Guitars vs Cameras vs Golf Clubs

[raysachs]

Over the past 25-30 years I've been on a number of forums related to Grateful Dead shows/taping, bicycling, espresso gear, camera gear, and guitars. For any given topic there are a number of forums available, all with different focuses and personalities. I had bicycle forums I got information from, and sometimes offered some, but didn't want to "hang-out" on, others that were a very comfortable hand-out. Same with camera related stuff. There was one site that was a cess-pool of bad manners but could also be quite informative. And there were others that were very nice places to hang out and reasonably informative as well. These days it's mostly guitars. I'm on two forums related to acoustic guitars, AGF, and UMGF, and both are very friendly and supportive places, and evidently well moderated. I'm on 3-4 different electric guitar forums to one extent or another. None of them are really bad, but there are bad apples who tend to be tolerated a bit longer on some of those forums that would be the case here.

My only point being that there are plenty of good, friendly, supportive, helpful forums out there for any number of interests. The AGF is particularly good, VERY well moderated (I've been a moderator - it's not easy, often not fun, but it's pretty evident how well moderated some are and this one is among the best I've seen). It's a fine place to hang out. But it's not unique. There are others that are also very very good.

-Ray

[musicman1951]

One of the great things about buying a guitar is that it only gets better with age. Not so with golf clubs. The grooves wear down and the drivers of today are considerably better than the drivers of 10 years ago. I don't think you can say that about guitars. I don't expect to ever say that about guitars.

On the other hand, drivers don't cost thousands of dollars.

[woodbox]

Thanks to all who have contributed,
I’m enjoying reading your posts.

There’s a couple back-to-back posts that clearly illustrate one of my main reasons for starting this thread.. post #28 and #29.. and that’s the details of a particular endeavor.
The way we discuss things like:
- scale length.. long vs short
- nut width/bridge string spacing
- Phosphor/Bronze vs 80/20 strings
- the merits of Adirondack vs Sitka as bracing material

Well, apparently such discussion carry over to golf and cameras.

I didn’t know there was such a thing as “graphite shafts” as opposed to “stiff shafts”.
Or that there were “hybrid” woods, and one could spend over $500 on a driver alone.
Or that elevation was a factor.. “thin air at 8500 ft”.
WHO KNEW?!?
Certainly not I, but KenL did.

Then AndrewG posted:

“ I tend to avoid photography forums as many seem to focus on the technical side of cameras and lenses to the point of obsession-especially when it comes to something called 'bokeh’ where 'experts' argue the merits of areas out of focus rather than the subject of the picture itself which I find puzzling. “

Bokeh?
That’s a new one on me.
And yet we go on and on about guitars “opening up”, or whether bridge pin material affects tone.

Somewhere on some forum right now, there’s a discussion going on about the smoothness of graphite clutch material for a vintage Jeep.
(i just made that up)
Or chain vs belt on a Harley.
And there are guys reading this who can spot a “Shovel Head” vs a “Pan Head” from 50 yards,
just as fast as some here can spot an HD-28 vs a D-28 fifty yards from the stage.

Yes, BOOSE, there are Jeep forums. (i ALWAYS appreciate humorous posts)
And according to gfspencer, there are at least “two Scotch forums”.
There’s no doubt forums for tennis, chess, stamps, wine, and vintage cookie jars.
I find the obsession of it all fascinating, enlightening, or at least entertaining.