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Should I blow the majority of money I have in savings to buy a guitar?

nuttynutskin

Bluelighter
Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
10,681
Basically what the title says. I've been thinking for a while of getting back into guitar and I think I just might go for it. I have about 1000 left in my savings and the guitar, amp, and pedal I'm thinking of getting would total about 800. What do you guys think? I might have about 200 left in savings and essentially no safety net so to speak if something happened and I needed extra money, although 1000 isn't that much to begin with. The impulsive me says go for it, and the other side of me is undecided lol.
 
If you feel sort of halfway about it, then I'd say no, you should wait til you have a better safety net. If you're burning with the need to play music and you're unhappy without it, then I would say yes, go for it.
 
no way. spend $200 on a used setup that you could turn around and sell at the same price. upgrade when you can afford to and know it's an investment you'll continue to utilize.
 
have you played before? you can almost certainly do better than $800 to get set up - what are you thinking of getting?

alasdair
 
If you feel sort of halfway about it, then I'd say no, you should wait til you have a better safety net. If you're burning with the need to play music and you're unhappy without it, then I would say yes, go for it.

I'm not halfway about it all as far as playing. I've been thinking about it for a while and I feel the spark to start making music again. The pros outweigh the cons, money being the only con.
 
Like hydro said you can usually pick up a nice used set pretty cheap.
 
have you played before? you can almost certainly do better than $800 to get set up - what are you thinking of getting?

alasdair

Yup, and got fairly good until my guitar quit working. Something to do with the wiring I think, but it was just a cheap model and would've cost more to repair than the guitar itself. I wish I hadn't sold my amp tho.

Either way, this is the setup I'm thinking of getting...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...20-electric-guitar/j05422000003000?src=3XBACR

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshall/CODE-50W-1x12-Guitar-Combo-Amp.gc#productDetail

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Boss/MT-2-Metal-Zone-Effects-Pedal.gc
 
that guitar looks pretty damn good for the money. i'd recommend that you consider getting everything used for sure.

i used to have an american tele but sold it a while ago. i now have an epiphone les paul for which i paid $120 and, with a little setup, it plays great and it cost next to nothing. you can pay cash so check craigslist and i think you can get down well under $800 for a similar, if not the same, setup.

good luck.

alasdair
 
Yeah absolutely get used gear. I have a Nord Electro 2 and a Moog Sub-Phatty (keyboard and synth), but I bought them both used and spent less than half what it would have cost new, and I love them very much.
 
I went to the Buy and Sell shop and got a used Metal Zone pedal for 65 today. Was 99 new at Guitar Center so I saved 34 bucks already. They had a fairly decent Marshall 12" amp for 180 or something like that. My only issue was it was a little old (from the 90's) and one of the plugs was a bit loose. I haven't ruled it out tho. As far as guitars they didn't really have anything I was interested in. I'll probably get that new. I'll keep y'all posted. :D
 
Merry Christmas to me...

25398688_10215505390893418_8536749360840341922_n.jpg
 
Thanks. I ended up getting everything but the cords used lol. Ibanez RG Series with whammy, Boss Metal Zone pedal, Fender Deluxe 112 Plus... All totalled I spent 595 I believe so I still got some money left over. Really happy with the way this guitar looks and plays. The amp as well. I got the volume in between 0 and 1 right now and that's loud enough to practice by myself lol. Turned up it would easily be loud enough for band practice. Why can't you play?
 
Damn, I can't figure out where this buzzing is coming from. Only happens when I'm not playing. Wasn't doing it when I tried the guitar or amp out at the store so I was thinking it was the pedal, but I plugged into the amp without going through the pedal and it's still happening. The only other thing I can think of is it's the cord. Anyone have any advice?
 
My bet is the cable, yeah.

The pic is a little fuzzy, but those are humbuckers right? What you describe is typical of a single coil pickup, especially the fact that the buzz stops when playing. But if you have humbuckers, it's probably the cable.
 
Yup it has humbuckers. I'll probably buy some better cables and see if that fixes it. I can't think of anything else to do.
 
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