Welcome to Spring 2017, guitar aficionados. If there is anyone out there keeping tabs on what’s going on at CRAVE Guitars and wondering about the lack of recent vintage purchases, here’s a quick (and short-ish) update.
I have mentioned previously about a necessary life-changing relocation and the fact that this has (hopefully only temporarily) curtailed my mission to bring you more Cool & Rare American Vintage Electric Guitars. You may have noticed that there has been a dearth of ‘new in’ articles and a consequent increase in ‘pretentious monologues’ (or as I prefer to call them, well-researched, in-depth, objective investigations) about guitar-related matters. This shift in emphasis was a conscious decision and directly related to the necessary change in circumstances.
Change is inevitable, positive change needs to be driven. As John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) wisely stated, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”. The time is fast approaching when it all happens, at long last. The whole process seems to have taken forever – over 12 months already. By mid-summer, the main move will have occurred (fingers crossed).
In the meantime, I am taking some heart breaking decisions and, to me at least, making some painful sacrifices. To be precise, that means selling guitar stuff. If you suffer the guitarist’s common malady of Gear Acquisition Syndrome (a.k.a. G.A.S.), you’ll understand exactly what I mean. I have accumulated quite a lot of musical equipment over the years and it’s time to be ruthless and rational about what a remodelled CRAVE Guitars actually needs, as well as to concentrate on what it will focus.
So… Why do it? Good question for a self-confessed gearhead. There are basically three factors involved here. The first is that permanent, full-time gainful employment has ceased for now, to become a full-time carer and to concentrate on the relocation. Whether this can be categorised as ‘early retirement’ or not is irrelevant – the fact is that there currently aren’t any sources of income to fund vintage guitar, amp or effect purchases. The second is that the cost of adapting a clunky, structurally unsound, damp (and very modest) old property in a poorly accessible location costs WAY more and takes WAY longer than envisaged. It has taken every last penny of available cash and it hasn’t even happened yet. The third is that the lifestyle change demands a much simpler way of living, away from the self‑seeking, avaricious intensity of the South East of England. I am not underestimating the cultural adaptation that will be required to all the above; it will be difficult and it has to be done. A positive mental attitude is most definitely needed.
So… what exactly does the sacrifice entail, you may ask? Well, at the moment, the vintage guitars, amps and effects are as safe as they can be. However, most of everything else sadly has to go. This means releasing CRAVE’s more modern guitars, non-American guitars, amps, studio gear, effects, accessories, etc. The home studio gear has largely gone and the modern effect pedals are all on their way. At the time of writing, quite a few items have departed for pastures new and there are still a few more bits and pieces to go, so the hurt continues for a while. If you are interested, keep an eye on the ‘For Sale’ section of the web site – all pre-owned items are auctioned on eBay UK and, because they have to go, there are some bargains to be had. http://www.craveguitars.co.uk/home/for-sale/
Sadly, four guitars have already gone (ouch!) and a fifth is likely to go imminently. Amongst those already re‑homed are the sunburst 1999 Fender Stratocaster American Standard and the cherry 1999 Gibson SG Standard. These are superb pro instruments and I’m very sad to see them go after many years of companionship but, as ‘they’ say, needs must. If you’ve looked at CRAVE Guitars’ website home page, these two have been front and centre for a long time, even though the guitars themselves are still a few years off vintage status – time for a new photo! Just for a change, I’m looking to use CRAVE’s vintage 1962 Gretsch and 1964 Silvertone by Danelectro (see below).
I may try to hang onto a couple of modern guitars as reference instruments but the rest are either on their way or will be shortly. Most of the electronics don’t have such an emotional connection as the guitars but it is still very sad to see such a lot of good quality gear disappearing out of the door at relatively low values. I genuinely hope that the new owners are happy with their purchases.
If I have to excise any of the vintage gear due to circumstances, it will be immensely regrettable. That isn’t to say that I won’t sell some vintage items but the proceeds therefrom can, I hope, be reinvested in ‘new’ vintage equipment. CRAVE Guitars has to continue developing, otherwise it just becomes another stagnant private ‘collection’, the idea of which doesn’t excite or motivate me (in fact it’s one of my bugbears). I need to keep the faith and plough on, otherwise I won’t have anything to write about here!
One thing that struck me is the harsh economic reality of life. Costs of things one has to pay out for end up being far higher than one expects and the residual worth of things previously paid out for is far less than one thinks it should be. It may be stating the bleedin’ obvious that, as avid consumers, the level of depreciation between acquisition and disposal is severe but the recent experience has brought it into stark focus. Let’s just say that the cash flow sits firmly in the ‘outgoing’ column, not the ‘incoming’ one.
Exacerbating the value gap are the fees that eBay and PayPal rake in just for letting people sell stuff online. While I recognise that businesses have to make money, it is clear that everyone except me is making shedloads of lucre at every step along the way!
The economic laws of supply and demand mean that, at least in business terms, straightforward ownership isn’t financially sensible or maintainable without adequate income. Such is the price of an inadequately controlled hobby over a long period of time. It isn’t all bad though. There are positives, of course; one good thing is that we guitarists can get a great deal of enjoyment from using our equipment during the course of ownership. Thankfully, guitars (and everything that goes with them) can be usefully employed and are far more than static assets representing an ‘investment’ to be protected.
While on the subject of economic value, one thing that I’ve learned with vintage guitars is how long it takes before prices bottom out and values start appreciating again (if ever). Many vintage pieces remain in the economic doldrums for a period before regaining a higher proportion of their original retail price. The vintage market is by no means perfect; it only takes a relatively small number of wealthy collectors to intervene in the finite market and to drive prices to stupid levels (don’t get me started!). There is truth in the old adage that ‘if you’ve got money you can make money’. The converse is equally true, and sadly depressing, as I’m finding out. Although it isn’t yet consistent, some post‑recession vintage prices are beginning to escalate rapidly again which, if the trend becomes more predictable, signals the start of another unsatisfactory ‘boom and bust’ inflationary cycle.
Being didactic, if CRAVE Guitars is ever going to become a going concern, the business model needs objective re‑appraisal to ensure it can be adequately sustained as a viable entity. As a closet socialist, it goes against the grain to think about buying and selling to make a ‘profit’. As I’ve mentioned before, I have been a enthusiastic consumer but not necessarily a canny buyer and certainly a reluctantly ineffective seller. My recent experience provides tangible evidence of what I suspected all along. The culture of trading in sufficient volume to make a living is a complete mystery to me and it will be a difficult lesson to learn for someone who is not naturally inclined to commerce. I can safely say that CRAVE Guitars will never earn enough to live on but that has never been the point of the venture. However, whatever happens, I will have to stop losing money hand over fist.
You may well know that, to me, vintage guitars are not just soulless products to be pedalled without any sort of emotional connection with what they represent. I think that, if I harden my attitude to what are, after all, fundamentally just bits of wood, metal and plastic, it would take away a great deal of the beguiling nature of the instruments and the almost mystical vibes they generate.As Richard Branson (1950-), founder of the Virgin empire observes, “A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts”.
Guitars, generally, have become an obsession which goes way beyond the core vintage ‘collection’. if you have ever taken a sneaky peak at CRAVE’s Twitter feed, for instance, you’ll see what I mean. I don’t anticipate that the underlying preoccupation that drives CRAVE Guitars ending any time soon.
The proceeds from the sale of the non-vintage music gear will, I hope, contribute towards the monumental costs of change. While it is sad to think that my non-vintage gear is going to fund the change in circumstance, at least the ‘career’ change is for an ethically and morally good cause. The other advantage of thinning things out is that there is less that has to be moved and less that space will be needed to home it all in the future.
It will take some time before the vintage items can be safely and securely relocated and I am looking forward to the time when the ‘family’ is readily to hand again. I am also looking forward to redesigning and updating the web content accordingly. Then, maybe, the mission to seek out more ‘Cool & Rare American Vintage Electric’ Guitars and bring them to your attention can be resumed. Bring it on – it can’t happen soon enough as far as I’m concerned.
As the likelihood of ‘new in’ articles remains a way off yet, next month may revert back to observational soliloquy, for which I apologise in advance. Until then… back to thinning out CRAVE’s non-vintage gear. Boohoo!
CRAVE Guitars ‘Quote of the Month’: “Wealth is not an absolute. It is what you do with what you’ve got, while you’ve got it that matters. Use it wisely”
© 2017 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars.