My Name is Niall and I have a problem. I am completely unable to stop buying and selling guitars and their associated items.
I had decided a few months ago that I would only buy a couple more "bargain" guitars, so in came the Pacifica and the OLP. That made about 17 guitars overall. Most I modded to stop me selling them and the majority were £50-£100 so not exactly hitting credit limits!
I intended to stop there but the bargain hunting continued and the cheap RG turned up. At this point I realised I needed to get rid of at least one so out went the CV Tele.
And I was done.
Bugger, wanted another Tele. Bought two, Idiot!
I may have to delete the eBay app and ban myself from 2nd hand shops.
Anyway, I think it's either embrace it and realise it probably won't be any different and sell a few of the really cheap guitars to free up some space or shut it down completely.
I do need to shift a few though...
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Ringleader of the Cambridge cartel, pedal champ and king of the dirt boxes (down to 21)
Where I had around 19 bargain to mid priced guitars 4 amps and loads of pedals. Not all got played and not all where great players. I sat down one day and realised in my music room I had around £7000 worth of gear and I was driving a real shitty car. Sold the lot bought a better car one nice guitar and an amp. Was very happy with the outcome as the guitar I bought was a real nice player and I used it daily.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
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Not saying I won't buy or sell any more, but at the moment I'm pretty content with 7 electrics, 1 acoustic and 2 amps. I might get a really mandolin at some point, but that's as far as my gassing goes.
"Nobody is really researching robot jokes"
I remember laughing at someone on MR (Nocaster?) saying they got thru lots of gear because it was the only way to try things out as there were no shops local to them, but in a way that is what I do, as I don't go into shops for various reasons. Lot easier to have things delivered home and try them there.
Mainly though, I'm curious, I don't tend to buy the same guitar over and over - I haven't had 14 flavours of Strat - and ultimately it doesn't cost me anything money-wise so it is no big deal. Same with making the Jookies - I wish I could do the luthier thing, but physically it isn't a runner, so they are as close as I can get, and they are all about curiosity/what-if too.
And then there is the bit where I was adopted by magpies as a child...
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My kit gets punted on every time I play it on stage and I'm shit (not it.. me) - I didn't realise at first but I think I was trying to disassociate from it.:)
I remember reading a book about marketting and it said that the thrill of shopping is all in the hunt and final chase - once you've got nyeah f*ck it... knowing that (and the fact that most shopping is self-comforting - so better to find real comfort) makes most purchases a bit less sparkly.
Haven't stepped on a stage for best part of 13 years now, much worse don't think I've actually turned an amp on in the last calendar month, and if I did all you'd hear is that I'd be hard pressed to play a whole song from start to finish..
And yet I've a rig that would probably more than satisfy the needs of a semi pro guitarist..
Hmmm
I'm very much in self-help group too. Like @DrBob I don't gig. I don't even that the patience/gumption to learn songs all the way through. I just stumble on nice riffs and noodle away to myself. For me the whole buying and selling obsession is probably more about the process itself. It's like reading a really good book. You get totally immersed in it; you invest a lot of time and energy in it and you get a huge amount of pleasure and knowledge out of it.
Just like with a cracking book, it's almost a crushing sense of loss or anti-climax when you get to the end. In the guitar-buying analogy, my 'book' is that certainty that I need a P90-equipped Junior. Then I spend 3 months looking for one, chasing them and ultimately buying one. By the time it turns up, I may well already be thinking about the Cabronita, that really should be with me... I have even gone as far as feeling cross when I have pulled the trigger on a guitar, knowing that this event will technically bar me from another 'project' until I have at least pretended to bond with it.
Luckily my wife doesn't seem to care much. Her late dad was a compulsive collector of railway memorabilia and so it's normal to her. If anything I think she's confused as to why I feel the need to sell stuff (to justify more buying) and gets cross at me when I inevitably sell a 'keeper'.
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