emotional attachment?

scalino65

Hi
Daft question really, but, I have a 1990 telecaster, which I bought brand new.
Its in brilliant condition as its been very, very lightly used in all that time. I lent it to my niece for about 10 years and she didnt play it either..
To be honest,its not my cup of tea nowadays and just stays in its case. So, am minded to sell it on and use the cash towards trying something else. The thing that stops me is that I've had it years and it has some memories from that time in my life and I just cant figure out if thats a good enough reason to keep it and would I regret selling it? Even as I type this I realise it probably should go.
Anyone, else been in the position of selling something like that and then regretted it? Or am I just fannying about?
cheers
Will

Jack_

I have an Ibanez that was the first decent guitar I ever bought and my main guitar throughout my teenage years, I don't really like it anymore, but I'll never sell it.

usedtobe

Doesn't sound like you've even made any memories with it, as it's hardly been used. I sold a guitar just over a year ago that I'd had over 30 years, but didn't play anymore, and knew I wasn't going to play in the future. Massive sentimental attachment..
Sold it.
 Felt a bit sad as the guy drove off with it. Then I felt fine. Never looked back, after that. I stumble upon photos of it occasionally, on my computer, and the memories come back, but it's fine, as the memories are all there, still, in my head, not in the guitar..

So, yeah, I'd sell it. Buy something you're going to play. Make some memories...

failed_astronaut

Sounds like you're worried about seller's remorse, which is understandable but it doesn't sound like you're attached enough to the guitar to actually play it. Move it on to someone else who may just find it's exactly what they're looking for and go find yourself something new.

Good luck!

vasselmeyer

Sell it, but get the buyer to agree you get first dibs if it's ever sold on. Then you'll know if you really do miss it or not.

Funkfingers

scalino65 said:

1990 telecaster ... bought brand new ... very, very lightly used ... not my cup of tea nowadays

Unless the Tele has a clear/natural finish and exhibits two or three piece construction, it could be from Fender's "spreads and veneers" production period. Many guitars built this way seem less resonant than we expect them to be. That alone might explain why the guitar has failed to fire your interest.

The other issue could be the stock pickups.

scalino65

Hi. Its a sunburst Am Standard - funnily enough, I've never really looked to see how many pieces were used in its construction.
TBH, it really represents more in what I failed to achieve playing wise back then! Its a bit shallow, but I have found that going through loads of different guitars in the last few years has stimulated my playing loads!!! Maybe thats the real plus side of GAS!

Funkfingers

It should be possible to see the glue joint lines through transparent portions of the 'burst. Front and back should have the same number of joins and they should align. It may even be possible to trace the joins around the edges of the guitar body.

Examine the finish around the body edge. If the glue join lines are interrupted within three millimetres of the edge radius or there are perpendicular sink lines roughly where you would expect edge binding to be, you have veneering.

scalino65

Hi. Cheers, will take a look. I've only owned it 27 years and never bothered....I do know that he guard has gone minty green which is kind of cool:)
I think it has to go!

Funkfingers

If the guitar is nice to play but you do not care for the sounds it produces, replacement pickups may be the solution. 

If you already have guitars that make all the sounds that you need, the 1990 Tele might as well go.

scalino65

I think thats true. Along with a 63 strat, 63CS strat, 83 JV strat and a pink MIM.....if it aint being played, its outahere.

drwiddly

I bought my first 'good' guitar in 1973, a John Birch custom that I got used for a good price. It was with me through several bands, my first gigs, first commercial recordings, sessions, etc. About 10 years ago I realised that it hadn't been out of its case in years and I'd probably rarely if ever play it. It went up for sale and went very quickly. Do I miss it?  Nah!

SNAKEBITE

One of those things.

My first real guitar was a Squire Strat Bullit, in Olympic white. Despite being about as low down the food chain as you could get it played really well and sounded nice and trashy.

I swore I'd never get rid of it as the wife bought it for me.

However I binned it (charity shop) when I was moving out during the divorce!

In short, romantic links are easily broken!

dazzajl

If neither the space it takes or money it's worth are going to make any difference to you, keep it until it gets on your nerves more than sparks an emotion. 

If you could put either of those to better use, do that.

Bygone_Tones

scalino65 said:

Hi
Daft question really, but, I have a 1990 telecaster, which I bought brand new.
Its in brilliant condition as its been very, very lightly used in all that time. I lent it to my niece for about 10 years and she didnt play it either..
To be honest,its not my cup of tea nowadays and just stays in its case. So, am minded to sell it on and use the cash towards trying something else. The thing that stops me is that I've had it years and it has some memories from that time in my life and I just cant figure out if thats a good enough reason to keep it and would I regret selling it? Even as I type this I realise it probably should go.
Anyone, else been in the position of selling something like that and then regretted it? Or am I just fannying about?
cheers
Will

You are fannying about in my opinion. Sell it. Just take good photos of it and keep those. You can easily scratch the nostalgia itch by looking at the photos.

hotpickups

Funny I've been thinking on similar lines. My les Paul is getting more valuable as it gets older (1982). I've had feelings that I don't want to gig it because of its proposed value so should sell it if I don't use it. But I find it really difficult to sell due to sentimental value which costs more than money sometimes to me. I'm concluding if I don't need the money then I may as well keep it and get a cheaper guitar to gig with 

Neil

It's a tricky one. Guitars often have an emotional attachment to us.

I still have my '89 Strat, my first decent guitar, and I will never sell that one.

I don't get all this "guitars are just tools" stuff personally but if you would rather use the money your Tele brings to buy something else that's fine - although with your collection you are not exactly scratching around.

scalino65

I think you're right. Having a look at it every 6 months, thinking, ahhh I remember the time I put that dink into it isnt really a good use of space and cash. I must put my nostalgia to one side on this one!
 @hotpickups ;whats the 82 LP? I've recently started looking at Norlin Gibsons and I think they're maybe a bit of a "hidden gem" that slots in between the really expensive early stuff and the historics,etc. That's my theory at least.

Lestratcaster

I have a Les Paul Junior that I got 10 years ago that I never really play anymore. But I can't bring myself to sell it. Its got a few dings in the back due to excessive gigging and I find that rather cool. Its not the most versatile of guitars with just a P90 in the bridge but for good old rock and roll on the dirty channel its great for that.

hotpickups

scalino65 said:

I think you're right. Having a look at it every 6 months, thinking, ahhh I remember the time I put that dink into it isnt really a good use of space and cash. I must put my nostalgia to one side on this one!
 @hotpickups ;whats the 82 LP? I've recently started looking at Norlin Gibsons and I think they're maybe a bit of a "hidden gem" that slots in between the really expensive early stuff and the historics,etc. That's my theory at least.

Just a les Paul standard. Tobacco sunburst. 

usedtobe

End of the day, we can only advise, based on our experiences, and level of sentimentality. I am, or was, the most sentimental guy, I can imagine, but, a while back, we moved to a much smaller house, and life events/circumstances dictated that, new gear had to be more or less, financed by selling something. This brought things into focus, for me. TBH, it's been a godsend! I've got rid of other, smaller, but sentimental items, too.. Not just the guitar I mentioned earlier. 
If it's not hurting anything, taking up too much room, or stopping you buying something else you'd get use out of, by all means keep it, but, honestly, I've found the clearing out of stuff, quite liberating, and I'm glad it happened. 

Life is short. Do what makes YOU happy..!