Things I just don't get.....

simonhpieman

TTBZ said:

LastMantra said:

Pickups have got to be one of the worst offenders. I think a lot of people have replaced the pickups before they even have the guitar! Then it doesn't matter one bit what the stock ones are like (in your mind) they're already shit!

When I got my main electric there was no magic "the one" moment (I thought it looked cool as ). I actually struggled a bit to play it but I've had it for years now it's had a partial refret I've tweaked the setup over time to get it spot on, done a bit of work to the finish and cleaned the pots and stuff. Now it fits like a glove and I love it!

Guilty of trying a shit load of pickups in my SG, now I'm back to looking for a pair of the stock 490r/498t as I sold mine before realising that they're the best general purpose all-rounder pickups I've had in it and I just wanna put it back to how it was! Changing the pots etc out to a 50s wiring setup was a worthwhile upgrade over the PCB though just for the improved volume cleanup/treble bleed.

I've had the same kind of story as you with my guitar too. It was never my favourite but like a knob I sold my actual favourite guitar to fund something else (since sold) so I've been forced into using it for the past few years and finally got used to it.

I've found pickups that I initally thought were "meh" became amazing simply with some careful height adjustment. One particular example I had this with was some original 70s widerange humbuckers - imagine if I'd casually ripped them out at the first sign of disdain!

I'm not really having a go, do what you like with what you like. I'm just so rubbish at soldering and so much of a cheapskate that I'd rather not involve myself in the world of modifications if I can help it!

artiebear

Loads of the aforementioned, however, the one that really has me wondering is the recurring post on the Les Paul Forum, where some guy has splashed out silly money on a brand new True Historic LP, raves about the vintage correct detail, then informs everyone that he has immediately shipped it to some makeover guy, who will have it for 6 months while he strips the finish, replaces all the electrics, relics or replaces the hardware, takes off the board and replaces it with a braz one and eventually relics  it and tows it round the car park a few times before leaving it in the freezer overnight.
I am always left wondering why these guys don't just a) get someone to make them the guitar they want or b) if they intend to tear the thing to bits, why pay top dollar for a guitar being priced by Gibson as "close to the real thing", when any old Les Paul shaped plank would do as a starting point ?

Winny_Pooh

artiebear said:

Loads of the aforementioned, however, the one that really has me wondering is the recurring post on the Les Paul Forum, where some guy has splashed out silly money on a brand new True Historic LP, raves about the vintage correct detail, then informs everyone that he has immediately shipped it to some makeover guy, who will have it for 6 months while he strips the finish, replaces all the electrics, relics or replaces the hardware, takes off the board and replaces it with a braz one and eventually relics  it and tows it round the car park a few times before leaving it in the freezer overnight.
I am always left wondering why these guys don't just a) get someone to make them the guitar they want or b) if they intend to tear the thing to bits, why pay top dollar for a guitar being priced by Gibson as "close to the real thing", when any old Les Paul shaped plank would do as a starting point ?

Because some lame-o's are wedded to the logo on the headstock

Strangefan

Winny_Pooh said:

artiebear said:

Loads of the aforementioned, however, the one that really has me wondering is the recurring post on the Les Paul Forum, where some guy has splashed out silly money on a brand new True Historic LP, raves about the vintage correct detail, then informs everyone that he has immediately shipped it to some makeover guy, who will have it for 6 months while he strips the finish, replaces all the electrics, relics or replaces the hardware, takes off the board and replaces it with a braz one and eventually relics  it and tows it round the car park a few times before leaving it in the freezer overnight.
I am always left wondering why these guys don't just a) get someone to make them the guitar they want or b) if they intend to tear the thing to bits, why pay top dollar for a guitar being priced by Gibson as "close to the real thing", when any old Les Paul shaped plank would do as a starting point ?

Because some lame-o's are wedded to the logo on the headstock

Absoloutly,personally  I would t buy an American guitar, I'm not a fan of Americans and their ideology, most don't give a toss about environmental impact, have self importance issues , and they have an extreme chump as a president, I would rather buy European or Korean, so i'm not supporting the usas march towards outright ignorance and environmental cotastrophy. 

guitars4you

Have we done

 'genuine reason for selling' - As though there are many other reasons for selling that aren't genuine

Johnw84

I do love the

"£x if sold tonight....." 

So if it doesn't sell at the cheaper price, you're gonna hump it back up and expect it to sell for more?

"can you give me the full history, receipts, exact date of creation, how many times its been used outside, have you ever used it on the toilet, etc etc etc" 

Admittedly this has been so much with guitars as camera gear! 

*puts something up for sale or possible trade*

"would you take a rusty scooter and a 20 year old laptop for your pristine....." 

Naw. I meant I'll trade for something decent.... Not the pap you've got lying in the cupboard.

"ill give you £x (hundreds less than asking) and I can come pick up now and pay cash" 

At last, because all the other buyers have been offering to pay in teabags and sugar. 

*people with no kids who park in parent and child*

Just do one! 

"I'd still come into work if I won the lottery" 

You don't deserve to ever win... 

I'm such a grumpy auld git!!! 

TTBZ

simonhpieman said:

TTBZ said:

LastMantra said:

Pickups have got to be one of the worst offenders. I think a lot of people have replaced the pickups before they even have the guitar! Then it doesn't matter one bit what the stock ones are like (in your mind) they're already shit!

When I got my main electric there was no magic "the one" moment (I thought it looked cool as ). I actually struggled a bit to play it but I've had it for years now it's had a partial refret I've tweaked the setup over time to get it spot on, done a bit of work to the finish and cleaned the pots and stuff. Now it fits like a glove and I love it!

Guilty of trying a shit load of pickups in my SG, now I'm back to looking for a pair of the stock 490r/498t as I sold mine before realising that they're the best general purpose all-rounder pickups I've had in it and I just wanna put it back to how it was! Changing the pots etc out to a 50s wiring setup was a worthwhile upgrade over the PCB though just for the improved volume cleanup/treble bleed.

I've had the same kind of story as you with my guitar too. It was never my favourite but like a knob I sold my actual favourite guitar to fund something else (since sold) so I've been forced into using it for the past few years and finally got used to it.

I've found pickups that I initally thought were "meh" became amazing simply with some careful height adjustment. One particular example I had this with was some original 70s widerange humbuckers - imagine if I'd casually ripped them out at the first sign of disdain!

I'm not really having a go, do what you like with what you like. I'm just so rubbish at soldering and so much of a cheapskate that I'd rather not involve myself in the world of modifications if I can help it!

All my swapping came more from wanting to make it sound like something it wasn't - my aforementioned favourite guitar was a Les Paul and I'd always been trying to get pickups to thicken it up and give it the same sustain/compression as that Les Paul. Actually got pretty close with the Bare Knuckle Warpigs, but now I don't want anything so metal and want more of the proper SG character back which I think the 498t is great at!

YellowLedBetterMan

Strangefan said:

soma1975 said:

I mean, that OP seems like a fairly rudimentary list of things to not get. 

I deeply apologise, I'll think of some more complex things I don't get.

Man's inhumanity to man? 
Who invented the skip?
Sundays. 

I will now be making it my lifelong endeavour to find the man who brought the fabulous invention of the skip into the world.

Stacey Dooley could even do the TV show.

Strangefan

YellowLedBetterMan said:

Strangefan said:

soma1975 said:

I mean, that OP seems like a fairly rudimentary list of things to not get. 

I deeply apologise, I'll think of some more complex things I don't get.

Man's inhumanity to man? 
Who invented the skip?
Sundays. 

I will now be making it my lifelong endeavour to find the man who brought the fabulous invention of the skip into the world.

Stacey Dooley could even do the TV show.

You better include me! 

YellowLedBetterMan

One I can't stand is "plays and sounds amazing, just not my thing". If it sounds great and plays great and you're not selling it because you need the money, why don't you want it any more?

Worst of all it's usually attached to like a 20 year old encore on Facebook marketplace, literally 2 lines after "started learning but gave up". How the f*ck do you know what does or doesn't sound or play good then?

monquixote

YellowLedBetterMan said:

One I can't stand is "plays and sounds amazing, just not my thing". If it sounds great and plays great and you're not selling it because you need the money, why don't you want it any more?

I had a JS1000 I bought because it was exactly like the most expensive guitar in my local guitar shop when I was a kid and it felt good to own the guitar my teenage self most wanted.

It was indeed a brilliant guitar but considering at the time I exclusively played in a funk band it was totally pointless and I got it in a trade knowing I'd sell it in a few months.

Bridgehouse

Strangefan said:

YellowLedBetterMan said:

Strangefan said:

soma1975 said:

I mean, that OP seems like a fairly rudimentary list of things to not get. 

I deeply apologise, I'll think of some more complex things I don't get.

Man's inhumanity to man? 
Who invented the skip?
Sundays. 

I will now be making it my lifelong endeavour to find the man who brought the fabulous invention of the skip into the world.

Stacey Dooley could even do the TV show.

You better include me! 

I’ve already told you!!!!!

DefaultM

There was a used modified Ibanez on ebay a bit ago, £450 retail but being sold for £900.
He'd taken the new price of the guitar, added the retail price of each upgraded part, then an additional £100 or so for the time taken to fit them.

Edit: it's still on ebay, and the guitar is £400 new, not £450.

boogieman

Johnw84 said:

I do love the

"£x if sold tonight....." 

So if it doesn't sell at the cheaper price, you're gonna hump it back up and expect it to sell for more?

"can you give me the full history, receipts, exact date of creation, how many times its been used outside, have you ever used it on the toilet, etc etc etc" 

Admittedly this has been so much with guitars as camera gear! 

*puts something up for sale or possible trade*

"would you take a rusty scooter and a 20 year old laptop for your pristine....." 

Naw. I meant I'll trade for something decent.... Not the pap you've got lying in the cupboard.

"ill give you £x (hundreds less than asking) and I can come pick up now and pay cash" 

At last, because all the other buyers have been offering to pay in teabags and sugar. 

*people with no kids who park in parent and child*

Just do one! 

"I'd still come into work if I won the lottery" 

You don't deserve to ever win... 

I'm such a grumpy auld git!!! 

Camera nerds are far worse in my experience. Not only do they specify things cannot possibly come from child, smoke and pet infested homes but they also want every single minute detail of the thing for sale, and will insist on dozens of pictures, from multiple angles. I remember one sale on a photo forum where a seller had thrown in a free case with an iPad. The buyer complained it smelt of cigarettes when he received it. The seller denied he smoked but pointed out it was a free case anyway, but the buyer was adamant he had rights. The argument went on for days and even involved the admin guys before the seller finally caved in and coughed up the money for a new case. 

Johnw84

boogieman said:

Johnw84 said:

I do love the

"£x if sold tonight....." 

So if it doesn't sell at the cheaper price, you're gonna hump it back up and expect it to sell for more?

"can you give me the full history, receipts, exact date of creation, how many times its been used outside, have you ever used it on the toilet, etc etc etc" 

Admittedly this has been so much with guitars as camera gear! 

*puts something up for sale or possible trade*

"would you take a rusty scooter and a 20 year old laptop for your pristine....." 

Naw. I meant I'll trade for something decent.... Not the pap you've got lying in the cupboard.

"ill give you £x (hundreds less than asking) and I can come pick up now and pay cash" 

At last, because all the other buyers have been offering to pay in teabags and sugar. 

*people with no kids who park in parent and child*

Just do one! 

"I'd still come into work if I won the lottery" 

You don't deserve to ever win... 

I'm such a grumpy auld git!!! 

Camera nerds are far worse in my experience. Not only do they specify things cannot possibly come from child, smoke and pet infested homes but they also want every single minute detail of the thing for sale, and will insist on dozens of pictures, from multiple angles. I remember one sale on a photo forum where a seller had thrown in a free case with an iPad. The buyer complained it smelt of cigarettes when he received it. The seller denied he smoked but pointed out it was a free case anyway, but the buyer was adamant he had rights. The argument went on for days and even involved the admin guys before the seller finally caved in and coughed up the money for a new case. 

That sounds about right. Then there's the warranty, the "grey market", boxes, remaining warranty, acting as a middle man of anything goes wrong - just buy a new one! They can be a funny bunch.

TheOtherDennis

Johnw84 said:

boogieman said:

Johnw84 said:

I do love the

"£x if sold tonight....." 

So if it doesn't sell at the cheaper price, you're gonna hump it back up and expect it to sell for more?

"can you give me the full history, receipts, exact date of creation, how many times its been used outside, have you ever used it on the toilet, etc etc etc" 

Admittedly this has been so much with guitars as camera gear! 

*puts something up for sale or possible trade*

"would you take a rusty scooter and a 20 year old laptop for your pristine....." 

Naw. I meant I'll trade for something decent.... Not the pap you've got lying in the cupboard.

"ill give you £x (hundreds less than asking) and I can come pick up now and pay cash" 

At last, because all the other buyers have been offering to pay in teabags and sugar. 

*people with no kids who park in parent and child*

Just do one! 

"I'd still come into work if I won the lottery" 

You don't deserve to ever win... 

I'm such a grumpy auld git!!! 

Camera nerds are far worse in my experience. Not only do they specify things cannot possibly come from child, smoke and pet infested homes but they also want every single minute detail of the thing for sale, and will insist on dozens of pictures, from multiple angles. I remember one sale on a photo forum where a seller had thrown in a free case with an iPad. The buyer complained it smelt of cigarettes when he received it. The seller denied he smoked but pointed out it was a free case anyway, but the buyer was adamant he had rights. The argument went on for days and even involved the admin guys before the seller finally caved in and coughed up the money for a new case. 

That sounds about right. Then there's the warranty, the "grey market", boxes, remaining warranty, acting as a middle man of anything goes wrong - just buy a new one! They can be a funny bunch.

Speaking as an ex-pro photographer who at one time was as obsessed with gear as most, I've never understood those guys. If you're after something perfect, get it from somewhere like MBP.com, or a store. If it's used and coming from a home it's going to be imperfect. It just is.

But the worst ones for me were the ones who would go to that big camera show at the NEC - and take their own cameras to it?

Why? Seriously, wtf is the point of taking your camera to a show dedicated to making whatever you have now look out of date?? I could see the argument in that you were hoping to trade it in, but there were way too many guys doing it for that.

Baffling.

Stevepage

Trades only confuses me too. 

Or the old favourite "first to see will buy". No I fucking wont, not because you told me so.

wesker123

TheOtherDennis said:

Johnw84 said:

boogieman said:

Johnw84 said:

I do love the

"£x if sold tonight....." 

So if it doesn't sell at the cheaper price, you're gonna hump it back up and expect it to sell for more?

"can you give me the full history, receipts, exact date of creation, how many times its been used outside, have you ever used it on the toilet, etc etc etc" 

Admittedly this has been so much with guitars as camera gear! 

*puts something up for sale or possible trade*

"would you take a rusty scooter and a 20 year old laptop for your pristine....." 

Naw. I meant I'll trade for something decent.... Not the pap you've got lying in the cupboard.

"ill give you £x (hundreds less than asking) and I can come pick up now and pay cash" 

At last, because all the other buyers have been offering to pay in teabags and sugar. 

*people with no kids who park in parent and child*

Just do one! 

"I'd still come into work if I won the lottery" 

You don't deserve to ever win... 

I'm such a grumpy auld git!!! 

Camera nerds are far worse in my experience. Not only do they specify things cannot possibly come from child, smoke and pet infested homes but they also want every single minute detail of the thing for sale, and will insist on dozens of pictures, from multiple angles. I remember one sale on a photo forum where a seller had thrown in a free case with an iPad. The buyer complained it smelt of cigarettes when he received it. The seller denied he smoked but pointed out it was a free case anyway, but the buyer was adamant he had rights. The argument went on for days and even involved the admin guys before the seller finally caved in and coughed up the money for a new case. 

That sounds about right. Then there's the warranty, the "grey market", boxes, remaining warranty, acting as a middle man of anything goes wrong - just buy a new one! They can be a funny bunch.

Speaking as an ex-pro photographer who at one time was as obsessed with gear as most, I've never understood those guys. If you're after something perfect, get it from somewhere like MBP.com, or a store. If it's used and coming from a home it's going to be imperfect. It just is.

But the worst ones for me were the ones who would go to that big camera show at the NEC - and take their own cameras to it?

Why? Seriously, wtf is the point of taking your camera to a show dedicated to making whatever you have now look out of date?? I could see the argument in that you were hoping to trade it in, but there were way too many guys doing it for that.

Baffling.

To take pictures of the show....perhaps? 
I dunno. 

UnclePsychosis

" $some_brand here strat for sale, absolutely the equal of any Fender strat out there, love this to pieces, absolutely gutted to see this go, only selling because my boiler blew up and I desperately need to replace it. 

£900 firm. 




Will consider trades for a Fender CS strat (with cash your way)"

Kalimna

UnclePsychosis said:

" $some_brand here strat for sale, absolutely the equal of any Fender strat out there, love this to pieces, absolutely gutted to see this go, only selling because my boiler blew up and I desperately need to replace it. 

£900 firm. 




Will consider trades for a Fender CS strat (with cash your way)"

Was about to post something like this!