Originally Posted by: SvanholmWhat I mean is, if I find a lick that sounds good.
it doesnt matter what kind of scale it is or if its even is a scale.

That's really entirely up to you. If all you want to do is come up with a catchy riff, and you're happy with it without really understanding the notes or scale you are using, that's fine. There's plenty of guitar players who develop their technique, sound, style and "riff repertoire" without understanding much of the theory behind it. There's nothing wrong with that at all. For myself, I find that the more understanding I have of scales and how they relate to chord progressions etc, the better my playing. But that's me... You have to decide what's best for you.

Certainly don't be afraid to work directly towards what it is you're after... I often will come up with a "catchy riff" first, and then work out what scale I'm using afterwards. You don't even have to go that far... you can just come up with catchy riffs without knowing the scale its in, or even the notes you are playing. But a some point, you may find that in order to play with other musicians, or transpose a riff (play it in a different key), or come up with more ideas that are in the same key, you'll need to get a handle on some basic theory. It also doesn't hurt when you do come up with something you like, to understand the theory behind it so that you can then use that understanding to come up with even more ideas.