Buying Great Sounding Gear, CHEAP!!!

Guitars: The Cheapest Good Guitar is the One You Already Have.

What do I mean by that?  I’ll tell you.  Although the wood and construction of a guitar do play a part in the overall tone equation, a HUGE percentage of what an instrument sounds like is determined by the electronics.  Simple things like upgrading the pickups, pots and other electrical components can make an incredible difference in your guitar’s tone.  Luckily, this is also relatively inexpensive.

Making sure that your instrument reliably stays in tune is dependent on two things: quality tuning keys and a perfectly cut and installed nut.  99% of all tuning problems originate at these two often- overlooked locations.  Again, these are relatively inexpensive upgrades that will make your instrument infinitely better.

Once you get your upgraded pickups and electronics, quality tuners, and a properly sized nut blank, remember these words:

TAKE YOUR GUITAR TO A REPUTABLE GUITAR REPAIR TECH, AND HAVE THEM DO ALL THE WORK, INCLUDING A FULL SET-UP AND FRET-DRESS.  DO NOT SKIP THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Leave this to the pros, or put in the time and effort to become a pro yourself.  This part, unfortunately, isn’t cheap.  However, when you play your perfectly set-up guitar for the first time, you’ll know it was money well spent.

Resources: Parts

www.guitarfetish.com:  a full line of quality replacement parts of all kinds for guitars and basses.  GFS pickups are an excellent value.

www.callahamguitars.com:  Super high end stuff.  This is the place for upgrade CTS pots, switchcraft jacks and switches, high quality capacitors and vintage style cloth covered wire.

www.seymourduncan.com:  The gold standard in replacement pickups.

Resources: Guitar Repair

These are places that I personally recommend.  Each place does excellent work.

Sick String Guitar Repair, www.portlandcustomshop.com:  12^th and  Morrison, about 2 minutes from SoR.  Brian will give you a 10% discount if you tell him you are from School of Rock.  Membership has its privileges!!!  This where I take my guitars.

www.eastsideguitarrepair.com:  37^th and Division.  Excellent work, quick turnaround, fair prices.  Booyaa.

www.portlandfretworks.com:  30^th and Alberta.  Incredible workmanship, but they sometimes take a while.

www.centaurguitar.com: 28^th and Sandy.  Kelly is the coolest.  Good work at extremely fair prices.

www.newregardmedia.com/amphead: Amphead is Jim Taylor, guitarist for Poison Idea.  Great guitar work, as well as amp repair.

Places NOT to bring your guitar…

Apple Music, Guitar Center, Beacock’s, Showcase Music, The 12^th Fret.  AVOID!!!!!!!!!!!

 

_{Buying Used:  The ONLY way to go!!!}

In all honesty, you’re going to need to sink some money into any used OR new piece of gear that you buy in order to make it play and sound its best.  Just factor that into your decision making.  It’s better to pay for better quality used gear that has depreciated a little than to buy less expensive stuff new.  Musical instruments are relatively simple things, and with proper care and maintenance they will be useful for a long, long time.  Remember the most sought after gear is VINTAGE gear, because it has stood the test of time.  Quality control in this day and age SUCKS, so older stuff is generally better.

There are lots of places around Portland that specialize in quality used gear at fair prices.  Here are a few…

Trade-Up Music: 47^th and Division and 19^th and Alberta.  Cool people, tons of cool gear.

Centaur Guitar: 28^th and Sandy. Lots of great used stuff, and the best selection of boutique pedals in town.  Kelly and Jason are awesome dudes.

Old Town Guitars: 3^rd and Ash, right next to Berbati’s.  Specializing in vintage guitars, pedals and amps.  Hank is the man.

Briz Loan and Guitar: 506 Washington St., Downtown Vancouver.  AWESOME shop.  I always find the weirdest, coolest stuff here.  The guys that work there are always listening to Sleep or Neurosis, and they have cute shop dogs.

Buying Used: Craigslist and Ebay…

Portland has a thriving music scene, and our local Craigslist is TEEMING with great deals.  I’ll admit it, I’m a Craigslist junkie.  I check it 20 times a day at least, whether I need gear or not.  I always find killer deals on Craigslist, and I’ve bought and sold thousands of dollars worth of gear on CL over the years.  Some guidelines…

Be careful when you make the deal.  There are creeps out there!

Know what you’re looking at, and test it thoroughly before you buy it.  Once the cash changes hands, it’s YOURS.  Caveat Emptor.

HAGGLE.  ALWAYS.  You might not get the person to come down in price, but it never hurts to ask!

Ebay is a different story.  There are auctions and Buy it Now listings, and it takes a little while to get the hang of it.  I suggest just lurking on there for a while until you kind of get the lay of the land.  I do tons of research on Ebay to know what the going price of used gear is looking like at any given time.  You can literally find almost anything on Ebay.  It’s much more involved once you actually want to buy something, however.  You need a PayPal account, and there is shipping involved, plus you never actually get to check out the gear before you buy it.  It has its risks, but overall it usually works out great.