Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Should I put money into my guitar?
So here's the deal. I just put new pickups in my Dean Evo. It's a $300 guitar that I got for $100 and had it refurbished. I put a Seymour Duncan 59 in the neck and a Seymour Duncan Dimebucker in the bridge. Guitar already played well but now it sounds kickass. However I have an Ibanez Gio 7-string that plays ok. I don't use it much but with the stock pickups that are in it, it is unplayable. The sound is so muddy. I am looking at a Seymour Duncan Pegasus. It's a $120 pickup. I want to use the guitar and the Pegasus sounds great in the video I watched. But should I spend the $120 and take the chance that the guitar may be great or might not be or spend out $500+ on a 7-string that I may not use much at all?
3 Answers
- 6 years ago
Putting $300 into a $100 guitar is just a bad decision. No matter what the pickups, it is still only and Evo, so the value is still roughly $100, maximum, which means you just dumped money for no extra gain.
And as for that Ibanez, that is even worse of a decision. They are $200 brand new, so you can sell them for maybe $100, if you are lucky. So dumping $500 into a $100 dollar guitar is fools errand.
You should never dump money into anything unless it is something where you can get the money back. For the sake of imagination, you bought a $1,000 Paul Reed Smith. If you change the pickups to Seymour Duncan, you might be able to sell it for more than the stock used price.
On the opposite side of that, there are guitars that need to be kept in factory condition. So, for the sake of story, you just bought yourself a fancy 2014 Les Paul Supreme, still in the box. Brand new, they sold for $1,600 - $2,000. Leave the guitar in its hard case, and make sure the strings are loosened so the neck is not pulled out of shape. In about 50 years, if (IF) the thing is still in factory condition, you can buy a house with the money it is worth. And some 50s Fender Stratocasters were selling for the equal of $600 in today's money, but are now worth more than $100,000 if they are still in factory condition. So go ahead, and buy a new Les Paul, and keep it as an investment. Preferably, buy a 2015, so it has all the 100th birthday stuff on it.
So, with all that said, what should you do with your money? Save it. Buy a quality guitar that you can customize as you like, such as a Chapman. Chapman guitars are affordable, excellent quality, and are perfect for personalization. Best of all, Chapman guitars already come stock with Seymour Duncan pickups. If you want that generic Stratocaster shape, you can buy the ML-1 Pro, and then change pickups so that they all are Hot Rails, or Stacked Humbuckers. Or if you choose the ML-2, or a Ghost Fret, you can change the pickups to Seymour Duncan Blackouts.
Basically, what I am saying is this. High-end, very expensive guitars ($2,000+) need to be kept in factory condition. Cheap little beginner guitars ($300 or less) are not even worth buying, and much less worth putting any additional money into them. Mid-range guitars ($800 - $1,000) are perfect for personalizing.
- 6 years ago
I make more money spending money on guitars and playing shows 3 times a week than I would putting $1000 in the bank and letting it sit for 100 year lol.
- Anonymous6 years ago
No you should put it in a bank.
