Originally Posted By: dcuny
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I generally won't pay too much for an instrument. Part of that is budget, but the other factor is that instruments are meant to be used, which means they'll get dinged up and damaged. I don't have the interest or the space for a collectible.<...>

We all have our point of diminishing returns.

I buy good instruments, because my livelihood depends on reliable, good sounding gear. But I'm also practical.

For example. When I bought my Parker Guitars, I could have gone cheaper with the Asian made models, but they aren't made quite the same with cheaper tuners, the frets are not hardened stainless, and so on. So I got the USA models.

I could have gone much more expensive, the same guitar but with fancy finishes instead of plain wood and paid up to twice as much. But as mentioned above, I also gig with them and they will get beat up, so why pay extra for a fancy finish? Besides I buy them to make money.

So I get the best neck, tuners, pickups, piezo, cap, pots, frets, etc.. It plays like the one with the flamed maple cap, it sounds like the one with the flamed maple cap, but it cost about half as much.

The first one is stock, the second one I had Duncan P-Rail pickups with triple shot rings so I can get P90, Rail, Series Humbucker and Parallel Humbucker sounds with the flick of a couple of slide switches. Well worth the $20 extra Parker charged for the custom job.

And yes, I really, really like them. They play and sound so well, I no longer have guitar GAS.

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