Hamerica Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" - Mark Twain "There were fifteen-million fingers Learning how to play And you could hear the fingers pickin' And this is what they had to say" - Bon Scott I never thought I would find "six degrees of separation" between the above two writers but leave it to a Forbes contributor to point out that during the first two years of the Pandemic, 16 Million People picked up the guitar as a hobby in the US. That is much larger than I suspected even though my brother-in-law was one of those estimated 16 million people. Pretty sure guitar playing was heading to the dust bin before the Pandemic for various reasons. No wonder guitars and guitar gear has increased in pricing. So maybe there is hope for the guitar hobby after? Maybe we will get a new guitar icon that will inspire the masses. The article is here - https://www.forbes.com/sites/jesscording/2022/06/24/study-shows-16-million-people-learned-to-play-guitar-during-the-first-two-years-of-the-pandemic/?sh=26afa8505400 Hamerica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shankyboy Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 The pandemic was actually a huge boost for me, work wise so I had some money to spend. I thought for sure that I would be able to snag some good deals with people dumping guitars to pay their bills but that was never the case. The good guitars disappeared rather quickly and what was left were the cheap ones at ridiculous prices. A GC salesman told me that the magic number was $1,200.00. People came in saying that they wanted to buy their first guitar and, when asked what their budget was, they said $1,200.00 which was the amount of the check that everybody was getting from Uncle Sam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Scepter Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 During this pandemic, I've noticed a plethora of new guitar talent crawling out of the wood work and have discovered a few potential new icons... and as the population goes back to work, as with dogs, there will be a rush surplus of used guitar/gear returning in circulation and prices returning to normal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchee Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 On 7/1/2022 at 6:18 AM, Dave Scepter said: ... and as the population goes back to work, as with dogs, there will be a rush surplus of used guitar/gear returning in circulation and prices returning to normal I've been a student of the buying & selling game for at least 25 years, because I've never been able to afford/keep very much over the years (It don't cost nuthin' to look and watch), and I've never seen 'prices returning to normal' as a group. Here and there individually? Maybe, depending on a lot of variables, including the economy, the time of year, musical trends (or the lack thereof), tonewood availability (or wood in general), and so on. But once a guitar category/model reaches a certain price point as a group, it's pretty difficult to get prices to go down as a group on a category of gear. For instance, many popular used MIM Fender guitars used to go regularly for $500~$600, but now popular used ones go regularly for $800. Yes, I know, 'askin' ain't sellin''; but once sellers get used to gear being at a certain price point, they don't want to go back, not as a seller anyway. Just my two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Scepter Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 1 hour ago, crunchee said: I've never seen 'prices returning to normal' as a group. Here and there individually? Maybe, depending on a lot of variables, including the economy, the time of year, musical trends (or the lack thereof), tonewood availability (or wood in general), and so on. But once a guitar category/model reaches a certain price point as a group, Interesting great news, if your selling 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy p Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 I'm seeing tons of new players who are technically mind-blowing with their dexterity, speed, sense of melody (or dissonance), and control of their sound but I never see anyone that I think is a new "icon" in the way that Jeff Beck or Eddie Van Halen are/were to me or Hendrix was to so many. I can't imagine anyone changing the landscape the way those guys did.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimsontider Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 On 7/3/2022 at 8:30 AM, tommy p said: I'm seeing tons of new players who are technically mind-blowing with their dexterity, speed, sense of melody (or dissonance), and control of their sound but I never see anyone that I think is a new "icon" in the way that Jeff Beck or Eddie Van Halen are/were to me or Hendrix was to so many. I can't imagine anyone changing the landscape the way those guys did.. Committing ALL your free time to mastering one craft has to be exponentially harder today than pre digital age. I'm glad Eddie/Jimi weren't tempted with smartphones and X-Box's or even Pro-Tools! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feynman Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 My friend is a long time guitar teacher and said that most of his new students cite Tim Henson or Misha Mansoor as inspirations, with Henson holding a sizable lead. I’ve listened to a lot of material by both to try and appreciate it - I am both impressed and left cold by it. Perhaps I’ve reached stubborn old guy territory, but I’d like to think it’s something more (it probably isn’t). I actively dislike a lot of it but try to give it a chance. I think it’s lost on me. Check out The Amity Affliction. My youngest coworker is amazed and enthralled by them. Best band ever. Best live band ever. Best lyrics ever. It’s them, not me, right? I’ll go listen to my Lawrence Welk records now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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