see guitar › fall in love › buy guitar › love guitar › get bored with guitar › sell guitar › repeat

axisus

The never ending cycle. The curse of the guitarist. I've actually broken free from it myself about 4 years ago, but I've lost count of the amount of times I have loved a guitar and really thought that it was 'the one', only to end up flogging it down the road when something else catches my eye. 

On the plus side, I've never regretted selling a guitar, although there were some good uns that I liked a lot. 

Anyone found a 'perfect' guitar that really is 'the one' (as in you've had it for many years and it's still number one)?

Jota

I've sold a few and really don't miss any of them.

I have some guitars for more than 10 years and I don't see myself getting rid of those.

Garthy

Yes, my Jackson Dinky. I've had it since 1995. I've had a few others come in after it and I've played thousands of guitars after buying the Jackson but it still remains the apex of my 30+ year guitar experience.

poopot

Yep... Oly white strat on the right I’ve had from new since ‘89 and the blue one in the middle for over 20years and is my main gigging guitar... it’s been refinished once and refretted twice... it get the living sh1t played out of it...

dindude

I'm keen to get out of the cycle - I don't go through many by other standards but still too many for comfort. The thing for me is that they are getting bloody expensive to buy (good ones) and bloody difficult to move on (even the good ones) without practically giving them away. It's becoming a real mugs game to be honest - give me a great Strat and a great guitar with humbuckers and the rest is just not necessary. I've turned a corner in attitude, just need reality to match it now!

Creed_Clicks

Paid £450 for my first Charvel guitar in 1991. It was used. When I think back of all the other options that I was blind to due to a teenage wankfest idolisation of "shredders".
I could have bought a Jazzmaster, or tele, or strat, or Les Paul etc, which I more than likely wouldn't have grown out of
One that I miss selling was a Jackson Surfcaster SC4, made in India. Horrible colour, seafoam green, but the neck was beautiful. I should have kept it and upgraded the electrics.

zepp76

I haven't had it for many years but it's the longest I've had a guitar and that's my Gibson Les Paul '70's Tribute. It's a heavy old lump with a tapered neck that just plays really well. I'm going to upgrade a few parts to hopefully make it an even nicer guitar to play, I really don't see myself getting rid of it.

richardhomer

I’m all for simplifying life - I’ve recently sold my 64 334 that I owned for 15 years - as it was more of a ‘trophy’ than a guitar which I really played.

I’ve now got just a Strat and a PRS which I expect to see my playing days out with. I find cleaning them and fitting a new set of strings to them usually is enough to remind me they’re great guitars and should be kept.

Hattigol

I've kind of realised that it's unlikely I'd find any guitar impossible to sell. Have bought and sold too many that I thought were the 'one' - really, I just love the whole buying process of a new guitar....

That said, I have a 345 reissue in Olive that I really don't see myself changing for anything as it is just perfect. Plus a Silver Falcon that would be really hard to let go. 

Sold a Les Paul a few months ago. Craving a new one. Hell, let's kick the cycle off again - anyone got one for sale? :-)

darthed1981

I've got to the point it needs to be one out, one in now.

Got a few I'd quite happily sell, but equally happy just to keep them, they look cool on the wall.

My main guitars are just fine for me as it stands.  Do like to buy ones that do something "different" though.

Alnico

This is #1 and #2.

https://i.imgur.com/DXKgxDo.jpg

There isn't a guitar on earth that could sway them. Others come and go but these two will always remain.

Both of them were gifts from friends and both of them are stunning. I'm hoping to add a Sea Foam Green Jem to this next year to make it #3 but as nice as the other guitars we have are, they could all come and go as life goes but these two are special beyond words.

I do, also, suffer from ridiculous buying urges which is why I seem to have a high turnover of 'Other' guitars but that aside it's nice to always have these two there.

peteri

I've gone on quite the journey in the last couple of years, feel I'm coming out of it now.

For me it hasn't been about getting bored, but I do think there's a big difference in trying a guitar and living with one. Trying it in the shop will show if it's a good guitar or not - but not whether you 'bond'.

For example, I've just got a Jr off this forum because MikeC didn't bond with it - but for me, it's a wonderful guitar that I really can't imagine selling for quite a while - because it works for me.

My take is if you enjoy the process, don't lose too much money and 'learn' along the way - it's great. I've discovered I like thicker necks than I imagined, but a very rounded shoulder and P90s are wonderful. And I now have a very clear list of what I want - and it's within reach.

And it's about finding your 'ultimate' - i.e. given your budget and aspirations can you beat this? I've thought a lot about this, I have my ultimate Les Paul, ultimate semi, ultimate super strat, ultimate strat and I think Tele.

This doesn't mean they're the best ever made, but they're either the best I'll ever get - or the upgrade price to get to the next level it's just insane

And no one was hurt along the way, and I've enjoyed my hobby all the more.

I had far more problems with overdrive pedals, but Fractal solved that!

NelsonP

I had the same guitar for 25 years - an Ibanez RG750 that I bought in 1989. It's as good today as it was then (if a little too 'pointy' these days).

Then, a few years ago I bought an acoustic (James Neligan), then another acoustic (Taylor ). Lesson learned = buy cheap buy twice.

Having fallen in love with guitar again I then bought a Tele Deluxe, then a Casino. Both second hand from shops and both needed a really good setup to make them play nicely. Both are keepers.

The only one really I feel like flipping is my first acoustic, but more likely I will give it to my children to learn when they are old enough.

Maybe I'm too easily pleased?

darthed1981

peteri said:

And no one was hurt along the way

This rather sums the whole thing up, it's a pretty harmless pursuit!

steer

I have a standard MIM  Fender Tele that I am most happy with out of my guitars. Despite the fact that I am perfectly happy with it, I still find myself looking at other teles wondering if they are "better" than mine, simply because they are more expensive, or made in a different country. 

Whilst I enjoy the thrill of the chase, sometime you should sit back and enjoy what you have got. 

rivercider

I'm slowly coming out of this cycle.  Have bought & sold plenty this last 4 or 5 years since rediscovering the guitar (starting a family put it on ice 20 years ago) and whilst I struggle to convince the wife that losing money each time (even when its very small amounts if done right) is all part of finding the right one, I do find it hard to estabish that within the typical 14 days you get to decide on new guitars.  Used.....well, I know it makes more sense, but the 14 day safety net is usually worth the price of admission for me, so I try to go new.  Nothing crazy expensive, though. 

mort

My problem is the “sell guitar” part of the flow chart.

 If you don’t need to sell to fund the next purchase, the collection just keeps expanding. Nice position to be in, but dangerous 

Paul_C

As mentioned before I've only got two, one I made myself which is a keeper and a Westone Thinder 1-A which was found in a skip.

I would like to own a Telecaster, or maybe a Jazzmaster, but I doubt I'll bother unless I find myself with more money than I know what to do with.

Having said that, if I had to list all the guitars and basses I used to own . . .

terada

Never sold a guitar. Just can’t bring myself to do it. Came close once or twice, but could never go through with it. 

I have given A couple to friends on ‘long term loans’ though 

That said I only started buying more guitars once rsi stopped me from playing the strat I’d played exclusively for a decade previously. 

rivercider

rivercider said:

I'm slowly coming out of this cycle.  

Just realised, as I browse telecasters online, this should have actually said 'I'm still in denial'. The rest of my post was unnecessary. 

Garthy

mort said:

My problem is the “sell guitar” part of the flow chart.

 If you don’t need to sell to fund the next purchase, the collection just keeps expanding. Nice position to be in, but dangerous 

I've reached the point where I don't have space. I thought my wife was awesome when she bought me a 6 guitar rack, but it was actually a cunning ploy to prevent me buying more!

The other side of this is that the ones I'm prepared to sell just aren't worth anything or too much aggro.