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:

[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.

[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

[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..
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.

[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.... :

[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.