Midlife Crisis Guitars

Lerxst

Lerxst

spaghetti and blankets
We're all familiar with the TGP meme of the doctor/dentist/lawyer uber-AAAA PRS or LP but what do you think are the current expression of excessive pocket change and lost youth?

I'm seeing prices on some 80s and 90s shredder guitars go bonkers over the past several years. (edit: there's also a surprising number of custom builders churning out bonkers pointy things for 3-4K a pop) Are these the latest mid-to-back half life GAS targets?
 
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I couldn't care less about the Floyd/shredder/Gumby guitars. But one of these days I'll probably pick up an Explorer to ease my crisis.
 
I'm seeing lots of ads for pricey and unique-looking electric archtops. Some are clearly intended to be jazz machines, and there is another subgroup that look like knockoffs of Trey Anastasio's guitars.

Of course maybe I'm just being targeted by those adds, and it doesn't represent a bump in the market. If so, too bad, they are way out of my range.
 
I don’t know what the guitars are. But for bassists it’s a Rickenbacker 4001/4003 or a Music Man Stingray.
 
If I hadn’t lost my local bluegrass scene in 2008 when I moved back to my hometown, I would prob not even own an elec guitar. Sadly all that was happening here was old & not so good church evangelicals and a couple of really insular bands not interested in picking with anybody but themselves. So I went back to elec bass and guitar just to be able to play some music outside the house. First I built a parts Tele and then became obsessed with Gretsch. I’ve always been a sucker for a big old jazz box so my fancy expensive retirement guitar turned out to be a Pro Line White Falcon.
 
I can't get over how damned good this guitar is...

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Kinda bought it on a whim because I've always wanted a Suhr but didn't want to spend 4 grand on one. Not my first choice of color but the price and weight were both right. Damn. The action and playability on this are like nothing I've ever owned before. I sometimes waffle between humbucker and single coil guitars because so many humbuckers can lose their articulation but many singles need a little more kick in the ass. The Thornbuckers are so crisp and articulate but can move a lot of air. I love being able to roll the volume back to 7 or 8 for most of the song and then dial up to 10 for the chorus or solo instead of tapdancing on pedals. :baimun:
 
I think my midlife crisis happened via acquiring too many guitar pedals. Now, I face the daunting task of getting rid of most of them.

My first good quality guitar was a shreddy '92 Gibson MIII. It was so easy to play in the shop that I bought it on impulse. Later, I realized shred was not going to be my style of playing. I prefer thicker necks and fixed bridges. But, I never sold it. Now, I'm glad I kept it. It's my one and only, super-thin neck axe. Low action. The pickups scream. It's fun to play. I just wish the frets were taller.

My crotchety old man purchases have been cheap guitars that I've upgraded with pickup and electronics swaps. I told myself I was passed the soldering phase. But, two of them worked out really well.

One guitar is a used Gretsch Streamliner hollow-body that I bought for $300 and upgraded the pickups to two gold, Blacktop Filtertron. Also, I replaced the knobs and switch on the Gretsch with gold to match the rest of the hardware. It plays, sounds, and even looks, like a more expensive guitar.

Another cheap guitar is a Squier Affinity, Tele Deluxe, I bought new for $269. I swapped out the wiring and pickups. The pickups are an old set of F-Spaced, BG Buckers that I bought back in the HC days. Those pups have been in multiple guitars. Although the wiring, and pickups are a vintage LP style, the sound in that guitar is distinctly Tele with lots of chime.

I can't blame anyone for liking the shred guitars. A flatter radius makes super low action possible. Thin necks make it easier to stretch across the frets. A Floyd Rose helps keep a guitar in tune better than most whammy bars.
 
jrockbridge said:
I can't blame anyone for liking the shred guitars. A flatter radius makes super low action possible. Thin necks make it easier to stretch across the frets. A Floyd Rose helps keep a guitar in tune better than most whammy bars.
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And doing crazy dive bombs on a Floyd is stupid fun... like first time you get a motorcycle and just rev the engine to hear it. :lmbo:
 
I am not in crisis mode these days. I have what I need/want. Although there are some acoustics that have me thinking.
 
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I think that a lot of the Bilt stuff and much of Offsetmania and specifically tweaky boutique Offsetmainia is mid-life crisis bait for younger Xers and elderly millennials.
 
My midlife crisis P-bass arrived today. Fender nitro doesn’t smell as good as Gibson nitro, but it looks a hell of a lot better. I’ll post a NBD thread tomorrow.
 
That Telecaster Custom I posted on a few weeks ago was mine - it replaces a guitar I was forced to sell in my 20s and since I'm now back living in that town after 41 years away it represents a sort of back to the origin story. Of course, I'm way too old for a midlife crisis anymore...
 
So now that I've acquired my mid-life crisis guitars and amps (PRS, Suhr, Soldano, Etc)... and I'm literally selling off amps, guitars, and parts to make room from my obvious hoarding problems....


.... Is it cool if I take the money from the gear I'm selling, and my 8 gigs over the next few weeks, and put it towards a 2 seat convertible? Is that mid-life crisis enough? :helper:
 
The beauty of reaching and maybe surpassing midlife is that now I have enough money to afford such a crisis if it were to appear.
I would never have thought to buy a $4000 guitar even 10 years ago. Now there’s one that’s next on my list.
 
The host of the open mic down the road just told me my guitar was too trebly, so I might need a new guitar. Mid 40s is probably too late for a midlife crisis but I might finally get that Guild acoustic I've always wanted if I can't EQ my way out of this.
 
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