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I can't stop buying cheap guitars


phaeton

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...On Craigslist. Every once in awhile someone posts a Fender Squier Affinity Starter Pak on Craigslist for under $100 and I snatch it up. I slap a loaded pickguard onto the guitar and do mods on the practice amps that come with them (usually turn them into a head and use a better speaker)

I don't need any more Indonesian or Chinese guitars. But I keep doing it. frown.gif

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I can only speak for myself. I'm impulsive. If I see a great deal I have a hard time passing it up. Then I resell them, often at a small profit. But I do have a collection of about 30 that I intend to keep. For a while I was just buying cheap guitars. Now I look for good guitars cheap. If I can't make a profit on it I don't buy it. My most recent acquisition was a Carvin CS-4. I should have it on Monday. I'm getting to the point where my taste is getting better. I've moved from Squiers to Fenders to Gibsons to Heritages and Carvins. I also have some no name partscasters that I built. But I find myself stopping at the pawn shop every week or so. I work hard to keep my habit in check. I'm working with my therapist on it. But it's an addiction for me. I love electric guitars. I'm just turning it into a side business.

I'm not trying to enable or encourage you. I'm just sharing my story.

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I used to own a lot of cheap guitars. One day last year I got a bonus at work, and spent it all on my dream gutiar, a Memphis Dot Reissue ES335. It was awesome opening the case for the first time. It didn't make me play any better, but I felt like a bad ass when I put it on, and it made me want to work harder to own nice guitars.

Then Gibson had their blow out sale, so I sold all of my cheap guitars, seven Epiphones basically, and replaced them with Gibsons and one American Strat, LOL. After playing them a while, I realized that life is too short to play cheap guitars. Play reasonably priced guitars.

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Quote Originally Posted by chipwich View Post
I used to own a lot of cheap guitars. One day last year I got a bonus at work, and spent it all on my dream gutiar, a Memphis Dot Reissue ES335. It was awesome opening the case for the first time. It didn't make me play any better, but I felt like a bad ass when I put it on, and it made me want to work harder to own nice guitars.

Then Gibson had their blow out sale, so I sold all of my cheap guitars, seven Epiphones basically, and replaced them with Gibsons and one American Strat, LOL. After playing them a while, I realized that life is too short to play cheap guitars. Play reasonably priced guitars.
I feel the same way about whiskey and beer.
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I sometimes think about selling the guitars and stuff I accumulate. They're really not worth much more than what I paid for them, and I'm not expecting to get a lot of money out of them. Even just flipping a Squier with a set of humbuckers in it on CL, I could break even around $150. It'd seem reasonable as I've got a self-perpetuating hobby... but I have some internal need to hoard these things.

I think it's a problem. frown.gif



p.s., I don't do cheap beer.

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Cheap guitars feel cheap to me. And I don't like that. So I have no trouble passing up "deals" on them. If someone put a squier in front of me and said 5 bucks I'd say no thanks. If they said..here take it..I'd say no thanks.

It would just be something taking up space that I'd never use, and the time it would take to flip it isn't worth the money I'd get in return.

My problem is I have a hard time passing up great deals on high end guitars. 2000 dollar guitars I know I could get for 8 or 9 hundred. THAT is tough for me.

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Quote Originally Posted by phaeton View Post
...On Craigslist. Every once in awhile someone posts a Fender Squier Affinity Starter Pak on Craigslist for under $100 and I snatch it up. I slap a loaded pickguard onto the guitar and do mods on the practice amps that come with them (usually turn them into a head and use a better speaker)

I don't need any more Indonesian or Chinese guitars. But I keep doing it. frown.gif
any good mods for the Peavey Rage 158 I got in a deal with an ERG starter HSH???
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Quote Originally Posted by soundcreation View Post
Cheap guitars feel cheap to me. And I don't like that. So I have no trouble passing up "deals" on them. If someone put a squier in front of me and said 5 bucks I'd say no thanks. If they said..here take it..I'd say no thanks.

It would just be something taking up space that I'd never use, and the time it would take to flip it isn't worth the money I'd get in return.

My problem is I have a hard time passing up great deals on high end guitars. 2000 dollar guitars I know I could get for 8 or 9 hundred. THAT is tough for me.
I'm getting to this point.
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I am a sucker for cheap guitars. I am learning to do my own setups including fret work and I enjoy making a "marginal" feeling guitar play better. The most recent example is an $80 Epi Jr that I did a fret level and crown and "upgraded" with a GFS pickup. The guitar now sounds and plays like butter and will be one I always keep.

Having said that, I am now to the point that a few higher-end guitars are more important to me than a bunch of inexpensive ones.

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Quote Originally Posted by peskypesky

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One good reason for me not to have expensive guitars? I'll just bash them and dent them and scratch them....and feel bad about it. My cheap guitars can get smacked around and its not a problem. I'm pretty rough on my gear....

 

This is a bonus...and a reason I like to buy used when I can. Also a big factor in the love I have for my '07 Melody Maker...when I notice a new nick in the paint, I'm like, "cool, a new nick!" If I noticed that in my Gretsch 6120, it'd bum me out and maybe ruin my day biggrin.gif
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Quote Originally Posted by peskypesky

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One good reason for me not to have expensive guitars? I'll just bash them and dent them and scratch them....and feel bad about it. My cheap guitars can get smacked around and its not a problem. I'm pretty rough on my gear....

 

Hell. I burnt one. On purpose. facepalm.gif
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I am up to 27. Bought a used Reverend Volcano with case for $341 shipped. One before that was a Richmond Belmont Bigsby for $524 shipped. I tend to buy only makes I know well, will keep or flip. Bought a Reverend Manta Ray 2 weeks back for $300 that I traded straight up for a Godin Kingpin 2 ....$50 is about my profit threshhold. Ifbits below that, I gotta either want to keep or just 'want' that guitar. I flipped over 30 guitars last year, so it is a bitmore than addiction.. smile.gif

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Quote Originally Posted by phaeton View Post
...On Craigslist. Every once in awhile someone posts a Fender Squier Affinity Starter Pak on Craigslist for under $100 and I snatch it up. I slap a loaded pickguard onto the guitar and do mods on the practice amps that come with them (usually turn them into a head and use a better speaker)

I don't need any more Indonesian or Chinese guitars. But I keep doing it. frown.gif
You must "need" it somehow. Maybe modding is important for you to find a sense of joy. Music and gear are meant to make our lives more meaningful and enjoyable. Otherwise, what's the point? Personnally, I feel that I need guitar moments very often. At work, it's easier to have a quick look at stuff for sale than to play for a short while. That is why I have made photocopies of the books I'm studying guitar with at the moment. I always have my current pages nearby so I can switch to guitar mode easily, even for 5 minutes. I used to need a cigarette every hour. Now I'm definitely off that hook. And as long as I'm spending money which I actually have and don't let gear become a problem between me and my beloved ones, I feel that being "addicted" to music theory and practice, modding, history of bands and artists, etc. is much healthier and rewarding than any kind of substance (nicotine, etc.). It's great. But it only remains fun and rewarding as long as it is manageable. So congratulations on you posting here. It shows that you are aware of a potential problem, and hopefully you will find a better balance between the various aspects of music (gear, playing, listening, gigging, etc.). To a certain extent, we're all pretty much in the same boat I guess.
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I used to have this same problem for a while! Once i built my first partscaster that changed. Now I find myself addicted to putting my own guitars together and finding deals on parts online instead. I used to have a pile of cheap Strats laying around, but got rid of them all and only have the two I put together myself now.

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I'm down to two electrics (both el-cheapos that I've done a few mods/upgrades to) one bass (parts P-bass made from high-end parts) and a cheap old beater acoustic.

In the 90s I had a pretty damn masive collection of stuff. Now I am happy it's minimal. I didn't find it pleasing to have three dozen guitars and 15 basses.

I think it's great that people have huge collections--it's just not for me.

I also think nowadays you can get some pretty damn good guitars in the $300-700 range.

If I am going to get spendy and shell out major scratch for music gear, here on out it'll be for amps and possibly a nicer acoustic down the road.

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Quote Originally Posted by Muddslide View Post
I'm down to two electrics (both el-cheapos that I've done a few mods/upgrades to) one bass (parts P-bass made from high-end parts) and a cheap old beater acoustic.

In the 90s I had a pretty damn masive collection of stuff. Now I am happy it's minimal. I didn't find it pleasing to have three dozen guitars and 15 basses.

I think it's great that people have huge collections--it's just not for me.

I also think nowadays you can get some pretty damn good guitars in the $300-700 range.

If I am going to get spendy and shell out major scratch for music gear, here on out it'll be for amps and possibly a nicer acoustic down the road.

Sez it all @.40





"remember, ya can't polish a turd".rolleyes.gif
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