The joys of playing what you have

[Funkwire]

The only thing I bought this year was my Rebel 30. Got it from MF on the 12 months/no interest plan. My gig money is paying it off. The last guitar I bought was my 2008 LP Studio in July 2010. That guitar and that amp give me a chubby every time I play them. There's always something more pressing to spend GAS money on, that's for sure! But I just don't have any GAS right now.

[Steadfastly]

 

For the past 6-9 months money's been very very tight in the Faber household, so I've ben unable to act on both GAS and percieved necessary gear purchases. Actually, this have been a bit of a blessing in disguise - the simple fact that getting gear is out the question is a highly efficient GAS killer. I simply don't worry about it. And using the same axes all the time have shown me once again that most gear, most guitars, are far more versatile that we give them credit for. It's been an opportunity to bond more closely with the stuff I have, and learn to work it better, rather than chasing the next thing. I may not like the circumstances, but I like what I've found by adapting to them

 

 

That is a great attitude and an excellent point. It seems you found a secret that was just waiting in the wings, as it were.

[jhall]

I still feel that the Mexi Strat is the best deal in the electric guitar buisness today.

[FtWPanther]

Exactly! That is why I'm trying to refill my too light piggy bank to buy one. Then I'll have my collection complete: my Epi LP and a mexi strat.

[timmyfirst]

 

Exactly! That is why I'm trying to refill my too light piggy bank to buy one. Then I'll have my collection complete: my Epi LP and a mexi strat.

 

 

Cant go too far wrong with those guitars. I'll certainly be playing Mex strats for the foreseeable future!

[yanktar]

 

I still feel that the Mexi Strat is the best deal in the electric guitar buisness today.

 

 

Not true! (for now) I just found out 2 days ago GC is NOW selling Mexican Jazzmaster Classic Players for around $520, in the stores (still $799 on line)! My jaw dropped because that's $20 more than a Blacktop and, IMHO, it's a far nicer guitar, better made and more versatile. No, I don't know if the Jaguar CPs are going for the same price. I gather Fender may be ending production...too bad!

[timmyfirst]

 

Not true! (for now) I just found out 2 days ago GC is NOW selling Mexican Jazzmaster Classic Players for around $520, in the stores (still $799 on line)! My jaw dropped because that's $20 more than a Blacktop and, IMHO, it's a far nicer guitar, better made and more versatile. No, I don't know if the Jaguar CPs are going for the same price. I gather Fender may be ending production...too bad!

 

 

I hate the CP fenders, they always have {censored}ty machineheads, crap pickups and seem less consistent than the standard series stuff. I recently had a CP70's strat come through my workshop and it was honestly one of the worst playing and sounding guitars i've ever had the misfortune to have to work on. I love Jazzmasters but the upgrades they need to make them into a solid live guitar just add to the price and make them not such a great deal.

[yanktar]

 

I hate the CP fenders, they always have {censored}ty machineheads, crap pickups and seem less consistent than the standard series stuff. I recently had a CP70's strat come through my workshop and it was honestly one of the worst playing and sounding guitars i've ever had the misfortune to have to work on. I love Jazzmasters but the upgrades they need to make them into a solid live guitar just add to the price and make them not such a great deal.

 

 

I guess you never know! I don't have any of those issues with my Jazzmaster CP. I guess I was really, really lucky.

[Muddslide]

 

I blame teh interwebz. There's just so much information and research is so easy to do, it's hard to avoid finding something else that you want. Until I was about 23, I never had more than one acoustic and one electric and I probably played much more than I do these days. Not sure what to make of that, but it figures in there somewhere.

 

 

The internet definitely has a lot to do with it I think.

[photon9]

IDK, it's really hard to pass up a sick guitar when its:

 

A) Selling less than what their going for used brand new

or

B) Going used less than 60% of new.

 

It's pretty much a no lose situation at that point. Kinda like putting money into a piggy bank shaped like a guitar.

 

Which was the case with my last two purchases. One A) the other B).

 

Sick Guitars + Sick Deals =

[Burgess]

There comes a time when we all should just shut up and play guitar.

 

I've got a bunch of guitars myself. Was a lot of fun in my last band doing classic rock. Bunch of different guitars to chose from. Sometimes I'd have up to four guitars at one show. I think I even had five once.

 

Current project is a Hendrix tribute. I've really only have two guitars that work well for this band. There are a couple, maybe three more that I can use for backups but it's really just the two work well. Ironicly the one Strat I own doesn't work for this so it stays home.

 

Right now I'm just shutting up and playing guitar.

[Muddslide]

 

I've experienced massive downsizing and liking what I already have, not just gear. I moved between Florida and Indiana for 18 months and during that time almost everything I own was in storage. My rig was my Strat, Micro BR and headphones during that time. When I finally got settled into my new place in Florida and got everything from storage I realised how little of it I needed or wanted (out of sight, out of mind). I have been on a selling/throwing away/donating rampage for a year and most of my gear has sold. My goal is to have slightly more stuff than a homeless person. I figure a roof over my head, my furniture, clothes and food, what little gear I've got, my car and I'm good to go. The peace of mind from that train of thought has been incredible.

 

 

I hear you, Senor. I have done the same thing myself from time to time in my life and have always felt more free. All that "stuff" really weighs you down, like the zen saying about possessions possessing YOU rather than the other way around.

 

However, since I started a family 12 years ago, it's a different matter because now I have FOUR people's stuff to cart around.

 

We had nearly everything we owned in storage back in New York state. Been there since we moved out to Portland with almost nothing.

 

Well, just found out last week the storage unit facility flooded really badly in the wake of the hurricane when the rivers overran their banks. According to the people at the place, the damage to our stuff is pretty bad. Not sure yet what might be salvageable.

 

The music gear (lots of it) the massive collection of books, music, movies and things like that that may well be lost...well, that's a bummer. But what I fear is that we lost keepsakes, photos, drawings and stuff my kids have done. Irreplaceable stuff.

 

But ultimately it's all just "stuff." Lots of people out there lost their homes, businesses, vehicles, family pets and even loved ones. We got lucky, really.

 

When I was single everything I owned fit in my car. With a family I'll never get back to that kind of freedom of movement/lack of "stuff" to worry about, but I get where you are coming from.

[oldschoolshred]

 

For the past 6-9 months money's been very very tight in the Faber household, so I've ben unable to act on both GAS and percieved necessary gear purchases. Actually, this have been a bit of a blessing in disguise - the simple fact that getting gear is out the question is a highly efficient GAS killer. I simply don't worry about it. And using the same axes all the time have shown me once again that most gear, most guitars, are far more versatile that we give them credit for. It's been an opportunity to bond more closely with the stuff I have, and learn to work it better, rather than chasing the next thing. I may not like the circumstances, but I like what I've found by adapting to them

 

 

I can identify. I have five guitars, three amps and several pedals and still want more, but don't need anything else not even remotely. GAS is a disease. The less you think about it the more time you have to concentrate on the music itself.

[Glenn F]

I definitely blame teh interwebs for my craziness. I recently bought a Hag F200P. It was a great playing guitar, but when it came down to it, I just couldn't justify buying it, so it went back. For most of my life, I only had one electric and one acoustic, so my cup runneth over. I am trying to downsize. We are giving two of my old guitars to an organization for the homeless that is trying to get itinerants to get together to make music and therefore heal psychologically. A good cause, and our cellar is a little clearer. I definitely would not own as many guitars as I do if it weren't for HC forums. No how, no way.

[Barry Wuthrich]

I used to have about 6 or 7 pretty good guitars. Every time I put one down and picked up one of the others, I ended up turning knobs on my gear for a couple of hours. A 3 channel Mesa and 6 or 7 pedals (mostly dual) in the pedal chain require a lot of tweaking to find the sweet spot(s) when the guitar changes. Now I have 2 strats (okay, one is a G&L), and they have similar output pups, so life is sooooo much simpler.

[Bbreaker]

Gonna chime in.

Money is tight.

No new business coming in for me or my wife.

We're both self employed.

Had to take money out of savings to make the motor home payment.

I guess we're fortunate. Some people don't have any savings.

I've sold gear to pay bills.

It's a difficult balance.

I still have GAS though.

I still have an ever changing want list.

August was a horrible financial month.

OK........let the flames begin.

[Stringbender11]

Yeah ultimately its all about the playing anyway. I'm glad I rarely suffer from GAS & like what I have. I dont need the stress of a bunch of purchases and sales.

[jtr654]

Its what happen when there are very few thing to have GAS over anymore and you already have so many that don't get much playing time.

[HeatherAnnePeel]

I've definitely learned this lesson. I have 33 guitars, and I love them all, but unless something really moves me, I'm done. I am grateful for everything I have and take none of it for granted.

[kayd_mon]

Hmmm.... when I bought my Jazzmaster, I thought about selling a bunch of my guitars since I found one I liked so much. I'm slow to sell gear, though. I'm trying to downsize in the amp/pedal department, but nothing sells right now. I'm unwilling to dump any of my guitars for a crappy price.

[mymindsok]

At least four times in my life I've given away everything I owned and walked away, with the last time being when I evacuated NY after 9/11. I know exactly what it's like to own little or nothing and I actually prefer things that way. Owing too much stuff kinda chokes me up.

 

OTOH, these days I own five guitars, including two Strats and when I look at them sitting around the house, I'm sometimes reminded of the great African guitarists who have to build their own guitars out of junk or the great Delta Blues guitarists who played absolute junk guitars, strung with Black Diamond Strings.

 

Since Donna and I decided to adopt her 4 yo grandson, money had been tight, tight, tight and we have no savings, so I've been selling off my lifetime collection of Model airplane stuff, a big part of my BMW Motorcycle parts stash and our collection of Navajo jewelry. I'm going to try to hold on to my restored bike but we'll see how the next few months go. I've also been selling off some of my unused music gear. My 65 watt amp is out on consignment, I sold a duplicate guitar and I'm selling a couple of pedals that I never use.

 

I'm only looking to add a few things to my small pile. I need a good dual Humbucker guitar, I want to build an 18 watt amp and I'm going to build two or three new pedals, to use for gigging next year. Those things along with two or three quality cables and I'm set for a long time but worse come to worse, all I need is my acoustic, some strings and a porch to sit on.

 

Most of us would do well to quit worrying about the gear and start worrying about the music!

[Surrealistic]

I've always been pretty minimalistic when it comes to guitars. For many years I had one beat-up old acoustic and one electric ('67 Yamaha). I still have that electric around, if only for sentimental reasons. My actual playing guitars are just three: Tanglewood acoustic (lovely all-solid-mahogany thing), and two electrics namely a Yamaha SG1000 and a white Gretsch 5124. I sometimes lust after something (e.g. a Gibson ES339 or a really nice Telecaster) but mostly I'm happy with what I have.

[mnewb1]

I am down to two now, and though I'm sure I would be happy acquiring ten more, I just can't rationalize any more money spent on guitars now and I am certainly happy with the two I have.

[Uncle Bastard]

I can't justify buying another guitar: I only have the SG because it was free, I can get pretty much any sound I want out of the Yamaha depending on how I play the pickup/volume selected. If someone gave me a decent semiacoustic and/or a Tele I wouldn't say no, but I won't be going looking for any more guitars.

[blingdogg]

Times have been very, very tough for me the last 2 years and it got to the point where right now the only guitar I have in playable condition is a Squier Std. Strat. That's pretty much the only guitar I play now. I used to have 7 guitars, sold one this year, and I'm trying to cut down to 4. But this whole year the only guitar I've really been playing is my Squier Strat. Never thought that would happen, but I play it 99% of the time. I came to realize I play better when I have less guitars, since I get to know them better and there's less distractions.