I am the Green Lantern so with My power ring and lantern I walk through the forth dimension and see people on the other side

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Strategically locate photos of Jennifer, Lita, and Orianthi and point out that obessions with that, not Strat, is a problem.

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"

I have to agree with her, As awesome as all those strats look I dont see any Les Pauls. Gota have at least one.

Riigggghhhhttttt. And I'm the bloody pope. Anyone told you lately that you really need to move out of your parents basement and get a real life???

Sorry....I just had to say that. You comic book freaks make us Trekkies look normal.

LOL!!!

You'd turn into Jeff Dahmler if you saw my batman comic collection and starwars audio books then.

Sir it sounds to me like your wife is as much a part of those guitars and what they produce as you yourself are. Googled harper blue, theres some very niced work on your soundclick (is it?) page. I'll leave it to you to post a link.

Anywhere i can get a cd to play in the batmobile?

_________________
No no and no

Jim-
I enjoyed reading your 'self-diagnosis." Allow me to share my experiences so that we may both try to make sense of this dreaded issue.

I started playing on April 16, 2008. i bought a $200 yamaha acoustic. I realized within a few weeks that I could actually learn this thing. Well, of course, the better i got, the more I felt i needed a better guitar. So, back to the store as they gladly gave me full credit for a Martin. A month later, i still wanted better, again, full credit for a $1600 Breedlove. What the heck was i thinking???i'd only been playing 3 months at that point, what did i need a $1600 guitar for? I started justifying it by telling my self that these are beautiful instruments.

So a few more months go by and I tell myself I should get an electric guitar. So I get an American standard Tele and an amp ($1250)...Then i start looking at ebay and craigslist, and you know the rest.

The real problem is now i have a good idea of what things are worth and I justify my new purchases by saying it was a deal and I can always sell one if i need the cash...I recently sold an '03 American Strat, that was the first sale, and soon after I bought 3 more! I know have 10 electrics and 3 acoustics as follows:

Gibson Songwriter Deluxe
1973 takamine acoustic
Martin Little Martin

'08 American Tele
'03 American Tele Deluxe
'89 American Tele
'07 52 Re-issue Tele
'08 American HSS strat
'84 American Strat
'78 Strat
1969 MusicMaster
2001 American Jag 62 re-issue
1993 mexi Duo-sonic (for the kids)
'08 G&L Asat Deluxe Semi Hollow

Now tell me, do I have issues? YES, yes I do.

And let's not forget my 4 amps, multiple pedal boards, etc.

Boy, this is very therapeutic, thanks all for listening

Hey mxcagg,
Ya know, it's kind of funny...I never really got stuck in that whole "gotta have a better guitar thing" for the most part. For example, I've played many American Standard Strats over the years and they never really struck me as being that much better than my MIM...at least now that I've done all the work that I have to my MIM. They just really don't appeal to me all that much.

Your comments about the acoustic probably say it better for me really. I was recently buying some strings and I was debating about brand...every time I find a brand of acoustic strings that I really like, the company soon stops making them (first it was Earthtones, then Kamans, etc). Another guy standing at the counter got rather "excited" and said something like "Oh...you've gotta try Elixers then...that's what they use on Taylors". My reply was, "I don't like Taylors". The guy just said "oh" and walked away scratching his head...he seemed incapable of understanding why ANYONE wouldn't want an expensive brand as Taylor! LOL!!! People are often mystified that I don't like Martin's either...they play well enough but their sound really just leaves me flat. Personally if I were to go out today and buy a brand new acoustic and money were not an issue, I'd probably buy either a Seagull, an Ovation or an Alverez.

It's simple...after 25+ years of playing, I -know- what I like and just because something is "expensive" doesn't mean that I like it. Yea...there are a few expensive guitars that I would like to have. As much as I'm not typically fond of arch top guitars, I would -love- to own a Gretch White Falcon! I'm not really sure how much I would really play it, but I sure would enjoy spending hours on end looking at it....touching it...caressing it...ok...I'm a bit strange, LOL!!! More often times than not though, my desire for a particular guitar isn't really governed by the price of the instrument and quite often, the instruments that I really like are inexpensive (thank goodness! LOL!).

Part of it too is that...well...I'm not really an "off the rack" kind of guy either. I don't always look at a guitar for what it is, but what it could be. I love my MIM Strat because she's a wonderful playing and wonderful sounding instrument but a good portion of why she plays and sounds the way she does is because -I- made her that way. The same thing applies to guitars that I've built...both assembled from parts and (body-wise) cut myself. The two Strats that I put together this last summer from parts are good examples. No, they're never going to be worth a heck of a lot of money but they mean a great deal to -me-. At the risk of sounding a bit philosophical, I've put a good deal of my soul into those two guitars. -I- did the finish, -I- selected the parts and -I- put them together into a couple of very playable and good sounding instruments. As such, both of them (as well as my MIM) are very unique, one of a kind instruments and are worth considerably more to me than any Am Std Strat off the shelf at Guitar Center where there could be thousands just like them running around. What's so special about a guitar like that?

I should also probably add that I too invoke a great deal of rationalization when it comes to some of my instruments (no...who? Me? LOL!). With some of my less expensive guitars...let's say my old Memphis for example, I do have my own reasons for hanging on to them...even if I don't play them much any more. My old Memphis LP copy was a -cheap- guitar to begin with...she never was worth a lot of money as far as that goes. So from this point of view, why sell her...I'm not going to get a lot anyways? More over, she bares the "scars of my youth"...even if I don't play her much, she's a reminder of where I came from and how I got to where I am as a musician. No...she's not worth much money at all and she never will be, but she has tremendous sentimental value to -me-...she was my first real electric. Same thing with my old Kramer really...I haven't actually played her in a long time but she's still there if I decide I want to play her.

That said, while I've (obviously) bought a lot of guitars over the years, I haven't sold many of them at all. In fact, there was the first Kay electric (a -serious- POS), a Crestline acoustic which I got for $50 and traded for my Conn 12 string, a Kay "mini" bass that I traded for my Peavey bass amp....and that's about it really. Other than that, I still have every guitar I ever bought....or at least the original pieces! Oh...wait...I did loose a body from a Cort Explorer copy I had gotten for $75. The neck is on another project guitar but I honestly don't know what ever happened to the body. I don't remember selling it let alone pitching it (it had a nasty crack at the neck joint). I've looked for it over the years as I've wanted to use it as a template for cutting my own but I've never found it. Hate it when that happens! LOL!

Lastly...and call me old fashion here, but sometimes I simply enjoy just playing a "guitar". It doesn't have to be anything expensive or top of the line...I just enjoy playing. I know there's folks out there who will never lower themselves to playing something "cheap" but that's just not me. I recently took a Johnson acoustic with me camping...it's another project that I recently finished. Again...Johnson...cheap acoustic...not worth much money at all. I gotta tell you, I had just as much fun sitting around the campfire playing that thing as I do on my Seagull or my Ovation. I love both my Gull and my Ovation but sometimes I'm just happy to sit around and play. Isn't that really what it's all supposed to be about?

Anyways, yea...clearly buying guitars is an addictive thing. Personally I can't...or have a hard time, passing up a real bargain. I do know what I like in an instrument. When I can't find what I'm looking for, I have the skills at this point to put it together myself, etc., etc.. Sometimes it's kind of hard to explain this silly obsession...I can't really explain it all to myself or my wife so I guess it's probably not going to make a lot of sense to most people on an internet forum! LOL!!!

Anyways, thank you for your comments and hopefully some of what I've said makes sense to someone! LOL!!!

Peace,
Jim

Thats a good one lomi sometimes wish I was young again. Been 30+ years since I lived with Mom and Dad. Kidding aside its not that hard to track anyone whos not hidding if you realy want to. One or two clues is all it take sometimes. Does Katy look in on the forum?

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Guess I missed it, what's your problem? lol

_________________
Cowboy capital of the world

What are you talking about Lomi just asked how I knew the name of his band. There is no problem unless you are trolling to start one! Read all the post before running off!

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Dude - I think he's commenting to the OP about the # of strats he has...

_________________
Old age and treachery will win every time over youth and enthusiasm.

"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer

What our most eloquent host fails to mention is that, he's a bit of a dab hand at getting such cheapies to punch well above thier weight in the playability stakes.

As we all know expensive guitars are nice. Guitars that you've played in and made nice have a level of endearment all of their own. Not better or worse as its the most highly personal thing about guitars. Definately a different ballpark though.

_________________
No no and no

That be My mistake then Rickyd oops! Theres nothing wrong with that many strats so I did not think it that way

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I enjoy looking at the Sunburst Fender with the oversized headstock. Any info on what it is?

Frankly....I'm really stymied. I've been following this thread, and first had the opportunity tonight to check out your home page in depth.

I cannot figure out why the hell she would ever make a comment like that.

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"