never owned new?

[cobberdig]

whilst i was sort of salivating over this -

 

it dawned on me i've never actually owned or brought a new guitar. infact almost all of my 10 or so (electrics, basses and acoustics) are older than me (i'm 30). Anyway what am i missing out on? warranties, new guitar smell?...

[Surrealistic]

You've missed out on those few hours when you have a guitar which is totally unblemished. At least that's how it's always worked out for me. I have a couple of guitars with small dings that both happened within the first few hours of ownership - and no further damage since!

[TomCray]

You've missed out on those few hours when you have a guitar which is totally unblemished. At least that's how it's always worked out for me. I have a couple of guitars with small dings that both happened within the first few hours of ownership - and no further damage since!

 

Lucky you, I only had two new guitars, and both of them went unblemished for years before the first ding, which is always the worst one. It was only a matter of time, but it was quite heartbreaking when it happened. Then I stopped babying it and rocked the {censored} out of them

[flummox]

You're missing the sensation of walking out the door of GC, and knowing that your guitar is now worth 40-50% less than you just paid for it.

 

In general I buy fairly recent used American guitars. Take good care of them and you can almost always sell them for what you paid, or more. They're basically free. Though I will say I really going to take a bath on a LP Studio I bought recently, without knowing how badly it needed to be refinished. $80 worth of nitro and a {censored}-load of work later, I now have a lovely blue LP that's worth, well, about what I paid.

 

I did buy a Classic Vibe Tele from the local mom-n-pop because I liked it and I wanted a local business to make a little money off me. One day I'll have Terry McInturff build me a Royal for pretty much those same reasons.

[Weiner_Bomb]

..having to set it up and break it in yourself.

 

that's not always fun imho.

[Invader.CC]

I have owned many guitars over the years and i have only bought one new guitar..It was a MIM Fat Strat that i bought on closeout at guitar center in 2008 for $320 out the door...

As far as high priced guitars MIA Fenders ,Gibson or others i prefer to buy used and vintage...

[stormin1155]

I've bought new cheapies, and I've bought new amps... the first nice guitar I've ever bought new was two days ago when I got my Les Paul Standard. I'm going to hang onto a couple of cheapies to use playing out.

[t2mikeman]

I realize i have never owned a used guitar or one that NOT purchased online.

 

 

I've never found some awesome deal online that would trump the awesome deals i get online and satisfy my fear of having a guitar that has been sitting on GC's wall and had 150 retards touching it.

 

That said i have also returned alot of stuff. Returned my seagull 4 times to get the best playing/ sounding one.

 

Twas worth it when you spend 150 less than in the store. I dont think i've ever paid full price for a guitar.

~mike~

[Ralph onion]

A new guitar is like getting a "cherry."

[StillRock]

I've never bought a used guitar, for no other reason than the new guitar wall is always more appealing to me. I've tried the used guitar wall, but didn't like what was there. Given my last experience with Best Buy and blemished goods, I don't know if I can rightly buy a guitar from an online seller, essentially sight unseen.

[jumpwin]

I've NEVER bought a guitar that I played before hand. All mine have been mail ordered, or ebay'd. The pit fall of being a lefty and wanting a specific guitar that isn't a copy of well known USA guitars.

[Mister Zero]

I own an Agile AD-2500 that I bought new...8 years ago.

 

And used. Last year.

[mrbrown49]

 

I've NEVER bought a guitar that I played before hand. All mine have been mail ordered, or ebay'd. The pit fall of being a lefty and wanting a specific guitar that isn't a copy of well known USA guitars.

 

 

You leftys have it rough. My condolences.

[Wyatt]

I have owned new and I have owned used.

 

I have lost my shirt (percentage-wise) on all the new guitars and amps I owned when I decided to sell them. The only piece I bought new that I didn't end up selling was my main acoustic, a Yamaha DW-5S, but it had been a favorite at the shop I bought it, so it was already pretty well broken in.

 

All and all, I prefer the broken-in feel of a good, well-played guitar and my two favorites both had a long life before me. I haven't always saved money buying and selling used either, if it's not a Fender or Gibson, it can be hard too sell at times...I took a small loss on an used PRS (stores wouldn't take it, "too hard to move used PRS") and practically gave away an used Chandler Telepathic (would have just kept it be the wiring was always a mess and the fretwork was horrid).

[epi56ebony]

I have owned new and I have owned used.

 

I have lost my shirt (percentage-wise) on all the new guitars and amps I owned when I decided to sell them. QUOTE]

 

When you buy new and depending on when you sell them, maybe after a year, you have gotten 1 year's worth of pleasure out of it. People who continually wait for the right "used" price also lose out on the time of enjoyment waiting for that price.

 

In the good ol Guitar Center days they would give me 40% off list and no tax. GC would eat the -at that time- 8% Calif State sales tax.

 

Martin dealers for guitars street price over 1000 would give me 40% off and no tax. One dealer I go to in the San Fernando Valley gives me that deal always when I paid cash.

 

I also love close-outs and clearances. GC used to have great deals. A 1958 Les Paul Custom for 1800 out the door is a pretty damn nice price in my opinion.

 

When people sell gear they bought new, they really should account for the time enjoying the gear. Think about the cost of renting a guitar during that time. The "Enjoyment Cost" should be factored in, in my opinion.

 

Buy new but negotiate a great deal. Buying used is great price wise but the buyer must wait and that time waiting is also a cost, the un-benefit of not enjoying the gear during that time.

[stewiesguitar]

i have only bought new.

[Wyatt]

 

When you buy new and depending on when you sell them, maybe after a year, you have gotten 1 year's worth of pleasure out of it. People who continually wait for the right "used" price also lose out on the time of enjoyment waiting for that price. In the good ol Guitar Center days they would give me 40% off list and no tax. GC would eat the -at that time- 8% Calif State sales tax. Martin dealers for guitars street price over 1000 would give me 40% off and no tax. One dealer I go to in the San Fernando Valley gives me that deal always when I paid cash. I also love close-outs and clearances. GC used to have great deals. A 1958 Les Paul Custom for 1800 out the door is a pretty damn nice price in my opinion. When people sell gear they bought new, they really should account for the time enjoying the gear. Think about the cost of renting a guitar during that time. The "Enjoyment Cost" should be factored in, in my opinion. Buy new but negotiate a great deal. Buying used is great price wise but the buyer must wait and that time waiting is also a cost, the un-benefit of not enjoying the gear during that time.

 

 

Oh please. Time is free, it only cost money when you aren't spending it earning money.

 

"Figure in the cost of the enjoyment." Poppycock. In one case, I could have bought the same guitar used for as little as 1/2 the street price (the equivalent of 75% off of MSRP) within weeks. I'm much smarter now. Heck, if you buy a used Gibson or Fender (and currently Ric), you may even make money selling a year later. My total gear is worth nearly $10K more then what I paid for it, even in the current economy (it's doing better than my Roth).

 

Buy used and let some other sucker write off the intangible joy to justify their folly.

[epi56ebony]

 

Oh please. Time is free, it only cost money when you aren't spending it earning money. "Figure in the cost of the enjoyment." Poppycock. In one case, I could have bought the same guitar used for as little as 1/2 the street price (the equivalent of 75% off of MSRP) within weeks. I'm much smarter now. Heck, if you buy a used Gibson or Fender (and currently Ric), you may even make money selling a year later. My total gear is worth nearly $10K more then what I paid for it, even in the current economy (it's doing better than my Roth). Buy used and let some other sucker write off the intangible joy to justify their folly.

 

 

I don't know how old you are but time is not free. Only as you get older do you realize how valuable it is.

 

If you choose to play golf instead of going to your daughter's recital isn't a cost involved there? The cost of missing out of being in the moment with your daughter.

 

Also, Wyatt, didn't you give all that info on the Bassman 59 amp and different Bass amps in the Bass Forum thread. That was really interesting and good stuff. I learned a lot from that. Thanks.

[headless]

 

 

 

Cole-Clark-Culprit X 3, fast= Sprained tongue

[sylvesterlowery]

I've owned exactly one brand new guitar and it was a gift from a friend. It was a Squier Affinity Strat that is a killer little player that I still play from time to time. The rest of my collection was bought used over the last 19 years.

[Wyatt]

 

I don't know how old you are but time is not free. Only as you get older do you realize how valuable it is. If you choose to play golf instead of going to your daughter's recital isn't a cost involved there? The cost of missing out of being in the moment with your daughter. Also, Wyatt, didn't you give all that info on the Bassman 59 amp and different Bass amps in the Bass Forum thread. That was really interesting and good stuff. I learned a lot from that. Thanks.

 

 

Waiting for gear is free. Unless you need the gear to earn money right then. How many guitars can you play at once? (unless you are sloppy Stanley Jordan) Exactly how much time does it take to not be worth saving $2000+ on a Historic Les Paul?

 

Plus, the fact of the matter is, there are very few guitars out there that are as good as the models that came before it. Most give progressive less product for progressively more money. Compare the VOS Historic available today to the gloss-finished, Brazilian-fingerboard Historic that were cheaper in 2002. Of course, if one was smart enough to buy a used BRW R6/R7 for $1700-1800 in 2002 (average used price then), then they could sell in now for twice that price or more, or they could have bought new and break even.

 

I don't play golf. I should, but I write and make movies. And I get paid for my effort, not my time. When I was an animator, I was paid by the foot (16 frames a foot, 24 frames a second), not by how much time it took to draw it, a 10-drawing repeating walk cycle paid the same for 8 feet as a 400-drawing crowd scene. By I digress, I don't feel like having to get half as much for that money when buying gear. And that "warm glow" of having new gear right away doesn't balance the scales that much.

 

Patience is rewarded with a far better deal. There is always a better priced used option available right away.

[cratz2]

I think I've owned maybe 5 brand new guitars in the last ~27 years of playing. Mostly when I was much younger but even then, two of them were 'last year's model' bought at discount.

 

I don't currently own any guitars that were bought new nor any amps. Out of about 15 pedals, the only one I have that was bought brand new is a TC Polytune.