I thought about getting a fix for my G.A.S. monkey this weekend. (That's Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, in case you didn't know.)
Let me preface this post by saying that I design jewelry as a hobby. I know what it is like to hold a $250K stone in my hands- though I could not buy it! I go to the Intergem International Jewelry Conventions 2x year when they pass through D/FW.
I thought that would prepare me for the Dallas Guitar Convention. I was wrooooooooooong.
The difference between a high-level gemstone and a high-level guitar is history and uniqueness. That $250K stone was a natural red diamond. Mother nature makes a few of those. Very few.
Gibson made a certain number of their classic Goldtops in 1954, but very few of them survive. Fewer still were played by great musicians. Fewer than there are natural red diamonds in the world.
So there I was, walking up and down the aisles, seeing historical instruments owned by this musician or that. $18K. $25K. $50K (SHOW SPECIAL!). $150K.
And these were NOT the ones you had to wait in line for- not the 1st electric guitar ever made; not Eric Clapton's fave; not the $1M guitar made with gold etc.
I was simply overwhelmed.
I set myself a budget of $1000. I had intended to buy a Jellyfish & an EBow, but didn't see any. Everything else in the right price range (guitars, amps, etc.) was not significantly discounted from what I could get at my FLMS.
I saw some nice prototypes, like a 3.5lb Parker that was simply sweet...but at $4000, it stayed there.
I did find 2 things worth my attention, though.
The Vigier rep was there. Vigier (http://www.vigierguitars.com/is one of the few guitar makers that makes fretless guitars (not basses- guitars), and it was the axe of choice of Shawn Lane, one of my favorite guitarists. But they didn't have any. Got a price quote, though: $2700-3200 and 3-6 mos from order to delivery. Maybe for my birthday. Maybe next year.
But just down the aisle from them was John Kammerer (http://www.jonkammererguitars.com/). The images on the website hardly do them justice- they were among the most beautiful guitars at the show, and they sound great.
And he was having a 50% off sale!
I didn't buy from him today- even on sale, his guitars were just out of my price range. I resisted the urge to buy the "pearl of great price." But after talking to his buddies (who were helping him man his booth), I comitted to buying one this year- possibly a prototype of which there are only 3 in the world- a maple 3 single-pickup setup that looks something like one of these. I may even get the discount!
Let me preface this post by saying that I design jewelry as a hobby. I know what it is like to hold a $250K stone in my hands- though I could not buy it! I go to the Intergem International Jewelry Conventions 2x year when they pass through D/FW.
I thought that would prepare me for the Dallas Guitar Convention. I was wrooooooooooong.
The difference between a high-level gemstone and a high-level guitar is history and uniqueness. That $250K stone was a natural red diamond. Mother nature makes a few of those. Very few.
Gibson made a certain number of their classic Goldtops in 1954, but very few of them survive. Fewer still were played by great musicians. Fewer than there are natural red diamonds in the world.
So there I was, walking up and down the aisles, seeing historical instruments owned by this musician or that. $18K. $25K. $50K (SHOW SPECIAL!). $150K.
And these were NOT the ones you had to wait in line for- not the 1st electric guitar ever made; not Eric Clapton's fave; not the $1M guitar made with gold etc.
I was simply overwhelmed.
I set myself a budget of $1000. I had intended to buy a Jellyfish & an EBow, but didn't see any. Everything else in the right price range (guitars, amps, etc.) was not significantly discounted from what I could get at my FLMS.
I saw some nice prototypes, like a 3.5lb Parker that was simply sweet...but at $4000, it stayed there.
I did find 2 things worth my attention, though.
The Vigier rep was there. Vigier (http://www.vigierguitars.com/is one of the few guitar makers that makes fretless guitars (not basses- guitars), and it was the axe of choice of Shawn Lane, one of my favorite guitarists. But they didn't have any. Got a price quote, though: $2700-3200 and 3-6 mos from order to delivery. Maybe for my birthday. Maybe next year.
But just down the aisle from them was John Kammerer (http://www.jonkammererguitars.com/). The images on the website hardly do them justice- they were among the most beautiful guitars at the show, and they sound great.
And he was having a 50% off sale!
I didn't buy from him today- even on sale, his guitars were just out of my price range. I resisted the urge to buy the "pearl of great price." But after talking to his buddies (who were helping him man his booth), I comitted to buying one this year- possibly a prototype of which there are only 3 in the world- a maple 3 single-pickup setup that looks something like one of these. I may even get the discount!
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