How do you plan buying new gears?

S

saqib09

New member
Hi,

I started learning not much long ago. I have an Ibanez GRGR121EX and an Orange Crush Pix 35 LDX. Not top quality instruments but good enough to get me started.

After a while, as you start to learn to play, you plan to buy new guitar and amp (I know I should focus more on practicing and less on dreaming about sexy gears. But let’s be honest, we all are guilty of this :p :p: ). In my country we don’t have good music stores - reasons are irrelevant; there just isn't. You don’t have a lot of options. So, going to stores and trying out different guitars and amps is not an option for me. I will have to buy internationally.

Bearing that in mind how do you buy your next gear? So, for instance, I want to get a good start and a tele and I’m willing to spend a decent amount. Do you buy a high end product right away or do you get something in between – neither cheap nor too expensive – and try to understand the instruments and how to get the best value for your money? So, do you think it would be more logical to get a 1000 USD strat, 1500 USD tele, for instance, or do you try out lower budget strat and tele to understand the instrument first before spending a whole lot of money?

I hope the questions are clear.

Thanks in advance.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

if you have nothing else to compare them to, any Strat or Tele you buy will be the best one you've ever played.

I would just get your favorite color in the most expensive model you can justify spending.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Empty Pockets said:
if you have nothing else to compare them to, any Strat or Tele you buy will be the best one you've ever played.

I would just get your favorite color in the most expensive model you can justify spending.
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That makes sense thanks. Also good instruments have good resale value if you find a better match and eventually need to sell it.

Just trying to learn what experienced people would do/have done. Thanks
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Not everything that cost a lot of money is necessarily great. I would suggest keep a budget for what you want and then go playing as many guitar as you can. And take your time dont rush.

You said Strats teles.. so go ahead and play some. You will know what u like better when you do so. When I set out to buy my last guitar, I kept a a budget in mind that could go a little +/- . And also what I wanted, for example 2 hums and non locking trem. Then I made a short list of the guitars with that specification and that fell in that price range. I took a while but I was happy.
 
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Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Someone said something interesting to me lately "when you close your eye to play a lead you no longer see the mother of pearl". You don't need a fancy guitar but a functionable one. If it moves you to the point where you are shutting your eye tight and ripping a lead, job done for the guitar. You are playing an Ibanez and really don't know if you are a Fender guy or not.

I would suggest picking up a Mexican Tele or Strat and starting off there. There are plenty of guys on this board that play professionally on MIM Fender with great results. If you find you are a Fender guy then drop some money on your dream axe. You can't see the mother of pearl when you are playing a lead but is sure looks good when you are staring across the room looking at your dream guitar with a smile on your face.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Jocelyn said:
Not everything that cost a lot of money is necessarily great. I would suggest keep a budget for what you want and then go playing as many guitar as you can. And take your time dont rush.

You said Strats teles.. so go ahead and play some. You will know what u like better when you do so. When I set out to buy my last guitar, I kept a a budget in mind that could go a little +/- . And also what I wanted, for example 2 hums and non locking trem. Then I made a short list of the guitars with that specification and that fell in that price range. I took a while but I was happy.
Click to expand...

I fully accept that, it doesn't Have to be expensive. But I think it is also generally true that a top quality instrument will be expensive. I have seen 900 dollar guitar that can play side by side with a 3 thousand dollar PRS and not sound inferior. So, I get what you are saying.

I am a fan of the sparkly strat sound and tele twang. I like fat gibson ish tone too. But right now I'm more into strat and tele chiming type tone. Also 4 years ago I was a more or less metal guy (I did listen to other stuff) but now I'm very much into country picking, fusion and things like that. For better or for worse I have retained my love for metal (never liked the extreme distorted break neck speed stuff - more of a Sabbath, Accept, Rush, Maiden, Priest etc. fan). But yeah... that's where I am.

Thanks man.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Securb said:
Someone said something interesting to me lately "when you close your eye to play a lead you no longer see the mother of pearl". You don't need a fancy guitar but a functionable one. If it moves you to the point where you are shutting your eye tight and ripping a lead, job done for the guitar. You are playing an Ibanez and really don't know if you are a Fender guy or not.

I would suggest picking up a Mexican Tele or Strat and starting off there. There are plenty of guys on this board that play professionally on MIM Fender with great results. If you find you are a Fender guy then drop some money on your dream axe. You can't see the mother of pearl when you are playing a lead but is sure looks good when you are staring across the room looking at your dream guitar with a smile on your face.
Click to expand...

Thanks man. I was thinking along the same line. Just trying to learn what other people with more experience think.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

It's a tricky question, if you can't try before you buy you can't know whether it's what you like thus, risking buying something that costs a lot only to find out that it just your thing whereas on the other hand, if you buy something that is inexpensive you might not like the particular specimen, rather than that type of guitar.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Jocelyn said:
Not everything that cost a lot of money is necessarily great. I would suggest keep a budget for what you want and then go playing as many guitar as you can. And take your time dont rush.

You said Strats teles.. so go ahead and play some. You will know what u like better when you do so. When I set out to buy my last guitar, I kept a a budget in mind that could go a little +/- . And also what I wanted, for example 2 hums and non locking trem. Then I made a short list of the guitars with that specification and that fell in that price range. I took a while but I was happy.
Click to expand...

I posted replies to everyone...but they dont show up!!

I fully accept that a non expensive instrument can sound great and be great. Thanks for the reply.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Securb said:
Someone said something interesting to me lately "when you close your eye to play a lead you no longer see the mother of pearl". You don't need a fancy guitar but a functionable one. If it moves you to the point where you are shutting your eye tight and ripping a lead, job done for the guitar. You are playing an Ibanez and really don't know if you are a Fender guy or not.

I would suggest picking up a Mexican Tele or Strat and starting off there. There are plenty of guys on this board that play professionally on MIM Fender with great results. If you find you are a Fender guy then drop some money on your dream axe. You can't see the mother of pearl when you are playing a lead but is sure looks good when you are staring across the room looking at your dream guitar with a smile on your face.
Click to expand...

These are my thoughts too, more or less. Just trying to see what experienced people have to say about this.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

KeeperOS said:
It's a tricky question, if you can't try before you buy you can't know whether it's what you like thus, risking buying something that costs a lot only to find out that it just your thing whereas on the other hand, if you buy something that is inexpensive you might not like the particular specimen, rather than that type of guitar.
Click to expand...

Thanks for reading the post carefully and understanding the problem. I'm trying to figure out a way to travel to the right country and do a proper shopping (if I can coincide that with other things). But yes, this is the problem.

I think one useful strategy is to make sure that the guitar, in my case strat (and a tele if I'm lucky), is a good quality guitar. Because I want the a chimy ringing tone of a strat and I doesn't matter if a shorter scale length Gibson, for example, is more comfortable. I want a strat tone. So, as long as the guitar is set up right and good quality I'll be content with it.

Thanks again for the reply man. Appreciate it.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

If you know what you like, buy the best gear you can afford. If you're not certain what you'll like buy the best gear you can afford but be certain you get it at prices that will let you test it for an extended period and not lose a bundle if you decide it isn't for you.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

I know how hard it is to find good instruments. Until very recently it was very diff out here to find good instruments too.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Their are other companies that sell Strat copies for affordable prices. Do you have to have the name Fender on the Headstock? If not then you have many options from online retailers but the bad part is you don't get to try before you buy.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

I think that buying the most you can afford is the stupidest advice ever. That advice assumes that the more expensive a guitar is, the better it's quality, tone, play-ability, etc. These are very faulty assumptions. There are many many guitars for less than $500 that are way better than some costing 4 times that.

I have several Squires that cost about $100-150 that had all the bases covered except tone. I replaced pups, pots, and tuners putting in less than $200 additional and have ended up with players that cost less than $350 that will compete with my guitars that cost 3-6 times that.

Here's a Tele that plays and sounds pretty good right out of the box, but turns into a "great" player with a Quarter Pound bridge pup (or Jerry Donahue) and fret dressing:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/squier-affinity-series-telecaster-electric-guitar

Or just put one of these in it and have a great sounding Tele for about $200:
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Alnico-Fatbody-10K-OVERWOUND-Tele-Bridge-Pickup_p_74.html

You can add a new neck pup, pots, switches, tuners, etc. later as you feel the need. Or you may decide that you want to go to a more expensive model later once you've had more experience. Put the original pup back in the guitar and sell it for very little loss to help fund your next move up.

Good advice from Empty Pockets, Jocelyn, and KeeperOS.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

High price is no absolute guarantee of excellent quality but, above a certain monetary threshold, you have a right to expect something pretty special.

I am fortunate to own a Fender Old Growth Redwood Telecaster. This was a limited edition run from a few years ago but I do not care about that. The guitar weighs almost nothing, has a fabulous neck profile and resonates like :censored:. Within seconds, I knew that the guitar was leaving the shop with me.

This may sound avaricious. It may indicate that I know a good 'un when I chance upon it.

Like chadd said. These opportunities just kinda turn up sometimes. A trip to buy strings becomes rather more expensive than planned.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

All good advise. One thing nobody mentioned yet is to look at what your favorite musicians are using and use that as a rough guideline. I think most players tend to do that subconsciously, but the point is that if you play high gain music, don't spend your time looking at clean sounding amps, and visa versa. Maybe a strat, tele, or BC Rich isn't what your favorite music was made on, etc. Pay attention to the tools used in the bands you gravitate toward.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Jocelyn said:
I know how hard it is to find good instruments. Until very recently it was very diff out here to find good instruments too.
Click to expand...

Tell me about it! Its really frustrating! But hey, thanks for the reply man. I'm just gonna have to find a way out.
 
Re: How do you plan buying new gears?

Rockstar216 said:
Their are other companies that sell Strat copies for affordable prices. Do you have to have the name Fender on the Headstock? If not then you have many options from online retailers but the bad part is you don't get to try before you buy.
Click to expand...

I don't HAVE to have Fender printed on the guitar. But I do want to have a good idea of what I'm gonna get. Also people wildly differ on the wisdom of buying copies. My philosophy is if the guitar is good what does it matter if its a copy or not. But the tricky part is making sure that the guitar is good.
 
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