Don't Purchase OR Sell For 1 Year

[skinnerb]

Good for you. But to each, his own.

[ManyMartinMan]

Originally Posted by euraquilo

No offense intended, but I can't help but feel a sense of irony from a username of ManyMartinMan. ..

310 views before someone said this. No offense could possibly be taken. As a professional guitarist, I have several guitars and that currently includes 3 Martins. All have been with me over 10 years. One since 1988. If you called tomorrow and I had to fly to Newark for a gig (the only reason I would go to Newark...) that's the guitar I would grab and show up with.

[RP]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

Every great guitarist can be identified by the one guitar that either got them where they are or the guitar that they've been seen playing for decades. There's a reason for that and it doesn't matter what the guitar is. What matters is that they spent years mastering that instrument.

I get your point, but it overlooks the Stephen Stills and Jackson Brownes who play well as well as acquire...

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

I challenge anyone who is in that cycle of looking, buying and selling guitars, that is wasting a lot of good guitar-playing time searching for something they'll never find, until the create a special bond with one instrument, to stay out of stores, stay off internet guitar stores, stay out of the classifieds - and master just one of those guitars you're so proud to show ownership of - but not true mastery of. After a short year, I guarantee you will be miles ahead of where you are in guitar satisfaction and ability.

You're overlooking the possibility that acquiring and subsequent selling is an enjoyable pursuit in and of itself for some and not an obstacle to becoming a better player.

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

I However, the endless need for immediate gratification is what I believe drives the endless "seeking" for a non-existent grail. You know, "I bought a new XXX guitar and I still sound like I did before." One of the best players I've ever known has an old '70's Sigma that he as taken around the world and beat to death that he massages the most delicate sounds out of. This is simply a challenge for those who are never satisfied, no matter what brand or model guitar they buy, to stick with one for a year and see where it takes you.

I think you're assuming that a person buys a new guitar with the expectation that he'll immediately be a better player. Most of the time people buy new stuff because they want to own new/different stuff. It's really cool that the OP has carved out a strategy that has helped him achieve his musical goals, but we don't all have the same goals in life or in guitar purchases...

[brianlcox]

Originally Posted by merlin666

Maybe for some people it's a hobby to try out a large range of fancy guitars, and I wish they'd provide some samples of what they actually play on them. I am also curious about the financial implications, and if some of them actually have some ability to buy low and make a regular profit and living from guitar churning.

I have been buying and selling guitars for about two or three years now as a hobby. As I started, I agreed with my wife that I would have a fixed budget and would generally keep within that. I started by buying older guitars in ill repair and fixing them up a bit before selling. This allowed me to both practice my repair skills and try out lots of different guitar types. I got pretty good at making new saddles, levelling high frets, and glueing loose braces etc. Fairly quickly I was buying and selling standard series Martins, Taylors etc. Not long after that progressed to some of the smaller boutique shops, such as Santa Cruz, Goodall, Lowden etc. I was quite lucky a few times to be able to buy low and sell at a fair price, so I moved up a couple of tiers in the quality of guitars that I was trading without adding any cash out of my own pocket. In fact, I only lost money on one guitar so far - a Guild that had a lifting bridge.

I really enjoy the experience getting to know a guitar and finding it's strengths and weaknesses. I think it really helped train my ear to hear differences in tone. It also helped me to find out what suits me best in terms of a guitar- What type of tone, what body shape,string spacing etc. I think that the mid term goal would be to take what I liked about all these guitars and eventually have a custom built just for me. With that I would hopefully be done with the trading. At the moment I have two really good guitars - one that I love the tone of, and the other that I love the playability of. If only I could make the two of them have a child!

All this buying and selling does take up a lot of time though. I try to do most of the searching, buying and negotiating while travelling for work or when the kids are falling asleep. These are usually times when I couldn't be playing anyway. However, it definitely cuts into actual playing time too. I'm getting tired of the constant searching and am looking forward to just playing the fantastic instruments that I have. In fact, I agreed with my wife (in order to stretch the budget to buy my last guitar) that I was done buying and selling for a while and will spend the next few months just playing these guitars and really getting to know them - exactly what the OP is suggesting!

[J Patrick]

...I could not care less about someone else’s internet view of my guitar purchasing and selling habits....it is often suggested that players who cycle through a lot of instruments are in search of something...a holy grail or some such single guitar that will finally end their search for tonal bliss...and that they are doing so at the expense of their playing....nah!...many of us are just trying to enjoy as many different guitars as we can before we can no longer play them....

....so do not presume to know what others are looking for with their purchasing patterns...especially when you don’t know them or have any idea of their playing habits...

[robey]

Pass. I'll do what I want.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

...If you called tomorrow and I had to fly to Newark for a gig (the only reason I would go to Newark... ) that's the guitar I would grab and show up with...

Speaking as a native New Yorker - just a short ride across the river via the Hudson Tubes/Holland Tunnel - I'd avoid taking a gig in Newark (the preferred course of action) and if not, I wouldn't bring anything more valuable than an Esteban...

[Tele1111]

Originally Posted by upsidedown

I suppose you also carry a pin around so you can pop any child's balloon you happen to encounter.

"Put the pin away susie
Leave my balloon alone"


While I "think" I understand the OP's point, the post does come off a little too judgemental.



Mark

[RedJoker]

I bought / sold more guitars in the first few years of learning because, well, I was learning. I thought I wanted a dreadnought but I've found that doesn't suit me. I thought I wanted that Martin sound but I've found that doesn't suit me. I thought I wanted a narrower nut until I learned more fingerstyle techniques that lead me to a wider nut.

Overall, though, I bought cheap so I didn't lose much, if any, money on those guitars and learned a huge amount, just like you are suggesting.

[ManyMartinMan]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Speaking as a native New Yorker .. I wouldn't bring anything more valuable than an Esteban...

Originally Posted by Tele1111

...While I "think" I understand the OP's point, the post does come off a little too judgemental. Mark

There's no judgement there at all. I simply challenge anyone in that cycle who's not developing the way they would like with a prescription for something else.

Originally Posted by RP

I get your point, but it overlooks the Stephen Stills and Jackson Brownes who play well as well as acquire.....

I was working on a movie/film one time and asked the director "Would you ask Brad Pitt to do that?"
After about 5 seconds of looking at me puzzled, he responded with "You're not Brad Pitt."

So, I respond to you "You're not Stephen Stills or Jackson Brown." I wouldn't rationalize what I do based on what they, or anyone else, do. If you think that everything is perfect in your guitar world, simply disregard this thread as unnecessary for you.

[ManyMartinMan]

Originally Posted by RP

.... I think you're assuming that a person buys a new guitar with the expectation that he'll immediately be a better player....

I'm not assuming anything. I see it daily both here and in my professional career. Every person? No. Many herein? Absolutely. Again, if that's not you, simply disregard.

[RP]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

...So, I respond to you "You're not Stephen Stills or Jackson Brown." I wouldn't rationalize what I do based on what they, or anyone else, do. If you think that everything is perfect in your guitar world, simply disregard this thread as unnecessary for you.

No, I'm not Stills or Browne, but merely saying that there are players of that caliber who are also acquirers as opposed to your declaration that

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

Every great guitarist can be identified by the one guitar that either got them where they are or the guitar that they've been seen playing for decades.

.

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

I However, the endless need for immediate gratification is what I believe drives the endless "seeking" for a non-existent grail. You know, "I bought a new XXX guitar and I still sound like I did before."

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

I'm not assuming anything. I see it daily both here and in my professional career. Every person? No. Many herein? Absolutely. Again, if that's not you, simply disregard.

Sure seems like an assumption. As an AGF member for a long time, I can't recall a post where the individual was disappointed with a newly purchased guitar because it didn't improve his/her playing...

[JDM88]

I appreciate the insight of MMM because it's directly applicable to me, a novice. In fact, (one of) my 2020 resolution is to spend fewer hours on-line looking for the perfect instrument on which to develop what should I can muster, and devote most of that same time to enhancing my learning. I'm still here, though, but will now devote the next half hour to "Dust in the Wind" - the song, not the metaphor!

[DenverSteve]

Originally Posted by RP

No, I'm not Stills or Browne, but merely saying that there are players of that caliber who are also acquirers as opposed to your declaration that ....

If you ask Jackson or Mr. Stills they will tell you that when they were coming up, (like most professionals who are struggling and/or coming up the ranks) they had one or two guitars. Just like athletes who eat, sleep, breathe their sport - they have one glove, one basketball, one soccer ball and they use/abuse that singular item for one singular purpose - to be better. Those that don't, don't make it. But again, I have not said to not buy, sell or trade, I said to give it a try for one year and see where that gets you. If you're completely satisfied, the challenge isn't for you.

[russchapman]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

I'm not assuming anything. I see it daily both here and in my professional career. Every person? No. Many herein? Absolutely. Again, if that's not you, simply disregard.

I see you reference your career multiple times. Respectfully: Who are you?

I agree with the sprit of your post, btw. That said, I've got one to sell and one to buy. Last time, I promise!