Guitars Hidden from Wife?

[stephenT]

I stopped into a friends store today, Atlanta Vintage Guitars and they were closed to the public to get ready for an estate sale this weekend.

So,.. this fellow died unexpectedly and his wife thought he owned a handful of guitars. Three or four,.. as it turns out the fellow had 72 guitars he'd hidden away from the wife.

So I was thinking, how many of us have a bunch of guitars and equipment stashed away that the wife (or husband) might not know about?

[grachi]

there was a thread pretty recently on this, I don't think anyone had THAT many they were hiding, but people were definitely sneaking them into the house... and as I remember there was the other side of the coin, where people were very upset that husbands were hiding guitars from their wives.

I'm not married, and never have been, so... No comment!

[PTC Bernie]

72!? How do you hide that many guitars? They must have had a HUGE house or he had an separate workshop that she never went into.

What's the old saying?

"When I die I want them to sell my guitars for what I paid for them. NOT what I told my wife I paid for them."

This goes way beyond that!

[Glennwillow]

I have a fair number of guitars, but my wife has been part of the purchase of every one of them. In fact, she has given me 3 of them. However, until our kids were grown up, educated, out of the house, and married I had just a few guitars -- an electric, an acoustic 6-string, an acoustic 12-string. And that was plenty. But I have added to that original list and have been enjoying the ride.

But no secrets from my wife.

- Glenn

[Bob Womack]

No sneaking in my house. She has bought me my best guitars.

Bob

[T Texas]

Dude must've been renting an airplane hangar! I don't hide any guitars from my wife but she's very un-observant about them so they are basically hiding in plain sight

[stephenT]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I have a fair number of guitars, but my wife has been part of the purchase of every one of them. In fact, she has given me 3 of them. However, until our kids were grown up, educated, out of the house, and married I had just a few guitars -- an electric, an acoustic 6-string, an acoustic 12-string. And that was plenty. But I have added to that original list and have been enjoying the ride.

But no secrets from my wife.

- Glenn

My wife would rather I tell her about a purchase before it gets to the house and I'm compliant most of the time.

Bought a Schertler Jam 400 recently and I really couldn't tell her about a $1400 acoustic amp pre-purchase but she was cool when she saw it. I do this for a living so she's sympathetic.

But I agree, best not to keep secrets from the person you share your life with. Just not a good way to go.

[warbles]

Originally Posted by T Texas

I don't hide any guitars from my wife but she's very un-observant about them so they are basically hiding in plain sight

Haha, Ditto.

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

I can't imagine why I would hide any purchase from Helene, and I certainly can't imagine hiding 72 guitars. Clearly this guys had a huge house and a separate bank account.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by PTC Bernie

What's the old saying?

"When I die I want them to sell my guitars for what I paid for them. NOT what I told my wife I paid for them."

Now, that's funny! Never heard that particular expression before, but I like it.

Originally Posted by PTC Bernie

This goes way beyond that!

Yeah, that's some serious hoarding behavior there.

I have instruments that my wife is less than completely aware of, but that's because she's not all that interested. I don't sneak anything into the house, but I don't give her play by play descriptions of all my latest instrument wheelings and dealings, either.

When we got married I promised her I would never spend the mortgage money or any common funds for my instruments, but pay for them with what I made playing gigs, teaching lessons and other music-related activities. She's fine with that, always has been, so me buying, selling and trading instruments hasn't ever been a point of contention between us.

Which is nice. I'd have a hard time putting up with it if she was hovering over me every second demanding a to-the-penny accounting on every music-related transaction I engage in.


Wade Hampton Miller

[MrBJones]

Forget the guitars. He obviously owned a second building that she knew nothing about.

[Guitarsan]

Originally Posted by T Texas

I don't hide any guitars from my wife but she's very un-observant about them so they are basically hiding in plain sight

Oh my gosh, I have exactly the same situation! While she has a great singing voice and at times I wished she cared enough to want to sing along, there are definite benefits. I have bought and sold at will over the years and she has no clue. Between that and I'm finally blessed enough to buy whatever I want, I'm a fortunate guitarist. (But no fortunate son)

[PTC Bernie]

I just called to talk with them, very nice fella answered the phone. It's mostly electrics, a lot of old Epiphones, some Casino's and Sovereign's, old Gibsons and Fenders.

It's quite a drive from here to Woodstock, so I'll probably pass, but it sounds like it might be worth the trip for anyone in town or North of the city if you're into vintage electrics.

[SMan]

Nothing hidden from my wife. I have plenty. If I bought every guitar she said she wanted me to get I may well have 72 as well.

[Big_Al]

My wife isn't a big fan of acoustic guitar and can't see why I would need more than one (and possibly a second, backup unit for when I play out). She tolerates it because I don't spend much money on myself and most of my spare time is spent fixing up the house, but I think she'd be happiest if I had none at all.

I bought my last guitar on impulse and she didn't know about it until she saw me carrying it to the house. She seemed a little miffed until I told her it cost me $10 at a thrift store . . . and then she was fine. In this case, the lowball price was the truth. If my widow ever needs to sell my guitar, I hope she gets as much as its worth . . . not just what I paid for it.

I don't tell her about every little thing I buy, like every pack of strings or small tools and supplies at the hardware store. I'm sure she's fine with that. Could I sneak a couple of extra guitars into the house and get away with it? Maybe a couple, but not 72. Would I feel OK about it? Nope, not about stuff that might cause a rift if discovered.