Has it gone too far?

[aeolian]

Since I appear to be the well heeled individual that buys boutique gear I want to explain my strategy.

Firstly, I sometimes come into disposal income; the last time that happened was because I made some money in the stock market. When it comes to gear (boutique or not) I always buy them used. My criteria is to look for gear that I want to evaluate at a price that I believe I can recoup if I don't like it. This way I can tried out some of these more exotic guitars and amps without the risk of losing a lot of money. As long as I have the gear my money is tied up in the gear, but it should be a wash if I turn around and sell it. From that viewpoint it is not much different than the house I live in except the house is a 'necessity.'

[Tibernius]

From that viewpoint it is not much different than the house I live in except the house is a 'necessity.'

And the guitars aren't?

[just strum]

From that viewpoint it is not much different than the house I live in except the house is a 'necessity.'

Of course it is, where else you going to keep the guitars?

[aeolian]

Of course it is, where else you going to keep the guitars?

And after that comes my dog, then my children, then my wife. I hope she doesn't read this.

[hubberjub***]

Since I appear to be the well heeled individual that buys boutique gear I want to explain my strategy.

Firstly, I sometimes come into disposal income; the last time that happened was because I made some money in the stock market. When it comes to gear (boutique or not) I always buy them used. My criteria is to look for gear that I want to evaluate at a price that I believe I can recoup if I don't like it. This way I can tried out some of these more exotic guitars and amps without the risk of losing a lot of money. As long as I have the gear my money is tied up in the gear, but it should be a wash if I turn around and sell it. From that viewpoint it is not much different than the house I live in except the house is a 'necessity.'

I must agree with your theory. I too buy only higher end gear but I buy it all used. I haven't bought a piece of gear that I couldn't at least get my money back from. As far as the original topic about amp wattage vs. cost I feel that quality is more important than quantity. I've been gigging all summer with my 20 watt Soldano and it's been great. All but one of my shows have been large outdoor gigs and the amp is always miced. Twenty watts is more than enough for a reasonable stage volume and it allows me to overdrive the power tubes at a tolerable level while still being able to hear everyone else. I've had the one hundred watt Marshall half stack and I will never go back. Yes, for the price of an 18 watt DR. Z I could get a hundred watt stack but how often can you actually use all of that wattage to its full potential. I have enough trouble hearing vocals in the monitors as it is. A huge amp does look cool though.