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it's all about the hunt. GAS

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3K views 33 replies 13 participants last post by  ashbass 
#1 ·
I figured out why I do not like having expensive guitars. I have all my money tied up in my PRS and I accidentally found a guitar I have been looking for for years at a good price. Now I cant get it because I have nothing I could sell besides one of my guns.

I also figured out that a big part of this hobby for me is the hunt, not always the catch either as some guitars dont even make it a couple of days in my possession. I like trying new guitars, I dont know that I am looking for one certain sound in particular most times. I used to think I was looking for that elusive "one," I really dont think it exists for me though. Mostly because I bail on things quickly or I start nitpicking because the hunt is over and it's time for a new hunt.

I am a horrible collector because I am OCD and just cant have something I am not using lying around. Sell one to buy another kind of thing. My wife jokes that she is surprised I have not "sold her off" but she has her uses so she is safe, along with my son and my cat.

I'm really starting to think I can record with anything i have at the moment, with a POD HD 500, I can create any tone I need. Oh sure, I change pickups but most times those changes are right back to the tried and true TZ/AN combo. I am even thinking about putting that in my PRS. AS long as it does not sound bad and fits the tone I have in my head (which apparently never changes) I'm good.

So there you have, my hobby, OCD's and obsessions wrapped in a neat little bow.
 
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#12 ·
We are a crazy lot and we will move on from them too when the government passes the laws.

I wasn't going to get into this but even though I own an assault rifle, I am not convinced we NEED them hence why I was going to sell mine. The other stuff I have is primarily sport shooting stuff. 22's Something for my son and I to do together but we have just as much fun throwing the football around so...it would not kill me to get rid of them. We just got into them 2 years ago.

Pyscho, LOL cool that you are building what you want. Did that too, wont probably do it again but ya never know.
 
#11 ·
I can tell I have 'the ultimate' guitar , that normally I don't need to look any further for tone.
yet... I'm still looking, browsing, checking all the classified stuffs on the internet every single day!

the very recent guitar I purchased was an USAC streetwise, that going direct to the case after playing it for .... 2 or 3 times maybe?

now I found my passion in building custom guitar that I can't get from ibanez, such as a full rosewood wizard neck ( it's in process).
a 24 fret washburn N 4 copy with 17mm thickness? yeah... it's on going too.

once it's done... I guess they will be not far from other guitar I have now, played it for couple of times, and then store it for good.

as for guns.. I like AK74M better...
 
#13 ·
Good to hear. My Dad is a sporting shooter, has been for years. Has never felt the need for semi-automatic self loading guns, which was good since after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 the gun laws were strengthened almost immediately.

There had been a number of bad mass shootings in the 10-15 years beforehand, the majority of the population were calling for stricter gun control. There were lengthy gun amnesties to hand them in, and whilst there was a vocal minority against this it all went fairly smoothly in the end. No where near the amount of shootings these days.

Sorry for the off-topic gun stuff. Back to GASing over guitars! :lol:
 
#14 ·
I think I acquired six(?, have to go count) Ibanez in the past few months. Strangely, when I was looking for my must haves, there was really nothing available. Now it seems there's a glut of them on Ebay. But I'm not biting, I swear!

I'm having that "meh" moment with a Gibson I just bought though. Total impulse buy and sold my PRS Bernie as a result. I had wanted an SC or stripped 58 but I couldn't justify the cost. The Gibby was very obtainable. Not sure what it is yet that I don't like but I think it's the pickups and setup. It has potential so I ordered the Callaham bridge set, locking Gotoh "Klusons" and am having my ReWind pickups updated with all the latest mods. I too love the hunt and working on them as much as I do playing.

I've committed to working on guitars less and playing a whole lot more. So I built a DAW in one of the spare bedrooms, rack mounting a bunch of gear, building a 2x12 and setting it up as an all-in-one desk unit. So much for more playing! I of course had to redo the office for the wife at the same time...I've got to start getting up early just to get practice in.
 
#18 ·
I find this to be an interesting discussion. Personally, I have only owned 5 electrics, never more than two at any given time, and most were cheap. My first electric was a Gibson LP (I was spoiled lol), but I sold it because it was too heavy. I regret it sometimes, but on the whole it was part of my experience. Right now, I've been playing for 10 years (I'm 20). I have been told by my music professors that my ability to improvise is unparalleled amongst the other students feel wise; that goes with the instrument I suppose.

I read on here, and I can't remember where so forgive me, that at some point in the progression of playing, the equipment can become a hinderance to advancing technique. Having had my current electric, a 1980 Peavey T-60 for a year, I realize these problems, which is why I GAS for an Ibanez. I look at gear with the intent that in my hands, I will be able to speak effectively thru the instument. This is why my next purchase will be an Ibanez of quality(and also of fair price ;) )
 
#19 ·
I read on here, and I can't remember where so forgive me, that at some point in the progression of playing, the equipment can become a hinderance to advancing technique. Having had my current electric, a 1980 Peavey T-60 for a year, I realize these problems, which is why I GAS for an Ibanez. I look at gear with the intent that in my hands, I will be able to speak effectively thru the instument. This is why my next purchase will be an Ibanez of quality(and also of fair price ;) )
The flatter radius of the fretboard certainly affects speed. The Wizard neck is famous for it.
SOme of the other guys can maybe explain the why.
 
#20 ·
What blows my mind is how much money you stand to lose by churning through mid-priced guitars, due to the high transaction costs as a percentage of the price of the guitar.

For example, let's say you buy a $400 guitar and pay $50 to ship it, then quickly decide to move on from it. Even if you get the same $400 out of it, you're often eating eBay and Paypal fees. You need to get more like $475 to cover all the transaction fees. If you paid market price in the first place, you aren't likely to get that.

What I see more often is that the person wants something new so badly that they take a big hit on the guitar just to move it and get the cash. I feel like if you do that a number of times, pretty soon you're up to the price of a really nice guitar of piece of equipment, just in lost transaction costs.
 
#21 ·
Losing money is part of the game though, haha. I'm OK with losing some money for the fun and excitement of having new toys...I HATE taking a big loss on bad gear though. If I'm going to lose $100 on a deal, I want to have gotten $200 worth of fun before I let it go. Nothing worse than having money tied up in something you don't even like.

"I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol and wild women. The other half I wasted."
 
#22 · (Edited)
I feel the same as GDT does to an extent. It is part of the game, the cost for wanting to try out a bunch of stuff. I also do not overpay for what I buy either. That way, even if I do sell for what I got it for, I'm only out shipping and shipping from work is fairly cheap.

I am regretting buying the PRS at this point and tying up so much cash in one guitar, especially knowing how I am about guitars. It's why I never bought a JS Blackdog, Chromie, JS90 or JEM for that matter. Too much money tied up for something to sit in a case or be played infrequently cuz I might hurt it. I like to clean them, I like learning how they should be setup, I like the fact that I have met some great guys that I would not have met unless we had dealings together.

It's not all about the money.
 
#23 ·
It's why I never bought a JS Blackdog, Chromie, JS90 or JEM for that matter. Too much money tied up for something to sit in a case or be played infrequently cuz I might hurt it.
This goes along with what I'm saying. I see a lot of people on here say they wish they could have a Jem, but they lose a bunch of money over time churning less expensive guitars. $100-200 here and there adds up. The could have had that Jem if they hadn't lost all that money. I wasn't specifically talking about you, just commenting.

I've bought and sold a large number of guitars over the past roughly five years and I'd say I'm just on the good side of breaking even. I've lost some money for sure on some guitars, but it hasn't been Jems. Jems are where I've turned almost all my profits, which has ultimately put me in the black. If you're smart about buying them, it isn't tough to make a few hundred dollars if you decide you want to get rid of it.
 
#24 ·
I also figured out that a big part of this hobby for me is the hunt, not always the catch either as some guitars dont even make it a couple of days in my possession. I like trying new guitars, I dont know that I am looking for one certain sound in particular most times. I used to think I was looking for that elusive "one," I really dont think it exists for me though. Mostly because I bail on things quickly or I start nitpicking because the hunt is over and it's time for a new hunt.

I am a horrible collector because I am OCD and just cant have something I am not using lying around. Sell one to buy another kind of thing.
Your original comments were interesting and are what got me to reply to the thread. Mostly because it doesn't characterize me at all.

When I decided I wanted to start actually collecting guitars, I had a certain list in my head of what I wanted. That list got added to over time as I became exposed to more stuff I wasn't previously aware of. Thankfully I've had the blessing financially to be able to indulge my hobby.

But I also really empathize with your feeling of excitement of hunting for something new. I love doing it as well, even though I'm down to looking for basically one particular thing and could search fruitlessly for a long time before I find it. I also really love tearing down a new guitar, cleaning it and setting it up, possibly more than I like playing.

But in the end I've personally found that aspect of the hobby to be distracting. Since my collection is close to "done" in my eyes, I've gotten back much more into playing. To me I've found that different, but equally enjoyable. I certainly don't enjoy playing some of my guitars as much as others, but it gives me a chance to periodically play them all and remind myself which ones I really like and why.

I've always considered collecting guitars to be no different than collecting art. I have absolutely no use for a large collection of extremely similar guitars. But you don't collect art to use, you collect it to have and appreciate.
 
#26 · (Edited)
LOL I was writing my reply and didn't see yours until I hit submit.

I have a list of things I would like to have to just have but doing that limits the other part of the hobby for me and I would rather play and buy than appreciate right now. I would probably indulge myself more but I have a lot of things I like to do. Cycling/Triathlons, Shooting, Guitar, Cars, RC Cars... Jack of all hobbies, master of none. :)

Our thoughts are very much the same, you are just on a different phase right now. :)
 
#27 ·
I was really big into modding cars for about ten years. Then I ended up with a car that was such a monster that it had minor issues always in need of attention and frankly was no longer fun to drive. Tip: never put a big turbo on a FWD car. 350 whp in a 2500 lb car sounds like fun, but not when you can barely keep it going straight down the road.

I lost a TON of money when I finally sold that thing. No more.
 
#29 ·
lucky me, i'm not really into cars.

other than guitars, I'm a big military enthusiasm.
I love jet fighters since I was a kid, end up collecting and building model kits. it was a long time ago until i given up that model kits.
I love rifles, lucky we are not allowed having firearms here, so end up collecting replica ( air soft guns), still have 3 of it. before I had like 5-7..
airsoft gun is like guitars, besides the unit, we love to modify it. adding scope, adding rails, and so on..
all those hobbies are money sucker, and never been a money maker for me.
 
#32 ·
I work with someone who has a new M5. It's really nice, but it is NOT $30,000 better then my E90 M3. The funny thing is, as soon as I drove my M3 home, I was looking at other cars. For me, it's just like guitars. At least half the fun is hunting for (and finding) the next one.
 
#34 ·
I used to tell my wife when she complained about too many guitars or too much time with the guitars that "at least I'm not into cars, guns, or golf." In the early 2000s I was one of the first guys on ebay parting out Ibanez guitars. Except for the guitars to be parted, I only bought guitars with profit money from parting guitars or flipping guitars and pedals. I've had quite a rotation of guitars in that time and would never have been able to touch and feel and play so many if it were not for the parting money. I can say as far as gas goes that I am certain that I do not want guitar A or guitar B because I've had one and it didn't move me. I figured that eating up to $50 reselling a guitar was a fair enough price for piece of mind about it.

Now I don't buy and sell anymore really. I'm pretty sure that if I sell one of my guitars now I'll never get another like it. Not just because of uniqueness, but because of money. Today, dropping 2k for a Gibson 57 Goldtop Reissue is laughable for me. If I sell the one I have now, I doubt I'll ever get another. I have six electrics now and have stopped worrying about having only mint Edges or whatever other parts. A ding or scratch now get repaired as best I can where a few years ago the guitar would have been replaced with a cleaner version.

So I've settled on guitars (I do need to check out a Gibson/Epi Explorer, though), and basement hobbist amps, and pedals/multi-effects. Now I spend time playing, tweaking setups, and modding pedals. Ha, ha. I feel like such an old man.
 
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