Um, most of it seems too expensive.
If you’re like me, if the price tag has a comma in it, it’s out of reach most days. So how do I get my foot in the door with cheap stuff? There’s a method to it, at least in my case.
It’s a lot like focusing.
Being versatile and quality at the same time can get pricey. But aiming for one quality sound at a time is usually cheaper. You may pay a lot for a strat that does everything. But if you just want funky sounds out of it, it may not set you back much.
This guitar is “cheap.”
Gretsch typically has a twang to my ears. Different than a tele twang, but still a twang. This guitar is all jangle. I like how that works out. Jangle sounds and funky sounds mesh.
I let a client borrow it a long time ago. I was stunned when he showed up last night with it in immaculate condition and brand new string joy strings. Doubled my electric guitarsenal. Get to play it on new amp. So happy.
This one ain’t expensive but it does one thing well. I find that to be a commonality in my purchases. I used to look for gear that did it all. Now I just focus on one thing at a time. It’s cheaper.
Is that a fork on your knife?
I no longer need Swiss Army knife type gear. I enjoy collecting for specific tasks. It’s more fun to beef up specific sounds I want to make than just look at amazing guitars. Although looking at amazing guitars is fun too.
Pay to play.
Recording and performing is very hard to do with no money, or even very little of it. Anything that saves a buck, I’m all about. Do you want a jangle rock guitar? If that’s all the sounds you want, get a 3-4 hundred dollar Gretsch like mine. Folks might twist your arm to purchase this or that, but if you are only wanting jangly tones, don’t overpay. Save some moolah.
My Les Paul (Epiphone 59).
I wanted Les Paul tones and ended up buying an affordable Epiphone. It sounds amazing! Feels great! Has Les Paul in it for days. Folks tried to get me to buy their Les Pauls. But I liked the Epiphone 59 the best out of all of them. So I snagged it for a low price. I’d do it again. Love that thing. Specific? Sure! But it does that Les Paul thing so well!
Money don’t grow on trees.
Money’s tight. If I come across good deals, I’ll mention it. I hope I help folks feel good about their money in music. It’s so conflicting. It’s not like we’re going to make any cash. How much are our ideas worth? This is an expensive thing to pick up!
What I learned at a guitar shop.
When I worked a guitar shop, I wanted to buy so many folks a guitar. They didn’t know what they wanted. They knew what they liked, most every one. But they didn’t know which axe made the sounds in their head. If your head is filled with a lot of sounds, that’s different. However, if you just want one sound right now, it’s probably not that high. You can do any sound well on a budget. Just budget for one sound at a time.
Return home.
Always free to talk about this entry or anything, [email protected]. Ask me to play or help on a song you’re making, see what happens! Share with a musical friend who might need a hand on a project for bonus points!
Thanks!🙏