I have a $400 Ibanez exotic wood and am currently looking to buy a Ibanez FR320. I really hate paying other people to work on my stuff. Since I was about 10 years old I picked up all my dad's old windows and MS-DOS manuals and read them. Now I can write programs, build, repair and install just about any OS. So I've never paid a single dime for computer work and I'm trying to do the same with my guitar playing. I've watched Dan Earwine's video's and know what I'm getting into but I don't feel confident doing any of this to a guitar I care about.
The question basically is would buying a very cheap beginner electric be a good investment for setup practice purposes. I can't really determine if it would be worth it in the end. First there are the tools, then there are the instructional DVD's to buy or find the information elsewhere. I haven't looked into how much guitar center would charge to set intonations or other "simple" things to maintain the guitar. I live in the desert with a average 28% relative humidity and even with sponge/gel humidifiers I started getting a buzz on the high E string. So I would very much like to be able to set up nuts, saddles and other stuff on my own.
Basically should I get a crap guitar to practice fret radius and shaping or other work or just save my money on all the above and hope the guitar lasts a few years and just keep buying $400(most i've been able to save to spend every few years). I've been playing for a few years but still consider myself a beginner and it took me the first year to be able to change my own strings. But I'm advancing and can't decide if it is really worth it to outlay the money for one or two guitars of my own.
Just shop fleemarkets, and garage sales, and pick up anything cheap. I started on my nephews junk ebay strat copy. It was a real piece, but it gave me something to work with. started with the book "make any guitar play well" and did a bit of youtube surfing. Spent many hours on that thing, and its still a steaming pile.... but its a lot more easy to play, and sounds better. Next I move on to a old parlor sized acoustic that was firewood. neck was pulled away from the body for ever, and it was just junk. Pulled it apart, and did my first neck reset on it!! It still had a big hump in the frettboard, so off came all the frets, the board got sanded, and Im ready to refret it. Well sence then along came a old Kay acoustic that I found in a trash pile alongside the road. Had a bulged up top, and needs a reset, and a new bridge. that's next on the list. All three guitars have cost me zero to get... and ive learned a TON. Ive used the skills to setup, and repair a old Epiphone cheap acoustic, tune up my lesPaul , setup, and swapped tuners on my resonator, and eaven built a lapsteel guitar from scrap. its been fun, and it doesn't have to cost much.
Paul B
