A strange blog to start off the year 2022 with perhaps, but here’s why this year I’m not rushing into any hasty guitar acquisitions …yet.
Reason for Guitar Buying Guilt #1. The myth that is resale value
Resale value is a myth and a marketing ploy. Although It’s true that vintage Fenders and Gibsons have exponentially increased in value over the years, is this really the main reason for the average non-collector to make a guitar purchase today? When we turn our focus to new instruments, are you going to recoup the full £2000+ asking price on a brand-new Gibson Les Paul a couple of years down the line? No. Sure, that name on the headstock will retain more value than most, but in recent years even brands as lowly as Squier with their Classic Vibe series are catching up.
So let’s not listen to the hype. I’ve owned 2 USA Gibsons and a USA Fender. You don’t buy them to make money, and they won’t hold on to their value anyway, in reality. The truth is a LOT of the value of a top-of-the-line instrument is in USA labour costs and that name on the headstock. To me, resale value isn’t even a thing.
As an example, Epiphone has been knocking it out of the park with their ‘Inspired by Gibson’ range of late, and just look at the quality of previously mentioned Squiers and the Mexican Fender Player series. It really does seem like small margins between them and the big guns now.
Oh, and you’ll need to handle an expensive guitar with kid gloves if you want to have any chance of it holding onto its value, which isn’t much fun at all.
And that is why I won’t be making a high-end purchase anytime soon.
Reason for Guitar Buying Guilt #2. Cheap guitars are exactly that
So, as the aspirational purchase is off the cards. I turn my attention to the quick fix, no-guilt bargains of the far eastern manufacturers. My journey took me to the new Epiphone Coronet: A single p90 on a curvey two-piece mahogany body, wrap-around bridge, and best of all, an Epiphone original, not a Gibson rip-off, for under £350. Perfect, right?
My experience of cheap guitars is when the initial novelty of the price tag and apparent laser-sharp build quality wears off, the cracks begin to show, and you feel that lump in the throat that you’ve been had. I’ve seen it many times, the PRS SoapBar SE 245 Spalted Maple (all show and no go), the Epiphone Les Paul Junior (good on paper only), and many more. Truth be told, I’ve been lucky with some, but that’s the thing, it was luck. More often than not I’ve had to deal with uneven frets, high nuts, unresponsive electrics, and worse of all, underpowered, scruffy, sterile, and ultimately uninspiring tone.
Not only do I not want to pay a premium for the high-end stuff, but I also can’t see the benefit of throwing £300 on firewood either.
Reason for Guitar Buying Guilt #3. I can make do with what I already have
… This brings me to this point. My current electric is a Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster. It’s not even mine, being a gift to my son. It does everything expected of it. It plays perfectly well, I’ve recorded with it, and it has all those classic strat tones which are a pleasure to mess about with. I don’t need a new guitar, and the pull of wanting a new guitar isn’t that strong at the moment, for all the reasons mentioned.
Guitars are simple things, and the Strat, in particular, is a timeless design at any price point. This one is a keeper for sure.
Reason for Guitar Buying Guilt #4. Guitars are ‘luxury’ purchases
The main reason for all this guilt. There are so many worthwhile purchases I could make that would give tangible and immediate benefits to our standard of living. £1000 to replace all our internal doors. £500 to renovate a room, even less to buy all my children their first bicycle. Even something extravagant like a new laptop would immediately improve both my blogging and music production.
But how will a new guitar really benefit me/you? The short-lived joy of the box/case opening for sure, a bit of a tone and playability upgrade maybe, but it’s not a practical purchase, it’s purely a luxury one, like a bottle of (very) expensive wine. If you’re a guitarist and already own a guitar, you don’t need another.
When it comes down to it, a guitar is an illogical ‘heart’ rather than a logical ‘head’ purchase. It’s selfish, risky, and expensive. All the things that clash with family life.
Reason for Guitar Buying Guilt #5. There’s too much choice
Going back to the Epiphone and Squiers discussed previously. I’ve been going round in circles for months about which guitar will be my next purchase. Realistically it always has to be only a single instrument, because guitars are big-ticket items. The problem is, the market is now overcrowded with similar quality instruments, a lot of which, although differently branded, are made in the same factory, so it’s a minefield out there.
And that goes for the high-end too. Do I want a USA Gibson Les Paul Standard or a Fender American Pro II Stratocaster? Both guitars I know I will love but can never own both or choose between them.
The answer of course, if you’re in doubt, it’s always a great idea to keep your money and do nothing. Surely.
And finally, there’s my guitar buying history and the big picture
I’ve made a LOT of very silly and expensive mistakes on my guitar-playing journey. Mistakes that have got me into debt and even hampered my career and relationships. When I moved into my first flat over 20 years ago, I was consumed with guitar and so purchased a Gibson Les Paul Standard instead of a sofa! These days, I have kids and can’t do that. I have more pressing problems to address and more bills to pay.
The good news is that guitar-buying guilt is keeping me sharp, and protecting me from myself. Maybe sometime in the future, that clear, obvious, practical, worthwhile, sensible guitar purchase will reveal itself, but for the moment I’m happy to just play and make music with the tools I already have.
Are you wrapped with guitar buying guilt? Drop me a message in the comments below.
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