Are you a Gear Corksniffer?

[Robert]

By "Gear Corksniffer", I mean someone who is really picky with all the aspects of their gear; cables, strings, pedals, amps, guitars, etc, and who buys the higher end of any category of gear.

Myself, I am getting slightly more into corksniffing, but only to some degree. I seem to be known as "the guy with all the crappy guitars but who makes them sound good", or something.

I am slowly buying more expensive stuff, at a pace I can afford to. Why? Well, playing guitar is my big love! Why not spend money on your love? Not that I need to in order to get good tone. I will still sound like me regardless, but buying gear is a life long journey I think. It's buying part and trying-new-stuff-part that is the fun!

I also am not one of those who need a $4000 amp and a $4000 guitar in order to play a blues. I know of musicians who blind-test different lengths of guitar cables to find what length is the optimal length. I'm not going that far.

I have now a mix of lower quality stuff and some higher end stuff. It kind of makes sense to have good parts, all the way from guitar to amp. I have lots of cheap pedals, and some of the affect the tone a bit, but generally not too much. I'll probably end up getting all quality pedals all the way some day, but it won't happen right away.

Looking at members' signatures, one gets an idea where most people are on the "corksniffing scale", but let's hear what you have to say about it.

[Brian Krashpad]

Makes me no nevermind, really. I've slowly gotten a few nice pieces over the years, but nothing over a grand (USD). Most expensive to date was a minty Les Paul Classic that looked like new (it was 5 or 6 years old iirc) bought for $750 US.

Bottom line for me is, first: is it a good deal? I've gotten some outrageous deals over the years. At this point, I no longer buy just to buy (except on extremely rare occasions when I buy specifically to flip a piece (which I've only done once, iirc) though, so I look at the features and construction and see if the piece adds something to the collection. For example, I still don't have: a setneck hollow/semihollow, an electric 12-string, or an acoustic-electric.

I can get along without those at this point, but if some day (when I have fundage) I find a good deal on something in those catagories...

[birv2]

Good thread, RR.

I am definitely on the low end of the gear scale mostly through necessity. If I could afford expensive stuff I would definitely get it. But at this time I can't, so I am forced to do the best I can with heart, fingers, and gear I can afford.

I always go back to one of my heroes, Hound Dog Taylor, who played a Japanese Teisco Del Ray and used part of a chair leg for a slide. His band consisted of another guitarist and a drummer (with a minimal kit), no bass player. And these guys are the original Houserockers!

So maybe it's a good thing that I'm forced to make do with less gear.

Bob:AOK:

[sunvalleylaw]

I really am only cork sniffy about getting a new acoustic someday. I would really like a certain sound that I found in an expensive Martin, but I would love to find that sound in a much less expensive unit.

[Tone2TheBone]

I'm picky but I'm not that picky. I agree I'd rather spend money on something I love than to blow it on other crap.

[Spudman]

I just twist off the cap and get drunk on the cheap stuff. :messedup:

[Lev]

Makes me no nevermind, really. I've slowly gotten a few nice pieces over the years, but nothing over a grand (USD). Most expensive to date was a minty Les Paul Classic that looked like new (it was 5 or 6 years old iirc) bought for $750 US.


I think there is a kind of invisible ceiling at $1000, I would be quite prepaerd to pay upto $1000 for a guitar or amp (if I had the cash!). I think it's fair to say that most of your audience wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a $400 guitar and a $900 but you know when you have a quality instrument in your hands and it can really spark creativity in your playing.

However when it goes above $1000 and you're comparing a $1000 guitar with a $4000 guitar I'm not sure the differences are that noticable, you're really paying for custom designs, hand craftsmanship & exclusivity.

...now I'm off to drool at www.prsguitars.com :drool: :rotflmao:

[duhvoodooman]

I just twist off the cap and get drunk on the cheap stuff.
That sounds about right for me, too. While I think I have some pretty darned good guitars, I've never spend over $800 on one. My amps have all cost under $350. I have a boatload of pedals, too, but no super-expensive boutique models. So while I'm definitely a hardware geek, I don't think I come close to qualifying as a cork sniffer. But I've been called cork soaker a few times. Or something like that.... ;)

[ted s]

cork soaker.. cork licker..:rotflmao: :rotflmao:
My older guitars are Japanese, and I have my Fender (miM), up until I picked up my JT strat ($99) I snubbed cheap stuff, it must be crap. Now a can appreciate a nice piece regardless. I also have that mystical $1000 mental block but would eventually like a "real" Fender Strat.

[Adrian30]

I think there is a kind of invisible ceiling at $1000, I would be quite prepaerd to pay upto $1000 for a guitar or amp (if I had the cash!). ...

However when it goes above $1000 and you're comparing a $1000 guitar with a $4000 guitar I'm not sure the differences are that noticable, you're really paying for custom designs, hand craftsmanship & exclusivity.

I'm plussing myself here, although maybe in future (it's the distant one I'm talking about here), a good price on an LP will require me to push that ceiling up for just a bit. :D

[duhvoodooman]

I also have that mystical $1000 mental block but would eventually like a "real" Fender Strat.
You can certainly get a "real" Strat (MIA, I'm assuming you mean) for well under a grand if you're (1) willing to buy a used instrument and (2) patient enough to wait for the right deal to come around....

[snarph]

There is a difference in good equipment and expensive Equipment. The only Guitars that I have exceeded the thousand dollar range were PRS signature and ten tops. They were well worth the money and at the time I could pull it off with compromising my commitments else where .

I doubt that I would ever do it again at least not to that extent I think possibly some thing in the five hundred dollar range if it were a really compelling deal I might go for it

[LagrangeCalvert]

I feel my MIM 50's series strat is a "real" strat....I have had people pick it up and say "nice U.S. Deluxe!"....then I say "look at the back of the headstock"...then they just get weird. I have also put about 400 dollars into it (parts and labor) so you might say Im a Cork Sniffer....BUUUUUUUUT at the same time I love my modded Valve Jr's.... I have also put about 600 (again parts and labor) dollars into a Epi Special 2, and IMHO it plays great....

On my Special 2 I put the salesmen at Guitar Center through HELL - no joke. I picked up a special 2 when I went there and played it for a few minutes...Craig - the salesmen that I do business with walks up to me and says "Looking for a guitar to smash onstage?"...I just smiled and said "No, Im looking for a guitar to pour about 400dollars into. Now if you would be kind enough to tell me how many of these you have in stock?"...He goes and checks the computer - "about 30 not including the 5 on the floor"...I just smiled and said "Go get ALL of them....I'm gonna find the best one"...

I spent about 3 1/2 hours with a Classic 30 (which I ended up buying a Delta Blues 1x15 cause I fell in love with the amp THAT DAY) and thirty - 140 dollar guitars....but I got the best one ;) ! He earned his commission that day - BUT I also bought a hardshell case AND later that year a delta blues and 5K in a PA!


I told that story to prove a fact: You do NOT have to spend a sack full of cash to be a tone snob/cork sniffer. To me, Its the attitude about tone. I'm obsessive about great tone, and it doesn't matter if if comes from a 10dollar or 1,000 dollar piece of gear. IMO you get a better quality more reliable product 9/10ths of the time for the more expensive gear.

my 1.00 worth of babbling!

Josh - L.C.

[Radioboy950]

When I began playing in the 70’s, it seemed that the low-end gear was REALLY junk. Today, there is a lot of very decent “value-priced” gear being produced. I own some of it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised if you haven’t been shopping lately.

I am now in a position to be able to afford higher quality gear, but I’m still not going to thrown down $4,000 for a boutique amp, or $10,000 for a special edition guitar. But I don't mind spending a few bucks on guitars that will give me a unique sound, such as a '68 ES-335 12-string...
I don't know if that makes me a "sniffer", but I sure want this guitar.

[ted s]

You can certainly get a "real" Strat (MIA, I'm assuming you mean) for well under a grand if you're (1) willing to buy a used instrument and (2) patient enough to wait for the right deal to come around....
Just to clarify, real meaning not made in China.

[LagrangeCalvert]

Just to clarify, real meaning not made in China.

I agree with that....:beer: :AOK:

[just strum]

By "Gear Corksniffer", I mean someone who is really picky with all the aspects of their gear; cables, strings, pedals, amps, guitars, etc, and who buys the higher end of any category of gear.



If I had money I would probably fall into the "Gear Corksniffer", however since I don't...

There is one exception - I've been playing for about 1.5 years and even today I have yet to find a guitar strap that I like. Although cost is a concern, I still haven't found one I like, period.

[jpfeifer]

I'm a corksniffer only about certain things.

I do think that you get what you pay for in guitars for the most part, especially acoustic guitars. Good acoustic guitars are hard to make, and the materials are expensive (and getting more so that way). When you pick up a good acoustic you can really hear the difference that solid woods and good workmanship does to make the instrument really sing.

Amps and electric guitars are actually getting better for the $. It seems that the cheaper guitars have really moved up in overall quality. But I can still tell a big difference when I pick up a handmade electric. You can really feel the responsiveness and overall tone with the high end electrics, but this category is getting ridiculously expensive these days. I was in Guitar Center the other day and they had some PRS guitars for $11k. I asked the sales guy if they sold any of these, he said yes, about once a month someone comes in and buys one. I don't know what these guys are doing for a living who buy these kind of guitars, but it's probably not by playing music :-)


-- Jim

[sunvalleylaw]

I'm a corksniffer only about certain things.

I do think that you get what you pay for in guitars for the most part, especially acoustic guitars. Good acoustic guitars are hard to make, and the materials are expensive (and getting more so that way). When you pick up a good acoustic you can really hear the difference that solid woods and good workmanship does to make the instrument really sing.


-- Jim


That is the part I am struggling with (sniffing cork and gassing about). I really cannot spend what it takes to get a Martin HD-28V (I know you are a Martin player) and my skill level doesn't really justify it, but it is the sound I want. Maybe there is something in the Takamine/Martin lawsuit guitar category I could look for. So I am sniffing corks here, but I am looking for a high rated Australian value wine to take the place of the high end Sonoma bottle. :)

I think my MIM 60th stands up well when compared to more expensive American models, and the next electric I would likely add is an LP, and the Epis and Agiles, etc. seem to compare well enough to the Gibbys for my purposes there. My C-30 does me fine for amphs. No need for 4k amps for me.

[ted s]

$4k amphs... If I brought home a 4k amp, I'd be sniff'n corks alright......
In the ditch after my wife boots my ace out the door ! :reallymad:

[stingx]

With the rare exception (my '83 Kramer, my '05 JV, Ibby Prestige RG1570), I buy used. I have gotten some of the most amazing deals on my guitars - very nice pieces both sound and looks-wise. I don't buy for the sake of buying either. Honestly, at this point - and for quite some time - I have all I need and unless something really catches my interest I cannot be bothered. I don't buy something just because it's cheap. I don't mind cheap guitars in the sense that they aren't expensive but I loathe cheaply made instruments and it bothers me to my soul that a tree was felled to make them. I have learned a long time ago that a turd, no matter how highly polished, is always going to be a turd.

[jpfeifer]

Hi Steve,

You don't necessarily have to get a high-end Martin to get good quality in an acoustic. Look for one with a solid top at least. This will make it sound better with age, etc. I've played some Takamine models that I really liked, and I've played some Martins that I didn't like at all. You can find some solid top acoustics that won't break the bank. There's a great guitar made by Taylor called the "Big Baby" that is essentially a full-size version of their Baby Taylor. This is one of the best sounding guitars I've ever found for this price, about $450. It has a solid spruce top and plays great.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Taylor-Big-Baby-Dreadnought-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=514968

-- Jim

[sunvalleylaw]

Hi Steve,

You don't necessarily have to get a high-end Martin to get good quality in an acoustic. Look for one with a solid top at least. This will make it sound better with age, etc. I've played some Takamine models that I really liked, and I've played some Martins that I didn't like at all. You can find some solid top acoustics that won't break the bank. There's a great guitar made by Taylor called the "Big Baby" that is essentially a full-size version of their Baby Taylor. This is one of the best sounding guitars I've ever found for this price, about $450. It has a solid spruce top and plays great.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Taylor-Big-Baby-Dreadnought-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=514968

-- Jim

Thanks to the tip Jim.

[Jimi75]

First of all, this is a very good thread Robert.

I believe that we as persons who are highly interested in guitars and guitarplaying change our minds over the years very often.

I was a corksniffer and I must admit that I am happy having 2-3 good quality guitars, but for me corksniffing wasn't "expensive = good". I pick what is good for me.

As you might remember, I once mentioned that I kind of "lost" GAS. Recently, I set priorities and for me it's important to improve composing and playing skills, being able to do project related composing, working on getting atmosphere into music etc.
This really keeps me so busy that I do not even think about new equipment and it also proofs to me that I can get along with my equipment very well and it suits my demands.

But to get to that point of awareness, I had to buy and sell tons of instruments and this is really sad!

What I recommend is to invest in "good" instruments from the beginning on. This is easy nowadays as we have brilliant far east instruments. This makes it easier to concentrate on what really counts - the music!

[Plank_Spanker]

By "Gear Corksniffer", I mean someone who is really picky with all the aspects of their gear; cables, strings, pedals, amps, guitars, etc, and who buys the higher end of any category of gear.

I'm picky, but not to the point of being absurd about it. I believe in buying quality gear, but I don't make that determination based solely on cachet and price. I buy what I think will continue to work for me long term.

Corksniffer to me is another term for gear snob - "my purchases are based as much if not more on cachet and impressing the lessor beings than it is actually satisfying me as a player - and I never miss a chance to bag on everyone else's sadly inferior choice of gear."

I guess that knocks me out of corksniffer contention...................:D

[TS808]

Lately, I've been spending more on gear, but am not going to get absurd about it. Personally, it doesn't make much sense for me to spend 2-3K on an amp when there are numerous good quality amps out there that can be purchased for under $1000. My "hand-built" Sligo Bluesbreaker was my "boutique" experience and that is nothing more than a Weber kit that can be purchased for roughly 1/2 the price of a Marshall.

I think it's sensible to buy quality gear as it will last and sound good, but I don't think a person has to go into major debt to find gear that is of good quality.

[Brian Krashpad]

I think there is a kind of invisible ceiling at $1000, I would be quite prepaerd to pay upto $1000 for a guitar or amp (if I had the cash!). I think it's fair to say that most of your audience wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a $400 guitar and a $900 but you know when you have a quality instrument in your hands and it can really spark creativity in your playing.

However when it goes above $1000 and you're comparing a $1000 guitar with a $4000 guitar I'm not sure the differences are that noticable, you're really paying for custom designs, hand craftsmanship & exclusivity.


I think that's right. Basically, I don't have the time (and probably don't have the talent!) to ever be virtuosic enough to justify really big bucks on axes. I mean, I'm just not gonna sound 4 times better on the $4,000 guitar. I'm much more interested in having a good time performing and writing original music than I am in being particularly virtuosic, so for me I'd rather have 20 guitars with all kinds of different features, sounds, and looks, that total 4 grand, than spend 4 grand on a single guitar.

Not to mention the fact I'd never have 4 grand in disposable income available all at once. :messedup:

Unless I sold all my guitars! :D

[Brian Krashpad]

When I began playing in the 70’s, it seemed that the low-end gear was REALLY junk. Today, there is a lot of very decent “value-priced” gear being produced. I own some of it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised if you haven’t been shopping lately.



This is true too.

I was around in the 70's and had a "Sears Special" as my first electric, and it was harder to play than my no-name MIJ acoustic! It probably did more to keep me from playing electric, and to keep my playing from progressing from cowboy chords to barres and leads, than anything.

I've bought brand new guitars nowadays, and even more used, for around a Benjamin, that are perfectly playable stock. Light years beyond that awful Sears guitar from the 70's.

[R.B. Huckleberry]

I have champagne tastes & a beer budget. I started eeking my way into the "Made in the US" gear a few years back, and would build up a collection of midline instruments that I would sell after a while for a couple higher-end instruments.

Then I got lucky. So then I got a little snooty. My Reverend being the exception, I believe I can tell the difference between a $450 MIK guitar & a $1500-$2000 made in the US model. And that has been my undoing, because my current stable of guitars is the result of dumb luck & great deals! Getting that Reverend this year changed my mind about how good the MIK/$500 stuff can be.

I'm amp-hunting at the moment. I've been given carte blanche to purchase whatever I want. Hand-wired has a "mystique" to it on these types of forums, but I have yet to find a PTP-built amp that does what I want. So it's PCB territory so far.


I guess my point is: I love playing a PRS through a Rivera or Dr. Z amp. But I would be just as happy playing a Squier through a Peavey amp.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Money is tight for me so I'll presniff all the corks in my price range before buying.

After I buy, it's mine & I'll just play it & the only remaining sniffing is the minor tweaking so that I can get the most pleasure out of the item.

I have never resold any musical kit.

[pie_man_25]

yeah, I don't know what side of this end I would take, all my gear was used, so I didn't pay much, but at the same time it is brand name, I do know that I used to follow brand names strictly, but now I find that if it feels good, and plays good, and lastly, looks good (which I don't see as a requirement but still a plus) then what should the pricetag matter if it's in your budget?

[sub006]

In my high school British Invasion band, I worked my way up to a '64 Precision Bass with factory installed Jazz neck ($225 used in '66) and a big Vox Amp.

Let it slide in college, then career took over. Each of my three sons has expressed interest in electric guitar around the age of 12. Two of them now play MIA Strats, one '89 and one '04. Middle son was spending his own limited funds, I steered him to a Korean Danelectro which has been a good guitar.

Getting older, I'm more into value than labels, I wear Gap outlet jeans for example.

My eclectic collection includes

1923 Washburn parlor guitar (inherited from my dad who got it new at the age of, yes, 12!)

1968? '70? Fender MIA Shenandoah 12-string acoustic, $150 in 1992.

Yamaha acoustic/electric flattop, $299 list, got new for $30 in a package deal with an amp and other accessories from Roy at GC Hollywood.

Rare, one of 128 produced Eastwood "lawsuit" Vox Phantom VI copy, a steal at $270 in 2005.

And my go-to player, a $99 Squier '51 in the rarest Vintage Blonde/white p/g combo!

I also like small amplifiers. I have a Fender SK-20 Chorus, a Vox Pathfinder 15R, a Brian May Special and a 1966 British Vox AC-10. I am GASsing for a MicroCube and a Vox DA-10 recovered by North Coast to lose the chrome and gain the classic Cavern look.

[hubberjub]

Playing guitar is a sport. You are constantly in competition with other guitarists. Playing an expensive guitar is equivalent to Muhammad Ali talking trash about his opponent in a press conference. The only difference is that Ali can back up his talk in the ring. I curl up into a fetal position and wait for the pummeling to end. My only hope is that when another guitarist walks into a show and sees me with my overpriced guitar and amp, they are so frightened by the possibility that I may be worthy of my own equipment, they run away screaming.

[birv2]

Last night at a jam, a fellow guitarist was inspecting my guitar (see my sig). After a while, I told him (jokingly) that it was a classic. He smiled and took me over to his guitar, a 66 Flying V, which he said was worth $20K. He said, "Now this is a classic."

Touche. He wins.

Bob:master:

[Brian Krashpad]

Last night at a jam, a fellow guitarist was inspecting my guitar (see my sig). After a while, I told him (jokingly) that it was a classic. He smiled and took me over to his guitar, a 66 Flying V, which he said was worth $20K. He said, "Now this is a classic."

Touche. He wins.

Bob:master:

Haha, only, in the end, they're both just guitars. 6 strings, some wood, and a couple pickups.

[pes_laul]

I'm not really a corksniffer because well I actually only have about 3 pieces of gear:eek: That consists of my squire, floor pod and my line 6 spider III ( i do have a crybaby but I need to fix the wire in it) And I'm happy because my guitar's playable and my pedals and amps sound good.

Ya know I just noticed something...I've only played a "real strat" once for about 5 minutes:eek:

[Plank_Spanker]

Money is tight for me so I'll presniff all the corks in my price range before buying.

After I buy, it's mine & I'll just play it & the only remaining sniffing is the minor tweaking so that I can get the most pleasure out of the item.

I have never resold any musical kit.

We see eye to eye, tot. While I have bought gear strictly for the purpose of horse trading later down the road, I've never sold an amp or guitar that I actually use.

"Presniff the corks"..............................I like that! :rotflmao:

[Sblack]

The cheaper, more serviceable working man's gear is my only love. I can't stomach spending over $400.00 on a piece of gear.