Justifying purchases

[Zaulkin]

This is kinda related to the gear/value thread. I may have even already made a thread on this, but have forgotten. Here goes anyway.

How do you guys justify your gear? How much is too much?

Some people say they need it for gigs, some people have lots of money, some people buy as their partner allows... I guess so far I've bought my stuff just because I like guitars and gear. I'm not sure what to do for my next purchase though...

If any of you have seen my recent posts I'm obsessed with the digital modelling craze. I love the idea of a really versatile guitar/versatile rig etc. Right now I have the Eleven Rack and want an AxeFX II or Kemper. The thing is, the Eleven already sounds pretty fantastic. It took a while to dial in the tones I want, but it does sound 'pretty good'. I finally got the chance to play an AxeFX II and I thought 'wow, this thing sounds AMAZING'... but shit... it comes at the price of a bit under 4k. I know that's good value compared to the actual cost and weight of the real equipment, but that is still a lot of money. The 11R is worth about $800 or so, and even though I'm sure the Axe II will be an improvement in every way... are those fairly small adjustments worth the extra money? Especially when it's going to be outdated in a few years.

This year I've only got three (electric) gigs booked, for about 500 - 1000 people. IF I get some bar gigs I wouldn't even take an Axe II. My acoustic playing doesn't require a modeller. I'm pretty happy with my 11R... but the axe would be better... All the pros are using it... but the money...

Similarly, I have two electric guitars that I'm pretty sure I can get all the sounds I want from:
But I'm kinda tempted to get Ash to make me something Tele like.
But my other guitar can already get pretty good tele sounds.
But teles are sexy.
But that's expensive, Nik.
Realistically, I have no need for it (or anything else new), but I want it... So when is enough enough?

Depressing I know. I mean, I can understand wanting THE BEST, cos nothing else feels the same as THE BEST. But if you think realistically it can be a huge money sink - Do you need THE BEST of everything? There is no right answer but I am interested to hear how you guys think about this topic.

inb4 'you can never have enough guitars lel'

[Slowy]

Seems simple to me.

GAS for whatever you like.
Own whatever you can afford.

[Ironbird13]

if you want it, and are able to obtain it, then why not?

[Zaulkin]

Well yeah.

Do you ever just kind of go 'yeah, I have too much stuff', or 'I don't really *need* that', or 'I don't deserve this' or 'I could have saved the money/gone overseas' blah.

I guess if you just put away '$x' each week into a gear fund and just be happy with that then it's not so bad.

[Kiwiaxe]

As far as necessity goes, you can get by with a shit guitar, a shit but loud amp, and 90% of the punters wouldn't be the wiser.

But where's the fun in that.

What gets hard is when you can afford pretty much whatever you might want. Because then you have to get really disciplined.

If it makes things any easier, you can do this simple equation. Buy something at a good price (2nd hand, for example). Play it. If you don't like it, sell it. Even if you lose a chunk of change - say $200 - on the turn around, many people I know will smoke, drink or gamble that away in a week. And you will get far more satisfaction out of it.

[jeremyb]

Seems simple to me.

GAS for whatever you like.
Own whatever you can afford.

+1!

I've gone thru a whole bunch of gear finding my perfect setup and I'm a couple of pedals away from bliss, I don't need to justify any of it as they're all just tools to get to my musical goal, and none of it has been bought on credit, all cash up front. I found when I used to buy stuff on credit I'd buy it on a whim and get bored of it quickly, now I need to save its a different story, much more careful

[jeremyb]

Do you ever just kind of go 'yeah, I have too much stuff', or 'I don't really *need* that'.

All the time when I was just buying stuff that I hardly used, had 6 guitars I never played, now I have 2 I'm much happier

[Zaulkin]

As far as necessity goes, you can get by with a shit guitar, a shit but loud amp, and 90% of the punters wouldn't be the wiser.

But where's the fun in that.

What gets hard is when you can afford pretty much whatever you might want. Because then you have to get really disciplined.

If it makes things any easier, you can do this simple equation. Buy something at a good price (2nd hand, for example). Play it. If you don't like it, sell it. Even if you lose a chunk of change - say $200 - on the turn around, many people I know will smoke, drink or gamble that away in a week. And you will get far more satisfaction out of it.

You are right, the chase is pretty satisfying. I always just find I sell stuff if I don't use it, even if it is cool. I've been considering making room for a 'rotating' guitar that gets bought/sold/swapped to try other stuff out.

[Zaulkin]

Do you ever just kind of go 'yeah, I have too much stuff', or 'I don't really *need* that'.

All the time when I was just buying stuff that I hardly used, had 6 guitars I never played, now I have 2 I'm much happier

Yeah, I enjoy having just one or two guitars that do the gigs and share the memories.

[hamo]

Sometimes the only justification you need for something is "it makes me happy". The thing that gets in the way of that is when you have responsibilities. So then you have to look at the trade offs. If I spent more on guitar stuff, my family would have to go without something, just to (ostensibly) make me happy. Being a young guy Nik, your responsibilities are largely ahead of you, so you just need to make sure you're not trading off your future financial stability and peace of mind just for shits & giggles.

[bender]

I really, really don't like having surplus gear. It just feels wasteful. I currently have four electrics and really three of them cover all the bases. One is clearly surplus to requirements and as a result I'll definitely sell it if the opportunity arises.

I have two great amps but one of them delivers a sound that I have almost no use for so I'll most likely sell that at some point and replace it with something else. Or just stick with the other one which is awesome.

[The Scarecrow]

Being a young guy Nik, your responsibilities are largely ahead of you, so you just need to make sure you're not trading off your future financial stability and peace of mind just for shits & giggles.

Conversely enjoying life prior to familial and financial responsibility may be something to consider.

[Zaulkin]

Being a young guy Nik, your responsibilities are largely ahead of you, so you just need to make sure you're not trading off your future financial stability and peace of mind just for shits & giggles.

Conversely enjoying life prior to familial and financial responsibility may be something to consider.

No justification necessary. If I end up with too much stuff it just means I have stuff to hock off if I need some cash.

Makes sense.

I guess I just think too much.

[Bg]

tl;dr

currently I play an sx tele, through my homebrew vibrolux clone. Buy an AC15.

[jimi]

Take up fishing, or horse riding, or racing... playing guitars a pretty cheap hobby, and you play gigs so you get some $$ back, its part investment as well as toy.

Not knowing your financial situation its not really fair to give advice like if you want it go for it, or if you can afford it then go for it, but as long as you aren't buying on credit / finance then there's no big harm. If you can get it 2nd hand then there's not as much loss on resale which should make it an easier decision - if it was the wrong choice then flick it, you lost a couple of hand shandy, no big deal.