How much is your max for a given piece of gear.

Alex W

Alex W

Pork and Beans connoisseur
Guitar, pickups, amp, cables, pedals?

Do you have a number in your head that you won't go over when making a purchase?
 
I for one, don't have some surplus of funds at my whim, so there is always a limit. It depends on what it is, and what it's worth on the market and to me, but mostly to me.

It's all a matter of deciding what joy it might bring to your life while equating that to what you can realistically afford.
 
I really don't like spending more than $1000.00 on an electric and usually less. But the right electric I would spend a bit more.

For an amp - if I could get a deal on the right one, I would probably spend around $2000.00 max. I don't have that kind of coin right now, but to me a great amp is the heart of a good rig and worthy of the most expense - for the right one.

Cables I'm not picky on, but won't get the bargain basement ones. Same with pedals. A good solid pedal will do for me. Once you step into the boutique pedal world you are lost.....
 
I'd say "not really" but we learned that I think $500 is too much for strat pickups this week :embarrassed:

And I probably wouldn't spend more than $3k on a guitar or amp if it was something I needed for work, but I have all of the "expensive" instruments I need.
 
Not really. My aim is always a bargain. That means you gotta be a little flexible on what you want and grab good deals.
But, my white guitar, I got maybe $400 in it if you count 17,000 hours of labor at .0001 cents each.

One day I'll save up and splurge for an ES-330 or something.
 
I will complain about the price of stuff, but if I see something I really want, I don't really have much of a limit. Well, not 250K vintage LP and dumble combos, but if I play a 5K guitar I love, I will just buy it. I'm no pro musician, and I might just buy it to look at and hack on, but I spent a long time in school to get what I have, and the ability to get what I want. Of course, I have kids, college funds, braces, retirement, etc, so I am pretty much self regulating on costs. I guess that is the constant mental battle of most of the adult members here...you can, but should you?
 
Tiltsta said:
I will complain about the price of stuff, but if I see something I really want, I don't really have much of a limit. Well, not 250K vintage LP and dumble combos, but if I play a 5K guitar I love, I will just buy it. I'm no pro musician, and I might just buy it to look at and hack on, but I spent a long time in school to get what I have, and the ability to get what I want. Of course, I have kids, college funds, braces, retirement, etc, so I am pretty much self regulating on costs. I guess that is the constant mental battle of most of the adult members here...you can, but should you?
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Or, I love guitars, and amps but, I also enjoy sex with the wife.
 
Not really, if I really want whatever it is and I have the money available, then I'm happy to spend it.

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I don't have a set number, but it's perceived value in each case. I.E. Is it worth that to me an can I afford to spend that much money on it?

Should a 4x12" cost £600? To me, no, the £200 to £300 one next to it will likely be more than good enough for me. Would I pay £200 for a distortion pedal? No, not when I get a multi FX with a load more options and tools in it for the same price. If I was earning my living playing guitar, I would probably look at this differently.

I play in a bar band occasionally, and decided some time ago that with my job, family and financial commitments, continuing to chase a new ultimate tone is a nice idea that most of the time I can't afford and don't have time for. I have equipment that gets a great sound and gets my creative juices flowing. I concentrate more on getting the most out of what I've got by how I play the guitar itself than constantly trying new stuff.
 
That is hard to say. I couldn't imagine spending more than $500 on any instrument, but then, there was a time I would not have spent what I spent to get the Luna 12-string. So I guess my max is based on my GAS and wallet.
 
I don’t really look at it as having a max… I always look at in what kind of deal can I get for X piece of gear.

For example… my Luke III usually sells for around $1800 new. I found one used, but in mint condition, for less than $1200… SOLD!!!!

My EVH 5150 III head sold new for $1000, but I had a 15% off coupon from MF so I got it for $850 new… shipped to my door.
 
2k is max for a guitar or amp. I could spend more if I chose but I see no need. Too many great options for that much coin. Maybe I would make an exception for a 335.

All of my guitars I paid 1k or less except for my Ric 360-6, and honestly the Ric was totally worth the 1700 I spent on it. I absolutely love that guitar, you can't put a price on that.

Petals and stuff I would be hard pressed to spend more than 200. I've been totally satisfied with the standard options I have acquired, MXR and all that.

Cables are somewhere around 50 for a 20 footer. I snagged a bunch of monster rock cables when they were 30 for 25 footers. Should be set for life if their guarantee holds. I just like that they're built well, that's the only difference I can hear in cables, if they're shorting out or not. I've had them a year now and no issues with any of them so far.
 
I agree with a relative scale based on "perceived need" (or insert "GAS" here), and the availability of funds. There have been times that I have been GASing for something, without the funds to act. Then a great deal comes along on something I've been thinking about, so I end up getting that. Then the thing I've been GASing for suddenly goes down in price and becomes a great deal . . . but I just spent my funds on the other "great deal," so . . .

For me, it's all about the great deal, and I've only bought 1 guitar approaching $1,000. I usually buy used to keep my costs down.

Having said that, I've paid $200 for a set of Classic 57 pups, $100 for a used Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, and my most expensive amp purchase was $250 for a used, good condition Peavey Classic 50.
 
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i'd like to tell you that i have hard and fast numbers, but i don't. it's whatever feels right.

at the moment, i'm convinced i don't need to spend more than $1000 on a bass amp and cabinet. the used forums on Talkbass have reaffirmed that feeling. now i just need to decide what i actually want. and hopefully move some stuff to pay for it.
 
If we are talking just guitars and amps, probably the 3k-ish range. It kinda depends on what it is though. I'd probably go higher if it was something I really just had to have, but that almost never happens.
 
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