Honoring a great AGF quote.

[Lesbark Wagmore]

"A guitar buying life lesson? Get a $200 Yamaha. Pay $50 to your local tech for a good setup. Stay out of guitar shops, stay away from guitar forums, stay away from Ebay, etc. . . . Ignorance is bliss."--dneal

I got a Seagull instead of a Yamaha. And somehow I bought a second Seagull. On Reverb. And I was in GC earlier in the week and obviously I'm on AGF at the moment.

But still, I feel like I'm following the spirit of the above quote in my own way.

Reverb is my nemesis. I check it often because every now and then you can snag an amazing deal. Ebay not so much anymore. I sometimes think I like hunting for guitars as much as playing them. There, I said it. That feels good.

[Steve DeRosa]

In terms of quality/tone/value-per-dollar, this is arguably the Golden Era of the Working Joe/Jane's guitar; $300 buys a beginner instrument built to a standard that would have been unthinkable when I started playing in the early-60's, and professional-quality tour-worthy guitars - electrics in particular - can routinely be had brand-new for well under $1K. The top-shelf stuff is nice - owned a few, played a whole bunch more over five-plus decades - but in practical terms I've come to realize that I don't need a $6K+ guitar for most of what I do; for the price of a single high-end box I can amass a diverse stable, that not only allows me to explore a broad variety of styles/techniques/tonal colors on appropriate, well-made instruments, but provides expanded opportunities for employment ("Do you play 12-string/archtop/bass/banjo/mandolin/uke/bouzouki/etc. ...") - something I like to refer to as "practical GAS"...

AGF will fuel GAS because it's a feedback loop. I blame AGF in large part for my education on quality guitars, leading me down the path to wanting the next one up the ladder. Every time I think I've discovered the best sounding gear, someone shows me something better. And of course, I sit and salivate and say to myself: 'it's only money,' and, 'the wife will get over it, eventually.'

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Dominus Mortem

AGF will fuel GAS because it's a feedback loop. I blame AGF in large part for my education on quality guitars, leading me down the path to wanting the next one up the ladder. Every time I think I've discovered the best sounding gear, someone shows me something better. And of course, I sit and salivate and say to myself: 'it's only money,' and, 'the wife will get over it, eventually.'

Agreed! The forums fuel the GAS obsessions. I've now made the mistake of "upgrading" to guitars that I don't like as much. I'm presently in the process of acquiring the one guitar I really liked the best. I'll decide what to do with the others subsequently. My inability to be satisfied with what I have is a character defect.

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by Lesbark Wagmore

"A guitar buying life lesson? Get a $200 Yamaha. Pay $50 to your local tech for a good setup. Stay out of guitar shops, stay away from guitar forums, stay away from Ebay, etc. . . . Ignorance is bliss."--dneal

I got a Seagull instead of a Yamaha. And somehow I bought a second Seagull. On Reverb. And I was in GC earlier in the week and obviously I'm on AGF at the moment.

But still, I feel like I'm following the spirit of the above quote in my own way.

Seeing you got this quote from AGF it appears he couldn't follow his own advice.

[cotten]

I'm weird, I know. I've been on the AGF for a long time, and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about whole new horizons of acoustic guitardom! I have greatly admired and appreciated some mighty fine guitars that I first learned about here. But I'm being completely honest when I say that I have yet to be infected with the deadly Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. I have what I like, and I like what I have. I may one day add or even subtract, but my tools suit me just fine. See? Weird!

cotten

[fazool]

I've never seen a good deal on Reverb. Everything I look at is crazy high priced. Prices on eBay and CL always seem better.

Originally Posted by fazool

I've never seen a good deal on Reverb. Everything I look at is crazy high priced. Prices on eBay and CL always seem better.

It's been the opposite for me. I've stumbled across some crazy good deals there. One just this week.

[geelinus]

What about "staying away from guitar forums?"

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by geelinus

What about "staying away from guitar forums?"

We all fall prey to "The Dark Side"

But I am much like Cotton I really like seeing/reading about all the great guitars that get mentioned on AGF, and all the discussion But I still have the same three acoustics I had before becoming a member. (Admittedly they are some pretty fine instruments) The only thing I have acquired since joining is an electric. But that was on the bucket list long before joining.

[warddix]

Originally Posted by Lesbark Wagmore

"A guitar buying life lesson? Get a $200 Yamaha. Pay $50 to your local tech for a good setup. Stay out of guitar shops, stay away from guitar forums, stay away from Ebay, etc. . . . Ignorance is bliss."--dneal

Yep, this is where I ended up, my main guitar is used Yamaha that took over after the expensive Martins and Taylors. It does just what I need it to at home and out. Now just to stop looking at everything else (forum included, of course). Im getting there-

[jrs146]

Originally Posted by Dominus Mortem

Reverb is my nemesis. I check it often because every now and then you can snag an amazing deal. Ebay not so much anymore. I sometimes think I like hunting for guitars as much as playing them. There, I said it. That feels good.

I'll join you with this. I very much enjoy the entire GAS experience. The hunt, the deal, the excitement of having something new. I know it's no excuse, especially for many of you who are probably in the same position as me... but I truly love playing guitar and I'm just at a point in my life where it's very hard for me to play as much as I want to. But jumping on Reverb or AGF when I have 5 minutes free at the office help me feel connected to music and still involved with guitars. I know it's silly... especially when my skill level only requires a $200 Yamaha, which are fine instruments. But that's another thread that I think has been talked about at length!

Regarding Reverb, there are great deals to be had. But you have to sift through the highly overpriced ones and you have to act quick! A fair to low priced guitar will sell in hours! Set up a feed and check your email daily for new posts, that helps. But things pop up every now and then. All 3 of my acoustics and one of my electrics have been purchased from Reverb and I feel like I have a great price invested in all of them.

[Lesbark Wagmore]

Buy a new guitar or just stick with my old one? I like to ask myself, "what would Willie Nelson do?"

[dneal]

Wow, I'm famous!

Originally Posted by Steadfastly

Seeing you got this quote from AGF it appears he couldn't follow his own advice.

It's advice for others, that I derived from my own experience. It's much too late for me to follow it.