Q&A: Advice Pasal Equipment Untuk Beginners

(Part 1 of 4)


Soalan yg ditanya kat shout box recently was quite specific, but aku rasa
baik aku kasi advice yg general sket, since I feel very strongly about
this. First skali aku nak motivate sket pasal kesanggupan keluar duit
untuk beli equipment. And then aku nak discuss sket pasal Acoustic
Guitar, Electric Guitar, and Amps & Effects. This is gonna be a 4-part
response.
Before that, aku ni bukanlah expert ataupon professional. Im just an
average player, still trying to be better.So think of me as a peer. Ramai
lagi orang yg boleh kasi better advice on a number of things Im gonna
mention here. But thats how it is. You get all kinds of advice you can
get, and you judge for yourself what to actually follow, what to keep in
mind, and what to leave behind.

Some motivation
First, you have to ask yourself: do you want to be as good as you can be,
or nak main sesaje jek? If youre not too serious about playing, or you
dont have that much passion for it, then you can skip the rest of this
article series, and just pegi beli gitar murah-murah.
Tapi kalau ade minat yg mendalam, kau kena sanggup spend lebih sket.
Like most things in this world, when it comes to musical instruments,
you usually get what you pay for.
Prinsip aku ialah beli equipment yg bagus, yg melebihi tahap skill aku.
Im sure many people who know me would agree to that. Why? For one
thing, it shows youre making a commitment to your passion. Bile kau
punya equipment kau rasa lebih dari kelayakan kau, kau akan bekerja
keras untuk tingkatkan skill and knowledge, to show that you deserve it.
When youve spent a lot of money on your equipment, youre less likely
to waste it by not using it, by not practicing. Youll also take a better care
for it, keeping it in good condition, which will help you be a better
player. (Gitar pon kena buat maintenance). And bile kau beginner, your
learning curve is gonna be very steep. Youll learn so much so fast, that
kalo kau beli equipment yg murah or a little bit above murah, sekejap
jek kau akan nak equipment yg lagi bagus.
Im speaking from experience. Mase aku mula main gitar karen dulu,
aku beli Epiphone strat aku tu. Aku rasa lepas setaun jek aku nak gitar
yg lagi bagus. That Epiphone is not the cheapest guitar in the store. Aku
memang usually skip the cheap stuff. After that I got my Ibanez RG.
Loved it. Its been my primary guitar for 12 years now. Mase aku beli
Ibanez tu, I realized that its over my skill level. But I knew thats what I
wanted.
Same goes with main pool. Mase aku kat U dulu, apartment complex
aku ade pool table. So aku pon beli cue brand Cuetec. Spent like $150 on
it. Soon enough aku beli cue Predator, highest end model punya, with
their top of the line shaft. Spent like $700 on it. I practiced a lot, almost
daily. Tak campur baca buku lagi, tengok match videos sume. I think
most people kat complex tu recognized me as the guy who plays pool by
himself most of the time. Some of my friends made fun of me for
spending that much on a cue. I dont care, I like what I do. And I was
good at what I do, they cant argue with that.
And gitar baru aku pon is definitely a professional grade one, above my
level obviously. And I intend to work to be a much better player. I expect
to be happy with it for many years to come.
So, be willing to spend a good amount of money on what you like. And
most musical instruments (even pool cues) are not like electronics or
clothes. They dont become obsolete or out of style quickly. Ask yourself.
How much are you willing to spend on a computer? RM2000?
RM3000? How long do you think you have until it becomes obsolete?
Jauh lagi cepat dari alat muzik. Bape banyak kau sanggup spend kat
phone, and berapa kerap kau tukar phone? Think about it. Guitar
memang nampak mahal. But if you think about how much you spend on
other stuff, it may not seem that bad. So, skip starter packs, and skip the
cheap stuff. Save that for anak bawah 12 taun yg blom reti lagi nak jaga
equipment.
Aku setuju ngan Karl Cromok mase sesi soal jawab dalam DVD
Inspiring Moment dia. Dia kate kalau nak jadi tukang kayu, mesti nak
pahat yg tajam. He also talks about putting your priorities right. You
have to be willing to spend on your passion.