I sometimes wonder if there's something wrong with me when I see a constant flow of auctions, where people are selling Gibson Les Pauls, PRS-whatevers, etc, all with the comment:
"This is one of the best guitars I've ever played!"
... and, typically, with a shopping list of aftermarket parts bolted onto it. And it makes me wonder to myself, "If it's so good, why would you get rid of it and get a new guitar of unknown trouser-rustling ability?"
This could just be my inner hoarder.
You know, my first reaction to that is to call it BS.
However, I've built and had gear that really was great but just wasn't all that useful to me or maybe it was redundant.
So, 85% BS?
Sold the best sounding guitar I'd ever owned because I just couldn't get on with the neck.
Have sold gear just because I was bored with it. I've since turned into a hoarder and won't part with ANYTHING. But yes, my BS detector goes off when I read that.
I picked up a baseline Line6 Variax 300 on ebay for a few hundred bucks a few years ago and the seller listed it as "professionally setup" (BS flag #1), and "one of the best playing guitars ever played" (BS flag #2). It shows up at my doorstep and not only does it look better than the ebay photos, but had one of the best setups I've played and remains one of my favorite guitars. Its like an old pair of slippers.
Maybe he was bored with it...
I've sold or traded some excellent gear that I really liked. Mostly I sell guitars or amps for a few reasons (and usually more than one applies): Limited funds, limited space, don't play it often or at all. If I really want something new, I usually have to get rid of something old. Not always, but most of the time that's how it goes. So I have to make some tough decisions, but it mostly comes down to what doesn't get played (regardless of quality or relative awesomeness).
Maybe they prefer poorly playing guitars more ;)
I think part of it is they rush out, plop down the credit card and buy yet another $2,500 guitar without thinking it through. It may sound great, but how many gold top Les Pauls does one man need? :-\
Quote from: EBRAddict on March 09, 2015, 01:12:38 AM
but how many gold top Les Pauls does one man need? :-\
Three? ;D
Depends on whether they're gold top Les Pauls, or just investment widgets that will hopefully appreciate in value.
Someone please explain to me the meaning of " how many does one need", I am unfamiliar with the concept.
As far as selling great playing/sounding/looking gear, the reality is some gear doesn't make the cut when you have to cull the herd, and it gets sold. I typically don't try to oversell stuff that doesn't make the cut (I usually start by "it's time to thin the herd", in fact I think i have a template setup in ebay just for that). Sometimes you just can't live with the neck profile/control configuration/colour, kind of what CJ and JS were alluding to. Then, of course, you realize you were wrong, and go buy another one.
And the answer to how many goldtops is enough is 11.
I want to be Curtis when I grow up.
No - Curtis hasn't grown up yet - I think I'd rather never grow up and be like Curtis.
Jacob
Quote from: gtr2 on March 08, 2015, 11:15:56 PM
Maybe they prefer poorly playing guitars more ;)
This would match up perfectly with my poor playing :P
I guess sometimes people need cash for whatever reason they may have.
Some musicians do also seem to be impulsive types when it comes to purchases... and the grass is always greener and all that.
I think my favourite BS sellers lingo is 'plays like butter'. That one always makes me laugh.
What's it like to play with butter?
Hey... this kind of word use worked out good for the Klon ;)
Quote from: gtr2 on March 09, 2015, 06:49:03 PM
What's it like to play with butter?
You'd have to ask Marlon Brando.
Quote from: raulduke on March 09, 2015, 04:34:32 PM
Some musicians do also seem to be impulsive types when it comes to purchases... and the grass is always greener and all that.
Hit the nail on the head! This would apply to pedal building as well. No matter how many fuzz, overdrive, delays you build, that new layout/design just seems to be "the one". So you get rid of what you have and build that, and then start the whole process again, only to later think about what you got rid of. ;D
Quote from: raulduke on March 09, 2015, 04:34:32 PM
Some musicians do also seem to be impulsive types when it comes to purchases... and the grass is always greener and all that.
During the recession, one of the local shop owners commented how the implulsiveness of musicians helped keep him going. "Rent is due next week, but I have cash in hand now, what can I get?"
Pedal sales were also up compared to guitars as they were usually more manageable impulse purchases.
Lessons and beginner instrument sales were down as most of the parents had much more budgeted spending and music gear often fell off the necessary list.
Do people actually fall for this marketing stuff? When I look at a listing for a piece of gear, I want an accurate description. Not a bunch of subjective crap about how awesome it is.
Someone just started a thread on TGP about the Velvet Minotaur and the builder made an account to answer questions. All he talks about is how much it sounds like a gold Klon, but no gutshots and nothing about what schematic or PCB he's using. He wants everyone to think that Bill keeps flagging his ebay listings because the thing sounds too close, but Bill will flag any kloner who has his attention.
Quote from: gtr2 on March 09, 2015, 06:49:03 PM
What's it like to play with butter?
i dunno, but i suspect it may have something to do with why dave is constantly losing control of his plectrum
Quote from: Haberdasher on March 09, 2015, 09:15:15 PM
Quote from: gtr2 on March 09, 2015, 06:49:03 PM
What's it like to play with butter?
i dunno, but i suspect it may have something to do with why dave is constantly losing control of his plectrum
Nah, I switched to Olive Oil a while back; it's healthier.
I still stick with "plays like Butter" for ad copy, however. "Plays like Olive Oil" doesn't have quite the same ring to it. Plus, it would probably annoy Popeye.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yeah, but what I want to know is... Does it have a "woody" tone?
I had a nightmare where the band were sitting in a theater looking at the stage playing, but I couldn't play because my guitar neck was limp and floppy...
Quote from: blearyeyes on March 10, 2015, 12:27:54 AM
I had a nightmare where the band were sitting in a theater looking at the stage playing, but I couldn't play because my guitar neck was limp and floppy...
To much butter?
Too much beer, by the sound ;)
Lmao! Prolly not enough butter. Alan spoken like a man who knows!
Internet during the 90s did... interesting things to my developing teenage psyche.
Quote from: mremic01 on March 09, 2015, 09:10:06 PM
Do people actually fall for this marketing stuff? When I look at a listing for a piece of gear, I want an accurate description. Not a bunch of subjective crap about how awesome it is.
I think we all do subconsciously to some degree.
Otherwise big corporations wouldn't spend tons of money on advertising and ramming shit we don't need down our throats.
In all honesty I also think I am quite easy to get sucked in by hyperbole and sales pitch bumpf when it is done well.
Eg. Look at the interest Catalinbread are getting for that new Antypzhxchon (or whatever it's called ;D) fuzz. It's a noise-fuzz pedal like a lot of other stuff out there.
However, they are masters of the pedal sales pitch hyperbole (IMO) and so they have created quite a buzz around it. I was really interested when I first read about it. That interest has since dwindled when the realisation dawns that it isn't going to blast me into the cosmos with its mega-mind-melt-toanz. However, they DID made me look...
Nothing wrong with any of this either though IMO. As long as you are not flat out lying or spreading bullshit then I think you are entitled to try and sell your product, and create a buzz around it.
To be honest I think these sales pitches do work because most musicians are looking for anything to justify that next purchase. I've been trying to talk myself into a new guitar and this one says it "plays like butter." i don't think any of my other guitars are like that, they play more like "olive oil". (I'm talking to you Dave).
To kind of derail this, but I think it still pertains. I was listening to a lady on CNN talking about all the dating sites and apps that are now available to those seeking a relationship. She said the problem today is to much choice. You're no longer choosing to date that one girl you met and we're attracted too, now there are 20 girls. One photo after another, all with interesting resumes (sales pitches). This makes choosing that one an excruciating ordeal. I'm interested in girl A, but girl B, C, D and E sound interesting too. When you finally make that choice, and start to see some things you may not be attracted too, instead of working through it because there aren't many other options, now you start thinking of all those other girls. Kind of like a buyers remorse in the dating world. Contentment becomes very illusive for the man and the woman who is going through the same dynamics.
Isn't it the same way with equipment. We have so many options available that we never find contentment with what we have. Guitarist use to talk about a relationship with their guitar. B.B. King and Lucile. Clapton and Blackie. I don't hear much of that any more. Why? We have access to things like the internet that constantly parade before us all these other beauties. We read the sales pitch and we are no longer content with the guitar we just bought thinking that was the final piece of the puzzle. "Did I just read that they did something with the 15th fret that makes playing guitar so much easier. Robin Trower's now using that! Dang! NEEEEEEEEED!"
This is one of the frustrating things I find in pedal making. I've discovered this hobby still produces a whole lot of G.A.S. Like with the dating app, I'm constantly presented with a multitude of options, so I move from one pedal to the next without ever spending the time to really learn what the latest pedal can really do. The sales pitch has changed from the experts at EHX to a madbeaner who is excited about his latest build, but when I read it, I'm hooked. Even though that dirt box will probably sound similar to the other 15 dirt boxes I've built before, I'm no longer content until I build that one too.
In one sense, it's fun building so who cares. But, it keeps me from spending time with what I already have and learning what those boxes can do. Like the donkey with a carrot, I continue to chase a sound I might already have. But all the options make it hard to be content. Like the guy with the dating app finds satisfaction impossible because of what he might be missing with all those other girls.
Are we vulnerable to sales pitches. I am, whether it comes from Gibson, Fender, PRS, ,EHX or a thread in Madbean. It's a symptom of G.A.S.