GAS effects, marketing, and usefulness

[Eric***]

You have a valid point, Eric. The industry sure likes to hype everything, and the magic word they abuse is "Tone". Maybe all the hype is what causes my to cautiously approach a new purchase with plenty of research and hands on before I make a decision. I hate buyer's remorse!

Also, what's with the BS tactic of MSRP and Street Price? It is so common, no one should think that the difference makes the product's street price seem like a bargain. Markup for guitars is relatively low compared to accessories.

I'm much more influenced by online demos from individuals than ad's in a magazine or a manufacturer's website.

If you think marketing is extreme in guitars, you should see other industries where technology drives change at a much faster pace, like bicycles, motorcycles, and the grand daddy, cell phones.

I almost think the online demos and reviews are just more of the same. MSRP and company talk has been meaningless for awhile, so I agree with you.

I'll give you an example of my point:

There's been talk aplenty on here recently about how great the Roland Cube 60 is. Same with my recent talk of Carvin guitars. So I go on ebay, start looking them up, maybe watch a couple of particular items, etc.

I have to stop and ask myself why I'm doing this. Sure, the Cube can do lots of nice sounds, giving convincing models of Fender, Vox, Roland, and even Marshall amps. HOWEVER, I have an amp right now (Tech 21 TM60) that is the same weight, has tons of different voicings and options, and does a great XLR line out, which is something I use regularly.

Many of the strengths of the Cube are in the clean models, and I honestly don't use clean that much. Even clean parts of mine usually have a little bit of hair on them. Why oh why would I have ANY interest in a new amp to take care of and find an excuse to use?

I finally shook off this compulsion and realized that it's not that I think a new amp would help me find a tone I like or that it would be easier to use. It's that it's undiscovered territory. I might be missing out on something great. I want to have all of the options.

I'm honestly still not finished discovering my TM60, but when I am, I don't want to buy something else just because I'm bored with my equipment or I feel like what's available now might never be available again. Just because the honeymoon is over does not mean it's time to find some other thing for the novelty. All it means is that I can now control and really use the thing I've invested all of these dollars in.

I think it's easy to skip from one novelty to another, and the more complicated a multi-effects board is, the longer it takes to futz with all of the settings and the longer the honeymoon is, so it looks attractive to us as prospective buyers. Nevermind the fact that you might not use even a fraction of the capability when all is said and done and it's not actually as practical as you think it is.

At least, the above has been my personal experience. Could be I'm just more simple than others, but I find that sometimes you pay for novelty and buy because of it, when the post-honeymoon musician actually probably just wants something that works, not a toy.