Tweakfreak is a Gearwire MVP candidate with a fitting name. Although he is capable of tweaking gear and even designed his own cab simulator, he adheres to the classic theory that a guitar and amp are really the core of what you need.

What is your background?

Born in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1953 (Rock keeps you young!) Got a guitar at the age of 14. I found that lessons weren't for me, so I just played along with everything I heard on the radio - a great way to learn! Professionally, I have a BSEE and I have worked in IT my entire career, which means I tweak and fix my own gear when necessary.

How did you get started in music and what advice would you give to someone who just started?

Like I said, I picked up a guitar at the age of 14. I played with friends, nothing big, and a few small time bands. It was fun. The best advice I can think of is: keep it fun! Music is very personal and you should enjoy listening to it and making it. As long as it feels good and it ain't illegal: do it!

Who are your musical influences and what genre do you listen to most?

Well, growing up in the late 60s I was of course influenced by the big names of that era: Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Floyd, Santana, Who, and so many more. But it hasn't stopped there. I also enjoy listening to John Hiatt, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Reich (entirely different stuff!), some classical. There is so much music to enjoy and you can find music in everything.

What's your inspiration?

Making music gives me a kick. Playing with others who are skilled and enjoy it is great. A good guitar sound can really get to me and make me feel great. And that goes for other instruments as well.

What's your motivation for helping people out on forums?

Given my background and technical interest in stuff, I feel I have something to contribute. If there's positive feedback it is easy to go on. Being nominated by fellow posters is a kick.

What's your favorite piece of gear and why? What gear do you use?

I am no real gear freak. An amp and a guitar is good enough for me. Some effects to play around with. When I am playing by myself, I tend to go farther in the use of fx, but it's all packed in my guitar amp and my recording software. I use a Line6 Flextone III XL amp, a Fender Stratocaster (slightly modified), a Spirit Folio 10/2 board, and Adobe Audition recording software. I also have a broken BOSS ME-10 somewhere and a cab simulator of my own design, but that's stuff that I don't use anymore. So, that's the core of my little home setup. When playing gigs and rehearsing it's just the amp and guitar. I like to travel light.

What are your favorite sources for gear-related information?

I get info from mailings by local music stores. Online there are many sources, Gearwire of course being a major one! When I hear of something new through the grapevine, I typically just Google for it.

What's the best music related advice you've ever given?

I have no idea ... Whoever reads all this may pick up things that work for him/her. They might call it advice, but I don't know. One thing I do know is that you can learn something from almost everybody.

What's the best music related advice you've ever received?

Hm, another tough one. I guess you pick up things, learn from it and make it your own. If it works for you it was valuable, otherwise not. I think "watch and learn" is a pretty good one. How about this fortune cookie: "hitting ceiling is not best way to get up in world." Not really musical (depending on the ceiling) but still.

What's the best and worst thing about being a musician?

The kick of playing music is definitely the big plus. On the downside, it can be hard to keep a band together. As you get older, it becomes harder to find motivated people. And driving home 100 miles at 3 in the morning gets tiring these days.

What is the best and worst thing about online forums?

Good thing: you learn a lot from others, and you come across kindred spirits. Bad thing: sometimes your expectations can be too high. Eg. a forum that is called "Customer support" where all customers are left to sort issues out among themselves with very little actual support. But on the whole I'd say there's more good than bad.

What music-related topic do you think is most neglected on forums?

I think if you look around you'll find that all conceivable topics are covered in some forum somewhere on the planet.

What are the 5 forum posts/threads where you are most proud of your contributions? (Give actual URLs)

At the top of the list I would put my website tweakfreak.foxobn.org which I set up because I felt that the customer support forum for my amp didn't give the answers. It really ain't all that much, but it provides some info that people ask about over and over. And maybe a bit more.

As for threads, I don't have the time to go into that now, but the Line 6 forum on the Flextone amp has some contributions that may be worthwhile to the visitors there. That's where the nomination for this award came from.

Anything else you would like voters to know? Any interesting music related stories?

Not really, but I'd like to wish all voters and nominees the best of luck. I hope you enjoy your music forever, whatever kind it is.