Is there a Dr. in the house, I have GAS...

[Re-Pete]

Last Saturday I was in a local guitar shop asking about Fender Australia's stand on the rosewood issue.... whether any updates on the issue had been given to retailers.

Nope no news there and the guy seemed think it's a non issue as such a large distributor would just bunker down and do the import paperwork once Fender USA got the stockpile authorised for export. Or if it did become laborious and quite the task with Australian Govt, maybe they'd simply not import any rosewood fingerboard - guitars.

But dammit the shop had a white Fender Stratocaster with a rosewood fingerboard.... I have long held a soft spot for a white Strat. Well, you know how it plays out....

"Like that Strat over there, it has a rosewood fingerboard right?" 

"Yep, it's a Made In Mexico, pretty good guitar actually wanna take a closer look"  :help:

"Damn the guitar neck has some flaming on the maple neck"  :evil4:

*strums a few chords* "Plays pretty well"  :help:

He was gunna cut a deal with a hard case and keep the price the same as the latest versions are actually lower in price (no idea how that works  :dontknow: )....and there's conjecture that Fender's MIM models won't feature rosewood in the future, only Pau Ferro & Maple fingerboards....

I need another guitar like a hole in the head, and I do already own a Strat but it's from the 1980s and getting on. I cleaned it that weekend and noticed the 3rd fret worn down around the G String area where obviously I've been holding down the strings.... it's getting old and in original format so I'm reluctant to mod it any way. The idea being another cheaper Strat I can mod with an EMG system I have in mind or get some Texas Specials or any of the million other replacement Strat Pickups around.

Spent these last few days going to Stage 2 GAS. Checking the bank balance and seeing where I can find the $.... Things are getting grim....  :tard: Is there a Dr. in the house?

 

[ghotiphry]

Sorry, man, I'm no help.  I've got a full Warmoth shopping cart and the same problem.  But, you have my empathy.  I know what you feel.

 

[BigSteve22]

You came to us for help with not buying a guitar? Boy, you DO need help!  :sad:

 

[Re-Pete]

You came to us for help with not buying a guitar? Boy, you DO need help!  :sad:

Ha ha ha. I love that.


Actually Karma stepped in and brought me to ground very soon after I posted this Topic.

I had a phone call from a legal Executor of my Late Sister's Estate and had to go over some details and quite frankly the whole thing took the wind out of my sails. Can't say much as it's private but yeah, it made me realise not to get all airy-fairy with daydreams and concentrate on the real issues at home instead.

 

[Axkoa]

Hey, another Aussie on the forum??? Where abouts are you from?

To be honest, I would just save a bit extra money and get a Warmoth Strat, though depending on how cheap that Fender is...

 

[Kostas]

...I need another guitar like a hole in the head, and I do already own a Strat but it's from the 1980s and getting on. I cleaned it that weekend and noticed the 3rd fret worn down around the G String area where obviously I've been holding down the strings.... it's getting old and in original format so I'm reluctant to mod it any way...

Your strat may be old but it's worth will never be high and strats are the most easy guitars to mod, you take the pickguard off as it is and you put a new one with the pickups/pots of your choice. Any routing is hiding under the big guard. You want to sell it? You put the original guard back. About frets: If you have a tech you know, you can ask him to replace just one or a couple frets instead of doing a refret that costs a lot. I remember my luthier telling me he has replaced just the first five frets of acoustic players who all they do is play barre chords on the first frets. Or depending on the AU import taxes you can order a replacement neck if it will cost less than a full refret.

I find Fender guitars overpriced for what they offer. As far as I know they cost even more in Australia than they cost in Europe. Only Americans are lucky, they buy Mexican Fenders in the second market for the what they should cost in the first place. I'm not saying a guitar won't sound good because it has a body with 5-6 pieces but I just don't like the idea of paying 800 - 900 euros for a guitar with a multi-piece body.

Personally I have tamed my GAS for a few reasons:
I have more guitars than I need.
I usually like expensive guitars that I can't afford or refuse to pay so much. I prefer to do a transatlantic trip than pay the same amount of money for a guitar.
Local guitar shops have been closing and the existing ones have limited their stock.
My Warmoth guitars have spoiled me and I rarely find guitars with the specs I want.
Warmoth have stopped production of many bodies they were offering in the past. I'm lucky the showcase necks rarely fit my specs. Also DL top (veneer) is what I expect on a mid priced Asian guitar, not on a custom ordered body that costs as much and more as a mid priced Asian guitar. The showcase has done more damage to my wallet than ebay and all the guitar forums combined so since I tamed this I'm OK. I like browsing it daily but my last showcase purchase was seven years ago.

 

[Re-Pete]

Hey, another Aussie on the forum??? Where abouts are you from?

To be honest, I would just save a bit extra money and get a Warmoth Strat, though depending on how cheap that Fender is...

Central Coast, NSW...

I already have 3 guitars built from Warmoth parts. That's enough. One took me about 10 years to get right. They are 'works in progress' (though 2 of them are just about as I want them to be so that will do) but the brand guitars are a different thing.

 

[Re-Pete]

...I need another guitar like a hole in the head, and I do already own a Strat but it's from the 1980s and getting on. I cleaned it that weekend and noticed the 3rd fret worn down around the G String area where obviously I've been holding down the strings.... it's getting old and in original format so I'm reluctant to mod it any way...

Your strat may be old but it's worth will never be high and strats are the most easy guitars to mod, you take the pickguard off as it is and you put a new one with the pickups/pots of your choice. Any routing is hiding under the big guard. You want to sell it? You put the original guard back. About frets: If you have a tech you know, you can ask him to replace just one or a couple frets instead of doing a refret that costs a lot. I remember my luthier telling me he has replaced just the first five frets of acoustic players who all they do is play barre chords on the first frets. Or depending on the AU import taxes you can order a replacement neck if it will cost less than a full refret.

I find Fender guitars overpriced for what they offer. As far as I know they cost even more in Australia than they cost in Europe. Only Americans are lucky, they buy Mexican Fenders in the second market for the what they should cost in the first place. I'm not saying a guitar won't sound good because it has a body with 5-6 pieces but I just don't like the idea of paying 800 - 900 euros for a guitar with a multi-piece body.

Personally I have tamed my GAS for a few reasons:
I have more guitars than I need.
I usually like expensive guitars that I can't afford or refuse to pay so much. I prefer to do a transatlantic trip than pay the same amount of money for a guitar.
Local guitar shops have been closing and the existing ones have limited their stock.
My Warmoth guitars have spoiled me and I rarely find guitars with the specs I want.
Warmoth have stopped production of many bodies they were offering in the past. I'm lucky the showcase necks rarely fit my specs. Also DL top (veneer) is what I expect on a mid priced Asian guitar, not on a custom ordered body that costs as much and more as a mid priced Asian guitar. The showcase has done more damage to my wallet than ebay and all the guitar forums combined so since I tamed this I'm OK. I like browsing it daily but my last showcase purchase was seven years ago.

My older Strat was something I bought because it had a good sound. It is the wrong colour (for me) and it has the maple fingerboard which I am not a great fan of. It is Made in USA and was one of the production models they put out to keep the bills being paid when Schultz and his team took over the company and had to retool the machinery. It's a 57 Reissue but there's so many inaccuracies I'm loathe to call it that. I'm not 100% about it's authenticity either after popping the pickguard the other day for a good clean. The neck pocket is pretty scrappy, though the neck is a solid fit. And the pickups do not have anyone signing off on them and they only have a part number stamped on the bobbin base. To me, it could be a partscaster.....though less of that was happening back in 1986 when I bought it.

I don't want to mod it as it sounds OK when the damn thing behaves itself and doesn't have dodgy pots....but that fretwear is unavoidable & I don't think there's a decent tech around here. Even that Strat I played in the local shop looked like it needed a bit of truss rod tweak as the action was high up on the area around the 12th fret & upwards..

 

[Axkoa]

Hey, another Aussie on the forum??? Where abouts are you from?

To be honest, I would just save a bit extra money and get a Warmoth Strat, though depending on how cheap that Fender is...

Central Coast, NSW...

I already have 3 guitars built from Warmoth parts. That's enough. One took me about 10 years to get right. They are 'works in progress' (though 2 of them are just about as I want them to be so that will do) but the brand guitars are a different thing.

Fair enough, I'm up near Brissie, and haven't even got 1 yet  :sad:

 

[Kostas]

...My older Strat was something I bought because it had a good sound. It is the wrong colour (for me) and it has the maple fingerboard which I am not a great fan of. It is Made in USA and was one of the production models they put out to keep the bills being paid when Schultz and his team took over the company and had to retool the machinery. It's a 57 Reissue but there's so many inaccuracies I'm loathe to call it that. I'm not 100% about it's authenticity either after popping the pickguard the other day for a good clean. The neck pocket is pretty scrappy, though the neck is a solid fit. And the pickups do not have anyone signing off on them and they only have a part number stamped on the bobbin base. To me, it could be a partscaster.....though less of that was happening back in 1986 when I bought it...

Ι don't think it's a partcaster, you described a typical Fender... Only the last few years their quailty have changed.

...I don't want to mod it as it sounds OK when the damn thing behaves itself and doesn't have dodgy pots....but that fretwear is unavoidable & I don't think there's a decent tech around here...

My tech is a luthier who builds guitars from scratch, he has assembled my Warmoth parts to perfection but I'd prefer to be in NSW without a tech than in Athens with a tech... Since you are there check the Japanese brands (the Asians in general) who are closer to you. Either what it's imported there or check the Japanese market, they make great guitars for every budget. I consider them better deals than the Mexican Fenders unless you can't live without the F logo.

 

[Re-Pete]

Kostas I do like an ESP E11 FR7.... it's one of their higher level of guitar. Neck thru, Floyd, 7 string, EMGs.... but it's also way out of my league as far as a player...

After today's talk with the Executor of my Sister's Estate I'm kinda down on any expenditure like this at the moment. The call was like a lump of 4x2 across the back of the head to make me wake up to myself a bit more. Things ARE happening in my life and I wanna wander into fantasy land and buy a guitar just for fun?  :sign13:

 

[Zhaezzy]

Kostas I do like an ESP E11 FR7.... it's one of their higher level of guitar. Neck thru, Floyd, 7 string, EMGs.... but it's also way out of my league as far as a player...

After today's talk with the Executor of my Sister's Estate I'm kinda down on any expenditure like this at the moment. The call was like a lump of 4x2 across the back of the head to make me wake up to myself a bit more. Things ARE happening in my life and I wanna wander into fantasy land and buy a guitar just for fun?  :sign13:

I know how you feel about it. Was getting started on my build and then my wife was diagnosed with cancer. I ended up cutting a lot of corners but I was already most of the way in financed so I cut some corners to get it done.

 

[amigarobbo]

Your strat may be old but it's worth will never be high

They said that about post CBS Fenders, then those rubbish 70s strats.

I don't know where I'm going with this.  :toothy11:

 

[Cagey]

Some people equate old with good. Some people get stuck in an era. Some people use less than objective criteria to decide value/desirability. There are lotsa reasons things increase in value, many of them completely illogical, and often times the increase is only apparent rather than actual. Sometimes, in a hateful kind of way, it's fun to watch those who buy into the idea something is worth something when it's not. Ben Franklin famously said "The worth of a thing is the price it will bring". That's where the rubber meets the road. Somebody tells you a '70s-era Epiphone is worth a lotta money, the way to see if that's true is to try to sell it for that amount. Chances are pretty good it ain't happening. And those who know it deep in their heart will refuse to try to sell it, saying there's no way they're letting go of such a fine instrument that's worth so much, which just perpetuates the myth of its value. You can do that with anything. Claim your used toilet paper is worth $4300 an ounce, then refuse to sell it because it's still increasing in value. You gotta wait for the right moment...

 

[Re-Pete]

I know how you feel about it. Was getting started on my build and then my wife was diagnosed with cancer. I ended up cutting a lot of corners but I was already most of the way in financed so I cut some corners to get it done.

I am so sorry to hear your wife is ill.....Trusting all will get better for you both.

Your strat may be old but it's worth will never be high

They said that about post CBS Fenders, then those rubbish 70s strats.

I don't know where I'm going with this.  :toothy11:

My Strat will probably hold a steady value as it gets older....it has the history of being one of those guitars that paid the bills while Fender re-tooled.

I played some of those 1970s Strats when they were new & you wouldn't get me buying one now. Loose neck pockets, aggravated by a 3 bolt neck...rejigs of the control design..... all became unfavourable.

After selling a good Gibson Firebird, in near new condition, for a pittance years ago when things weren't going well, I am really reluctant to sell any guitar now.

I have seen all sorts of attributes to certain guitars and quite frankly the whole, 'old is good' mantra is a fair bit cooked. Old Gretsches, Rickenbackers are hell to keep together and will fall apart, quite literally. The Gibsons have some serious design flaws in old models.....bad head stock tilt degree, poor bridge design, bridge saddles that are made of nylon and kill the tone....There's a whole list of things wrong with old guitars. It's like buying a genuine Ford Model T and wondering why the damn car won't stop until you've pumped the brakes a million times and said your prayers. Those that collect guitars generally know what they are getting themselves into....but the conservation of those guitars takes time & money. You have to treat them with care.

But for the vast majority, old guitars are not for them. I do prefer newer guitars. I quite like what I am seeing from EB Music Man at the moment. Those John Petrucci Majesty guitars and the St. Vincent guitar are great innovations.