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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:57 am
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Here's an example. A couple of years ago I was at the Martin Guitar factory in Nazareth, Pa. They had this beautiful D-45 Authentic 1936 on display for anyone to play. The price tag? $59,999.00. I was in the lobby not the Pickin Parlor and was being carefully watched. I couldn't stand playing it. The neck killed it for me. It was beautiful and it had world class craftsmanship, but it was painful for me to play. So, it is what it is. The Martin I own is $1,300, made in Nazareth and I love it to death. Price isn't everything.

Here's a photo of it.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 10:34 am
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That's a really nice guitar, but wow, I remember when you could by a house for that much! :P I think the most expensive instrument that I ever picked up (not vintage) was the Jack Bruce signature Warwick fretless bass about 20 years ago. It was almost $4000, but it was pretty cool instrument. I remember it had LED fret markers and the whole bit. No way I could afford it, though.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 11:51 am
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What amazed me was that they wold let anyone try it out. The Pickin' Parlor is the same way with really expensive guitars to try out. The lobby is usually where the lower end stuff like the X-Series is.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 11:59 am
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63supro wrote:
What amazed me was that they wold let anyone try it out. The Pickin' Parlor is the same way with really expensive guitars to try out. The lobby is usually where the lower end stuff like the X-Series is.


I wonder if that's because they had a notion they would never have a serious buyer.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:08 pm
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Ha, Yeah probably. The neck on that thing is horrible. My hand still hurts just from looking at the picture. Gorgeous though.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:32 pm
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Martian wrote:
63supro wrote:
What amazed me was that they wold let anyone try it out. The Pickin' Parlor is the same way with really expensive guitars to try out. The lobby is usually where the lower end stuff like the X-Series is.


I wonder if that's because they had a notion they would never have a serious buyer.

I'd look for dings and cracks first :lol:

...a great place to play a wide range of instruments...is the Mandolin Bros. on Staten Island, NY...

...mostly acoustic guitars...hanging on the walls...vintage and high end and vintage high end!..waiting for you to pick it up!!

They watched me carefully, too, when I picked up a $35K vintage Martin...but I played it :D

Martian knows a lot about them...btw Stan Jay passed recently.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 7:17 pm
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arth1 wrote:

I think that any descriptions of the qualities of a guitar need to have two words added: "For me". I am sure that there are cases where a cheaper guitar is superior to high end gear - for a particular person. It could be the neck shape, it could be the weight distribution, it could be a lot of factors that doesn't necessarily reflect in the price that makes the guitar better than a high end choice - for that person.
Likewise, there are cases where "high end" really only differs in the finish. Which can be important to some, and not to others.
But overall, quality costs more. Old wood costs more than new wood that might change over time. Hand-testing instruments costs more. Smaller tolerance hardware costs more. It all adds up.

Personally, I am of the opinion that the variation is larger in cheaper instruments, precisely because the QC and stability of materials is lower. A higher variation means a bell curve with longer and fatter tails, meaning you will find more instruments that are worse than average, and more instruments that are better than average. But buying without trying will be a crap shoot.


I totally agree! I've been lucky a few times!

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 10:17 pm
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arth1 wrote:
Personally, I am of the opinion that the variation is larger in cheaper instruments, precisely because the QC and stability of materials is lower. A higher variation means a bell curve with longer and fatter tails, meaning you will find more instruments that are worse than average, and more instruments that are better than average. But buying without trying will be a crap shoot.
That must be it.

My first Strat was a pink Squier Bullet Strat. Very inexpensive, but with a bit of work I was fairly happy with it. I had to put on heavier strings (swapped the .009s for nickel-wound .012 - .052s, I think), added two more trem bar springs (total of 4), adjusted the trem bar spring claw screw, adjusted the truss rod, adjusted the action, adjusted the intonation, and (much later, after I figured it out) resoldered a bad connection on the volume pot. It was a grand journey of exploration.

It was okay, but after a year I started pining for a real Fender entry-level Strat, because they seemed more substantial than the Bullet. I'm not sure what it was, but some things I wanted were a white body, white pickguard, and a maple fret board. (It was much later that I realized that it looks somewhat like Hendrix's Woodstock Strat. Pure coincidence.)

So anyway, I traded in the pink Bullet. The guy at the music store (the same place I got it from) plugged it into one of their amps just to make sure it was still functional and everything. He played for half a minute or so, then stopped, looked up, smiled, and said "Sah-weet!"

I took that personally as some sort of praise, since it was the first guitar I had ever done any setup on. Presumably, he was comparing it to all their Squier Strats that went OUT the door, with the standard setup.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:26 pm
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I tend to think of them as " working man's guitars". I made the determination years ago that due to the depreciation of guitars unless you lock them away untouched, I'd rather buy them at their depreciated value and modify them to how I want them.

I know Hondo was mentioned earlier. I bought on last year for $75. It looked brand new. The tuners were garbage, and the frets were like new. I can see why nobody played it. Even though the frets were new, the fret job was awful. It buzzed everywhere on the neck.

A little tlc, a good (major) fret level and crown, and the guitar plays perfectly now. If you know how to do your own guitar work, it really pays off. I gave it a fret job, new tuners, truss rod adjustment, intonation, pickups, pots, and cap. So for about $225, I have a guitar that plays great, sounds great, and is like it's right off the shelf. With the new parts and Dimarzios in it, I wouldn't be able to buy a new guitar like this anywhere for that price.

Initially, it was basically a POS though. And it is made of plywood, so I have to be careful with it. And I can't disagree with that statement. But I really like it now. Practiced with it last night, and I'd use it for gigs any day.

I'm the type of person that if a guitar costs a whole lot, I won't want to play it much for fear of damaging it. I'll play a cheap guitar modified to how I want it much harder, which in turn becomes more dynamic or emotional. So I quit with the idea of buying an expensive guitar. If I ever become rich and famous, I might buy a few.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:57 pm
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shred6 wrote:
...I'm the type of person that if a guitar costs a whole lot, I won't want to play it much for fear of damaging it. I'll play a cheap guitar modified to how I want it much harder, which in turn becomes more dynamic or emotional. So I quit with the idea of buying an expensive guitar. If I ever become rich and famous, I might buy a few.


This is profound!

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:40 pm
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shred6 wrote:
Initially, it was basically a POS though. And it is made of plywood, so I have to be careful with it. And I can't disagree with that statement. But I really like it now. Practiced with it last night, and I'd use it for gigs any day.

I'm the type of person that if a guitar costs a whole lot, I won't want to play it much for fear of damaging it. I'll play a cheap guitar modified to how I want it much harder, which in turn becomes more dynamic or emotional. So I quit with the idea of buying an expensive guitar. If I ever become rich and famous, I might buy a few.

martian's right...that's thought provoking...

...your description of more Dynamic/Emotional playing is insightful...

...it reminds me...that what I enjoy most in a good Neck...is that physical feedback...

...though you can always replace it with something better if you need to...

:shock: :) 8) :D

Caution - may be R-rated or NSF below this point

I love a good Strat...wonder what kind of Pups are in there? :?


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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:58 pm
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danagos wrote:
I love a good Strat...wonder what kind of Pups are in there? :?

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Now THAT is meant to be played as much as possible!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

I know what kind of "PUPs" I'd like to put in there!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:19 pm
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So what I take away from Sred6's post is that he got a POS guitar, essentially rebuilt it, and now it's a decent player.

That's great !

But can't you say the same of virtually any guitar ??

I own mostly really nice guitars and vintage amps. But by carefully selecting and putting in the work, passing up literally hundreds of them in the process, I got them for far less than normal prices (think $12k worth of gear that I paid barely $6k for).

Personally, I'd rather play them than rebuild them. I don't worry too much about using them, why should I specially preserve them for the next guy..??

And, on the backside, my widow will be able to sell them instead of giving them away or contributing to the Landfill.

cheers!

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:08 am
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I love the lower end , overseas made guitars. I feel that a lot of the current Epiphone and Squier product is vastly underrated . My Squier Standard Strat which I just acquired a couple of weeks ago , is a 2012 model and I would put it up against any MIM Fender Standard. Like many have said , it's the player and not the name on the headstock , that'll make the magic happen !


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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 7:13 am
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One of the editors here brought his Tele in yesterday because he was taking it in to have the Neck pickup changed. This was a MIM Tele he said he paid less than 300 bucks for. That thing was glorious. I’ve only ever played one other Tele and didn’t care much for the feel of it but this thing has me wanting a Tele bad. Granted he did upgrade the Saddles on it but that was the only thing other than a pickup swap and the thing just felt right and played like butter. I could have spent the whole day in his edit room easily. I’m also the type of guy that likes to tinker and do my own work so in a couple years when the mortgage is paid off and I finally get to post NGD, NAD, and NPD threads, I have a feeling I’ll be browsing the cheapies for the hidden gems after I get that much waited for “splurge strat”. On the contrary, there is an exec here that has a gorgeous sunburst Tele on the wall in his office. Looks real expensive but I’ve never seen him plucking it. Where’s the point in that? what a shame.

jeffo46 wrote:
I love the lower end , overseas made guitars.

The Squier Vintage Modified 70s strat is on my list. Really nice looking guitar for just over $200.

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