I played an expensive guitar today

LesbianWithAGun · January 2018

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For £37k it better be a mother of pearl...
https://www.guitarswest.net/listing/november-of-1971-rickenbacker-12-string-light-show-model-33112-ls-with-ohsc/5118918

WezV · January 2018

NelsonP said:

WezV said:

Maynehead said:

I bought a £150 bottle of brandy once. I thought it would taste like the nectar of the gods... turned out it just tasted like brandy, albeit a little smoother.

I find to get the most out of expensive booze it pays to taste them alongside a cheaper version. I guarantee you will notice the difference and pick out more flavours if you do this.

Funny how our senses can deceive us. Sometimes you think something is better just because you paid more for it. Whether it really is objectively better doesn't matter much at that point.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-science-analysis

Sigh.

better is a subjective term, but i get what you are saying. notice i did not say expensive booze tastes "better".

I spend a lot of time drinking some of the "best" beers in the world. I get why they are really good representations of their style, it doesn't automatically make them taste great.

meltedbuzzbox · January 2018

kswilson89 said:

Never buy an expensive guitar because you'll never feel like you've got your money's worth, guaranteed.

Sorry fella but that's utter bollocks

LesbianWithAGun · January 2018

meltedbuzzbox said:

kswilson89 said:

Never buy an expensive guitar because you'll never feel like you've got your money's worth, guaranteed.

Sorry fella but that's utter bollocks

Yeah, with my guitars, I'm happy I got them while I did thinking two things, like an easy £1, 000, 000.00 worth of fun (any day) and also; this thing could/maybe/might appreciate in value/glad I got it while I could.

Never wanted my money back once.

In fact, first one, I knew exactly what I'd spend the money on (and I did, it was that guitar I fell for)... and the second one (like twice the price), I walked in, saw it, asked to play it unplugged (My Gibson R7) then within 5 minutes, bought it. (Okay, it was the 2nd Gibson I played that day, having just played on an R9 somewhere else close by before this, this R7 ticked all the right boxes, so I bought it).

LesbianWithAGun · January 2018

I like/love... I used to go window shopping late at night in Soho working from 9 pm sometimes to 4 am but usually ''till 1 am... From Old Compton Street/Greek Street/Manette Street, Charring Cross Road and, me being me based on Manette Street promoting The Borderline looking at Denmark Street, included Denmark Street (Of course/naturally because I've known it for years anyway)...
I used to go look for Gibson Les Pauls (of a certain price and headstock) and any other nice guitars. A lot, sometimes 5/6 nights a week.

I love how my guitar I got in 2011 came from there and looked like the other Gibson Les Pauls I liked all over with that same headstock I adore with the same machine heads I adore on that headstock I like... I used to stop and stare and gaze at those from 2014 - 2016 looking at these guitars like I did my Gibson Les Paul at home, then go home, and look at my Gibson Les Paul in the same way... Now I've got two... I love it... I love just looking at them, to be honest. - As well as playing them/how they sound etc etc.

Dominic · January 2018

I have been interested in the Gibson Johnny A for a long time ; Interesting guitar
Then I saw that there is recently available an Epiphone version that comes with the Gibson pickups as standard and some other minor Gibson hardware..........interesting
Gibson £3680 v Epiphone £760 ..............ie ;a whopping £3,000 difference.
Fast forward to an hour to kill in Guildford and a back to back test in Andertons;
The Epi was reduced to £660 as it was ex-display........not that you would have noticed
Results ;
Fit and Finish ............no real difference
Ease of use /Playability ........none
Looks ............Top on the Gibson was nicer figured but not especially of significant difference
Sound .........identical to my ears but some might have said the Epi was brighter .....play alongside drums and bass and you certainly wouldn't notice no matter how good your ears
Resale Value.....The Gibson will hurt you but the Epi will probably lose £200 maximum
Difference.......the Gibson neck definitely felt nicer in the hand and very slightly larger
I would leave others to form their own conclusion but it simply seems to me that Gibson are confident enough of a cult following that their own market research suggests that the Epiphone model will not eclipse their premium line product.
I would disagree on that point based on the huge price difference of £3000 .
It is quite sobering, in reality, when you look around the shop and see that for the price difference you could walk away with the Epiphone TOGETHER with a Duesenburg and a Morgan AC20 amp ......or standard Tele and strat and a handful of Strymon pedals or even a spectacular Les Paul plus pedals.
Does a "slightly nicer" feeling neck warrant such sacrifice ?

Fuengi · January 2018

Perception of quality in relation to cost.... there is a bit going on here that not even the best marketing people fully understand yet.

What they do know is that once you've made a purchase decision your brain can physically change to endorse that decision. Strange but true.

Personally, I tend to sway towards price value over high end or brands, and I'll justify that to myself and others post purchase.

Other people are different, they want the top named brand regardless. I think you just need to work out what it is that you value, and go there.

bustromo · January 2018

when I look back at my first guitar purchase, I cringe. I just decided a wanted a PRS, found one in a nearby shop, and bought it without even bothering to give it a serious going over. fortunately it was a PRS, so it was a good, solid guitar. since then I've bought a couple of gibsons and fenders and my technique has not varied. decide the basic type of guitar you want (strat, 335, tele - whatever) then spend a good few hours playing lots of them to identify the best (affordable) one in the shop. if none of them blows your socks off, go to another shop. take your time. don't be rushed by the staff. Buy the one that feels and sounds the best - you'll need to have played it for an hour or so to be sure. In my experience there will usually be one that speaks to you more than the others. a good rule of thumb for deciding which guitars to take down from the wall - hold the bout with one hand and pluck the b string. If you feel the body vibrating, you've found a live one.

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I played an expensive guitar today

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