Why do you get rid of guitars?

[Danocoustic]

That's why I use cannabis---thinking too much gets me in trouble!

[u6crash]

I have sold guitars mostly for financial reasons. I sold my favroite ever Strat because I was just plain broke and when I'm lucky enough to find a similar one, the price is more than I can bear.

 

I am thinking about pair down some of my acoustics because that is what I have the most of. I have three total and right now one is on loan to my sister's friend. If she starts playing it regularly I'll probably offer it to her pretty cheap or free (she is a nurse who helped out substantially when my mother was in hospice).

 

Since I'm in a better place money wise I'm actually looking to acquire more guitars when I find a deal. In fact I have one arriving tomorrow that I'm pretty excited about.

[RaVenCAD]

Usually when I get rid of a guitar it's because something about it annoys me. I traded my first Carvin because the Fishman bridge was noisey. I loved it, but it was so sensitive that it picked up every little impact on the guitar and BOOMED it. I sold my Parker Fly because it was too pokey in all the wrong places. I sold my RG1570 because the neck made my hand cramp. I sold my SZ520QM and a gorgeous quilted MIM Strat because I looked at my guitars one day and realized they were all brown sunburst and quilted maple. I do regret most of those decisions. I'm sure I'll regret selling or trading whatever is next as well.

[Mikeo]

I don't get rid of that much.

 

I have sold a few things over the years, mostly amps, but some guitars were either sold or traded out.

 

I have about 22 electric guitars and 10 acoustics, plus 3 bass guitars and a couple of mandolins, a chandler lap slide. It's not that huge of a collection, but I collected the keepers over the past 40 plus years.

 

I have a couple of other guitars I have been looking at a Martin 00028 and a PRS single cut.

And I'm done, I promise.

 

Some stuff I paid 4-5 hundred for new, other stuff was a grand or in the 2000 dollar plus range.

 

 

 

I have about a dozen or so amps, some are small 5 watters and some are big. Never owned a head. I sold 4 of the 5 Mesa amps I had collected over the years, made room for other stuff. Some of those Mesa combos weighed in at close to 75-100lbs.. A vox went when I bought the Dr Z. a couple of Fenders, a Traynor, a couple of Carvins that I paid next to nothing for.

 

I don't consider myself a collector and what I bought I liked and wanted to play. If I have anything that's considered vintage, it's only cause I have owned it for decades.

 

Keep anything long enough and it will be worth more than you paid for it. I think.

 

 

 

 

[crustoleum]

for better and more diverse ones. Yes well , yes:)

[Voltan]

i dont..

[Phil O'Keefe]

Voltan is not only correct, he is also wise.

[dsteinschneider]

Check out avoiding eating lectins, that has made a big difference. Cod liver oil, avoiding grains also help.

[pogo97]

I'm down to two guitars: a 1972 Dobro that I bought new when I was 17 and an American Standard Telecaster that I play through a Deluxe Reverb. Over the past ten years, I've babysat a series of "third guitars" that I'd keep until it was clear I wasn't going to play them much, then onto Kijiji they'd go for sale or trade. Mostly they were archtops that didn't move me. But the poor things were competing with a guitar I've owned for 45 years and a classic electric and I found that I wasn't drawn to any of them.

 

I do have five pianos, though.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I'm down to two guitars: a 1972 Dobro that I bought new when I was 17 and an American Standard Telecaster that I play through a Deluxe Reverb. Over the past ten years, I've babysat a series of "third guitars" that I'd keep until it was clear I wasn't going to play them much, then onto Kijiji they'd go for sale or trade. Mostly they were archtops that didn't move me. But the poor things were competing with a guitar I've owned for 45 years and a classic electric and I found that I wasn't drawn to any of them.

 

I do have five pianos, though.

 

 

Five pianos? This oughta be good - how on earth did you wind up with five pianos?

 

 

[pogo97]

 

 

Five pianos? This oughta be good - how on earth did you wind up with five pianos?

 

 

Well… we bought a piano soon after we first bought our house. A 1912 big upright. I wore it out, and my tuner pointed me at another big upright that someone was giving away. But my wife and daughter said "NO! The old one is our piano, you can't give it to the town to become an outdoor piano. You can't get rid of it at all. So, two big old uprights. I bought an old Kurtzweil MIDIBOARD to play out with, but it needs an outboard sound creator and weighs 90 pounds. It has evolved into my computer desk with MIDI into the computer. Then I bought a Korg SP250 to play out. After using it for a few years I got frustrated with its action and sound, which is only okay, so I bought a Yamaha P255 which I adore. The Korg went up to my daughter's bedroom and the Yamaha is in the front room because I'd rather play it than either of the uprights -- the action is far better and the sound is somewhat to much better depending on whether the uprights are in tune.

 

So, five pianos, four on the main floor and one upstairs. I've worn out the second upright (built in 1898) so I'm looking for a way to get rid of it to make room for a better real piano if one floats by someday.

[madjack]

Mostly I've sold either to upgrade or because I wanted the funds for something else.

I'm currently in a quandary, though. I'm semi-retired and trying to downsize on the gear. I've managed to get my basses down to the one I prefer to use, and I recently sold my other acoustic, but I still have 4 electrics that I'd like to pare down to two or three. The problem is that one is the JVT59 that I currently use almost exclusively. The second is a 72 ES335TD that I bought new and was my main guitar until I got the variax a couple of years ago. The third is a Squire Tele I bought for $99, then upgraded some with a Fralin pup in the bridge position. The last is a Warmouth Tele I assembled several years ago. I'd hate to think about getting rid of the Gibson as it's my last vintage guitar. The Squire is great when I need something inexpensive available, and I couldn't get out of it what I put into it. The Warmouth I think I would have trouble selling for much. It's heavy, as the neck & body are solid padouk and weighs about 13lbs. It plays very well and has a unique sound. What to do, what to do.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Well, when you describe it that way, it really doesn't sound so bad...

 

I'm going to have to up my game - I've only got two pianos (one for me and the studio, one for the wife)... but in my own defense, I do have several other keyboards & synths.

[jtr654]

You really don't have enough to worry about what do you have 5 guitars &a Bass.

[Chordite]

Yep Phil the keys are slowly taking over here as well

Gridlock!

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[madjack]

Easy enough to say, but when downsizing the domicile space becomes at a premium. Easier to store 3 guitars and a bass than 5.

[cooltouch]

Why do I get rid of guitars? Geez, what a great question. I wish I had a better answer. I've been playing for a loooong time. I don't even want to think about what some of the guitars I sold, or traded in, way back then, are worth now. They weren't worth all that much when I sold them, but now they're like gold. And you'd think I'd have learned my lesson, but nope. About seven or eight years ago, I got it in my head that I was never gonna use a cool old jazz guitar I had, so I sold it. Got decent money for it too. But now it's worth two or three times what I sold it for. Heh, I ended up buying a replacement for it a couple years ago. Live and learn -- you'd think, wouldn't you? But I'm not all that sure about that.

 

These days, I'm doing better, for the most part, at hanging onto guitars I've bought. And I've finally decided that any guitar I own or buy in the future I will not sell -- unless I buy it or build it specifically to be sold. No, I've decided that I'll let my heirs worry about my collection after I'm gone. Hopefully they'll have enough sense at least to get market value for my instruments when/if they sell them.

 

 

[Ancient Mariner]

I've had probably 30 guitars since about '77, and still have 10-12, plus 3 basses and a couple of acoustics. I've sold a couple from financial necessity, a couple have been stolen, and the rest have gone because they didn't seem that special. In some cases they were just poor instruments bought carelessly from want and didn't meet expectations (Heritage H150, Gibson V, Washburn A15, Godin SD) while in others I just simply needed to flog a couple to pay for another & wanted the space.

 

The only guitars I regret selling are an El Maya Neckthrough bought in '81 or '82, a Godin Radiator and a really cheap AXL Tele copy.

 

To my recent surprise I walked away from a chance to buy another 'Switch' guitar at a really good price, because I'm simply not enjoying playing that much these days. GAS isn't an issue any more, and I've even been thinking of selling up so that I can stop 'wishing I could play better'. Still occasionally gigging acoustic & electric slide, sometimes even bass, but my fingers haven't really got music in them any more.

[Grant Harding]

Wait... you guys get rid of guitars?

 

I rarely do, but it's only if I buy a better version of something I have. Not much redundancy in my stable. Loud steel string acoustic, acoustic electric, classical, ukulele, Strat, 335 style, LP style, Tele, bass, and my Swiss army knife Anderson H-H-H with splitting etc.

[Emory]

Slight regrets never getting a radiator. Seem like would be more fun than a barrel of monkeys (I have a spare barrel, wanna swap? kidding)