Members Brewski Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 I don't disagree but have been searching for "what fits" me. I have two strats and only need one and would sell one but I? bought it for $99.00 and no one wants it. I also have a $99.00 Tele - no one wants it. I had three 3 PRS copies until I got a real PRS and now they are all going. I had five LP style guitars and am wittling it down to two after I found the GEM!! I'm searching for the right AMP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members snowaie Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Very well said, and I agree with the replys in the posts above. I think this should be stickied. Will definitely come back to this one in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreatDane Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 great post. thank you for taking the time to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stringfinger74 Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Great post.Might I suggest that you take one of those guitars and find an aspiring musician with {censored} gear. Gift them said axe.Bask in the knowledge you actually made the world a better place.Better yet, go on another road trip and find the most talented young dude with a {censored} rig and gift him the guitar. Post videos about your search.Rinse. Repeat 5x - cause hey, we all need a backup axe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stringfinger74 Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 bah, I shoulda read page 2 wherein you essentially decided to do what I was suggesting already heheh noob mistake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnewb1 Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 excellent post...good for you...I have two wonderful guitars and I do GAS for more but only slowly will I acquire more and only if all other obligations are taken care of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 I don't disagree but have been searching for "what fits" me. I have two strats and only need one and would sell one but I? bought it for $99.00 and no one wants it.I also have a $99.00 Tele - no one wants it.I had three 3 PRS copies until I got a real PRS and now they are all going.I had five LP style guitars and am wittling it down to two after I found the GEM!!I'm searching for the right AMP.Finding the right gear takes time and money if you want to do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 OP: Great post. You have a wise perspective on life. Nothing to add, but I did enjoy what you wrote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vintage55 Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Thanks for the post... I have always suffered from an obsessive complusiveness to buy, buy, buy, every time I get into some new hobby. And because of that, over the years I had accumulated alot of {censored}. I've owned alot of guitars and sold most of them, in some cases to finance more {censored} for some other hobby I was into. Recently, income has suffered terribly and I have had to sell most of my stuff, though none of the guitars, amps or pedals. That is my entertainment. But the rest of the stuff I've sold has paid the bills. At first, it was somewhat depressing to see some of it go, regardless of whether I had no choice in order to keep the power on or have something to eat. But once I started letting go of all this stuff I had laying around, not only did it keep my head above water, and even let me add some cheap stuff to the musical instrument arsenal, but it has become a good thing. I'm trimming the fat, downsizing the crap. And if things get so bad that I can't pay the rent anymore, I can throw what I have left (the music gear) in the car and hit the road....to start over somewhere over the horizon... Life is about happiness...and "stuff" rarely leads to that happiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gonkboy Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 I play in a band and have two guitars. They are both cheap. One is a Squier Jagmaster and one is an Epiphone dot (2nd hand). That's all i need for the gigs we play.However if someone wants to send me a better guitar I would gladly accept it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldskool Texas Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Nice post. I have two electrics and two acoustics and a resonator and a bass and a lap steel. And that's enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 {censored}ing capitalism made us this way. I say we go full force, Pinko Commie.Who's with me... eh Comrades? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nanobug Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 I own more guitars than I have time to play, and a few weeks ago I took in another one which was the breaking point. Right now I have 2 guitars being loaned out to friends, one pending a sale while a friend uses it, and one that I'm keeping at a friend's house which is kind of doubling as a studio for the time being. I don't think there is anything wrong with collecting guitars but at the same time for me, I'm like many others in this thread who feel weighed down with things that aren't doing anything but taking up space. I like knowing I'm letting my friends get enjoyment out of instruments that would otherwise be collecting dust, and it's the best of both worlds because if I really need a certain sound those friends will let me have the guitar right back and in the case of one he regularly lets me borrow guitars from his collection that I otherwise wouldn't have access to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Help!I'maRock! Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 i've been getting a bit of this lately, but from a slightly different source. we moved this summer and i got rid of a buncha stuff that wouldn't fit into our new, smaller place. and i simply feel like i've reached critical mass. do i need 10 guitars? no, of course not. nor do i need 5 amps or the 15 pedals that are hanging out here. but i also don't feel like i need any more. yeah, the Lake Placid Blue bass body i saw looks much cooler than my Wine Red one. but its not going to make me any better a player. nor will a korina PRS, a GFS offset, a Dr Z Route 66, or another modulated delay. i could sell a whole buncha stuff, but i'll probably just sell some of it that i'm not using. like my BOSS DS-1 and '68 Vibro Champ. i'd like to continue paring down to what i use instead of what i have. but i'm really happy with my collection. i don't feel the need to expand, and have pretty much ended the GAS cycle. i do want to get rid of my cd collection. it just takes up space now that its all on iTunes. but i'm also convinced that i'll just have to rip the whole thing again at some point, so i'm keeping it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notcool Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 I'm good at buying but lousy at selling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Valtyr Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Great post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Orange Jackson Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 great post man, sorry to hear about the loss of your loved ones. Sounds like a great trip, would love to do that on a bmw. Something I was taught a while back was that, "We become slaves to our possessions." I am always really careful to have not too much stuff and am always looking to get rid of anything that I don't need. Keep a few sentimental items, but other than that, nothing that is ugly, or not useful. Local homeless shelter gets a lot of my cloths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orbm1 Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 First off:To the OP, My most sincere appreciation for such wonderful sharing of thoughts!Thanks!!!!now, although "embarrassed" to a certain degree because of my Guitar "masturbation," I have somewhat of a different approach....I started the thread that entice you to write this with the reason of sharing a simple cordial argument between my wife, my guitars, the future, and me....But...My past is what comes to mind when I see my humble collection....I have lived in severe poverty at a point in my life, 1988 in Peru was the year when, only by the grace of God, my dad did not decide to kill himself...before 1988 (I was born in 1979 in Lima, Peru) we weren't rich, but middle class... my dad had a somewhat successful business and he was saving to buy a house (his/our first home). He accumulated enough money for a BIG down payment for a home. September 5, 1988, he decided to throw a huge party for his birthday and for the imminent home purchase. A couple of days later the inflation SOARED and the devaluation of the local currency plummeted.... my dad lost everything because it was not in dollars....Would you believe that he even BURNED the money accumulated because it was Worthless!!!money became tighter than ever, terrorism was at its peak. I would see my dad and my mom skipping a couple of meals a day to feed me.... no new clothes, the same shirt to school everyday (hand washed and dried everyday too! ) my dad got involve in debt to send me to a semi-private school (public system sucked at the time)....fast forward to April 2000, when I decided to come to the US... I was setting myself properly for a ok life over in Peru.... but I needed to come for a better future..... with the help of who is my wife today, I came here only with a backpack and a guitar....(Sidenote: music was introduce to me by my dad when I was 8, he bought his first guitar at age 40)I worked my tail off for 3 years.... saved every penny and send it to my parents so they could pay debts... when the time was right... I brought my parents to the US, Got married in 2004....Even though I have accumulated some debt, I learned to save and to buy my instruments (my only vice, well maybe I need to lose some weight - 100lbs to be exact).The pride that I have when I see what I have accumulated is unmeasurable....and not only for me, I have bought and helped my dad accumulate a little collection for him too....Great times are now spent by my parents and my family: the pride in my mom's eyes, the smile of my dad to be able to have a few guitars to choose from, my wife's admiration (don't know why) at the efforts I made to play decent music, and of course.... My indescribable happiness to see all of this around me...Now, I am 30 year old, music and youth minister at church, my wife a 4th grade teacher; my parents have been able to purchase their first home at age 60(mom)-64(dad)...my guitars are more than meaningless instruments collecting dust and taking space.... are more like a "musical" symbol of my humble accomplishments in life.... TRUE....I could sell a few guitars and still be HAPPY! Gosh, I could loose all of them and still be happy....the meaning of them for my wife, my parents and me, are the important thing!here is a pic that will express what I am talking about:MY DAD with one of his guitars (can you see the happiness I am talking about?)Thanks and sorry for the long post Omar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretmonster Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Well "waste not want not"as the old expression goes. Yeah, I got too much stuff, but I gotta say that everyone of my guitars puts a smile on my face when I play it - even the ones that ain't worth a bunch. I currently own fourteen guitars after picking up a beater acoustic at GC for forty bucks to spell my forty year old Japanese D35 copy. I got a bit carried away I guess with the electrics but they are all players and slayers with unique voices and not just cheap {censored} that I keep around for sentimental reasons. Sure I could sell some, but I couldn't get what they are worth to me; I could give some away some but it would kill me to think that one of my customized (by me) guitars was kicking around changing hands for a fix or something. I actually did give away a guitar to a friend that is serious about music and uses and appreciates it. But as it is, I figure if I rotate my guitars and use them judiciously, I'll never need another and can even avoid a refret down the road. I used to buy a lot of tennis raquets too when I was younger and looking for that special edge. But after I found the right one, I bought three of them which I use every week and haven't had the urge to even look at another one in fifteen years. Same with guitars, I got what I want, I don't gas any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Muddslide Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 nice thread,, meaningful post.when i started playing, i had one guitar.. all my friends who played had at most 3.. ever one had the opinion.. just play man... not much chatter about buying this and that.. it was "that sounded cool.. how did you get that sound.." seems like those days are kinda gone.... to me its just stuff... yea they look cool and all.. but stuff can get in the way.. Well spoken. And true. I started playing in the late 1970s and gigged most heavily from about 1982 to 1998. Back then, even though the Internet was creeping in starting in the mid-90s, the whole collector thing was much more subdued. I played in a lot of bands and opened for a lot of bigger bands. I also worked in radio for awhile and helped book shows for a couple of clubs. I met tons of pretty well known bands who were on the road constantly and more regional bands that played hundreds of gigs per year. I don't think I ever met anyone who owned more than 2-3 guitars during that whole time. The only people I ever heard of who owned boatloads of guitars were uber-famous musicians like Pagey, Keef, Entwistle, etc. Now I come on here and every other person is talking about how they want to add another guitar to their stable but they already have three dozen and should they sell one or just buy a new one, etc. It's just odd to me. Again, it's cool if that's what people dig and it makes them happy, but I don't get it. Seems like work, not pleasure. More time spent acquiring and less time playing and so on. Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon. Anyways, this thread is too good to let it die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stevieb Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Very interesting post. Can I add my by-this-point-nearly-useless-because-it's-no-doubt-already-been-said two cents? I ride motorcycles, too- my first reaction was "I'd love to take that cross-country trip, too, but I damn sure wouldn't do it on an old Beemer," then I remember that no motorcycle made me feel more like Steve McQueen than an '81 Honda CM400- and I'd bet an old BMW would be even more likely to make me want to risk opening my noggin like a raw egg just to get that feeling... (not that I would ride lid-less...) I am going to cut and paste your post to my word processor, print it out, and hang it on the wall of my music room AND the side of my tool box. I have too many guitars, amps, motorcycles, bicycles, etc.etc. for one person. Interestingly, Monday I decided that I was going to throw my own 60th birthday party (I am 53) and by then I will be divested of everything I don't REALLY want to own. The party will be here at my house, and I want my house to be just like I want it to be- all renovations I am planning done, music room pared of excess gear so that I can have an out-of-town guest sleep in that room during his/her visit, garage clear of excess projects and remaining car and motorcycles (two at most) ready to crank up and go. I want to pick up guest at the airport in my 73 Mustang convert (now in the midst of a restoration sidetracked by motorcycles), for instance. Thanks for helping me get on track on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 My parents used to wash out empty peanut butter jars and store packets of ketchup, mustard, mayo and Arby's sauce in the fridge. When my mom died I tossed out seven peanut butter jars of just Arby's sauce! My mom had over 100 pair of tennis shoes and about that many dress shoes. She had two closets, three wardrobes and four dressers full of clothes. She had three refrigerators and a freezer full of food, most of which had gone bad due to freezer burn. However, every week she'd bring home more meat to freeze. Now that my parents are gone it's my sister's turn. She is storing stuff at her condo, in my garage, at her ex-husband's and at a friend's place because she can't part with anything either. You guys don't know what being a pack rat is unless you've dealt with this kind of sick behavior. Having a few extra guitars lying around is nothing. At least they'll have some value when you decide it's time to part with them. Shoes, clothes and Arby's sauce ain't worth {censored} to nobody. Having said that, I do believe consumerism in the US is out of control. I was just unfortunate enough to have been raised by two people with severe mental disorders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Good post. I have what - 12 to 14 guitars. I actually am getting to the point where I feel that this is getting kind of silly. I think partly I'm making up for times when I was poor and could not afford toys. But I'm really thinking about reducing my gear. On the family front, my Mom has decided she can not keep her house much longer and made the decision to go to an assisted living apartment. I was hoping she could find another older widow as a house-mate, and that way be able to keep the house. But this was not for her. Anyaway, my Mom will be divesting herself of stuff over the next few months. - W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cool Hand Luke Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 +1 to the OP. I have been having similar thoughts the last year.Still I have managed to buy one guitar (used), parts for building another plus a whole bunch of pedals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcooper830 Posted November 13, 2009 Members Share Posted November 13, 2009 Yeah..... I have a huge collection of guitars and gear. But I gig all the time and I use every bit of it. And it's 90% paid for... thank GOD. I see more cool stuff I really, really want to buy...... but I've decided I just have to STOP! Otherwise I'll just toil the rest of my life away trying to keep up with payments. And it's true..... no matter what I buy...... I'll just keep wanting more and more. There's a black cherry Gibson Les Paul Classic at the local store that is TO DIE FOR!!!!!!!! It's beautiful and plays like a DREAM!! But I'm not getting it. Cause I already have 20 other guitars that are beautiful and play like a dream. I could thin the herd...... but I'd miss terribly anything I sold. Besides..... I wouldn't get nearly the $$ to justify selling anything right now. Used musical gear isn't selling worth a crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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