I Went To My First Guitar Show Yesterday

[unixfish]

It was (probably?) a smaller show in Wadsworth, Ohio. It was in a nice venue.

I arrived 90 minutes after the show opened, paid my $10 admission fee, and went in. Rows and rows of tables with guitars and effects and amps on the floor. Kinda cool.

Then I walked in and started looking. It was crowded - the kind of crowd where you have to wait for people to walk by before you can move forward. It was noisy - too noisy (for me) to have a conversation or ask someone about something. I walked through the whole show two or three times, and between the noise and the crowd, I went into sensory overload - everything looked the same and I could no longer remember why I was there. I was starting to feel overloaded, so I left. I was probably only there an hour or so.

I had taken my old Baja to see if I could sell it. There were some vendors with "We pay ca$h for guitars!" signs, but it was too noisy for me to strike up a conversation to see if they would even be in the right ballpark.

I had been looking forward to this show for a while - and was so disappointed when I left. It looks like my issues with crowds and background noise are getting worse. Sigh.

I spent some time yesterday afternoon putting together some pictures and a description to sell the Baja on Facebook Marketplace. Let's see what happens.

 

[Peegoo]

@unixfish

If you had made a deal to sell your guitar, you could've done another lap through the show and on the table where you sold your guitar would be your guitar with $50-100 more on the price tag.

That's how this stuff usually works

 

[4pickupguy]

I go to the Dallas Vintage Guitar Show (still want to call it the Greater Southwest Guitar Show) about every three years or so, and holds me over.
If you keep an eye peeled you can run across deals on effects pedals. I bought a mid 80’s Crest Audio era Dallas Arbiter badged Fuzz Face a couple years ago. Vintage Rat the time before. Yes, the noise usually drives the wife and I out eventually. We always get there as the doors open because you get about an hour and a half of lower noise.

 

[brookdalebill]

They’re fun, sometimes.
Glad you experienced a busy one.
The ones I’ve been to lately are often not so busy.

 

[unixfish]

@unixfish

If you had made a deal to sell your guitar, you could've done another lap through the show and on the table where you sold your guitar would be your guitar with $50-100 more on the price tag.

That's how this stuff usually works

I am hoping to get $800 for the Baja, $900 with a case. I would take a few hundred less. I think it is valuable, because it is a rare lightweight Baja at 7.0 pounds. I was afraid the offers would be $300, or maybe up to $500. It would not bother me if they re-listed it right away for more money - that is what I would expect. Maybe I should have spoken with someone.

Maybe I am expecting too much from the used market - I have the Baja with upgraded Bensonite fat compensated saddles, I have the originals, four packs of strings, and a very nice SBK soft sided case. I know the upgrades don't add any value to the guitar, so that is why I kept the original saddles to include.

 

[runstendt]

It would not bother me if they re-listed it right away for more money - that is what I would expect.

This may be the most refreshingly realistically statement that I’ve read online in a long time.

Also, I get what you mean about guitar shows being overwhelming. My experience going to them consists of excitement when I get there quickly turning into walking past an endless blur of Strats, Teles, and Les Pauls. Unless I’m looking for something specific I tend to stop noticing the individual guitars and amps after a while.

 

[Peegoo]

We always get there as the doors open because you get about an hour and a half of lower noise.

In my experience, the people that make the most noise tend to stay out late and sleep in.

I frequently take advantage of this valuable intelligence

 

[Old Deaf Roadie]

went into sensory overload

I feel your pain. It gets so loud and crazy, I have a difficult time being there, especially after driving 2 hours to get there because I live in a geographical oddity where everything is 2 hours away.

 

[unixfish]

This may be the most refreshingly realistically statement that I’ve read online in a long time.

Also, I get what you mean about guitar shows being overwhelming. My experience going to them consists of excitement when I get there quickly turning into walking past an endless blur of Strats, Teles, and Les Pauls. Unless I’m looking for something specific I tend to stop noticing the individual guitars and amps after a while.

Exactly. Bingo. Nailed it.

 

[unixfish]

I feel your pain. It gets so loud and crazy, I have a difficult time being there, especially after driving 2 hours to get there because I live in a geographical oddity where everything is 2 hours away.

The sad thing is, this show was just over a 15 minute drive for me.

 

[58Bassman]

It was (probably?) a smaller show in Wadsworth, Ohio. It was in a nice venue.

I arrived 90 minutes after the show opened, paid my $10 admission fee, and went in. Rows and rows of tables with guitars and effects and amps on the floor. Kinda cool.

Then I walked in and started looking. It was crowded - the kind of crowd where you have to wait for people to walk by before you can move forward. It was noisy - too noisy (for me) to have a conversation or ask someone about something. I walked through the whole show two or three times, and between the noise and the crowd, I went into sensory overload - everything looked the same and I could no longer remember why I was there. I was starting to feel overloaded, so I left. I was probably only there an hour or so.

I had taken my old Baja to see if I could sell it. There were some vendors with "We pay ca$h for guitars!" signs, but it was too noisy for me to strike up a conversation to see if they would even be in the right ballpark.

I had been looking forward to this show for a while - and was so disappointed when I left. It looks like my issues with crowds and background noise are getting worse. Sigh.

I spent some time yesterday afternoon putting together some pictures and a description to sell the Baja on Facebook Marketplace. Let's see what happens.

I carry ear plugs wherever I go, but only for preserving my hearing. I would think they could work for sensory overload.

 

[Gene O.]

I was in Medina yesterday. Had I been by myself, and known about it, I may have stopped by. I played at the one at the Summit County fairgrounds a few years back. Maybe it was the same show???

Is your Baja a 50s or 60s?

 

[unixfish]

I was in Medina yesterday. Had I been by myself, and known about it, I may have stopped by. I played at the one at the Summit County fairgrounds a few years back. Maybe it was the same show???

Is your Baja a 50s or 60s?

The show was at The Galaxy in Wadsworth. I think this was the first time they had one there? I'm not sure.

My Baja is a 50s.

 

[unixfish]

I was in Medina yesterday. Had I been by myself, and known about it, I may have stopped by. I played at the one at the Summit County fairgrounds a few years back. Maybe it was the same show???

Is your Baja a 50s or 60s?

Oh, wait. You meant same show different location. Could have been. It was sponsored by WONE.

 

[Gene O.]

Oh, wait. You meant same show different location. Could have been. It was sponsored by WONE.

Yeah, that's what I meant, but I don't think it was sponsored by WONE.

 

[Telenator]

Yeah, I'm at the point where I rarely go out to noisy places anymore. M y ears are shot and one rings so loud at times, it masks the sound of the room. I am officially old and loud places are just not for me any more.

 

[Spazzmaster]

There's a show two hours away next month. I was thinking about going as a sightseer and potential buyer, hadn't even thought about taking guitars to try to sell or trade. I also hate crowds, but I might tough this one out. Ear plugs sounds like a good idea.

 

[unixfish]

I would do a two hour drive. I like getting out and going for a drive in my new(er) car.

The funny thing about noise. I can listen to something, and although I can only do high volume for so long, I can do medium volume for a long while.

Background noise gets to me. My laptop for work is a good example. My company runs non-stop scans, so the fan runs 6 to 8 hours a day. That low hum drives me nuts. I will listed to the Bang & Olufsen system in my car for long periods and not be bothered by it - although I do turn down the volume after 30 minutes or so. I just think it's background / non-descript noise that gets to me.

Music in my wife's car does bother me - partly because I am sick of what she plays (same playlist every time) and partly because she will just start talking and expect me to be able to hear her over the music. I have never been able to isolate sounds, or hear what people are saying when there is a TV on / music on / crowd noise / etc.

Oh. Wait. It's a ME problem! There we go!

 

[runstendt]

A few years back I went to GearFest at Sweetwater. It was a good time, I learned a lot and got to try quite a few guitars that I’d otherwise only have looked at, but one day I made a tactical error. The show is outside, with the vendors arranged by instrument under large tents. I made the mistake of taking a shortcut through the drums tent. It sounded like one of those circles that Dante wrote about. Talk about excessive background noise.

 

[unixfish]

A few years back I went to GearFest at Sweetwater. It was a good time, I learned a lot and got to try quite a few guitars that I’d otherwise only have looked at, but one day I made a tactical error. The show is outside, with the vendors arranged by instrument under large tents. I made the mistake of taking a shortcut through the drums tent. It sounded like one of those circles that Dante wrote about. Talk about excessive background noise.

I. Cannot. Even. Imagine.