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Well, I changed my order with MF right after I posted
here. I got to thinking about it the Jazzmaster,
looking at my Cyclone, and realizing that no matter
how much I enjoy playing surf, it's not what I'm doing
band-wise and may not ever be, so I called them back
and ordered a Standard Telecaster instead.
At $399.99 the Japanese JM seems like a killer deal,
hands-down, but whenever you a buy a cheaper guitar
there is always going to be a question of value (what
you're getting for what you're paying, whether the
up-market models are really worth the higher price,
etc), but as somebody pointed out, down-market models
are there to make money by catering to a larger
portion of the market. I'm not trying to say it's a
nefarious plot perpetrated by The Man to deceive us
and sell us crappy guitars, but cheaper also means
cheaper.
I'm really happy with my CIJ and MIM guitars but
they're like any other hobby-affectation (which is
exactly what they are when we're not playing
them)--they are a potential money-pit, and aftermarket
parts and guitar manufacturers know this. It's up to
you to decide whether something on the guitar actually
warrants replacing or if you've been convinced by hype
that you need to replace something that might be
working just fine. I bought all my guitars with the
intention of upgrading tuners, getting fretjobs,
pickups, etc, but after really sitting down with all
of them and realizing how much all that would be for
what might not even be noticeable improvements, the
only thing I've ever done is purchased one pickup. If
you buy a $500 guitar over a $1000 guitar, how much
money can you justify putting into aftermarket parts?
At what point is it no longer worth it, and you start
nagging yourself with the thought that maybe you
should have just saved the extra money for the next
model?
Richard
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time.
Richard,
I wholeheartedly agree with you. The time you invest in upgrading
and the unaccounted for headache associated is reason enough to pass
on a cheaper model and go for the quality product. If you want a
thrasher guitar then pay as little as possible and maybe do a few
upgrades but not enough to where you start thinking, "I should have
just bought the next model up." I would kick myself squarely in the
rear if I spent $500 out the door on say a MFriend Jag only to want
to upgrade the pups, pots, finish, etc. Upgrades are ok. Total
restoration or transformation is costly. Like I have always believed.
Don't try and make a Ferrari out of a VW Bug. If you want the Ferrari
buy the Ferrari. JWL
--- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...>
wrote:
>
> Well, I changed my order with MF right after I posted
> here. I got to thinking about it the Jazzmaster,
> looking at my Cyclone, and realizing that no matter
> how much I enjoy playing surf, it's not what I'm doing
> band-wise and may not ever be, so I called them back
> and ordered a Standard Telecaster instead.
>
> At $399.99 the Japanese JM seems like a killer deal,
> hands-down, but whenever you a buy a cheaper guitar
> there is always going to be a question of value (what
> you're getting for what you're paying, whether the
> up-market models are really worth the higher price,
> etc), but as somebody pointed out, down-market models
> are there to make money by catering to a larger
> portion of the market. I'm not trying to say it's a
> nefarious plot perpetrated by The Man to deceive us
> and sell us crappy guitars, but cheaper also means
> cheaper.
>
> I'm really happy with my CIJ and MIM guitars but
> they're like any other hobby-affectation (which is
> exactly what they are when we're not playing
> them)--they are a potential money-pit, and aftermarket
> parts and guitar manufacturers know this. It's up to
> you to decide whether something on the guitar actually
> warrants replacing or if you've been convinced by hype
> that you need to replace something that might be
> working just fine. I bought all my guitars with the
> intention of upgrading tuners, getting fretjobs,
> pickups, etc, but after really sitting down with all
> of them and realizing how much all that would be for
> what might not even be noticeable improvements, the
> only thing I've ever done is purchased one pickup. If
> you buy a $500 guitar over a $1000 guitar, how much
> money can you justify putting into aftermarket parts?
> At what point is it no longer worth it, and you start
> nagging yourself with the thought that maybe you
> should have just saved the extra money for the next
> model?
>
> Richard
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time.
>
> I wholeheartedly agree with you. The time you invest in upgrading
> and the unaccounted for headache associated is reason enough to pass
> on a cheaper model and go for the quality product. If you want a
> thrasher guitar then pay as little as possible and maybe do a few
> upgrades but not enough to where you start thinking, "I should have
> just bought the next model up." I would kick myself squarely in the
> rear if I spent $500 out the door on say a MFriend Jag only to want
> to upgrade the pups, pots, finish, etc. Upgrades are ok. Total
> restoration or transformation is costly. Like I have always believed.
> Don't try and make a Ferrari out of a VW Bug. If you want the Ferrari
> buy the Ferrari. JWL
Unless of course you *like* to trick guitars out. It can be fun if you are
into that kind of thing.
If not, then certainly buy the guitar with the features you want.
BN
