It seems that nobody owns a guitar long enough.....

JerkMoans

Hattigol said:

Each to their own. I have bought and sold numerous guitars - I've lost track of how many times I've thought "I'm never parting with this" - then a few months later, I see one I fancy but can't really justify buying it. Then you sow the seed of justifying it by selling one, then you list it to see what response it gets, it sells, you kind of miss it for a while and then BOOM, the new one arrives and you're back at step 1....

I don't think I'm alone in this.....?

What an extraordinary way to conduct oneself.  I've never heard the like.

DulcetJones

I've got a flat top acoustic I've since 1976, and despite lots of use it still looks almost new.  I've had other guitars for up to 20 years but none that  I played enough to wear down to relic status.  I think you've got to be on the road with one guitar for years to get the real thing.

skaguitar

I understand that certain finishes take longer or age differently..poly vs nitro...for example but clearly, depending on the finish on said guitar the amount of ageing it has is totally dependant on length of ownership...but more importantly how much use it gets in that ownership. If I'd bought a les paul in 1959 and never played it it would...I imagine...be in almost like new condition today...but not if I played it every day since 1959... it would age accordingly..?
I like reliced guitars  but tend not to go for them anymore because as a guitarist I noticed people playing reliced instruments but the wear never matched their playing pattern or where their strumming arm and pick hand were relative to the guitar so I knew they hadn't created that wear. Not that this really matters as most people in the audience at a gig wouldn't even know what guitar you were playing let alone know or even care what it looks like. It's just a personal observation of mine.

ellwood

JerkMoans said:

Hattigol said:

Each to their own. I have bought and sold numerous guitars - I've lost track of how many times I've thought "I'm never parting with this" - then a few months later, I see one I fancy but can't really justify buying it. Then you sow the seed of justifying it by selling one, then you list it to see what response it gets, it sells, you kind of miss it for a while and then BOOM, the new one arrives and you're back at step 1....

I don't think I'm alone in this.....?

What an extraordinary way to conduct oneself.  I've never heard the like.

Methinks you are a shocking fibber @JerkMoans ;

Iamnobody

skaguitar said:

So it seems there are people who still keep their guitars for a long time and use and gig them extensively ....so to add fuel to the debate..does it tend to be that the people who keep guitars longer are the ones who gig a lot and have them as a tool to do a specific job and the ones who constantly change gear are bedroom players and hobbyists....not that there’s anything wrong with that by the way..but I can see a pattern..?

I’d expand on that - for some people including myself being in a band and gigging was when I was younger (late twenties) - for some it’s a lot younger than that and buying multiple guitars is out of the question if you are a student for example. For me it was saving up for a house move marriage etc.

Now I’m approaching being an old cunt with two kids and a better paid job I’m not going to be playing my squier Tele or MiM Tele half pissed  in a 3 chord indie band...

I’ve no interest in being in a gigging cover band and am not good enough to be in a serious band - so basically apart from the odd jam with mates I barely play.

I’m still interested in guitar though and can afford to buy and sell a few nice guitars if I want to - although I’d like to think I’m bored of that now and coming the other side with a sensible but nice selection of guitars.

frown

I used to have a couple of guitars that I kept for years, then I tried one with a thicker neck profile and have gradually transitioned to fat necks over a period, selling off thinner necked axes and replacing with chunkier ones, every year or so since so I’ve rotated through my collection over time. Oldest guitar I have is now 5 years old.

Voxman

This is my 1969 hardtail Strat that I bought with the help of a bankloan over 40 years ago. 








This was my main gigging guitar for 30 years.  It's too valuable to gig with (I have another Strat for that) but this was from my last gig with it 10 years ago:

Schnozz

That's wonderful - Is it Mocha finish?

Stevepage

Im pretty bad when it comes to buying/selling. I think the problem is finding a purpose for the guitars we buy. 

Sitting at home in front of the tv or in a practice room isn't inspiring a lot of the time so we become bored and put blame on the guitar itself.

Where as, when playing a gig you don't think about how much better those £400 pickups sound at the local Dog and Duck. It's more of a plug and play situation (unless of course you rely on a lot of different tones) and at the end of the gig you find a new appreciation.

Neil

I think a lot of this buying/swapping about etc is due to most people having far larger amounts of expendable cash nowadays and good guitars being far cheaper in real terms.

If you go back in time many of the iconic guitarists of the past would own one or maybe two guitars.

Nowadays bedroom players have whole collections!

Voxman

Schnozz said:

That's wonderful - Is it Mocha finish?

Yes, I've only ever seen one other like it. It was a special order colour, and the maple capped fingerboard (which means no 'skunk stripe, just like Hendrix' 1968 Strat) was special order too.  

jeztone2

For me most of my guitars I've had for over 5 years. But a lot of times, the band I'm in will dictate what I use. The only thing I've flipped recently was two years ago. I got a PRS CE24 in Scarlet. I always wanted one like Alex Lifeson is playing on the Rush in Rio DVD. I buy one and...we never gelled. It sat in a case for a year. I had a wedding to pay for, so it went.

I've just had a similar experience with trying to change my pedalboard. The distortion I've used for the last 5 years is back on the board. After trying to move to something more mainstream. 

Then theres also the skint factor. In 2006 I got demoted at work and had a terrifying 15 months trying to survive after a £6k paycut. During that time I sold 3 guitars, a load of pedals & my spare Marshall head, just out of sheer survival rather than discontent.

Balrog68

I have the 1960s' Hummingbird Acoustic that i learnt my first chords on 45 years ago. My Vintage V6 was bought new in December 2000 and my Precision Bass, my Fender Parlour and a Valencia Classical are all less than a year old.
At present all my guitars are keepers.....at present!

HarrySeven

I can't believe that @spark240 hasn't responded to this thread.

If there's one house I know where guitars go to live out their twilight years, secure in the knowledge that they're there for the long haul, it's his place.

mburekenge

I live right on the beach in a hot hot place

(I know, get your tiny violins out)

But the sea air and humidity (plus many gigs in hot African club's) are aging my guitars rapidly.

Luckily I'm happy with the natural relic look 

Here are the covers of my old burstbuckers when Matt at montys replaced my pups

And this falcon was brand new! Check the tarnishing on the bigsby and the patina.

The sea air has wreaked havoc with metalwork everywhere!

mburekenge

Oops posted same image twice

This is my old strat. Poly finish. Took a beating before I got it, and I've bigger it hard also

mburekenge

One more for good luck

JerkMoans

mburekenge said:

One more for good luck

@mburekenge  wins the Internet for today.

mburekenge

Following on from the 'Sun's out' thread, the back garden ain't looking too shabby at the moment

spark240

HarrySeven said:

I can't believe that @spark240 hasn't responded to this thread.

If there's one house I know where guitars go to live out their twilight years, secure in the knowledge that they're there for the long haul, it's his place.

Mmmm....I did do a couple fo semi foolish trades mid 80's...then I decided hoarding was the way forward ;-)

Unlike @HarrySeven .....when stuff generally comes in the front door, lounge , kitchen, back door , side alley....new owner ! ;-)

Oh,,,,,they might spend day in the shed first whilst he tinkers with it...