A philosophical question about gear

[rfurtkamp]

This day and age you can replace almost any physical item at some point down the road. Unless it's a custom item or has massive sentimental value, it's just gear - especially when it's mass produced stuff that you can find three or four of on ebay a week minimum.

[one bad monkey]

There are few pieces of gear that have stood the test of time in my household. It comes down to 1. will I use it regularly on a gig, and 2. will I want to use it regularly on a gig. If the answer is not a quick "yes" to both of those questions, I look for something that will make more sense to my situation, or I just sell it outright and keep the cash for something else down the road.

[STOMPBOXSONIC]

As long as you aren't selling your gear to fund a drug/gambling/alcohol addiction then do what you have to in order to get to a better place. Granted some things are easier to part with than others. The world/universe has a funny way of messing with us in that sometimes learning to let go of things means you are opening yourself to finding something amazing yet different down the road.

You may find that the gear is going to someone who will love it as much if not more than you but is also in a tough financial place. And you can feel good knowing it's going to get plenty of use. And who knows 5 years from now someone might need cash to put a down payment on a house, repair their car and you score a sweet deal on a beautiful vintage guitar that they hardly ever use anymore.

[dubkitty]

another factor that regularly presents itself for me is that when i get something out i haven't used for awhile or move something to a different spot in the chain how i feel about will often change. i'd been really unhappy with my Philosopher's Tone recently to the point where i was thinking about selling it, but moving it from after the fuzz array to the beginning of the signal path made it much more useable and i'm now both happier with it and using it more because i'm happier with it. conversely, the last time i was playing my blue Stratocaster i was really into it, but i've been playing the Tokai Les Paul with humbuckers 90% of the last year and by contrast the Strat sounds awfully thin unless i push it through the compressor and use the Hi Five as a dirty boost...i'm only really enjoying the floating tremolo at the moment, but i'll probably like it more when i can crank up the amp loud enough to get past the thinness.

[D.o.S.]

As long as you aren't selling your gear to fund a drug/gambling/alcohol addiction then do what you have to in order to get to a better place.

Sorry asshat, this is America. He can sell his gear for drugs and gambling debts all day long.

[Mudfuzz]

As long as you aren't selling your gear to fund a drug/gambling/alcohol addiction then do what you have to in order to get to a better place.

Sorry asshat, this is America. He can sell his gear for drugs and gambling debts all day long.

That's even in the fuzz movie that

[Bassus Sanguinis]

is there a rule of thumb like "if you have to ask whether to sell it or not, just sell it - you don't love it enough"?

There is two cures to regret:

1. Don't sell.

If it is something very special, just don't. Sell something instead, something You can replace. Like Your mom. I've heard there's a lots of fully functional step mothers out there available. Just give Your dad a hint not to co-operate with the police too much and You'll find him a newer model.

2. Don't feel any.

Just assume the No Remorse No Regret attitude and be prepared to fix the losses afterwards, if You have to sell. You almost always feel regret at some point, so it's better to accept that, prepare for it mentally and shrug it off when it comes. You'll buy a new one eventually. Only better.

[dubkitty]

Bassus makes a very good point. i've never sold anything that i wasn't pretty sure i could replace if i really wanted to, and by being able to replace i mean both able to find and able to afford to buy. i'd sell my Fenders and Epiphone LP Custom without too many qualms because they're everywhere for cheap and more or less interchangeable; i wouldn't sell my Blueridge J-45 copy or the Tokais unless i was utterly desperate because they're particularly nice guitars and thus dear to me, and because they would cost close to or over $1000 each to replace. Tokais are also rare in the US, and i had to order mine in from overseas, which is another motivating factor for keeping them.

[Eric!]

I never want to rid of my xero or 4545. i can't really afford it but i want/need a thick fuzz (PPB) for my music, and some sort of delay, and possibly a looper. Can't afford ANY of it, but they would all definitely get used and add to our songwriting and performing. Generally, I go for the least amount of overlap possible, but effects that have become part of my musical inspiration are very hard to part with.

But, sometimes the bills need paying (sometimes = every fucking day), so very few pedals get to hang around. Being with my recent guitarist, I've had to start from scratch in the trial and error process of finding pedals to mesh our styles up. Part of that process is slight losses (shipping, lowering prices to sell, etc). At least I moved out of my dad's basement?

Regret is part of the process, as well. You can't have everything (unless you're MLC), so sacrifices gotta be made. Money sucks. Bill Hicks said it best..but I can't find that particular clip. Something about how "you think money can't buy happiness? try traveling ANYWHERE without money, and you're FUCKED."

[Moustache_Bash]

is there a rule of thumb like "if you have to ask whether to sell it or not, just sell it - you don't love it enough"?

Nietzsche basically said that, but not in those exact words obviously.

For me, though, effects are always fair game. Stompboxes aren't really integral to my playing, so I never mind selling them. Just my $0.02.

[DarkAxel]

The cool thing is i don't really care about selling DLS anymore... btw i'm currently dealing with a guy from slovakia who wants it

it's been fully replaced and i just shrugged it off as you say

but there's the EP-1... the thing is that at some point i might need a good envelope filter again (not just good... AWESOME) and i can imagine having a hard time finding some. If those motherfuckers at Pigtronix weren't all like "hur hur hur let's make the hugest big ass mental pedals ever with million functions" and made EP's envelope portion of functions into a compact pedal, i'd be ALL over it...

whatever, i look towards the bright days of being financially well so i can buy twenty new pedals at once...

[Eric!]

Hey, so I hear you're looking for an envelope filter that will fucking destroy all the competition.
I can promise this'll do the trick:

[dubkitty]

my favorite quote about money is from David Lee Roth, who recounted how Ted Templeman, the guy who produced the first VH albums, told him that money doesn't buy happiness. Diamond Dave replied "maybe not, Ted, but it can buy me a boat big enough to sail right the fuck up next to it." i don't even like DLR, but i love that quote to pieces.

[DarkAxel]

Hey, so I hear you're looking for an envelope filter that will fucking destroy all the competition.
I can promise this'll do the trick:

i'll keep that in mind thanks... i'm not very familiar with their pricing, but i hope it will be reasonable

[miggy01]

I sold all my pedals before my first year of college.
You can always buy pedals again later (like I am doing right now ).
If it can be replaced, and you need money now, sell sell sell.