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Showing posts with the label Buying and Selling

Selling Gear to Acquire Regret?

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I've been thinking a lot about a major shake up to my collection, and this time it isn't about guitars... it's about amps.  My recent obsession with That Pedal Show, along with the appearance of more than a few PRRI 68 reissues online have got me thinking about having that clean platform to play with. Besides, pedals ARE cheaper than guitars. For the majority of my guitar playing life, I've been a pretty pedal heavy player, relying on all the usual suspects from Boss and Fulltone to create sounds through some type of clean amp (Blues Junior, DRRI, Pro Junior, Supersonic, Ampeg Jet II, Dr. Z Maz 38). Then I acquired my wee Marshall DSL-1C, and the pedals went away.  Most were sold, and the ones that weren't went into storage.  Guitar - Cable - Amp... that was putting a smile on my face.  I recently pulled out my trusty Fulldrive 2 (the 10th Anniversary Edition) and started to play around with it a bit.  Didn't love it with the Marshall at any setting, but t...

Studio Blues - What happened to Les Paul Studio Values?

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It would seem that I'm having a more difficult time selling my Les Paul Studio than I would have predicted.  It isn't the end of the world, and makes for a compelling AND unavoidable reason for keeping it. It did get me thinking about why my thinking was so far off the mark. I'm still here. I've commented before on why I think Gibson made a huge mistake in pricing the SGJ and LPJ as they did, and it feels like their chickens are coming home to roost. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that makes me a giant cock. That image search could have ended poorly. Stupid pricing decisions, combined with their infamous rosewood seizure, have combined to create the perfect shit-storm on the used market. Half-Baked Ideas In 2011, US Agents raided Gibson and confiscated most of their rosewood.  Apparently, it had something to do with acquiring Indian Rosewood that wasn't "finished" by Indian workers.  Under Indian law, that meant it was illegal to ex...

Used Guitars and Amps for June

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...If I had a million dollars...  I'd continue to buy used guitars.  It's just more exciting than new if you ask me.  Scouring Kijiji and having that great piece of gear pop up like a light in the fog. I'd probably look to bigger things first, but once the house and car and family were taken care of, I'd probably spend my days driving around buying cheap gear and writing about it.  Once the guitar room was full, I'd sell them all, and write about that too.  I promise I wouldn't mark anything up... too much? Until that day, window shopping will have to do. Marshall JCM1-C - Swap/Trade I'm not sure that I could be any happier with my DSL1-C.  A perfect little practice amp, it sounds great at just the right volume for late night playing with kids sleeping two floors away.  Better still, with the attenuator off and the amp cooking at a FULL ONE WATT, it's enough to keep up with my daughter's junior drum kit. This version is the JCM 800 ve...

Hen-Man Returns - The Re-Cluckening

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Remember Hen-Man? Didn't take him long to resurface, responding to the same ad, this time offering up an Ovation/Applause EA38.  No, I can't find a decent pic online.  Sorry.  Here's a goat instead. You were expecting fowl play?  Get it? Hen-man? After having him bail on the last meet up, I wasn't impressed, and didn't hesitate to let him know.

Buying and Selling: Update

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Sorry for the long time between posts... I've had three guitars posted on Kijiji for a few weeks.  I'm not necessarily keen on selling all of them, but I always keep a few irons in the fire, as you never know what is going to come up.  Sometimes a great trade offer, sometimes you find that person who absolutely must have what you're selling ($$$), and sometimes you get to deal with a bunch of ass-hats. Thankfully, I was spared the ass-hat parade this week. Patience Pays Off? After dealing with the aforementioned parade in weeks past, I was just about ready to give up on selling the Squier Standard Stratocaster for now.  I've had some EMGs and a wireless connection kit sitting in my toolbox waiting to get used, and the All-Black-Strat seemed to be the right candidate for the temporary sound lift. This, but with EMGs.  RAWK. Patience paid off though, and I've got a buyer at asking price.  He emailed last night and tried to haggle on pri...

Kijiji Comandments

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Eventually, I'm going to get around to writing a "Ten Commandments" of Kijiji. Two reasons for this.  First, people internalize rules if they're presented in easy to digest formats, like "Top Ten" lists. Maybe one day, Kijiji could adopt the list, and I could become the Billy Graham of Kijiji, travelling the land, spreading the gospel according to GuitArcher. We could call the "kijijiments" instead of commandments, except I just read that and it is tucking ferrible. Second though, and way more importantly,  the internet frickin' loves them some Top Ten lists. "You WILL succumb to my click-bait!" "Thou shalt honor thy word." This is definitely going to make the list, maybe even at the number one spot.  I posted the Squier Standard Stratocaster recently for a very reasonable price, and have had a few trade offers, none of which blew sand up my skirt.  Patience as always.  40 years in a desert this is not. Even...

Friday's Failures

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Here's the rundown of the silliest, stupidest, and downright ripoff-i-est postings I've come across in the past week.  Keep 'em coming Kijijiots. I'm not saying that each of these is a person trying to screw you, but... Well, it IS walking like a duck, isn't it?

Review: Epiphone Les Paul Standard

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This might be the best deal I've ever had on Kijiji. For $250 and a bit of gas, I took home an Epiphone Les Paul Standard. Considering these go for $300-$450 typically, it's a good deal. But throw in a case and the fact that it is a really excellent example of this particular model, and it's an excellent one. Feel Shame I dislike Epiphone. This will be a recurring theme. Haters gonna hate. One of the many, many problems I've had with Epiphone was with the name itself. An Epiphone Les Paul? Pfft. Fender uses its name on products in the same price range as this, so why not Gibson? Likely something to do with "Made in the USA," but don't quote me on that. That headstock taunts you - you know that shape alone will give away your lifetime of bad choices to all who view it. "Oh, an Epiphone? Yeah, they're nice too," they say in their judge-y-est tone whilst dismissing all future opinions of yours. Feel shame, you unclean wretch....

NGD: Epiphone Les Paul Standard? Really?

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I don't like Epiphone. Experience is to blame for this near sacred opinion. The first experience was a friend's Epi Les Paul Deluxe ( in black because teenager)  that wouldn't hold tune.  File the nut, replace the tuners, a young priest and an old priest for an exorcism...  The demons wouldn't come out, no matter how hard we tried. Stubbornly refused A 440 as well. Also peed on the floor. The second experience came from my very own brother.  Fredo!

Kijijiots at it again...

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When you "watch" an ad on Kijiji, you're doing it for one reason and one reason alone - you want to see how long the ad will stay up.  If you wanted to buy, you'd send an offer then and there.  But the longer the item remains unsold, the more likely the seller will accept an offer under the ask (and the more likely you can justify the purchase in your head).  Or so the thinking goes anyway... If you do this, you'll notice that sellers fall into a few categories:

SOLD! Orange Micro Terror Micro Stack

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Cute, isn't it? Yeah well, this one went to the kitty farm. Posted: April 11th Sold: April 21st Price: $175 I would have liked to get $200 out of this, but given the boneheaded decision I made earlier , I think this was a pretty fair deal.  Given that the power switch was broken in a toddler related accident, getting out at 60% of what I paid at retail is reasonable. Remember - Selling guitar stuff is the same as selling cars.  If there has been an accident, expect 20 points to get knocked off the price. Sucks, but accept the reality and move on. The buyer was actually pretty awesome.  We arranged an time to meet, and between him getting slammed at work and me dealing with a sick kid, we missed two scheduled meetups.  Rather than miss another day, he sent his assistant to complete the transaction (?!?!?!?). Remember: Full names and phone numbers mean you're dealing in good faith. The world isn't a shitty place, people aren't terrible, and always wea...

NGD: Squier Standard Stratocaster HSS

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I know. Hardly the most exciting NGD on the internet, but after 12 hours with this in the house, I've come to the two conclusions: The value of buying used cannot be overstated. Opinions based solely on the country of origin can be turned sideways and stuck straight up your candy ass. Not the right Dwayne Johnson picture you say? I would say something to the effect of "kids don't know how good they have it these days," but in a future post I'll explain why "kids" don't take advantage of stuff like this - partly because kids shouldn't be dealing on the secondary market by themselves (under 18 anyway), but mostly because their parents are getting hosed by big stores. For less than a tank of gas... That might be an exaggeration, but not much of one.  I had been following this guitar for a couple of weeks, and two nights ago emailed an offer.  I was expecting the seller to reject it, but to my surprise he came back quickly with a ...

NGD: 1985 Fender Contemporary Stratocaster Deluxe

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New Guitar Day! ( UPDATE: Read the review here )  In my never ending carousel of trading guitars and amps for OTHER guitars and amps, I've come into possession of this at the expense of a very common amplifier and zero cash - A 1985 Fender Contemporary Stratocaster Deluxe. Made in Japan, this guitar was produced during the period Fender USA had ceased production (85-87). FMIC (composed of Fender employees) had purchased Fender from CBS , but had yet to set up production facilities. This meant the only Fenders being prod uced came from Japan, and this model was the top of the range. Close up of the System III Bridge  Couple of things beyond the age and condition make the guitar interesting - A cam-style locking nut and " System III " bridge were Fender's in house answer to the Floyd Rose systems so popular during the hair metal era. A three screw humbucker that is bolted (not screwed) directly into the guitar body rather than the pickguard makes ...