20 Problems Only Guitarists Will Understand

Being a guitarist can be singularly one of the most satisfying things on the planet; there's nothing finer than picking up something that to most other people is nothing more than a plank of wood with strings and being able to produce music ranging from the beautiful to the brutal, whatever your particular musical bent may be. In the right hands and with the right know-how, any guitar can be used to make nearly any sound you've heard in popular music, from the lightest of chord progressions to the most wicked, ripping guitar solo the world has ever heard. All it takes is the ability and the desire then you can use the guitar to conquer the world (probably). That's not to say playing the guitar is a problem free experience, far from it. It can take years to learn and a lifetime to master. There will always be something that will challenge you as a player, as a musician and as a human being. But more than anything, there will be those insurmountable problems that only guitarists will encounter, those moments where you legitimately think that jacking in playing is the only solution, save from wrapping your beloved guitar around someone's head. From condescending musicians to your dear old nan, there's plenty of people in this world who can drive a guitarist mental and then there's the gear issues which can all add up to a sheer, white hot rage building up inside what should be a normal, well adjusted individual. Ahead we have 20 infuriating problems that befall every guitarist at some point in their life, it's a wonder that anyone still plays the instrument.

20. Endless Miles Of Tangled Wires

You've spent the money, the time and the effort to build your ultimate rig; you've got a killer amp, a pedal board that makes NASA's control centre look like an etch-a-sketch and that custom built guitar made to your absolute specifications. It's the ultimate dream, to have the epic, custom set up that you've always wanted, it makes you the envy of less well off guitarists around the land. You have the killer sound and the gear to go with it and you feel unstoppable, that is, until it comes to gig time and the exuberant performance on stage causes all of those wires to become tangled together and the worst happens, you reach the end of your lead and cause your pedal board to disintegrate and worse still, pull your amplifier from its rather precarious placement onto the ground. In a second, the band have gone from sounding amazing to staring at you with absolute disgust and there is nowhere to hide from the shame.

19. People Using Your Amp As A Coaster

Amplifiers are big, heavy and generally expensive, so of course, exactly what you want to have happen to your big, expensive source of your sound is to have the singer balance his beer on top of it during a live show. Of course it is, who ever heard of spilt beer damaging anything electrical?