Hey guys!
Good idea, but why not just play music instead?
If I may offer a dissenting opinion, the very notion of a 'tone party' may foster more confusion, angst, insecurity and envy rather than harmony.
I mean, how/ who judges the tones?
Who's standards will you be using?
What do you exactly mean by 'vintage' tone?
We guitar players definitely take pride in our instruments, and I'm sure to our ears (and maybe our eyes), there's a very good reason why why picked the guitars that we have right now.
But to put those guitars in some sort of a 'contest' may seem kind of a pointless - if not futile - exercise.
Why? Simply because all strats sound different. Some may be more 'vintage-y' than others. Some may sound Les Paul-ish even. Some may sound great overdriven while some others excel in clean tones.
Now, can you imagine someone walking away from that tone party shaking his head and saying, 'awwww man ... my strat sucks. It's nothing compared to the big boys' toys.'
There's nothing worse than a bruised ego, right? And what do you nurse it with. Gas? You tell yourself. 'oh, maybe I should change my pickups to ________ (insert brand here), or maybe change my trem block, or have a refret, or ... or get a new strat altogether ...'
And by the law of averages, if there are good strats, I'm sure there will be some bad strats there. Now, tell me, can any of you have the courage to tell someone that his guitar sucks? I'm sure you wouldn't ..
So, there's the rub ..
I'm sorry if I seem to be going against the tide here. I don't mean to ruin any such plans that have nothing but the best intentions for everyone. But I'm just kinda worried about the very notion of a 'contest' where the standards to be used can't be quantified objectively.
All I know is that guitars - Strats, Les Pauls or what have you - were created to make music, and I hope that's what we end up doing in the end..