Anyone else in the same boat?

[padavis]

I dont have the budget for the big time stuff but that doesnt stop my GAS... guys on here talk about the sleepers of the big brand stuff and for some reason thats what I have had a problem with. I dont know how many amps and guitars I have sold trying to find the affordable, yet unique stuff. One day I think I am going to stop buying and selling this mid-level stuff and grab a couple top shelf guitars off this board and hope thats enough to satisfy all the needs. Not to hi-jack but did anyone go through levels like that? And if you did, do you truly get what you pay for?

 

[neastguy]

I just recently have a new found love for sub $800 guitars... I think there are a lot of great guitars out there in the $600 range, you just have to find em.. I vowed not to even look at any guitar that is over $800.. call me crazy..

 

[XKnight]

Not to hi-jack but did anyone go through levels like that? And if you did, do you truly get what you pay for?

Sometimes you do and sometimes you don't. There are no absolutes.

 

[Telecaster]

I just recently have a new found love for sub $800 guitars... I think there are a lot of great guitars out there in the $600 range, you just have to find em.. I vowed not to even look at any guitar that is over $800.. call me crazy..

You're not alone
I recently bought a Selmer copy by Saga/Cigano. Paid 225 euro's for it (used) and can't stop playing it.

 

[zerolight]

I've been through the whole buying and selling thing for year too, much to the disdain of my wife. Goodness knows how much I wasted in the process. Just over a year ago I sold my much loved Tyler SE that I had for 2 years. Bought a 2nd PRS with the proceeds. I soon realised that I have found my guitar, my sound, in the Tyler. So a year on I tried a few Tylers to confirm my suspicions, even bought one which ultimately turned out to be faulty. I then tried everything else I could find (money burning a hole in my pocket), mostly Suhr, Grosh, Anderson, Fender, and the odd Musicman. I felt they just didn't sound or feel like a Tyler, though Suhr was tempting. Anyway, long story short, I sold off both PRS and am waiting on my Tyler being built - should have it in a few weeks. So I'm pretty confident my quest has ended... my wife sure is! And the best part, not only is it a Tyler, but it's my Tyler, spec'd by me rather than a dealer.

 

[Joe Gamble]

I've been through the whole buying and selling thing for year too, much to the disdain of my wife. Goodness knows how much I wasted in the process. Just over a year ago I sold my much loved Tyler SE that I had for 2 years. Bought a 2nd PRS with the proceeds. I soon realised that I have found my guitar, my sound, in the Tyler. So a year on I tried a few Tylers to confirm my suspicions, even bought one which ultimately turned out to be faulty. I then tried everything else I could find (money burning a hole in my pocket), mostly Suhr, Grosh, Anderson, Fender, and the odd Musicman. I felt they just didn't sound or feel like a Tyler, though Suhr was tempting. Anyway, long story short, I sold off both PRS and am waiting on my Tyler being built - should have it in a few weeks. So I'm pretty confident my quest has ended... my wife sure is! And the best part, not only is it a Tyler, but it's my Tyler, spec'd by me rather than a dealer.

That's cool. Check this out...

In '05 I bought '69 CS Strat on Ebay which wound up being my main axe throughout that Summer and Fall. At some point I decided that I wanted to scale back my "heard" and thought it a good idea to get a guitar that "did it all". I bought a Tyler Landau so I would have the Strat + humbucker action. Great guitar. While I worked this out I sold the '69 CS to some guy in Brooklyn. After it had been gone for about a week and a half I knew I had made a big mistake- everything I needed was in that guitar! I emailed the guy I sold it to and kindly asked him to please let me know if he ever decided to sell the guitar because I realized I wanted it back. He responded by saying that while it was a fine guitar, he knew it wasn't for him and he was going to put it on Ebay THAT DAY! I promptly shot him some money and all has been good ever since. Ahhhh........

 

[j_m_s]

Ive had LOADS of GAs. but the thing is. I dont have the money to buy new guitars, so i GAS alot/ But there no real buying. ahah

 

[paintguy]

I too have gone through a lot of custom made guitars. Probably around 7 off the top of my head. I still have 3 of them.

Honestly, the other 4 I spec'd and ordered 20 plus years ago and really didn't know what I wanted. They were great guitars, but I sold them off due to the body shape and trends more than anything else. I do miss them.

I do believe there is nothing like specing out your own guitar. Being able to pick out woods, fretboard radius, scale, neck shape, parts, electronics, is invaluable. It can be a totally magical guitar.

That being said, I have played some $200.00 guitars (like the one I bought my son) and couldn't believe how well it sounded and played. I couldn't help but the think that the difference between his and my custom guitars at 20-30 times the price was not that great.

Sure the custom ones have better woods, parts, electronics, paint, inlays, etc....
But strictly on sound and playability, not 20-30 times better for the custom guitar.

I came to the conclusion along time ago that I could probably buy a off the rack model for less than 1k and be very, very happy...

I do have one more Custom guitar in the works though.

 

[Daren Anderson]

Yeah, I have gone through the same process with guitars, amps, and pedals.

My problem is that I don't really know if it is a keeper until I get into my jam room, and play it through my gear for a few weeks. This has lead to a lot of turnover.

I dream of having a bunch of close friends who live nearby who are all loaded with amazing gear that we can trade around and fully road test to find out what fits and what doesn't.

I guess that is why I love the gear page. It is the closest I have come to a group of friends that share (opinions and knowledge) their gear.

 

[steveh]

Daren is dead right - you have to have it at home for a few weeks in order to really get a feel for how you're going to relate to the guitar (or amp, or whatever it is). That generally means buying it, and that's expensive, especially since this damn place is so full of people recommending great Gear.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Shiny McShine]

As for your original post, if you can afford it, why not? It sounds like it gives you a lot of joy and satisfaction. I know that when I'm in the money again, I'm going to have about 5 really good guitars and a 2-3 boutique amps.

 

[XKnight]

It is definitely enjoyable, but somewhat costly. Luckily, there are lots of good folks willing to trade good guitars so after the initial expense I'm not usually loosing my shirt.

 

[Shiny McShine]

Also, you've got to keep this in perspective... it's a way cheaper hobby than airplanes or speed boats ;-)

 

[XKnight]

Also, you've got to keep this in perspective... it's a way cheaper hobby than airplanes or speed boats ;-)

And escort services.

 

[The Captain]

Also, you've got to keep this in perspective... it's a way cheaper hobby than airplanes or speed boats ;-)

I've said it a thousand times. Music gear is cheap compared to racing ANYTHING, and lasts forever, does not become usuable through incompatibility and even becomes an heirloom, as well as being beautiful alongside useful.
Beauty for beauty's sake is a beautiful thing !
I haven't done the boutique guitar thing yet, unless you count 2 R9's, a Gretsch, and an ESP Custom Shop, but I can't find a Fender strat I like, so I'm going to look into a Suhr or similar.
I'll go off-the-peg though, as my experience with toally custom orders in other things has been less than great. I'd rather pick up a finished product that I like, than order a dream guitar, and have it turn out like Homer Simpson's car.
As for "is it worth it", well, it si for me, but I don't spend money I can't afford to and it's my version of drinking, smoking and gambling.

 

[JDouglee]

Buying a Fender is too much work, you have to go through so many to find a good one. For me, it's so much easier to spec out a Suhr the way that i want it. But it truly helps to KNOW what you want. If you don't like SS frets, don't order them (for example.) Rolled edges is also a good choice for "Fender feel".

 

[r_cressw]

I've seen a lot of stuff I had never heard of since joining this forum... But it seems like the more options I see, the more my GAS is actually kept in check! Maybe I'm just weird... Could also be that my budget is significantly lower than some. I'd say if you're GASsing all bad for something, check the emporium sections and exercise patience... There are some fantastic deals and most of the people here definitely know how to take care of a guitar.