Buyer's Guide
This month I have decided to do a buyers guide since I have received so many emails with questions on what I think about certain products.
As what I think about a certain product doesn't matter nearly as much as how you feel about your sound, I have found myself giving this
same information to everyone who emails me with these questions. I am a reviewer of products; this means I review gear with the idea to give
you a honest impression of the quality. I also comment on the sound of the product because it gives the potential buyer a clue as for what to
expect. This does not mean that the product will necessarily fit your needs or will tickle your fancy. Examples of this abound. Punk bands
(Green Day for example) often find shopping pawn shops and using the cheapest equipment available gives them the sound they are looking for.
This is not to say this is a bad method (who am I to criticize a band that makes more in a day than I will see in my lifetime!). Whatever method
gives you the sound you are looking for is the best one. I personally lean towards used vintage gear when I can afford it. I tend to shop the
smaller independent guitar shops. I think this is a wise thing to do anyway. If you find a small shop with a friendly owner/manager you have the
opritunity to learn allot about the quality of different instruments and about their value. I have known the owner of Matt's Music since I was in
tenth grade. He has given me most of the knowledge I have today.Ordinarily I would not give out a shop name, but I have had such a positive
relationship with him and his business that I have no qualms about giving it out (this is, by the way, Matt's Music in Middletown, CT not the larger
store in the Boston area of which I have never been to).
The first step of purchasing any piece of gear is to try everything that fits your needs without looking at prices. Often I have seen people buy gear
that is sub-par because it is the cheapest model that might suits their needs. They buy something because it is the lowest price, not because it sounds
good. While I understand cost is always an issue (I am a starving college student myself) it is important to find the best quality you can afford.
As an example when I started my never ending quest for gear I bought a few items which were mistakes. One such purchase was an Ibanez Sound
Tank chorus pedal. The Ibanez pedal was the cheapest on the market at that time. As a chorus it works; that is the best I can say about it. I heard
the chorus and assumed that since it was a chorus pedal it would work for what I wanted. Had I sat down and tried all the chorus pedals I would
probably chosen the Boss stereo chorus that was only $20 more and had a heavenly lush sound rather than the sound I ended up with. The Sound
Tank sounded more high pitch and digital; like a cd with a glitch. What can I say I was a stupid kid.
The next step is to narrow down your choices. You do this first by eliminating the pedals that do not fit your sound or just sound bad. Then look at the
choices you have left (there should only be five or six). Now find the one you can't live without in the bunch. Every piece of gear I own is a life or death
situation. I NEED to have it, but then again I am a gear fiend.
Now you may flip the price tag over and look. Unless the price is so exorbitant that you couldn't pay for it in good conscience (like the $250 distortion
pedals I have been admiring) buy it. If you can not afford it save your money until you can. Do not settle. In the long run you will be thankful that you
didn't buy that piece that you settled for because you didn't have the money at the time. If you absolutely can not see spending the price try to bargain with
the salesperson. And if this does not work put it back and go back to your group of five or six.
The other end of this spectrum is finding the $99 deal of a century.An example of this is a Yamaha acoustic I once bought for a girlfriend of
mine. I chose it over a few $500 Takamines and Taylors. I think in the end the guitar cost something like $150. While I am also partial to the Yamaha
acoustic sound I still couldn't believe the value. While the guitar may not have been as sturdy as the other models the sound was superior. I thought this
was O.K. because an instrument should never be abused; That is why every guitar I own lives in a plastic hard shell case or on a cast iron wallhanger where
it can not fall and be damaged when not in use.
The last step is always to protect your investments. Buy the best cases you can afford for your guitars, protect that guitar with the one in a million sound
searched for. Store your amps in an area with the least dust and humidity possible and don't throw your $80 and $90 pedals around haphazardly, store them
neatly in a place like your amp.
I hope you find this guide helpful. For any further questions on quality or advice on buying to suit your needs email me: