Are we guitarists the absolute worst about buying stuff for our stuff? Who is worse than we are?

[Vocalion]

"Years ago, I asked a friend what kind of case she planned to buy for her shiny new flip phone. She paused, a little offended. “I don't like to buy stuff for my stuff.”

I couldn't help thinking that this article was talking about me. Picks, strings, effects, cables, amps, etc. I buy my guitars stuff all of the time.

https://www.wired.com/story/a-grand-unified-theory-of-buying-stuff/

 

[brookdalebill]

Golfers.
By way.
Sheesh.

 

[Flat6Driver]

Car people.
Gun people.
Bike (cycling) people.
Motorcycle people.

 

[MTPoteet]

Street Rodders

 

[Mike Eskimo]

Car people.
Gun people.
Bike (cycling) people.
Motorcycle people.

As a cyclist, I would have to say , er um uh - you’re right !

I have though, for the better part of five years, resisted buying “white shoes“, which in most cycling circles would have me branded either a stooge, a misanthrope or at best, a contrarian .

 

[Flat6Driver]

As a cyclist, I would have to say , er um uh - you’re right !

I have though, for the better part of five years, resisted buying “white shoes“, which in most cycling circles would have me branded either a stooge, a misanthrope or at best, a contrarian .

How many grams lighter are they?

 

[Tarkus60]

Any hobby or passion is like that when you have the disease. I know because I am infected with it.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

Not that I won't by something on a whim, ( an always 'affordable whim'), but when it comes to gear buying, I kind of operate on a few different tracks/ sort of parallel :

- a curiosity track (especially with say, cheap OD pedals, but also accessories)
" What does this sound like, or do?"

- must be something I can use on gigs- not EVERY gig, but in the rotation ( guitars. amps, pedals)

- must be super lightweight/ portable- I have a bad back+ can't walk any distance with gear
So I don't carry and don't buy anything adding unnecessary weight-
One guitar/one amp;
no hard cases ( only gigbags, except SG!); no amp cases/covers, no amp stand; small pedalboards only( 4-5 pedals).

* a long way of saying, but all of the above inform what I buy.

 

[JL_LI]

It’s a guy thing. Guys and their toys. After the wife and kids are taken care of, and sometimes before, all available resources are shunted to stuff, most of it unnecessary, little of it actually needed. The G in GAS can refer to any sort of gear that becomes the focus of the Guy.

But there’s one thing even worse that never fails to destroy lives and families. Another “G” word. Gambling. How does a brain fixate on rewarding itself by losing?

 

[brookdalebill]

I have lots of guitars, and guitar stuff.
I like it, a lot.
I’ve been “this way” since I was 13.
I got my first hourly day job, and SS number in 1970.
My “thing” has been music, and guitars since I could play the three chords of Boil The Cabbage.
It’s a fiddle tune my Dad used to teach me how to play rhythm guitar.
I don’t need any more than I work with.
That’s really two electric guitars, one bass, one guitar amp, one bass amp, one mini PA/acoustic guitar amp.
I do feel fortunate, and I do love my “thing”.

 

[VintageSG]

Along with golfers, hobby fishers.
Many a canal or river bank in our sceptic isle is to be found littered with these shells of former people. Hunched, rod on a rest, flask of tea and a grim disposition. Come rain or shine, frost, fog or even flood, these denizens of the waterway sit there. Their hopes dangling on a monofilament promise. After hours of monotonous immobility, they may reel in a sorry specimen, which is then either returned immediately to the occluded depths, or retained in a submerged basket until reality overcomes hope and the day ends with freeing their finned detainees before departing for home, only to return further rounds of drudgery the following weekend.

 

[stormin1155]

My step son has a race car. I wouldn't even venture a guess as to how much he's sunk into it. The trailer to haul it was $30K, and it's $5k here and $10k there.... Then all the trips all over the country to go to the races... And of course the shop and the tools too...

 

[Greggorios]

I know some fishing persons, particularly of the fly fishing/tying variety, that are pretty extreme.

 

[oldunc]

Being as how we're bombarded with marketing propaganda constantly nowadays, it takes some determination- or simple poverty- to avoid constantly buying doodads. I find it particularly disturbing as regards the kitchen and the garden, two places where one of the great virtues is that you seldom need to buy stuff. My guitars do quite well without new toys, but then I'm not really into effects or decorations. I find in general that buying stuff can give you the illusion that you're doing something without the effort of, for instance, practicing or digging a hole or folding a batch of puff pastry.

 

[Blue Bill]

 

[Telekarster]

I worked for a mom and pop retail shop once, decades ago. I'll never forget what the owner told me once "Son, all you have to do is sell them on the main product. Once they've bought that, we've got em hooked. They'll be coming in here for years buying all the smalls that go with it, from that point forward, and this is where we really make our money!" And... he was right

 

[Ricky D.]

Boats

 

[sax4blues]

As a cyclist, I would have to say , er um uh - you’re right !

I have though, for the better part of five years, resisted buying “white shoes“, which in most cycling circles would have me branded either a stooge, a misanthrope or at best, a contrarian .

Over 40+ years of road & track racing and recreational riding I’ve had many pairs of white shoes. I need to figure out which unflattering label applies.

 

[Peegoo]

Along with golfers, hobby fishers.
Many a canal or river bank in our sceptic isle is to be found littered with these shells of former people. Hunched, rod on a rest, flask of tea and a grim disposition. Come rain or shine, frost, fog or even flood, these denizens of the waterway sit there. Their hopes dangling on a monofilament promise. After hours of monotonous immobility, they may reel in a sorry specimen, which is then either returned immediately to the occluded depths, or retained in a submerged basket until reality overcomes hope and the day ends with freeing their finned detainees before departing for home, only to return further rounds of drudgery the following weekend.

DAMN, son. Ernest Hemingway was a drunk hack compared to you!

 

[Preacher]

I have a couple of friends who I bring up when my wife makes a comment about me buying a $100 guitar to flip.


First friend is an avid bass fisherman. It helps that his wife is addicted to fishing as well. Just a few weeks ago he was showing me his new bass rig (I was excited until I found it was a fishing pole). He shows me the fishing pole and tells me that the rod alone cost $135 bucks. I said, "you mean with a reel and everything?". He laughed and said the reel was $500 by itself. He also told me that he was looking at a new boat, I said, "man that will set you back probably 10 grand." He laughed again and said the one they were looking at was $50K!

Second friend I have is an dirt track racer running a dwarf car. He is running a dinosaur in his circuit but it is all he can afford at the time. He was telling me he needed to buy some new tires which were like $100 a pop and then he blew his motor and would need to get a new motor and he wanted to upgrade. That was going to run him like $2K and he was going to do all the work to put it in himself. Oh and he bought a trailer for $5K to haul it around and of course needed a truck to pull the heavy trailer. And he had to pay entry fees for the races and hopes he finishes top ten to make enough money to cover his entry fee. I mentioned his fuel, tires and wear and tear on the car and he said he doesn't race for the money to cover those things.

Third friend owns a chemical company and is pretty well off. We go to dinner with them about once a month even though we are in an entirely different tax bracket. He races the Baja Circuit. At one point he had a couple of motorcycle teams and a production truck in the race. The last two seasons he is racing a trophy truck. I am not sure they have even finished a race yet in the trophy truck due to mechanical difficulties and I hate to think what the cost is to operate that team but he loves it and it is what he does.

After throwing these guys at my wife she is happy that she has a "sensible" husband lol.