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Beginner came in and spent over $6K tonight

MattZilla

MattZilla

Jun 26, 2013
5,634
10,392
CNY
#1
I figured a few of you might get a kick outta this. I work part-time at an indy shop, new and used, mostly Fender, Takamine Martin and Ibanez. An older fellow, fifties maybe, has been in quite a bit lately, lusting as usual. He confessed last week that he doesn't play yet, but he's interested in x, y and z guitars. "sure." Well, he comes in today and has me case up our signed '65 Gretch Tennessean, '04 American Deluxe Mahogany and '13 American Deluxe Ash. Handing me his Visa he laughs "and I can't even play one note!"

EDIT- there is no trashing of beginners, poor or rich, here. Just a fun story to share, nothing more. This edit is for those of you who envy the percieved skill levels of others whilst posessing enviable wallets and instruments- this is no thing for anybody to get defensive about. There is such a thing as humor without expense. This story, short as it is, exemplifies a positive universal theme in humanity, the desire for excellence. And yet this thread has several times exemplified another less positive universal human theme. For the record, I couldn't yet play "smells like teen spirit" all of the way through correctly when I acquired a nearly mint Charvel Model 6- far too superb an instrument for [whatever], but it made me a better player as I strived to become good enough for it. Many many guitars, basses, keyboards and gigs later, I am a student pursuing degrees in Engineering Sciences. Having played and built (another story for another time) guitars and basses through middle school, high school and my early twenties, I was an easy hire at a guitar shop and a difficult hire at a restaurant, and a man's gotta eat. We were all beginners once, and all but the most modest of us would prefer to start with pro-level gear, and dream of eventually obtaining boutique or custom-tailored gear. This story was intended for the dreamers, and though I failed in selecting the correct forum section, a few of them found it- to you dreamers, I hope you enjoyed the story and were as annoyed to read this edit as I am to be having to type it.
 
#4
Most men in their 50 are set in their life and if they want to take up a hobby they can afford it.
6K really isn't that much.
A Harley is 20k
A boat is 10k to what ever.
You can drop 6k on golf clubs.
I started in my 50's.
My first bass was a Peavey Cirrus run through a new SWR head and a Eden 212 cab.
Why buy "starter" stuff when you can afford the good stuff.
 
#7
On another forum, there was a guitarist that I noticed was local. He has quite a few fairly expensive guitars listed in his profile. I asked if he wanted to get together and play sometime. He said that he really couldn't play well enough to play with someone else. He was still looking to buy more guitars though. :hmm:
 
#8
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who can't play but are buying for no other reason that to collect. Many of them believe its a good investment that they can sell years from now. As a result, it has driven up the price of used instruments. Seems to happen more with guitars than bass.
 
#13
hdracer said:
Most men in their 50 are set in their life and if they want to take up a hobby they can afford it.
6K really isn't that much.
A Harley is 20k
A boat is 10k to what ever.
You can drop 6k on golf clubs.
I started in my 50's.
My first bass was a Peavey Cirrus run through a new SWR head and a Eden 212 cab.
Why buy "starter" stuff when you can afford the good stuff.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

I play bass but know a few chords on guitar. Last summer, after I had paid off my house I walked into Long and McQuade and tried out a few acoustic guitars. 15 minutes later I walked out with an $1800 Taylor and didn't feel the least bit guilty or like I had wasted money.

Take care of your finances and you can do things like that. The funny thing is, the only person I know who thought it was a waste of money was a co-worker who drops $1000 a month in mortgage and credit card interest.
 
#14
Kmonk said:
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who can't play but are buying for no other reason that to collect. Many of them believe its a good investment that they can sell years from now. As a result, it has driven up the price of used instruments. Seems to happen more with guitars than bass.
Click to expand...

There's nothing unfortunate about it. People with money buy what they want to buy and it's nobody's business what their motives may be.
 
#15
I say good for him. It's not like driving cars, where buying a $100K sports car for a beginner means he's going to crash it and kill himself. If he can afford to buy high-end instruments, he should. At his age he's probably got the money to spare.
 
#18
guy n. cognito said:
There's nothing unfortunate about it. People with money buy what they want to buy and it's nobody's business what their motives may be.
Click to expand...

So by your reasoning, anybody who has enough money should just buy up every instrument so they can hang them on a wall or store them in a room, while people who actually enjoy playing suffer as a result. I have enough money to buy what I want but people are always asking why instruments cost so much. A large part of the reason is that people who have never and will never play are buying them. There is a collector in Japan who has bought so many vintage Les Paul guitars that the prices have skyrocketed. Doesn't impact me very much but buying instruments for the sole purpose of collecting has impacted the ability of a lot of younger players to afford them.
 
#19
Kmonk said:
So by your reasoning, anybody who has enough money should just buy up every instrument so they can hang them on a wall or store them in a room, while people who actually enjoy playing suffer as a result. I have enough money to buy what I want but people are always asking why instruments cost so much. A large part of the reason is that people who have never and will never play are buying them. There is a collector in Japan who has bought so many vintage Les Paul guitars that the prices have skyrocketed. Doesn't impact me very much but buying instruments for the sole purpose of collecting has impacted the ability of a lot of younger players to afford them.
Click to expand...


Yep, that's right. If my enjoyment of a certain instrument comes from solely looking at it, and I can afford it, then is is my right to be able to buy it. What, in your mind, is the criteria for who should be allowed to own an instrument? How much do you have to play it in order to be able to own it? Who gets to decide who's a player versus a collector?

Silly, isn't it........
 

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