Breaking a promise, but hear me out.

So, I bought more guitar gear. It's still this year, so, yes, that violates my promise to ease up and buy no more gear, this year.
BUT- I bought a guitar that went to my wife. Then, I bought a guitar that kinda matches, for me.
Both of them are First Act. Now, I wouldn't say they're top quality. Not even close. However, my wife's is a prototype one-off from the custom shop, and it shows- much higher quality cut of wood for the neck- a really good chunk of maple, with a decent rosewood fingerboard. The frets need a little dressing, and I've done that for her. The tuners are comparable with a decent Squire- meaning they're workmanlike, but not horrible. I'll replace those for her, but it's not crucial. I can't tell the body wood, but it feels pretty lightweight , so I'm guessing poplar or basswood. The single pick up is actually pretty sweet, and sounds more like a Fender humbucker than a midrange heavy Gibson. The Tone and volume controls are good, solid speed dials. The hardtail bridge is decent, along the lines of a Korean Strat copy, as opposed to Chinese.  The paint job is fairly thick, with a couple of flaws, and the pickguard, though purely ornamental is pretty chintzy. Adding all that up- I'd say I feel good about giving this lavender beasty to my wife as a first guitar.
So, I went out and bought a First Act ME1980 to go with it. It's a righty, so, yes, mods must happen to make it playable. But, again, the neck is really good, the hardware is a downgrade from my wife's, and so must be replaced, I was expecting to replace the pick up, but it's got a nifty zing- I've not heard a hot humbucker voiced in this range before- it's got tons of upper mids- like a Japanese Hot Humbucker- put through a treble booster. The pickguard is so terrible that I removed it immediately- it's a piece of plastic that feels like packaging, not part of the instrument. I can see from the screwholes this is a very cheap light wood for the body, but heavier than my wife's so I suspect it's a plywood body. So, call it a Korean made Danelectro take on a Melody Maker, and you're not far off . It will be changed, mark my words. So, here's a Pic of my wife's and a link to mine. Yes, that's a Toys R US link. Deal with it.Oh, and I spent less than 100 bucks for both.

The Problem of Leisure

I have a question rolling around in my head. Even if we're "poor" most of us, in America have something that we spend money pursuing, even though it serves little practical purpose. For some, it's a sport, for others it's collecting something, and for me, it's guitar-related stuff. I know, from my own hobby, that it really isn't about "thwarted dreams". I could play guitar in a band, if I wanted to, probably within the day. I always know musicians, and I know how to get gigs, and I even know how to make it marginally successful. But, I really don't want that. I'm sure it's the same for, hmmm, as an example, my brother-in-law who, later in life discovered Motorcycles. I'm sure he could either develop a couple of exhibition bikes to show around, or could take up racing, or otherwise turn it into a business. I have a friend who loves rugby. He's a big burly type, who is unafraid of pain, and has the discipline that I'm sure he could turn semi-pro ( professional rugby in this country doesn't really happen- but, now that I think about it, he might be good enough that he could emigrate to say, Greece, and play professional- but I'm too ignorant of the leagues to know how realistic that is) but he doesn't. I'm fairly confident that there are those with thwarted dreams, but I think for most of us, it's just a hobby. So, with that being the case, a question arises: How much is too much? I don't really have an answer, but I'm trying to work that out. 

Let me clarify: I cannot justify buying a vintage left handed Jazzmaster guitar, and a full sized Orange Amp, because I'll never use it professionally- that equipment belongs to, and should be owned by a professional musician, and it would be an obscene extravagance for me to spend 10 to 20 thousand dollars on a hobby, when I have people who need me. But, with the extreme out of the picture, how about this- would an 800 dollar guitar, and a thousand dollar amp be too much? How about five hundred, each? Where's the line? Likewise with time: I know that playing 6 hours a day is ridiculous, and would leave little time for other needs, but is it too much to spend say, 2 hours a day? At what point does the time investment become absurd?

Again, I haven't fully answered this for myself, and I think the answer is necessarily a bit "fluid". For example, now that I have no children living in my house, yes, it's ok to spend a little more time playing esoteric scales on the guitars I already own, and yes, it's ok to buy an extra guitar or three, because I have the space and money, but if that conflicts with my wife and her writing hobby, that would cease to be ok. So, I'm not looking for a hard and fast answer. I'm looking for an outlook, or a philosophy. 

This is a blog about spending money, or not spending money, so I figure this is as good a place as any to work this issue out. Granted,  very, very few people are reading this, but I'm open to input.

There will be more about this. Hey, maybe it'll become my own little sub- hobby: a "how to" on having a hobby....

Sansa Clip Zip

I don't feel the need to be in the cultural thick of it where my devices are concerned. I've got an LG smartphone, but wouldn't mind a Samsung. I just don't feel the need, just yet. Likewise, I still have an Ipod Nano, but never use it, mostly because it's difficult to "jailbreak" it from Apple's truly wretched Itunes software. Instead, for the past few years I've been using a SanDisk Sansa Clip +. I still think it's the apex of Mp3 player technology. It'll play any format- so I'm not really stuck with FLACC or Mp3, has a drag-and-drop loading system that's easier than typing this sentence, and has expandable memory- so I can load up to 32 gigs worth of audio onto it. On top of that, you've got radio, and a recording device built in. I would strongly suggest it over against using your phone, or Apple's dreadful software. So, after several years of continuous use ( generally about 3 hours a day) the headphone jack has gone a bit wonky, and it's mono. Fair enough,and I'll still use it to listen to books, radio and podcasts, but for music, I got a Clip Zip for 25 bucks. It's roughly the same deal, and the only real changes are: A. The sound is a bit more bass-heavy B. It's got a full colour screen C. it's got a "sport" setting that I can only guess is either a pedometer or stopwatch function and D. It feels a little more lightweight and flimsy. Because I'm just using it for music, I'm leaving it with the standard 4 Gigs of memory. That's more than enough for the 250 song playlist that I keep. More than 250, and the chances that I hear some album cut that I don't like goes up exponentially. At 250, I have enough variety and selection that I rarely feel "burned out" on a song.

So, while you're struggling to get the new U2 lp off your playlist, or cannot upload that groovy Polish death metal record in .OGG format to your playlist- I'll be out for a jog, listening happily. See? No need to join the personal tech rat race.

The Biyang RV- 10 ( Baby Boom Tri Reverb)

You musicians can claim to be original all they want- the truth is, they're fashion victims as much as the next guy ( or girl) . You've got your Stevie Ray Vaughan followers, buying stratocasters, winding the bridge pick up hot, stringing the guitar with telephone cables, and playing through a Tube Screamer ( or better yet, a boutique Tube Screamer clone) into an under 10 watt tube amp. You've got your Noise Rock nerds playing Aluminum guitars into Traynor Amps, set on "crackle". You've got your Shoegazers, and 1990's  indie Rockers playing Jaguars and Mustangs, with a big Muff and a fender Amp, with the reverb all the way up, and so on.
My fashion set, as a guitar player is closest to the Youth Pastor at a Church "Praise" band- I go for stuff that's inexpensive, yet can approximate the Tone Lawyers. ( The Tone Lawyers are the guys buying "investment grade" guitars and Amps- all very tasteful, but not necessarily "gig ready" )
In my fashion circles, then, there was a big wave of dudes who totally lost their minds on the Biyang Tri Reverb. It's not quite a clone of the TC Electronics "Hall of Fame" reverb pedal- it's a different design in most of the key factors- but the reason for its popularity is that it can approximate some of the HOF's best tones. I'll admit- the trendiness is what hooked my attention, but I got it for this reason- while I've got a great sounding Spring reverb on an Amp, and my Digiverb can handle the shoegazer special effects- this Biyang is the shortest and simplest route to a shimmery "Post punk' reverb- you know that "big" guitar sound from about 1985, that went from The Edge to Geordie to Simple Minds, to heck I think Culture Club even had it a bit. I set the switch to "Hall", the "A/B" to "A" and keep the "Blend" and "Time" dials somewhere between 11 and 2 o'clock, and I'm on it. No real tweaking required, and I've got that big wet reverb. Combined with the Digiverb, and I'll give the Catherine Wheel a run for their shoelaces. Combined with my Fender Amp, and the JAMC have competition, but on its own, I've got everything from Dan Ash to Geordie to Reg Smithies. That's a lot of my tastes, right there. So, yes, I'll follow fashion, if I look good in it....

Two more Guitar Pedals

I'm no snob. I don't need a brand name, but what I do need and want is utility. I want stuff that meets my expectations. So, if I bargain hunt, I don't want to compromise. I happen to know that several things I like have a large amount of  "inflation" on the price (  nicest way of saying they're gouging) . For example, I know that stomp boxes aren't expensive to make. Assuming the boutique guys are paying what I'm paying, and I know I'm over-paying, The average distortion pedal is about 20 bucks in parts. So, let's be generous, and pay them 50 bucks an hour in building the thing- which is about how long it took me- then, 70 bucks really is the most, reasonably,  they should charge. Go Here and find a seventy dollar dirtbox. There's about 10% of their total. So, is it bargain hunting to expect a lower cost? I don't think so.
I've got friends who basically believe in magic, and I don't blame them. I understand. If you put an Earthquaker Devices pedal up against a similar Boss product, of course it destroys the Boss. But, rather than think of Boss as substandard, it makes most folks think of Earthquaker as superior. I have been pretty relentless, and while Earthquaker are probably the best of the high dollar "Boutique" guys, they are overcharging- in some instances less than what they could, so bravo to them for that, but still, it's a little bit of magical thinking to say that , for example, the Monarch overdrive is five times the pedal of the Joyo Ultimate Overdrive. I think the Joyo stuff is a little "underpriced" in the Wal Mart sense of the word ( How Wal Mart gets such low prices is by bullying overseas manufacturers, who generally comply by screwing their workers) but that in no way negates how much Earthquaker ( and others, who are far, far worse) are over-pricing. I'm willing to bet they could shave off 30% of their price and still make a profit, just fine- and while they'd still be too rich for my blood, I wouldn't think of it as quite such a game.
But, the problem of leaving the brand name behind is that you are on your own. See, it's a hype machine- the magazines and blogs, and so on are all built in- you'll find reviews and demo videos aplenty for the hyped brands, but apart from Joyo, who caught fire on a couple of pedals, there are precious little resources out  towards informing folks of all the manufacturers.
So, I bought this Nady Tremolo on Ebay for a ridiculously low price, and had no information going in. Zero.  It turns out that it sounds about as good as a Boss ( meaning on the lower end of mediocre. Not terrible, but nothing special) and is as ugly as a Danelectro ( meaning hideous beyond words. It looks like one of those "Hang loose" feet, in orange, and is huge) . It's worth what I paid, but I wouldn't suggest paying a realistic price for it ( generally it sells for about the same as the Boss- so, then, just get the freakin' Boss).
Even though it cost me a bit more- the Hotone Octa is another matter altogether. This is what I'd call a bargain. Generally, you can pick one up for 70 bucks- and it does virtually everything I would do with the 215 dollar EHX Micro POG. No, it doesn't sound quite as natural on the Octave up- but it's a matter of taste not genuine quality- The Hotone has more warble, the Micro POG has more distortion. So, you have to ask what you're looking to do- I'm looking to double up a few melodic lines- basically play some dyads that sound more like harmonies- Which is what the Micro POG is usually used for, as I hear it. So long as I keep it to whole notes, not more than a bar of sustain, the warble doesn't really come into play. In every other way, the Octa just trounces the Micro POG- first off, this is the smallest pedal I own- it's even smaller than my EBow. That's a feature, to me. It way too small for a battery, but seriously, if it's not a dying battery thing for a fuzz pedal, is there any reason for a battery? I can tell you a big reason against Batteries- throwing toxic heavy metals away every few months. As I was saying, sonically, it's as good as the Electro Harmonix, but that's in standard mode- in the "dirty" mode, which is not polyphonic ( able to handle chords) it keeps up with virtually all the analog "sub-Octave" stuff out there- from the DOD Octoplus, to- get this- the MXR Blue Box- It doesn't have its own fuzz, but I swear it does the single note blend thing as good as the MXR- and when I add my own Fuzz, I've got a Stoner/Sludge monster. In the polyphonic mode, adding a dark overdrive, like the Joyo Ultimate Overdrive produces that "organ tone' beautifully.
Now, I got it on Ebay for 50 bucks, postage paid. Getting it for that might be challenging, but still possible. So- consider that. I could spend 150 and get the Earthquaker Devices Organizer, I could spend 215 , and get the EHX Micro POG- and each would give me slightly different options to arrive at the same place this 50 dollars got me. That's bargain hunting, to me. It wouldn't be if it didn't get me there, any more than if it cost more.

Zenni Optical

So, I now own 4 pair of glasses from Zenni Optical.
They have the distinction of being the cheapest glasses I will buy. I could go cheaper, but I refuse to go that cheap. See, for the most part, there are very few actual manufacturers of glasses. Oh, sure, they'll slap different labels on different types, but they're pretty much all made in the same place. So, it complicates things- I know that my Lookmatics are still made by Luxottica, but my Mezzmers as well as the Zennis are made by Asisn upstarts. I honestly cannot tell which one, but I suspect Mezzmer is with Wenzhou, or another really large Chinese firm like Optibiz, whereas Zenni is more obscure- but still likely Chinese. I suspect that the manufacturing process is more "mass" and definitely less labor, and eco friendly than either Lookmatic or Mezzmer, but at least they're not all the way down there with some of the Indonesians- and that's why they are about as cheap as I will go. It's worth noting- and it's absolutely best to know, not guess, where the stuff you own was made, but in this world, and especially when it comes to monopolies, you have to make compromises.
Anyway- so I owned a pair of reading glasses from them, from last year's deal- they had a four for the price of three deal, so I bought three pair for my son, and one pair for me. This year's deal was three for two, so I got three, and my son got three. Here's my Three: "Blue Steel" "Retro Metal" ( AKA "Cory Doctorow") and  "Hipster Clown" - Zenni doesn't bother to name their styles, so I've done it for them.
So, what do I think? Well, Blue Steel is very much what you'd expect- super cheap, but not as cheaply made as what you'd think- like  most Chinese products. They create the most gnawing guilt- I'm pretty sure they were made by sweatshop labor, because the price vs. quality vs. flaws just fits that profile too well. Retro Metal is actually very comparable to a low-to middle end Luxottica product. I'd put them on par with Oakley. Not bad.  Hipster Clown actually is garnering me compliments, and I'm not so self assured that I can completely ignore that. They're still very cheaply made, and that's obvious ( I'd put it at Wal Mart type quality- aka "at least I didn't get it at a swap meet" ), but they evidently look good to other people, and they're the first pair of glasses since my Lookmatic Clubmaster-inspired "Austins" that get remarks of "Hey where did you get those? I want a pair!" So, I'll take it. So, all in all, I'd call it a win. Oh, and total price for my order was about US 160.00- which is what I'd pay for one pair of Lookmatics, with all the bells and whistles that I like ( which still beats the pants off of the 300 to 400 I'll pay, using my insurance, at a brick-and-mortar. Without Insurance, I'd pay more like 500 to 600) so, again, not bad.
Basically, Warby Parker still rules hell, for having the least amount of guilt, coupled with a decent price
(unfortunately they can't quite hit my distance prescription so I just have a reading pair). Mezzmer is a very close second, and Lookmatic might be third, but they win over both for style points. But Zenni still is slightly on the "good guy" end of the spectrum. If they start doing the moral equivalent to "carbon offests" I'll eliminate one of my other choices.

Why I like Junk

I don't like "junk". I don't like the conceptualization of objects as "junk". I think of that as wasteful, and petty, and disrespectful to other people.
But, let me back up a bit. While this same argument can be used about anything from cookware to shoes, I've encountered it the most with leisure purchases. Cars, Guitars, Grills, and TVs. I can certainly see how there are objects that harm the user- Aluminum cookware, lead paint, and the like. Call that "junk" if you want. However, usually, what is meant is " that object is not up to my fine standards, and you should be like me". I object to that. Take cars, for example- I literally ( and yes, I mean absolutely and exactly) drive cars until the wheels fall off, the engines explode, or the vehicle simply cannot be repaired. So, for most of my life, I drive what others would have called "junk"- some rust, some wear, maybe not the most classic of designs, you get the idea. I feel that's a responsibility. The amount of resources that go into a car, from insane labor practices to toxic materials, to the destruction of fossil fuels, means that, to me, it's irresponsible to be the cause of additional cars being manufactured. If you have a car, it's your responsibility to wring every little bit of use out of it as possible.
Another aspect is with Guitars. I have belonged to various online forums for guitar players, and it never fails- some "newbie" will asking about starting, and out come the people to tell them what they should buy. Every single time, the end result suggestions are an over-expenditure. They'll tell them to buy a 500 dollar guitar, a 500 dollar amplifier, and more. And why? Because you don't want to buy "junk". Bastards! Well, I'm telling you it's a flat out lie. My first guitar cost less than a hundred bucks, and I had to learn how to make my first amplifier- but had I purchased one, I would've been happy with an equally cheap amplifier. I still keep a check on my purchases. I'll never be spending more than a paycheck on any piece of musical equipment. You know why? Because I'm not playing to impress 20 people out of the 500 hundred who paid to see me. That's what that extra money goes to, seriously. You know what the difference between an Epiphone and a Gibson is? Pure vanity! They're both made with questionable labor, and parts, with questionable quality control- so don't go telling me about Korea, China, or Tennessee, because I've actually been to both Gibson and Epiphone manufacturing centers. You know why "boutique" manufacturers charge so much? To make you think it's worth it. I know this because they'll say it. And the people who buy into the claptrap- who are the majority, easily, - they'll bully people who disagree. ( So, to get along, I won't exactly "disagree" with them- I'll just fail to agree)
I don't own a manufactured grill- I make them when I need them. So, there's no bragging rights to a campfire. It's a matter of skill versus status, in my mind. If you're skillful enough , the convenience of the machine isn't needed. If I know how to gauge heat and mass and the transfer of caloric energy to transform my raw food into the cooked state I want, I don't need the controls and gauges. It's about mastery versus success. Success is, by and large, in the eye of a beholder- if other people say you are a success, then, you are. However, if you've mastered something, you have made it do what you want.
Finally, I don't have some TV as big as a coffin, that costs as much as a bathroom remodel. I have a 32" Samsung that cost less than 400 bucks. Some would call it junk- it's not smart, 3D, or anything beyond. It's not even up to 1080, like my computer. You know why? Because I get to define it- not the manufacturer. I say it's a visual speaker for a visual HiFi system- more like a Stereo system than a radio, get it? It's there to simply translate the electronic content I'm feeding it, not to interpret it. I like that. I like my objects to do exactly what I tell them to do- and no more.
So, no, I don't like the designation of quality to be in someone else's hands and mind. I don't like "junk" anymore than I like "Fine" or "top quality" ( or "organic" or "gourmet" or "professional" or any other marketing term that people have given themselves over, in an effort to appeal to their insufficient self esteem, and overinflated vanity). No matter what- even if it's buying stuff- I believe in living in my own world. I'm a materialist in the most exacting sense of the word- I believe the physical world is a much better judge than your conception of my perception. So, no I don't like "junk"- I like my stuff.