Members JoeJazz Posted November 21, 2013 Members Share Posted November 21, 2013 Many years ago the ignorance of youth combined with a large income made me want Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted November 21, 2013 Members Share Posted November 21, 2013 Most guitars will improve with age - many professionals will use a vintage guitar at least for recording for just this reason. Often they will use something newer on stage - both for the built in electronics but also the value of the old ones makes it hard to justify taking it on the road. And being pros, some will have sig models that they have to play as part of a contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neal Posted November 21, 2013 Members Share Posted November 21, 2013 And don't forget, they're usually much less expensive on the secondary market. Well, except pre-war Martins... though you can still find very affordable 00-17's from the '30s and '40s if you keep an eye out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr.scary96 Posted November 21, 2013 Members Share Posted November 21, 2013 I guess I learned early in my 17 years to buy older ones but I'm really just using pawnshop gems and stuff like that. I own a 30's Stella Resonator, a 1980 Ibanez ST-50, a 1983 Peavey T-15 and T-30, and lastly an Aria Hummingbird copy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted November 24, 2013 Members Share Posted November 24, 2013 yea I never saw the sense to buying most gear new. Let someone else take the depreciation hit. Also all the tedious set up changes that need to be ironed out the first year. Also if it's a "lemon" let some other guy discover it who likes a new finish over practicality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted November 24, 2013 Members Share Posted November 24, 2013 Over the years, I've bought new AND used instruments, but I'm pretty sure my days of buying NEW guitars are a thing of the past. I've got three dreadnoughts that I play on an almost daily basis. Two of them were purchased new because I simply couldn't find them used and I also got a nice discount on the price at the time I bought them.The only guitar I have right now that was bought used is my 2001 Martin DM that I bought three years ago for $400......it was, and still is, in perfect "like new" condition. This one is, no doubt, the smartest $400 I ever spent. It's the one I usually grab whenever I'm going out to a local jam session. Never lets me down.I've also got a pretty nice fiddle that I paid $325 for when it was only about a month old. New price on it was a lot more than I wanted to spend on a musical instrument that I'm STILL trying to learn how to play!I'm a very strong advocate of buying used provided you know how to evaluate the condition of said item. So many great deals out there right now, but there's a lot of junk on the market too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neal Posted November 26, 2013 Members Share Posted November 26, 2013 Such is the nature of online forums.. Cool sig though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarterwave Posted December 4, 2013 Members Share Posted December 4, 2013 I've always throught that while pro touring-level players can afford high end, new guitars, the guys (and gals) that slug it out night after night often just don't have the means to get those same guitars new (I've been at both ends of that spectrum ) Plus, call me superstitious but for me personally I feel that old guitars that find the right player just play better for that owner.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldguy64 Posted December 11, 2013 Members Share Posted December 11, 2013 I'm no pro, and I've owned quite a few guitars in my 50 years on this rock. The absolute worst of the bunch was the brand new Gremlin I bought when I got back into the guitar after a very long absence. It was aptly named. I didn't do my research, I knew very little about guitars to start with, and my pockets were very shallow. A deadly combination. It's easier now to pick a decent $200 guitar. But I'd recommend doing the research and taking a guitar savvy friend on the hunt. A case in point for used over new...this summer we stayed the night in Nashville on our way home from Florida. I insisted on a trip to "Mecca" (AKA Gruhn's Guitars). I ran across a Gibson J200 from 1991. Not a vintage model. But two decades of playing made this one sound like the voice of angels. I still wish I'd found a way to convince my wife that there was room in the car to bring it home. I tend to frequent the Guitar Center in Overland Park, Kansas and have yet to find a new Gibson that moves me like that old SJ. Add to the fact, that a ten year old guitar is gonna be way less expensive than a new one. I used to think Martin made a mediocre instrument, when I was playing tons of new ones. As I recall only a few new ones ever impressed me. On the flip side, a photographer I know-takes the senior pics of most off the kids in town, has an old Martin in a case on the floor of his studio. I've taken all my kids to have their senior pics done. I've been allowed to play the Martin while I waited. And it sounds so good that I've tried to buy it six times, and been rejected six times. I ran out of kids, or I'd still be trying to buy that guitar. And be assured that if I'm one day successful, I'm gonna hold onto it just as tightly, but my church would hear it fairly often.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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