Going into Debt for Gear....

[Wes Mantooth]

Well depending on how fast you pay it back and what interest rate you get, is it worth $5-$7k for you? If it is do it. But if you want something really badly it's not too hard to save up for

Maybe something more desirable or more affordable will come up before you've accumulated everything.

Think of it this way, if you had all the money and they said they would put you on a waiting list for maybe a year two but you could go straight to the top if you paid $1-$2k would you do it?

[the Life Aquatic]

i don't know how old your are, but for me personally, 22 yrs old, to put myself in a position where I will have a liability of $4500 for the next 5 or more years, not including interest is a scary thought. And if you lose your job or source of income, missing payments could screw you over credit wise for life. Not too mention, knowing I have that loan to pay off, anytime I spend money on gear or else where that's not a life necessity it would really pain me.

If you were to sell some gear/ or other personal items, could you lower the cost of the loan?

[Ancient Astronaught]

I'm planning on getting a custom Verellen Meatsmoke, modded for maximum width in frequency response, with all the accouterments: amp, 4x10, 1x18, and preamp (preamp's for home practice without waking the neighbors).

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How much is emperor stuff? If it's much cheaper I could definitely see myself going with that, I just love the idea of having the matching head and cabinets

I see, sounds like a pretty sick lil setup. This is for bass / synth I presume?

Emperor stuff can run cheaper then. It's 2500$ for the meatsmoke so your looking at 1900$ for cabs. An Emperor 1x18 should run you around 5-600$ (last time i had one quoted w/ an Eminence speaker) and the 4x10 would probably run you around 6-700$ depending on your speaker choice. so thats 11-1300$ + 2-300$ in freight charges. So you could save 3-600$ but that throws off the whole matching aesthetic thing....

[bortlett]

I'll chime in and say avoid going into debt at all costs. The only reason I'd take out a loan for a rig is if I was in some sort of really rare situation where I'd be losing a bunch of money by not having that exact rig. Otherwise, I'd take the saving route.

I would buy it piece by piece as others have already suggested. It makes the overall goal easier to get to by breaking it up into smaller goals. I would rank the pieces of the rig in order of importance and purchase them in that order. That way I get what I really want/need the most 1st, and by the time I get to the end, I may just realize that I don't really need that last part (bonus savings).

[Holy Schnikes]

Emperor stuff is less expensive than Verellen as far as cabs go

This.

Emperor stuff is less expensive than most major production cabs too tho people seem to think otherwise. Verellen, Orange, Electric, Mesa, etc, etc. All more costly than Emperor.

Oh, and while I'd advise you to be responsible and save your money in order to purchase that amazing sounding dream Verellen, I gotta be realistic and admit I could NEVER save for two solid years for my amp with all the other cool shit coming out nonstop. Would be a losing venture for me.

[Psyre]

Not to be total gloom and doom but one of my psych research papers (when I was still Psych undergrad) was the correlation between debt (of any size) and depression/suicide. The suicide rate was mind blowing.

I recently struggled with this decision when I was first considering getting the jagumarr, and honestly all I can suggest is to pay for it with cash. If you really want it, then you will be able to save for it. Things that expensive, if your income is anywhere near mine, should take time to decide on, and life is too short for regrets.

It took a little over a year to save up for the marr jag, but I wasn't going all out.

[muttlegs]

When you have something paid off it makes you feel good when you use it rather than feeling a bit wrong.
Plus there is always other stuff around the corner once you have bought that.

[insubordination]

Echoing (I think) everyone here: do not take out the loan. Save up, and maybe when you hit $4400, or less, you find out you want something else, your priorities have changed, etc.

[hiorgos]

...

[Moustache_Bash]

Just buy a Peavey Mark VIII, and some big ol' cab. Quit thinking.

[01010111]

i don't know how old your are, but for me personally, 22 yrs old, to put myself in a position where I will have a liability of $4500 for the next 5 or more years, not including interest is a scary thought. And if you lose your job or source of income, missing payments could screw you over credit wise for life. Not too mention, knowing I have that loan to pay off, anytime I spend money on gear or else where that's not a life necessity it would really pain me.

If you were to sell some gear/ or other personal items, could you lower the cost of the loan?

This convinced me not to do the loan option. I'm going through a huge life change this year, I've been thinking a little too positively about it I think. Or I might have thought about the amount of responsibility I would be taking on in this unstable and uncertain time.

I'm going to go with the piece by piece method. Starting with the preamp, then getting the head, then the cabs (it'll be a little frustrating having the head and no cabs, but I think this way will give me the motivation I need to finish the setup). When I start getting close to finishing my setup, I'll sell everything I can. Hopefully I can get it down to $3000 or less out of pocket once everything settles. If I get really antsy I might take out a small loan to cover part of the head, so I can at least get that out of the way.

Thanks for the solid advice everyone

I'm pretty settled on everything else I've got. Everything does what I want it to (not perfectly, but I think having to work a little to accomplish the sounds is important for creativity): the synth I have is powerful enough that I've never even come close to being limited by it when making sounds, my guitar is simple, sounds great and plays better than any guitar I've owned, and my pedalboard is an upgraded version of one that didn't change much for over a year. So, once I get this amp settled I don't predict that I'll ever need any more gear.

[ryan summit]

dont go into debt buyin somethin
that cant help you make the payments

this
"I don't predict that I'll ever need any more gear"
is lies
that lil blue face at the end told me so

[01010111]

dont go into debt buyin somethin
that cant help you make the payments

this
"I don't predict that I'll ever need any more gear"
is lies
that lil blue face at the end told me so

Maybe, but after playing with the same guitar for three years, the same synth for two, and the same pedalboard for a year, I'm feeling pretty confident that this amp will end my amp gas in the same way that I've ended my guitar, synth and pedal gas.

The debt thing for gear is definitely a bad plan, though, in light of my circumstances.

[Wes Mantooth]

Also dude that set-up sounds sick. Are you in a band or forming one? Because I'd love to listen to anyone playing that setup. And even if it's just for your personal enjoyment, I want clips!

[sylnau]

Listen to uni.

Save the Money and then buy it.