Buckethead siggie Les Paul is currently in E standard, the Ibanez gets the nod. There's plenty more, but I've blabbered enough. 

I made sure to buy my gear before getting married, I can't get away with buying an Axe FX (when my amp eventually conks) or my final piece of dream gear (a Nord Electro 5d) any time soon.

That's what you get for getting married. I've found being completely unappealing to the opposite sex is a great way to save money for all the fancy gear I want.

I'm trying to get a routine together to finally master cliffs of dover and wonderful slippery thing, but the dedication just isn't there anymore. Let's see if I can set a goal to get my act together during Chuseok.

Honestly, it's being in a band that gets me practicing more than anything. I rarely pick up a guitar or bass just to fart around or work on my chops, but I regularly pick up a bass to run through my set lists to keep the rust off, or to learn new material when I'm tasked with learning it. That doesn't have me improving my skills in leaps and bounds or anything, but I'm moving right along and having a decent time while I'm at it. You should try finding some guys to jam with, even it it isn't going to go anywhere or isn't super challenging or your ideal genre. Just getting out there and playing is rewarding itself.

I've found being completely unappealing to the opposite sex is a great way to save money for all the fancy gear I want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNjB8ZCBuHY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmG8N3WND8Y

 

So, not lot ago, I met this Korean girl I started liking, was going to ask her out, but she told me she fell for this other guy she met (online - never has met him in person). Gave her some advice, and she progressed with that guy. She started to tell me, in graphic detail, about all her intimate details dealings with this guy.

I told her politely, that I don't want to interact with her anymore, and explained why (liked her, I didn't want to hear about this other guy, and she'd always change the topic to her situation with him); She wasn't happy about it, but accepted it. However, she started contacting me again about it >.<
She's not being bad enough to warrant getting blocked, but I don't exactly want to hear about that stuff either. :\
#foreveralone

Bruh, block her now.  She's a user who enjoys getting the attention from you without reciprocating in kind.  Gross.

I took your advice, she eventually got the phones of her parents and tried to call me; She got the other guy to try message me; After I declined, they proceeded to make new Facebook accounts and kept trying to message me on there too. >.< To combat this, I just shut my laptop, and jammed on the ps4 though, as it was getting annoying. :p
We had only known each other for like 1.5 - 2 weeks, so I don't understand why the stalker behaviour was needed. >.<
So glad she doesn't know where I live, it could have really gotten scarypoppins.


Also, I'm still a bit sick from yesterday, so I decided to not go on the school trip >.< Even though I don't like baseball, I was looking forward to the school trip. >.<

Bruh, block her now.  She's a user who enjoys getting the attention from you without reciprocating in kind.  Gross.

I took your advice, she eventually got the phones of her parents and tried to call me; She got the other guy to try message me; After I declined, they proceeded to make new Facebook accounts and kept trying to message me on there too. >.< To combat this, I just shut my laptop, and jammed on the ps4 though, as it was getting annoying. :p
We had only known each other for like 1.5 - 2 weeks, so I don't understand why the stalker behaviour was needed. >.<
So glad she doesn't know where I live, it could have really gotten scarypoppins.

Sweet jeezus, glad you dropped that before she became an even bigger problem. That is one can of hella crazy! Thank goodness she doesn't know where you live.  I hope you find a nice sane gal instead!

Bruh, block her now.  She's a user who enjoys getting the attention from you without reciprocating in kind.  Gross.

I took your advice, she eventually got the phones of her parents and tried to call me; She got the other guy to try message me; After I declined, they proceeded to make new Facebook accounts and kept trying to message me on there too. >.< To combat this, I just shut my laptop, and jammed on the ps4 though, as it was getting annoying. :p
We had only known each other for like 1.5 - 2 weeks, so I don't understand why the stalker behaviour was needed. >.<
So glad she doesn't know where I live, it could have really gotten scarypoppins.

Sweet jeezus, glad you dropped that before she became an even bigger problem. That is one can of hella crazy! Thank goodness she doesn't know where you live.  I hope you find a nice sane gal instead!

Yeah, in a lot of ways I'm glad I dodged that bullet. :D
And thanks!


Also, I've now been tasked to choose the G1 middle school textbook for next year.
The schools criteria for a good book is: lots of cartoon pictures, and not too many difficult words.

Is it just me or have the crazies been especially numerous and obnoxious lately?

It's not even October, yet.

Waygook.org user...

#basedcowboyshirt,

Please stop.  Just stop.

I can't understand people who engage in stalker behavior. If someone doesn't want to talk to you, nothing is going to change by going full crazy on them. In fact it'll only make things worse.

Not to make this about Korea in general, because stalkers happen anywhere... but it sure does seem to happen a lot here.

Honestly I think there has to be some kind of mental imbalance with a touch of narcissism.  The entitlement stalkers feel at "deserving/owning" their prey's attention.  Any sane person might feel a bit stung at rejection but move on instead of obsessing. 

There was a weirdo I met my first year in college.  I thought he was just being friendly; he started chatting to me on FB then asked where I lived.  I thought that was a little odd but figured I was just being paranoid, like maybe he was just making conversation, right?  So I vaguely said "off campus."  And returned the question in kind.  He was similarly vague but then kept pressing further.  He kept pushing for specifics after I told him the main street so that's when I got uncomfortable and ended up deleting him when he started getting weird.  Then the next day at work our boss casually confronted me with, "so I heard you deleted [creeper] off FB."  Ironically, I didn't want to come off sounding crazy so I didn't tell her why that was.  After I got to know her, she was definitely the type who would have had a word with him about inappropriate behavior and boundaries.  Didn't know it at the time though.  Thankfully he never bothered me again; I do think he was probably harmless but clueless about understanding boundaries and maybe even social norms. 

Then there was creepy-married-with-a-kid-Korean-stalker-dude when I first moved here.  I feel sorry for anyone who has to suffer his attention. 

I have the worst computer at my main school. The mouse doesn't work half the time. The Internet cuts off if you touch the Ethernet in any way. Hard to keep my head into lesson planning with only a trackpad and shotty Internet.

I can't seem to find a way to post a comment on Waygook from my cell phone. Is it possible? Am i missing something or can it only be done from a computer?

I can't seem to find a way to post a comment on Waygook from my cell phone. Is it possible? Am i missing something or can it only be done from a computer?

You need to be in a Forum.

The button is just above the list of posts, on the right.

I used to like playing games with my students because it took up so much time, but these kids are such sore losers I don't enjoy it anymore.

If they lose, they become so demanding like it's their right to win. They scream for another round or to get a prize anyway. They whine like they're dying. My CT is nice enough to usually award the top 5 spots in a game, staggering the prizes (1st place gets 3 stickers - 5th place gets 1 sticker) and they still have the nerve to complain and demand more stickers.

I know they are just kids, but I hate to watch them getting away with this behavior. There will be another game next class and another after that. This is the only time in life they will ever be awarded for 5th place, but they are so ungrateful. They need to be taught to say thank you and try again next time. Again, I know they are children but I just don't like seeing this behavior unchecked. It's so entitled.

They're training to become Korea's SJW generation.

I used to like playing games with my students because it took up so much time, but these kids are such sore losers I don't enjoy it anymore.

If they lose, they become so demanding like it's their right to win. They scream for another round or to get a prize anyway. They whine like they're dying. My CT is nice enough to usually award the top 5 spots in a game, staggering the prizes (1st place gets 3 stickers - 5th place gets 1 sticker) and they still have the nerve to complain and demand more stickers.

I know they are just kids, but I hate to watch them getting away with this behavior. There will be another game next class and another after that. This is the only time in life they will ever be awarded for 5th place, but they are so ungrateful. They need to be taught to say thank you and try again next time. Again, I know they are children but I just don't like seeing this behavior unchecked. It's so entitled.

They're training to become Korea's SJW generation.

Pls take your agenda elsewhere. They're freakin' children.

I used to like playing games with my students because it took up so much time, but these kids are such sore losers I don't enjoy it anymore.

If they lose, they become so demanding like it's their right to win. They scream for another round or to get a prize anyway. They whine like they're dying. My CT is nice enough to usually award the top 5 spots in a game, staggering the prizes (1st place gets 3 stickers - 5th place gets 1 sticker) and they still have the nerve to complain and demand more stickers.

I know they are just kids, but I hate to watch them getting away with this behavior. There will be another game next class and another after that. This is the only time in life they will ever be awarded for 5th place, but they are so ungrateful. They need to be taught to say thank you and try again next time. Again, I know they are children but I just don't like seeing this behavior unchecked. It's so entitled.

They're training to become Korea's SJW generation.

Pls take your agenda elsewhere. They're freakin' children.

Children being taught the same negative behaviours that led to America's 20-somethings becoming the disaster they are.