10 Super Annoying Problems Only Guitarists Have to Deal With

Once you get your first guitar, you’ll find yourself in your local music store quite a bit – for most of us, that’s GuitarCenter.

These stores are notorious for their hovering employees. In most stores, you would be able to walk in, try out the equipment, and buy whatever caught your interest. In GuitarCenter and similar stores, you will have to fend off the employees every 15 minutes – even a firm “no, I’m fine, thanks” is not remotely enough to deter most of these employees.

Most smart guitarists start finding equipment online after a while, partially because of the hovering employees and partially because the prices are just way better.

#2 That infuriating, barely-distinguishable hum coming from your amp

You take the time to configure every channel, every wire, ensure that everything is perfect… and you can still hear a very faint hum coming from your amp.

You can’t hear it unless you really listen. And most people would say it’s “not a big deal”, especially because your guitar will drown out the noise completely…

But it’s still there. And it’s not going away, no matter how much you work on it – until all of the sudden, it seems to stop for no reason at all.

#3 You have to hold your tongue about Jimi Hendrix

Everyone loves Hendrix. We listen to him every day, and we think most people can agree that he is one of the most influential guitarists of all time.

But he is not some sort of deity. Beginner guitarists and those who don’t play love to drawl on about Hendrix, and we have to hold our tongues, because speaking out against Hendrix to the general public – even if we’re right – is blasphemy.

#4 You have to decide on the equipment you’re bringing to the gig

All of these awesome pieces that you’ve picked up over the years, and you can only bring one of each for when you play next. Sometimes, you don’t know the acoustic of the venue you play at, which makes the decision that much more difficult. Poor acoustics mean a bad show, even if you play and perform well.

Then, of course, you have to actually bring the equipment to the gig, too. Drummers definitely have it worse, but lugging a gig amp and all of your other equipment is not a walk in the park. (And no one gives us any sympathy, because hey, we’re standing next to the drummer.)

#5 You have to buy 9v batteries

Before starting guitar, you probably didn’t buy anything but AA and AAA batteries. No one really does… worst comes to worst, you get D batteries for a little extra life.

Not for guitar equipment (like your pedal), though. Nope! The companies decided to work with 9v batteries for whatever reason. Head down to your local Target or Walmart and be prepared to shell out $30 – $40 for any respectable supply.

#6 You are broke because you spend all of your cash on guitar equipment (and batteries)

Most instruments don’t have that much equipment you can buy for them. Drummers can probably understand our pain, but for example, the pianist really only has to worry about the keyboard he has. And you only need one trumped, or one saxophone, etc.

Guitarists need everything. We need our guitars, both acoustic and electric, and we need amps, pedals, and everything else you can possibly imagine.

We also need multiples of everything, because most of the time, our equipment can’t be used for different purposes – like, most of us probably have one or two gig amps along with a few separate practice amps.

That adds up quick, even if you’re finding good deals on new amps.

#7 You deal with the stress of others using your guitar

Guitar has one of the highest failure rates – meaning that most who start don’t continue, or get good… or learn how to treat equipment properly.

When you hear the question “can I use your guitar?”, there’s a pretty good chance that the person playing it won’t cause damage in a serious way. But still, you’re always nervous – he or she always seems to ask to play your most expensive ones, right?

#8 You just can’t get the riff. You. Just. Can’t.

Most songs start out as being difficult. You work through it, and you get almost everything down. In fact, you can do a run through at a pretty decent speed without any major pauses.

But at normal speeds, there is that one riff that you just can’t master. Your fingers just can’t do it. You’re telling them to, and they’re trying… they really are… but they just can’t.

At least not today. Most of the time, we wake up one day, and we’re just able to do the problem riff right away without any trouble at all. That’s one of the beautiful things about guitar… we guess?

#9 You have to interact with posers

Playing guitar is cool, man. Everyone wants to be the guitarist. As such, you have a lot of people who pretend they know everything… but really don’t know much at all.

If you’re in the know on the specifics of guitar, you pretty much can’t participate in any guitar-related conversations. You’ll come off as a know-it-all right away… especially if you mention Hendrix, as we covered before.

#10 You have to find a band, and as a guitarist, that’s frustrating

Bands always need bassists. It seems no one ever needs a guitarist, though, and when they do, the requirements are pretty darn strict. You have to be good at the instrument, you need the proper equipment, and you need to be the face of the band – someone can win out over you if he or she is having a slightly better hair day on the day you two audition.

So, guitarists find themselves scouring through groups (and even Craigslist) to try and find bandmates for a much longer time. And right when we’re close to finding a great band, we can get beat out for no reason at all.

But really it’s all worth it – because once we find a band, we are the guitarists of the group. 😉

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