HOW did YOU finance YOUR BIG Guitar PURCHASE?

[Ray Montee]

I understand some of you folks made really BIG BUCKS during YOUR playing career.......but that doesn't apply to the vast majority of us wanna-be pickers.

HOW did YOU manage to finance YOUR BIG Guitar PURCHASE? Got a wealthy partner, generous-loving parents, a 2nd mortgage on your house, sold something of value?

Some of you Forumites have 3 or MORE, pedal steels and considering what they're going for these days, it's mind boggling how you managed to do it.

Let us in on the secret?

[Donny Hinson]

Ray, yes...I've got a few, but that's nothing compared to your own Rickenbacker collection, is it?

[Lee Baucum]

I've just got one pedal steel guitar. When I ordered it, I had been saving all my playing money for years. (I don't play music for a living.) I don't remember how long it took to save up that much cash. After my new Mullen came in, I sold my old Emmons. I kept $300 of the proceeds for myself and split the rest equally between our church and my lodge.

Lee, from South Texas

[Eric West]

Never bought a single instrument or amp that didn't get paid for by playing live gigs for the money. My harley came from gig money too.

The first one was $600 borrowed from the base credit union in 76 to take some lessons from BC. Took about a year before I paid for it out of gig money.

Actually traded for some lately.

Am trading my 1-12 HRDlx for a Marshall 100w SS half stack and a guitar this Sunday.

I figure I can play louder to make up for my loss of hearing..



EJL

[Tony Prior]

Most of my instruments came by way of gig money, some were gifts from my wife. I had several vintage Instruments which were not expensive at the time I purchased them but years later became valuable, at that point I made the decison and sold them off, but using the money for new gear , a modern Steel, my favorite 88 52RI Telecaster etc. I have always bought and sold or traded on the used market, still do, I am always seeking something different and I certainly have a bunch of good junk to "move" to get the deal done. I guess I can say that when I buy, I am always thinking about the sale as well so in my mind I always try to buy smart and conservative. I do this with Cars too.

for ex:
I sold my Sho-Bud Steel and Fender Twin in the early 90's. When I wanted to buy another steel and amp , I sold my early 80's Gibson ES335 which I never played and bought new. That funded my first Carter D-10 which I purchased from a forum member , I had a few dollars left over. I used the left over and got a Nashvlle 400 from a forum member as well.

Now you don't want to know anymore because that was the beginning of my continuous saga of selling , trading whatever which is still going on. 5 or 6 steels and 5 or 6 amps later I am still in the process !

and it really is fun too.

t

[Mickey Adams]

I had the choice- gear ,...Or a wife ...Ive got a lot of gear...

[Bent Romnes]

My wife bought me my MSA Classic D10 in 1976.
Sold it to finance a piano for our daughter who was taking piano lessons.

Now, when I want a steel, I make one. Sort of a retirement hobby. Currently making 2.

[b0b]

I've been "trading up" all my life. Each new "main ax" required the sale of the old one plus an increment of cash.

[james sluder]

I had the choice- gear ,...Or a wife ...Ive got a lot of gear...

Mickey i think you made a good choice ! HAHAHA !

[Pete Conklin]

Mickey, you're hilarious, dude!

[Matthew Prouty]

I save a good portion, maybe 90% of my proceeds from shows to pay for my set up. I started out with good gear and sold and upgraded with the proceeds. I am making excellent money playing so I am getting a really good outfit of gear. I just started socking away money to buy a back up guitar.

I play so much I cannot recall that last time I paid for a beer.

[Rich Peterson]

I had the choice- gear ,...Or a wife ...Ive got a lot of gear...

Yup, that's the answer. In my early 30s, I became concerned that I was still single and my musician friends were working on their second divorce.... I realized wives and guitars usually didn't coexist well, so I took the less expensive option. And a guitar doesn't mind if you have another guitar.

[Dave Mudgett]

Lots of ways - I've horse traded over the years and had a guitar shop during the 90s.

But these days - I work for a living doing something besides music. YMMV, but works for me.

[Andy Jones]

I've always lived within my means,so I saved up until I had the cash to buy what I wanted.All of my instruments were bought used so they weren't very costly except my 1928 Gibson banjo,of which I am very proud of.I'm not knocking credit or instant gratification,but look where it's gotten our country.

Andy

[Hook Moore]

My first couple guitars I bought from a friend that trusted me enough for credit. Then I played the same D10 Emmons and Session 400 amp for 28 years before changing anything. Of course 2 divorces made it easier to not have money to trade Consistently having gigs through the years makes it easier to survive than you imagine.
Hook

[Jack Dougherty]

Easy one Ray..

Just max out all your credit cards...go into debt..
and tell everybody your rich.

[John De Maille]

I've always traded up for instruments, since, I started playing music.There was always a modest cash outlay on my part for the particular axe I wanted. There are several I wish I never got rid of, but, I didn't have a crystal ball to tell me how much they would appreciate- HA!
My gig money provided for my lifestyle, put a roof over my head, food on the table, clothes on my back and any extra gear I wanted.
Playing gigs are pretty lean now, so, any upgrades will have to be done by going back to square one, or robbing a bank.

[Chris Schlotzhauer]

I've been "trading up" all my life.

Even the wife?

[Alan Brookes]

...by not giving up my day job and becoming a starving musician.

When I moved from England to California 29 years ago (oh my God, is it that long ) I had 15 yrs. working in government finance behind me. I made up my mind I was bored with accountancy and would become a full-time luthier. Unfortunately, reality stepped in in the form of having to pay rent on an apartment in San Francisco, and I drifted back into accounting.

[Dan Murphy]

When we sold our home 2 yrs ago I asked my wife if I could buy a new steel. I had been playing an old shobud professional d10 . I had never baught a new steel before. She said ok ,and that I better get what I wanted beacuse I would not get one any other way. . So I called Del Mullen and made an order for a RP D10 8-5 natural laquer finish.

[John DeBoalt]

My first good electric guitar ( Fender Jazz Master ) I bought with the money I made washing dishes, and making pizzas in my uncles resturant when I was a teenager. My main steel, came from a christmas bonus the company paid every year, and I normally gave to my wife. The other stuff I got was buy, sell, trade deals. John

[Billy Tonnesen]

Iv'e paid for my guitars primarily from Music Gigs.
However, for the first really decent amp (with some power}, I went out to Leo Fenders first shop in the middle 40's to look at one of his 15" tweed covered amps. They were selling for about two hundred dollars. I told Leo I wanted one but would have to find some financing. He said, take the Amp with you and just send me twenty dollers a month until it's paid off. No Contract no Interest, just a handshake and then he took me to lunch at a little coffee shop down the street. He loved to talk to musicians about what they wanted in his equipment.

[Kevin Hatton]

I left my wife. Steel guitar is cheaper.

[Dave Mudgett]

I told Leo I wanted one but would have to find some financing. He said, take the Amp with you and just send me twenty dollers a month until it's paid off. No Contract no Interest, just a handshake and then he took me to lunch at a little coffee shop down the street. He loved to talk to musicians about what they wanted in his equipment.

Billy, you are a lucky man.