GAS in early stages

[no1i]

I am teaching one of my friend's kid (22) who just started playing the guitar, he's been self-taught for about 1 month now and when I went to teach him online I saw that he is already using a Collings guitar that he bought on reverb.

Although expensive, I personally think it's okay if it keeps him motivated to continue playing. What are your guys thoughts of beginners using high-end gears?

[Matts67]

There are a few thoughts that come to mind:

If someone, regardless of experience level or dedication factor, is getting a great deal on a guitar which could easily be sold to break even financially down the road, then buy whatever the budget supports.

On the other hand, if someone is just starting out, has a track record of starting something and giving up within a few months, and is buying an expensive / boutique guitar at full retail, that's where issues come into play.

I do think owning and playing a really nice guitar is a good motivator to keep one playing. I know I'm more likely to pick up a nice boutique guitar versus something like a cheap plywood acoustic. It's a more enjoyable experience, and the feelings associated with owning an iconic Martin or a boutique Collings are pleasant in their own right.

[Mandobart]

My experience has been that it took me a while to develop the ear and playing skill necessary to distinguish good from acceptable and great from good. I can really appreciate the tone and playability of my Martin now, because I learned on a very low end beater family guitar decades ago and slowly worked up to better instruments.

Also there have been discussions here about "unforgiving" guitars that require some skill to get the best sound out of them. These tend to be the high end and custom brands.

I certainly don't begrudge a rank beginner starting out with a high end guitar.

[beatcomber]

A 22-year-old beginner with a Collings? I'm guessing he doesn't have any school loans to pay off...

[no1i]

Originally Posted by Mandobart

My experience has been that it took me a while to develop the ear and playing skill necessary to distinguish good from acceptable and great from good. I can really appreciate the tone and playability of my Martin now, because I learned on a very low end beater family guitar decades ago and slowly worked up to better instruments.

Also there have been discussions here about "unforgiving" guitars that require some skill to get the best sound out of them. These tend to be the high end and custom brands.

I certainly don't begrudge a rank beginner starting out with a high end guitar.

Completely agree with this! I also think beginners are under the misconception of having a high-end guitar will make you play better, but they soon realize once they get one..

[Peter Z]

A Collings might be extreme, on the other hand, my learning process would have been so much better and more successful if I had reasonable instruments right at the beginning.

[RP]

Originally Posted by no1i

...Although expensive, I personally think it's okay if it keeps him motivated to continue playing. What are your guys thoughts of beginners using high-end gears?

I think it's none of my concern as long as he's not buying it with my money or taking food off of my table. Following the reverse argument, at what point should a "beginner" be eligible to purchase an expensive guitar? How many grains of sand are on the beach???

[archerscreek]

Good for him if he can afford it. Bad move if the guitar added to an already uncontrollable credit card debt. Interest payments at 18% could turn a $4000 great deal into a not so great deal pretty quickly in my opinion.

[LakewoodM32Fan]

As others have said, I don't begrudge anyone who starts off on a great guitar. My first was a cheapo Epiphone Les Paul knockoff from GC which I got on a green tag sale, and didn't know wth I was doing with it. The GC salesman was just happy to take what little money I had and send me on my way (this was in the 90s). I no longer have that guitar but action was high from the beginning, and electronics kept shorting after a while, and along with the cheapo amp I bought from them on the same sale (I think I paid $700 combined for both) I soon gave up and offloaded them to Goodwill.

Many years later my favorite singer/songwriter went solo acoustic when his band broke up. I saw the name on the headstock of the best sounding (at the time, and only in my limited experience) and it was a Lakewood. I had to hunt down a local dealer (only one, in San Diego, who has since moved to Colorado). Got a bespoke instrument, took six months to get here, spent $1650 on it--a princely sum at the time--and received my "gateway drug" into well-made guitars. Even though I hadn't played in years, I immediately sounded better because the action and intonation was perfect from the get-go (and keep in mind this was an acoustic so you know how bad the Epiphone LP was if I found an acoustic easier to play than an electric!).

And even though I've recently gone on a pandemic shopping spree (hey that vacation money had to go somewhere ) you'll notice there's still a certain guitar in my signature...in fact it's in the shop right now fixing the one thing that has always bothered me about it but I never did anything to correct: getting a new nut with wider string spacing, especially to get the low E closer to the edge so I can fret it with my thumb more easily. It was literally 1mm or more further in from the fretboard edge than any of my other acoustics.

[Rev Roy]

I didn’t start playing until I retired and my wife bought me a D-28 as my retirement gift. Starting with such a nice guitar certainly helped keep me motivated. Even as a beginner I would occasionally get something right and the tone that came from that Martin was so exquisite that it inspired me to soldier on.

That was six years ago and I’m still soldiering on...playing daily for a couple hours or so. And I still own guitars my meager skills don’t deserve (see sig). And I still feel no need to apologize for it.

[LakewoodM32Fan]

Rev Roy, if I could only play guitars my skills deserved...I'd be on a Wal-Mart guitar.

If your guitars are used regularly, and don't spend months neglected in their cases, no one ever needs to apologize for having the guitars they have (on either side of the cost spectrum).

[MChild62]

I've noticed that parents who are musicians tend to get their children better/higher quality instruments, and I assume they know what they're doing. Neither of my parents played anything, and when I wanted guitar lessons as a kid in the 70s they did what many parents would... got me a cheap plywood guitar with high action that barely stayed in tune. Rough learning.

The Collings is certainly on the higher end for a beginning, but life is short. It's great that he is starting out with a guitar he doesn't have to fight.

[Dru Edwards]

We all have disposable income. I hope that he, or his family, has it and he hasn't put bills on hold. If I was teaching a 22 year old new student who just bought a new Collings I'd assume, perhaps incorrectly, that they had the means for it.

That aside, it wouldn't bother me.

[aeisen93]

I got my first high end guitar when I was 9. It was a used Brian Moore i1. It was $750 and I paid for half of it myself! But at 9 years old I was playing the Let It Be solo... see video below. I still have the guitar 17 years later.

https://youtu.be/IWFKc1HnwI8

[cyberdog]

Originally Posted by no1i

he is already using a Collings guitar that he bought on reverb.

Which means he bought it used and if he needed to he could sell it without losing any money.

So, he's much smarter than me. I bought a more expensive guitar only after first acquiring a series of less expensive guitars which are now taking up a lot of space in my home, but aren't worth enough to go through the hassle of selling.

Buy nice, or buy twice.