Members jjpistols Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Reading through the great deals thread and it got me wondering how far some people might go to save how little, and vice versa. Do you always buy from the place with the lowest price? Do you have any feelings of loyalty to a particular dealer/store or even brand? Will you pay more for the same thing but at a local shop, or because of better service, etc? Do you buy impulsively because something is "too good a deal to pass up?" Do you research something extensively, and then hunt down the absolute deal? Tell me, oh fools, how are you separated from your money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DavidMgT Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 I research extensively and am pretty picky and opt for high quality instruments rather than the HCEG flavor of the month guitars or whatever happens to be on sale at Guitar Center (which I avoid). I prefer small, locally owned shops - I have four guitars which I have gotten at Willcutt Guitars (Hamer Newport), Guitar Adoptions (G&l Comanche) Wildwood (Gibson Les Paul R8) , and my local shop Grandmas Music and Sound (Gibson Explorer). So in essence price is not that important. I rather wait and save and get something really inspiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mistersully Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 i take my ipad with me (as of this week my iphone) so if i dig an instrument i've just tried i can instantly look up what other places are selling it for.. i'll then show the guys at the store i'm in and ask them to match it having said that, i do most of my gear buying at my favourite store now... and a lot of the stuff they have isn't available anywhere else here anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreatDane Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 price is pretty low on my importance scale. it's there, don't get me wrong, but it's not even close to being most important. i focus on how the instrument feels when i play it; specifically the neck and overall balance. then i consider things like how inspiring it is to me - does it make me want to play it? then i might plug it in. then i'll want to understand more details about specs, condition, prior history (if used) and whatnot. then i will look at the price tag and decide if it's within budget. i will pass on guitars i love because i can't afford them. i will not buy a guitar simply because "the price is right" or it's a "good deal". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members warriorpoet Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 No. Best deal or value? Yes, but how good a value is something you resell for loss once you find what you REALLY want? I prefer to have a "best" example to an "adequate but cheap" one. This is, incidentally, not easy on a minister's income with 5 kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 No, price isn't the most important thing for me when purchasing gear. EDIT: I'm done buying gear just because I think it's a bargain. Playability has become a much more important factor and I generally don't find that on inexpensive guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 A perfect guitar is priceless as far as I'm concerned. If you compromise on what you want and instead keep buying what you think should be good enough, if you're anything like me, you'll end up spending more because you'll keep buying and flipping stuff, just to ultimately buy your dream guitar. I'm just lucky that my perfect guitar specs can be found on a $1000 guitar, and that I can afford such a guitar. The only expensive guitar I want is a Rick 350SH, and I'll freely admit that that's just my fanboyism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DavidMgT Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 No, price isn't the most important thing for me when purchasing gear. EDIT: I'm done buying gear just because I think it's a bargain. Playability has become a much more important factor and I generally don't find that on inexpensive guitars. Same here. I have a great relationship with the guys at my local store (Grandma's Music & Sound in Albuquerque). The cool thing is that they carry everything from Anderson, PRS & Gibson Historics to Epis & Squiers. As a result I get to try a wide variety of gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Presc Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Don't care about price. I don't need instant gratification. I'm a young guy and I'll be playing guitar for many many more years. I'd rather own a Collings for 35 years than some Chinese POS for 36. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members photon9 Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 If price was the most important thing to me then I would have one used Squier Bullet Strat and a cheapie Line6 amplifier. That's probably all any of us really need. For me playability is the ultimate determining factor if I will buy a guitar or not. Of course I'm initially drawn to guitars that appeal to me visually. Oddly enough sound is the least important to me (for guitars, amps it's the most important). I can usually get the sounds I want with a little tweakage of the guitar controls and amp controls. If not then swapping pups is no big deal either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DavidMgT Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Don't care about price. I don't need instant gratification. I'm a young guy and I'll be playing guitar for many many more years. I'd rather own a Collings for 35 years than some Chinese POS for 36. This is sig worthy! I, of course, agree So I take it that you are, as I am, in the minority in HCEG in that you find that electronics, wood, pickups, and experience of the maker actually matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gumkick Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 I have to admit I've been pretty fixated on guitars that deliver good "bang for the buck", after my first super-cheap Epiphone I've bought Agile 2800Gibson SG Special (the ebony ones really depreciate a lot for a Gibson)First Act Garagemaster (this was $150 MIB with all the case candy, maybe more of a collectible bargain than an instrument bargain, but it's not terrible)Seagull Artist Mosaic (pretty banged-up but a $700 acoustic for Hamer Special with a repaired neck crackEpiphone '56 GoldtopSquier CV TeleWashburn Eagle with some pretty nasty gouges on the back My salary to rent ratio has been worse these last few years than at any time since college so really I don't have a lot of choice in the matter but yeah, I'm kind of hung up on the idea of value. I could definitely be happy with say two Gibsons and a Gretsch but I'm not in that place right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Same here. I have a great relationship with the guys at my local store (Grandma's Music & Sound in Albuquerque). The cool thing is that they carry everything from Anderson, PRS & Gibson Historics to Epis & Squiers. As a result I get to try a wide variety of gear.We should form a clique with a few of the other guys that is a little more "uptown" from the usual HCEG fare. Maybe a megathread like the "OMG, ultimate NGD" or "GASSers and Gearheads" threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ido1957 Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Price has to be most peoples' main concern. If it wasn't everyone would buy a real gibson les paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Reading through the great deals thread and it got me wondering how far some people might go to save how little, and vice versa. Do you always buy from the place with the lowest price? Do you have any feelings of loyalty to a particular dealer/store or even brand? Will you pay more for the same thing but at a local shop, or because of better service, etc? Do you buy impulsively because something is "too good a deal to pass up?" Do you research something extensively, and then hunt down the absolute deal? Tell me, oh fools, how are you separated from your money? Ouch, I'm being flipped off again! I usually go with the lowest price but I will pay a little more to buy local. But the problem with that is that my local ma and pa shops have no loyalty to their customers. One of the stores usually acted like you were an annoyance to them if you showed up, and I'd bought a number of instruments from them. I also bought one amp from them and then shortly after discovered its reverb was microphonic. They shooed me away saying it was a warranty problem not theirs. That store went out of business after a fairly long run, and the only other store in town is a price gouger. I'm really working on not buying "compulsively" everything on great deals these days. I have a nice collection of guitars, and a nice SX neck thanks to you, and I'm now mostly working on playing what I have and paying down debt. I figure I'm out of the rat race in about 10 years so I've got to start working on paying off debt. So , so far I haven't bought a new guitar All Year!! But I would someday like to get the dreadnaught acoustic of my dreams, and for that item, I will buy local. In my experience, regardless of model and brand, you've got to play them in person to make sure you're getting a good one. With electrics, I think they are less variable from one unit to the next, and now some of the dealers, like Wildwood and Sweetwater, are even listing the guitar weights. But with acoustics, for example, I've heard some HD28s or HD35s that sound like heaven where others sound a bit dead. And that's too big of a purchase to make on line without the benefit of comparing them in the store. However, part of the reason I don't own the "dreadnaught of my dreams" is that when I've found them in brick and mortar stores, I've often held back because I felt they were asking too much compared to online dealers. I guess that's yer conundrum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 ... I have a nice collection of guitars, ...No GAS Man, you have an excellent collection of guitars with lots of variety! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 I will buy from my local guitar shop within reason. After saying that, I did just buy a 10 pack of Pure Nickel strings online because of the deal I got with free shipping. When a U.S. company offers their sale price with free shipping to Canada, I'll take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members noisebloom Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 It's not the most important, but it's the next most important. It better be good first. Affordable comes soon after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bbreaker Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 If a guitar feels comfortable to play; balanced; resonant and set up well, I'm good to go to the next phase.I'll plug it in and see if it talks to me and says, "let's go home together".Then discuss price.I'm a bit frugal in these matters. I do have a budget that often changes.If I can handle the quality and the greenbacks, we're going home.Price is important. I rarely overpay.Unless it's lust. Example:I found a used Teye LaPirata for $2199.99.I really wanted that guitar but it was too much.The price went to $1499.00. Good.It was my wife's birthday.The guitar was out of the picture.Money matters.I passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nsomniac Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 No, price isn't the most important thing for me when purchasing gear. EDIT: I'm done buying gear just because I think it's a bargain. Playability has become a much more important factor and I generally don't find that on inexpensive guitars. I'm sort of at an opposite end of the journey than that sentiment. Haven't had a lot of experience with different guitars, but have researched and read and look for value as opposed to price (all under the umbrella of affordability, of course). I want to try different things and experiment, and if I want to, be able to pass it along without losing much money. So, I was ready to jump on the MIM Tele that appeared at the pawn shop...it's in the category of things I want to try, and I'm very unlikely to lose any money on it. Same with the Epi LP from the summer sales last year, although it wasn't quite such a huge bargain. And I don't mind the idea of "losing" $50 at the end if I decide to sell...to me, that's paying $50 to rent it for a few months and try it out.Of course who knows how long I'll be in this general frame of mind...it will all change when I start really figuring out what I like and want in eventual "keepers". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scuzzo Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 thought about this for a bit... and i get a real charge from getting modest gear to make a cool sound...and i really wince when i hear really fab high end gear making just dreckfull sounds.. for me the player is always accountable for the sound of the guitar.. its on his shoulders... its never the guitars fault,, no matter how cheap or how high end,,, so the gear mho... is just an instrument as a pen or a brush... i never blame my gear for not getting me the sound i need.. its most often the players fault.. i think the cheap stuff is more fun to get a cool sound from.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slushpup96 Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 Most of the used stuff I buy is pretty hard to find; it's mainly discontinued guitars. So I usually buy what I can find for that. But when buying new, I usually research a bit, listen to some clips, then order online. And then there's guitars I find on Craigslist that I didn't know I want... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 I'm not rich and this is a hobby for me. I have a list of stuff in my head that I would like to own at some point and a list of stuff that I feel is an immediate or at least higher priority "need". I mean I really don't need any of this stuff. Now I would love to support the local economy and mom and pop stores more often because I do value customer service and appreciate private business, but the problem I run into is that I have a GC up the road from me that has a bunch of stuff and it's kind of hit or miss in terms of service. I've also got a few music stores around that are smaller, but still corporate type stores and they are either high end stuff that is way out of my pay grade or beginner stuff and school band instruments. I have as much need for an original 1963 strat that was played by someone famous as I do a Squier Affinity telecaster. There's just nothing in the local market that I would buy and that's the truth. Perhaps the mom and pop stores were driven out years ago before I moved here or something. Honestly I prefer to buy used from guys on here or on e-Bay. I will look for value in everything that I buy. It doesn't have to be the lowest price ever if I'm dealing with an individual, but I'm not going to go out of my way to spend more than I need to either. I always ask for a fair price and I expect to pay a fair price. The only time that is completely thrown out the window is on the rare occasion when something that is on my wish list (low priority item) pops up out of the blue and it's a fantastic deal. I know that I'm not going to ever pay full retail price for this item anyway, but if I can get something at a price I can deal with I'll buy it. As for right now I don't need anything and I'll poke my head into the deals or spam page about once a week during lunch if I've got nothing better to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsupermanny14 Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 If a guitar feels comfortable to play; balanced; resonant and set up well, I'm good to go to the next phase.I'll plug it in and see if it talks to me and says, "let's go home together".Then discuss price.I'm a bit frugal in these matters. I do have a budget that often changes.If I can handle the quality and the greenbacks, we're going home.Price is important. I rarely overpay.Unless it's lust. This sounds more like you went a strip club rather than buying a guitar haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members arrowhen Posted February 4, 2012 Members Share Posted February 4, 2012 I've played guitars I couldn't afford. They didn't make me sound any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.