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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 2:05 am
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Lightnin MN wrote:
My other hobbies are/have been Photography and collecting/restoring Classic Foreign Sports Cars.

Compared to these, this guitar hobby thing is incredibly cheap !


+1000

Between maintenance and upgrades to my '69 Super Sport Chevelle, feeding my gun-collection habit, and stockpiling American Eagle gold coins, the guitar-and-amp addiction is mere chump change.

:lol:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 11:48 am
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Lightnin MN wrote:
. . . It's cool if you want to own less expensive guitars, but it's also no shame to own high-end ones either.

. . . Really whatever floats your particular boat. . . .


+1

It's like wine. There is some very good and some very bad wine, whether it is inexpensive or at a premium price. I wouldn't turn down any good wine . . . or guitar, as long as it were within my budget and to my liking. Not everyone agrees on the wine or the guitar chosen, and that's okay with me.

As far as floating one's boat, that can be a money pit; but, also worth the effort at times. :D

i worked on a 95 foot sailing ketch for years. I didn't own it. I also sailed lightnings and dinghies. I loved them all. :wink:

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Last edited by Fender Strat Brat on Tue May 19, 2015 6:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 1:39 pm
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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 11:38 pm
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danagos wrote:
Image


:lol:

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 10:33 am
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Having not read this entire thread (( I'm shameless I know )) I will add my 1970's viewpoint..
As a 15 year old, I had 2 posters on my wall which for me were as sacred as a crucifix.

One was of " The original flying machine " a caricature of a flying Startocaster, clear bodied, maple neck. I believe that and the other Fender poster is still at my Mother's house rolled up in a tube but hidden somewhere amongst the flotsam and jetsam.

Anyway once in the military as a precocious " But Why ?? " 18 year old, the guitars that were top of the line and affordable were the japanese lines, Electra, Ibanez. I used to buy them, upgrade them, then trade them in for a higher line. Hence how I acquired my Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty fretless wonder. It was a 59 or so... black 2 HB. The Les Paul Custom was available as a twin pup as a special order.
How did I know this was a rare 59 ? I didn't for many years, ( I bought it in late 74 ) All the binding had completely yellowed, the finish was cracked and contrarily to what some people insisted on, ( before making low ball offers ) it was not of the 1969 reissue. It was well played but had been well loved. Worn from a lot of playing but not abuse. Today it would definitely fall into the relic mode.

Any how my point is that that guitar cost me $300.00. Today it would pay off my mortgage. Of course I sold it back in 91 when school fee's and broker license fee's had to be payed. By this time I rarely played it.
Great sound thru a vintage magnatone amp but always felt like you strapped a 12" concrete block to your shoulder. Hence what drove me to Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters.

In retrospective I have owned and sold, Gibson, Fender, Electra, Aria, Ibanez and a few other brands that escape me. Some were or should have been destined for the kindling pile. But others were far ahead of the Gibsons and Fenders of the day.
Today Fender is well ensconced with formidable and affordable pro quality guitars. I just recently bought a Fender FSE mim standard. The maple neck figuring is amazing on a $500 guitar. Black, vintage cream pup covers and knobs... I have a 1998 mim of the same model and this 2014 has a more vintage V neck.
Personally I loved my CS 56 NOS Stratocaster but it was not a guitar I wanted to go out to a club with.
So the MIM's fill that anxiety.. Then again the Walnut Telepartster will bring the same type of fear of loss anxiety....

My two Larrive acoustics were upwards of $3500 each, but as LM mentioned earlier as we both have an affinity for Euro sports cars. A timing chain tensioner replacement in the S4 is usually about an $8,000+ service... Gulp.. !!
Guitars are most definitely drops in the bucket... Inexpensive instruments are always nice but sometimes that expensive instrument speaks to you like no other....

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Last edited by 53magnatone on Thu Jun 18, 2015 10:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 10:52 am
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63supro wrote:
Here's a couple more I play. No gear snobbery here. :lol:
I have a new and improved version coming soon. I just made some design changes that I think will make it more stable and stay in tune better.

Image



Is this one of Charlie Runkle's props ?? :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:22 am
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53magnatone wrote:
63supro wrote:
Here's a couple more I play. No gear snobbery here. :lol:
I have a new and improved version coming soon. I just made some design changes that I think will make it more stable and stay in tune better.

Image



Is this one of Charlie Runkle's props ?? :wink:

Nice...but not unless Hank Moody groans at the sight!! :lol:

ImageImage

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:45 am
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There's something intrinsically cool and indefiniable about high-end vintage guitars, amps and microphones...they're just dropping with mojo and vibe...but truth be told, I would rather have several great-playing/great-sounding cheaper guitars than one very expensive vintage guitars, and here's why:

(1) I play music outside my home, and transporting/playing/keeping-an-eye-on an instrument that can be stolen or damaged can be a daunting task.

I had an acquaintance whose Pre-CBS Strat grew legs during a gig, and it was a HUGE financial burden (as well as sentimental loss) for him.

I would be upset either way, but I'll be much less sickened by losing a $500 guitar than a $20,000 guitar.

(2) I like to modify my guitars, and I couldn't bring myself to do that to a valuable vintage instrument, because I know I'm destroying the historicity and resale value of it. Most of my mods are reversible (pickguard, pickups or potentiometer changes, etc.), but even breaking the solder joints can call the originality of an instrument into question...I have two older (I have a hard time calling them "vintage", since they were made in 1980 and 1983--your opinion may vary) G&L guitars from the earliest days of that brand, and I can't bring myself to modify them in any way, even though I'd love to swap the pickups in one of them...I know they're more valuable if left intact.

(3) I used to be a brand snob. I also used to think that all the vintage guitars and amps were significantly "better" than newer guitars. I also thought if an instrument was made outside of the US (except those brands originating in the UK--Marshall, Vox, Burns, etc.) that it had to be junk.
I always bought the best instrument I could afford--and I picked up some good-to-great instruments along the way. ..I also acquired some dogs.

My first four electric guitars were a 1980 G&L F-100, a 1983 G&L Nighthawk, a 1983 G&L SC-2 and a 1964 Fender Mustang. All American made, all amongst the earliest runs of their particular model, all well-made guitars...except I never bonded with the SC-2 or the Mustang the way I did the other two. I sold those two due to financial difficulties (I made a profit on each), and later I had to sell the Nighthawk, too (continuing financial issues).

Later, I bought other US-made guitars, and some were ok, some were good, some were great, and some absolutely bored me to death.

I finally figured out that the origin, the vintage or the "Blue Book" value of a guitar meant nothing if the instrument didn't "move me" to play better, if it didn't "feel" right or if I couldn't get the sounds out of that I wanted...some expensive boutique and vintage stuff sounded like crap (to my ears) and didn't "feel" right...and some if it was awesome, but I didn't have $10,000 lying around to buy it.

Then along came my current #1--a cheap Hecho-en-Mexico Fender Tele Special. I loved the feel and the playability, but I didn't like the electronics, so I did some experimenting until I ended up with a cheap P-90 in the neck, the stock flat-pole Telecaster bridge pickup and a 4-way selector switch...and it's now my go-to axe, no matter what I'm doing--recording, playing live, jamming, or rehearsing.
All told, even with the mods, it cost me less than $400. The G&G case I later bought for it cost over half what the original price of the guitar was! It's my favorite guitar, and I don't see it being knocked off that #1 perch anytime soon.

My most recent purchase (about two years ago) was another 1983 G&L Nighthawk to replace the one I had twenty years ago...it has everything a person could want--rare (only 269 made), completely original, some slight "mojo" and patina due to use (not abuse or fake relic-ing), made in US, provenance (it was formerly owned by a person who is somewhat famous in the Fender and G&L collector's circles)...and I've been somewhat disappointed in it, overall. It just doesn't "move me" like my other instruments. It's now for sale on Reverb.com

I still have my old G&L F100 (hard to part with a great guitar, especially when it was my first electric), an American-made '62 reissue Stratocaster (sounds and looks gorgeous, especially with that Fiesta Red finish), as well as a few other guitars--new, old, in-between, US, Mexican, Korean or Japanese-made...but the only ones that stay in the herd are the ones that feel, sound and play well. The rest--I don't care how "valuable" or "collectible" or whatever they are--will be sold at the highest price I can get for them.

This is just my two cents, and I know everybody buys/owns/acquires their possessions for different reasons...but you might think long and hard before you decimate a pretty awesome collection for one guitar, especially if it's just based on it's vintage or provenance.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:47 am
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I often pick up the Magazine Guitar Aficionado. It's a cross between a gear head, grape head, guitar head cognoscenti. It's every bit snobbish, arrogant, targeted at excessive consumerism, but at the same time it has a pedestrian value. I have always known that the people who buy 5 to 6 figure vintage instruments are not necessarily successful Professional Musicians.
But all featured regardless of their musical ability, know how to enjoy a fine instrument. Very much like a fine wine from a small vineyard tucked away near Peillon or Ventimiglia. Or that RS4 Avant or M series..

I love a new guitar when that instrument feels just right. The same for a preowned one. I don't care much for reliced instruments. I much prefer to add my own dings and cry about it later.
( Worst was rushing to answer the front door for a new girlfriend, catching the cord on my foot and as I opened the door, hearing my 59 LPC crashing down, volume on.... Snapped neck.. I was 18 at the time :roll: )

We are talking about instruments, not a commodity, or an investment. Guitars like automobiles are not investments. The initial loss of value upon walking out of the store means that it will take many years if not decades to return to par. That is if there is a demand for that model.. When I was 18 I would never consider buying a Sears Danelectro guitar. But today they are valuable to some. I still think they are papermache crap but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
How many guitars have we all sold over the years and today think " Hmmm... Should have held on to that " I sold three in the last 3 years that I would like to have back and I'm sure I will buy and sell others in the future which I may regret buying or selling. It is an equitable pursuit. ( Wallet not included )

I have a few old Vintage. items. To me vintage means before 1970, not 1980's. In reality vintage is 1960's, 1950's. When some of us here were born.
I still have my Magnatone Classic 410 Amp, a Vox way pedal from mid sixties, a Shure 57 mic, a Fender Volume Wah from about the same era. As for guitars, nothing older than 1985...
I have also had some real crap from the 60's and 70's. As also from the 80's and 90's. I recently played an old Martin acoustic from the early 60's... It was horrible. Even with a proper setup It eludes me as to why anyone would want to have a battle with their instrument every night. Tone wise it was also mediocre. I have picked up horrible Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Tele and Strats and also picked up awesome no name guitars... When in my early twenties while in the military, I would buy, revamp and sell guitars, always trading up. Some were great, others could not be described as musical instruments..

I think that should be the criteria.. A musical instrument, forget about the marketing cache or the mystical aura of it being vintage.
A Lamborghini Miura is vintage. But I certainly would not want to drive one everyday.... :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 2:57 pm
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For me, if a guitar feels how I want, nothing else matters. These days, almost anything can be changed on a guitar. If it plays well, with tweaking, I can make it sound good, with tweaking. Amps are the most important thing, tone wise. But even a foreign built amp can sound good. My ears have grown to dislike most solid state amps though.

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:17 am
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Fender does make the very best solid body electric guitars and bass guitars. The truth IMHO YMMV (to quote my favorite Martian :D ). A snob wouldn't say that, would one ?

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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:09 am
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I own two MIM Strats and one MIM Tele -- they're fine in construction quality ("fit and finish"). Granted, I did buy them because I'd planned to change the pickups, something I haven't done with the AmStd Strats and Teles I have.

I also have two Epiphones: a LP Ultra III ... very nice, decent quality, especially for the price and a Viola bass. The bass is MIK and I'm impressed with the build quality. It's a lot better than a couple Hofner Asian "Beatle" basses I've had my hands on. The Ultra III has Gibson USA pickups, so that was never a change the pup project.

On the other hand, I've been generally disappointed with most Squires. Setup aside, I've seen a lot of poor finish and even some bad construction. I and a coworker went through over 20 Squire Teles in 3 different stores before I found one I was comfortable recommending (gift for her daughter). They also seem to often have poor fret dressing and they (the neck) tend to shrink quite a bit over the first couple of years. That's likely due to them using uncured wood ... keeps costs down but guarantees a couple trips to have your neck planed over time.

That said, I also admit that the last time I looked at any Squires was perhaps 4 years ago. And at that same time, the $99 Epi "starter" packs appeared to have just as many problems (and for the same reasons) overall.


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Post subject: Re: Confessions of an Ex-gear Snob
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 11:06 pm
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For me, it's less about where the guitar is manufactured and more about the price. And, I'll admit, the name on the headstock.

I saw a Les Paul Gibson in Alpine (or is it Arctic?) White for the tidy sum of $6600.00 dollars. The sign said, "Including hard case." I was like, "For that much money, it had BETTER include a case." For me, that's too expensive for a guitar.

I was browsing the website of a Queensland based music store and they had a Blacktop Strat HH for under $800.00. Personally, I don't care if it's made in the US, Mexico or Indonesia. It's a Strat for under 800 dollars. Which I think is awesome. :)


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