social.noyu.me

one of the things that i feel weird about is i spent way over my self-imposed budget when i got my guitar. but thinking about it now, it only cost me half of what i spent on my current laptop? that really puts it into perspective. because goddamn is the guitar the better value

actually can't believe people are willing to buy “iphones” and “macbooks” that will last their owners 3 years before replacement when for similar money you could buy an absurdly incredibly beautiful and sturdy guitar that will last a lifetime and bring far more joy

‪actually i overestimated the relative cost difference, it was five years ago when SEK was stronger against EUR; also both the guitar and the laptop were things i bought at a significant discount over retail price.‬

‪still‬

‪a non-upgradeable computer should not cost that much‬

‪i've been putting off big purchases for the last two years, because most of that time i've been unemployed, and i kept trying to psyche myself into buying a new laptop. and i couldn't do it. it was just obscene money. it didn't feel good.‬

‪the guitar feels good.‬

‪the guitar i have would have, if bought new, cost 10% more than a current-gen iphone, also bought new. that's just obscene. the iphone is not made out of mahogany. the iphone will not work in ten years. the iphone cannot spark joy. i think i'm just jokered on the tech industry‬

‪i think what i'm saying is i felt a kind of joy about that guitar that a computer could never inspire in me and does not deserve to, and i knew in my gut that it was worth every penny in how it was built. there are guitars worthy of cynicism, but that one wasn't. it's how i felt‬

‪spending more or less money on something is not inherently more virtuous but you should probably save it for the purchases you won't regret, y'know‬

@hikari yep, even if you never sell it, a good guitar amortizes out to a bargain. I've owned my oldest guitar for 32 years. It was a very expensive guitar (~$3000 in today's dollars), and bought new. But, if it (or I) blinked out of existence tomorrow I've paid $93.75 per year to play an amazing guitar. Nevermind that I could sell it for $1500 today and recoup almost exactly what I paid for it, it's still less than a week worth of groceries per year. A good guitar is a great investment.

@hikari what guitar did you get?

@Tijn it's a fender custom telecaster special edition hh fmt (amber), it is a thing of beauty in so many ways i loved it immediately

@hikari oooh with a coil tap, that's nice.

If I ever buy another electric guitar (who am I kidding, of course I will) it's definitely going to have some fancy electronics like that.

@Tijn the coil tap to make the humbuckers pretend to be single-coil feels spiritually important as an alleged telecaster!

i am quite fond of the controls on it, they look great, they feel good, and they balance versatility with not having an overwhelming or confusing amount of options

@hikari Yeah, yet because of the coil tap it has more controls than any of the guitars I own haha.

That's why I really want to go nuts with the next one I add. I want all the options!

@Tijn don't forget you can mod guitars! i don't know what you have but if it's one with a pick guard covering a hollow chamber it might be practical

@Tijn i did try two other guitars in the store but both of them had too many switches/switch positions for my taste. disorienting and ugly

@hikari yeah, I wouldn't want that for my first guitar either.

In fact I only have acquired two electric guitars during the 25 years I've been playing, an Epiphone Les Paul and a Fender Telecaster, they're both pretty basic.

They serve me just fine and offer a wide range of sounds, but if I add a 3rd one I want it to be weird and have All The Things.

You're right though, modding is also an option! We'll see, I'm not in a hurry.