jimmarchi1's forum posts 8022

any dreadnought from old growth wood with a thin finish... spruce top required... its not a special guitar, dude

also, I do not get what that video is all about, what a crappy sound and crappy playing by a crapy Morissey clone

yeah, that's one of those early attempts at an electrified acoustic like the Gibson jumbo with the P90 jidden behind under the neck joint before the soundhole starts that the beatles were so fond of... you see these crazy Martins with DeArmond(s) around periodically... like at guitar shows... the awesome pickups are wasted on a acoustic... they are a gretsch "dynasonic" in a slightly different cover/surround. They are what the LP custom's A5 "staple picup" knocks off. Seth Lover thought the DeArmonds adjustable magnet pickup was the nicest sounding pickup ever made so he copied it before inventing the humbucker.

there are a million guitars you can slap DeArmods on to ge the D18 sound, but they won't sound like an old one. its also a waste f time. THe pickups are more suited to electric. Youa re busy admiring a player whose tone is in their hands and not thinking about what's suitable for acoustic.... just trust me.

yes, the bridge will wear into a nice patina... probably different than your cheap Ibanez, but it willw ear in

all the metal parts should develop a nice patina, especially if you got nickel and not chrome

the whole guitar should age in nicely with you... take good care of her and watch out for hairline cracks in the fretboard and more importantly the dreaded "rise at the heel."

I see you bought the 2015.... AND LOVE HER! nice dude.... ditch the G force and get a set of tuners you like. I am sure G Force works but it must skew the balance and weight relationship between headstock and bridge and that effects tone (believe it or not). Stick with the brass nut for a while and see what you think. A lot of guys in the 70s and 80s ADDED BRASS NUTS to their vintage LPs. Don't knock it 'til you spend time with it.

BWAHAHAHA!

I think I am going to buy a POD HD500x used on the cheap and tryintegrating it with my analog stuff and see how I feel about it. I don't wanna drastically change how I play guitar. Just add a bunch of options without buying a few grand in pedals and routing systems not to mention the trouble of adding channel switching amp(s), preamps.... ugh. I just want my left side to have more flexibility versus my core ac30 sound I usually put to my right, but still be able to throw down back into dual ac30s when I want my classic 'jim' tone.

EDIT: its a pain in the balls to do some of this stuff w/o really elaborate setups, I just want a simple, all in one floor board and a couple cables. Once I have my presets dialed in for a bunch of tone that will do the business at appropriate levels I just wanna have at it and be able to back off my volmes and ones and get some additional sounds the old school way too because its what I am used to. I can't imagine eliminating tube amps completely.

oh god no, it looks cool for a guy with no gear and no sound yet, ut for a guy like me with a distinct sound and tons of analog gear who wants to just kidna expand his palette? nah

part of my desired thing is to have a bunch of buttons with preset sounds to cover a bunch of applications, and 3 switches is not quite enough... I'm looking to implement my digital effects and the odd preamp simulation in the least generic way possible too. I have a sound that's uniquely me. Its mostly my hands but its a little bit my gear chices, so I wanna preserve my poweramp and speaker preferences for sure, so I need a shit ton of routing to keep as much of my core setup intact as possible most of the time. It would all make sense if you were me and you were dug into a real specific response from your amplifiers you are used to but need to add effects and gain transparently and want 1 touch patch shifts when the gig requires it. Given my druthers I would just always tote 1 vox and a Gibson and make it happen that way, but some gigs call for a bunch of hoopty joop. My DC bar band was funny because I showed up with a guitar, amp (both high end) and a drive I was using as a dirty boost for solos and they were like "where's your pedal board?" I scoffed, wowed them, but I think if they were better they coulda used more sounds....

I am kinda picturing myself doing this except using my amp's input always on as like a direct box so once I get past the single pentode stage I am running low Z baanced signals so I can drive long cable runs and keep my noise level down as well as preserving the rective laod of a tube amplifier input on my passive pickups, you can't simulate that changing impedance load digitally yet eeven though you can change the guitar input impedance on all these Line6 gizmos, its still like having a buffer on all the time and willt ake all the "give" outta your signal.... ahrd to describe, but ehre's the video I found where they are kidna using the Line6 gadget the way I am thinking of using it... kinda sorta!

https://youtu.be/r7UDO8SM6NI

So apparently the thing to do to use a POD HD as a preamp into an amp's power amp is to recapture some of the magic connection between the 1st stage of a tube amp and your guitar by hitting a single tube stage before the input of the POD. Guys like using decent tube mic pres with DI inputs because then they get a low impedance output to drive long cable runs and they go into the XLR input. Kinda neat, but why couldn't I just plug into the pentode channel of my HC30 and feed the pre-amp out into my radial passive DI. The EF86 has reat compression, bandwidth and harmonic, the radial has a -`15dB dB pad in case optimal fullness from the EF86 is too hot for the POD. I have some low end tailoring via a capacitor-based HP filter like an od tube mic-pre but no other tone shaping from the channel so it should just provide a rich, hot clean signal to the modeler that will give my guitar a real, variable impedance load on it from the tube. From there I can sue the effects and preamp sims and then slam into the power amp return with a hi Z signal from the POD and I should be able to create a pile of really cool patches That will have a bare minimum of digital muckity muck going on other than the actual features I bought the POD for. I just want to minimize all the artifacts induced by going with something high tech like this.... I'll trade a little feel and dynamics from the whole system for a wider palette of sounds from the closed-back part of my rig and hopefully the no-negative feedback "class A" matchless power section will keep the whole thing warm and grimey sounding like guitars should be.... and because you can have 2 independent stereo apths I can use the other stereo channel to justa dd some effects to into the front end of one of my actual hand made voxes which have no effects loop no effects loop. They can add some definition and added sparkle as well as the old school tube sag... and I am stereo so I can do stereo modulation, double track effects, stereo echoes.... hmmm...

and this leaves the FX loop free to throw a real fuzz or drive pedal in if I don't like the dirt box emulations and just use the other effects and high gain pre models... and I could dig out my midi to CV box and use the midi out on the POD500 to engage hot mode on the AC30HW... unless I settle on the 62, but I doubt it, I don't gig that amp and this is a live rig (looking to jin a weekend warrior band again this year and I wanna sound badassed... even more badassed than usual). Plus I will be sending a little EF86 color over to the traditional amp as well as the modulations and delays. Even for a dry sound I can get double down the voxiness.... either that or the hole deal will suck a rat and I will sell it and hopefully break even.

I think I am going to buy this thing and build a high tech rig here....

thanks for everyone's useful input. I am about to pull the trigger on thos POD HD500x and see what I think of turning my live rig really hybrid!

I can get a beat up POD HD500x for under $300.... who cares about road wear? should be fine, right? Maybe I will offer the seller $250, he really wants tog et rid of it according to his description. That way I can get my money abck and try G-System if its too digital for me....

wow, I can get an open-box floor-sample firehawk on reverb for $350. Hmm

EDIT: no preamp only modelling, fuck that... why not just get a used G system then :-(

is he just using the preamp simulations into the LAney'spower amp and a realy speaker cab?

and....

wait for it...

Is he playing Metal?

all these gear demoes of multiFX, amp modellers, midi tube preamps are all by shredders and chuggachugga metal guys! I can't tell the dfference between modelling, preamp/poweramp rigs and integrated heads/cabs with all that gain and scooped midrange. I just can't. It all sounds like a Boss metalzone to me .

I am 8 billion times more subtle and really picky

I guess link me, but a youtube clip, even played thru my studio monitors, doesn't tell me a lot about standing in front of it nor does it tell me how it'll all "feel"

EDIT:

I am really not looking to do a ton with the thing, seriously. Most of my patches will be focused around either a nice jangly clean sometimes with modulation and delay, 80s crunch sometimes with slapback, or a blastoff solo tone that's kinda soldanoey with lots of echo, and then the other side will just be a little detune, longer echoes into maybe a little plate reverb, and then right into one of my actual AC30s. Maybe a fuzz pedal in a loop for blastoff solo patches. That's it. But I want it to sound pretty good.

I am not like the connectivity of the firehawk compared with POD HS500 and its the exact same technology :-( Only Helix is upgraded software...

There's just NOWHERE to A/B this gear. GC carries all the Line6 shit but now TC, SamAsh technically carries TC and Line6 but doesn't stock it and no one has an axe FX in person... plus I will really need to take it home, integrate it with my rig, and makes ome patches to know if I am happy or if I should try something else.... or just stay analog!

And even on equipboard people just want to tout whichever piece they have in their reviews as being the ebst evne though they have not tried anything else... and in the amp modelers, no one is using it the way I would, integrated with real amps :-(

I am trying to decide what multi-effects unit to buy to add a whole bunch of effects modelling and routing ability to my rig, but I am completely overwhelmed looking at the affordable older units that appear to meet my needs. I wanna keep it udner a grand including a midi footboard and would prefer something I can put in a rock with my HC30 for some 4 cable method use, but I am also tmpted by the ability to use the preamp models only in AxeFX and PODHD. But the rack version of POD desn't have the analog loops that the big floor version has and AxeFX has only 1 loop and is pricey as hell. On the other hand G System is already a rack with integrated floorboard and 4 analog loops, but it has no distortions (which is fine sicne I can use pedals in the loops, but ti doesn't have the modelled pres which is kidna pissing me off sicne that seems cool.

ARGH! which ones sound great? what are they good at? I really want a basic stereo effects rig between 2 REAL amps. One will just get FX and be set semi-dirty and the other will be bone clean with its REAL preamp and might get some high gain VIRTUAL preamps for heavier distortions as well as the other side of my stereo delay and modulation effects and maybe a little detune pitch-shifting to widen my stereo image between both 4x12s. With G system my serious dirt will have to come from actual high gain rack preamp(s) or dirt boxes in the loops... the other systems offer me preamp-only patches for all their amps which is neat (simulated Soldano pre into a real Matchless power amp and real 2x12 with anyone?), but I am just overwhelmed ehre by which model will clock in cheaply and provide me with solid foot control and easy programming. I know I love the mod and elay effects in TC's G series, but that's all it does... do I want more? Am I willing to invest in an old AxeFX and midi controller? Should I chance the POD? Should I go cheap and do the POD HD500 and just run soe long cables?

so overwhelming. They all have a lot of pros and cons....

we don't have alimony in PA... there's something called spousal support but its very limited in % of income and duration... it doesn't even effect me right now since the divorce is up in the air a couple weeks ago I won a contempt hearing and have full physical custody of my son pending a final court decision on all this stuff... I am used to looking after myself and 1 dependent, so it ain't no thang, dawg

its really more fun than you would think paying and caring for a kid... for years I liked being completely unattached so I could have my bohemian, working musician's lifestyle, but its not as rewarding as being Dad

YMMV

Here you already have a tool for reporting duplicates: http://equipboard.com/duplicate_items/new

that's right, this thread is a duplicate submission!

you must be... either that or the UK gets shit for Gibson imports (your 60s guys stole a lot of fine vintage Gibbies to create british hard rock, so you have it coming)... I mean, when you think for a sec you realize modern fender produces way more fener branded guitars than Gibson produces Gibson branded ones. There are MIM, MIJ, MIK, MII and now even some MIC branded fenders in addition toa huge line of uSA guitars ad custom shop models thata re not so 'custom,' off-the-shelf type high end guitars....

The Gibaon line is only made in the USA, the entry level guitars are not made in a variety of shapes or even large numbers very year and the Gibson custom shop cranks out mostly VOS LPs, SGs and hollow bodies as stock models as wella s the odd colelctor's choice or signature guitar. We are not talking about similar shiping totals. Fender must quadruple Gibson just in custom shop 'off the shelf' guitars

if you take all the standard production Fenders from all the fender factories and compare those shipping totals to what Gibson Nashville shps every year? whoa, the disparity has gotta be huge. We should google it!

D'addario makes a lot of variations of each gauge with differing wound strings. I personally dig the lighter bottom strings and heavy top on some guitars even though the light top and heavy bpttom sets are more popular. Strats and some gibbies can do well with lighter bottom strings. For me anyway... I usually just like 10s on a tele though. Its an inherently stiff design, particularly bending e&b. This especially true of teles with the 50s string tree. YMMV though. I almost always play 10s on a tele unless i want a vintage sound and do flatwounds. Anymore i just do ernie slinkies across the board out of sheer laziness... its a big stable of guitars to be buying a different set for each one!

Have a kid and get divorced. Tax breaks abound LOL

I dunno. Used Gibsons of all stripes are plentiful here if you are hip to where they gather. Don't you guys have guitar shows/expos?

I always feel like good guitars are out to find me and I always hafta restrain myself because I only think that I have the means to buy them all!

I should probably have toned that down before posting. I am just so sick and tired of the way the rabid consumerism of the iPhone age has infected the guitar world. This lust for having he brand new thing and shelling out top retail money for it feels so artificial and completely counter to what being involved in rock 'n roll has always been about. On the other hand, it seems like every generations rock n roll is different, from the sound to the personal aesthetic. The way young musicians engage with music and their instruments may be baffling to me. The current cultural climate (that was a good phrase, hmm) certainly informs the music of the young and also informs their choice of tools to make it. Excelsior, Liam. Give me a pass for being a stubborn, cruty old alternapunk with a chip on his shoulder...

but watch out for really new guitars aging in poorly. Everything I said about new guitars hitting the shelves before the glue has had a chance to settle? 100% true. Your brand new gem could age into a lemon, even with a USA made Gibson... I have seen it. I just come at this shit as a tech as well as a working class punk rocker who needs to get his money's worth and have a 100% sure thing when he spends money on a guitar.

I just do NOT get the new stuff. I always said that when I was old I would be that coo dad who was open to all the new music, but I find the new EDM to be just as baffling as the new rock music. Don't grow up, kids. It sucks waking up in the morning every day and seeing a dinosaur in the mirror!

Also, the vibe has changed. With the death of rave culture the whole hippy/cyber-punk feeling has gone and has been replaced with a slicker, more clubby aesthetic. EDM when I was young was this dangerous, outlaw music played in warehouses for illegally assembled crowds and even the legal clubs and events were often raided by the law. I remember one time in 1999 me and a buddy were followed out of an outlaw party in the NJ pine barrens by state troopers ALL THE WAY TO THE PA BORDER! It felt like Bonnie and Clyde. Going out to dance was an act of total rebellion and you would find yourselves in these grimey, desolate places and have the time of your life for awhile. In Philly there was a monthly outlaw called God's Basement that started in an abandoned church basement, but eventually the police got hip to it and it started moving around through catholic schools, churches, any ecclesiastical space they could break into. They had a generator if needed. We would dance all night hoping not to here sirens approaching through the industrial wasteland of Philly's outlying neighborhoods. I was never as into the club thing. Too slick. Not punk enough. I hung out at clubs to get flyers for shows and meet bands and to hopefully catch wind of the next outlaw or if I was lucky pick up the map! The style of cool that EDM is selling is way more consumeristic and socially acceptable now. It used to be grime, raids, uppers and candy. Now its a lot more like modern hiphop with scantily clad little girls, bottles of Crystal and Cartier endorsements for the DJs. I miss the grime and I despise the glamour which probably has a huge psychological impact when I try to listen to the music. It also doesn't help that this is music for drug fueled dancing and I outgrew that behavior over a decade ago.

I should try listen to Garrix or Skrillex as a musician and check my nostalgia at the door.... but I won't

We have two strymon timelines currently, just saying.

this site needs amuthafuckin' filter for submissions!

I am again going to try to talk some sense to you because you are a nice guy who has a head full of marketing propaganda when it comes to ALL things guitar. Sorry but its true.

you just like buying new? you are one of those guys?

here in the USA the guys like me with tons of nice guitars have a term for dudes who prefer new isntruments all the time... suckers. Sometimes you just gotta buy new for a new model with somthing truly unique going on... sometimes a single specimen of a classic model that's brand new has some real vibe and you have to chance it (last time I did that I wound up with a piece of rosewood that, despite proper conditioning, developed a hairline crack around fret 14 that eventually woulda compromised all the frets if I hadn't carefully filled it, still, fret 14 was in jeopardy even with the repair I made)... otherwise? HA! New is for suckers or for spending big at the customshop. With a new axe you are getting a guitar that hasn't had a chance to age in (wood is not as well dried as it used to be) and could experience cracks I the fretboard, a rise at the heel or a neck twist as she matures. Older guitars are pre-disastered and they general use better wood. The older the guitar the odler the growth of the wood, the larger the grain and the better the tone. The grain of the mahogany on my SG is really tight and just pitiful compared to my older guitars. PITIFUL.

Oh wait, a new guitar has that warranty against faulty workmanship. But basically NOTHING that goes wrong with the wood is covered nor is a headstock break or a crack at the heel (that's your fault not an inherent problem with Gibson's headstock angle and the modern neck tenons)... that's on you dude. Gibson will not fix your guitar free if it suffers from any of those common setneck maladies. The finish isn't covered either even though a Gibson worn or faded definitely suffers from faulty workmanship in that dept by DESIGN! So what is covered? basically bad-out-of-box electronics. That's it.

But suit yourself, man. More good guitars for me.

If you must buy a new studio get the 2015 and a set of kluson style tonepros, grovers, gotohs, whatever.... it has a REAL finish that looks very well applied and it should wear nicly and bring you a lifetime of enjoyment. The rest of the appointments are no biggies as the guts are all there.

even the gibsons are roughed in on CNC machines dude, China hasn't made any products by hand sicne before world war 2

I just got rid of a burstbucker 2 and burstbucker pro bridge so you are not giving me a ringing endorsement of epi's PAF style bucker there dude. Not in love with them. The pro neck is okay in a guitar designed to be a hotrod like my platinum LP. The stock BB2 is like apoor man's SD Pearly Gates to my ear. Definitely lacks the magic overtones of a really good sounding, old PAF that's medium to hot (I happen to dig weak ones too, but most people think I'm nutty) or one of the better clones that have been made by the Japanese and small, obsessive winders over the years. The Pearly gets closer.

People hate the 2015 changes. you can hardly give those guitars away. If you go with a used one or buy from a smaller dealer on ebay you will do EVEN BETTER ON THE PRICE. I have been thinking of buying them up to mod! The core of those guitars is fine and the brass nut and0th fret setup looks cool enough to be worth trying.... what does a set of tonepros klusons or grover imperials run in the UK?

Why are you obsessed with a new guitar? Gibson makes their USA guitars worse every year. Why not get a 5 or even 10 year old one? Or better still a 20 year old one? I am telling you, the mid 90s studios were NICER. I was there.

But the 2015 seems like an okay deal for a new guitar. I would guess you have a few bucks in electronics and tuners to shell ut and maybe you will want to switch to a bone, tusq or vintage nylon nut if the brass and 0th fret setup is not to your liking.

you will probably find the Gibson's neck to vary a lot from your CNCed epi... even the sanding is done by CNC machines on the far east guitars. There's a little hand sanding during finishing, but not much. Unless someone gets really happy with the sandpaper between spray booth visits (wait, do they even do THAT by hand anymore?) then the encks are pretty homogenous. No 2 Gibbies are alike. Its magic.... or not, depending on if you are Boom!

I dunno. Never seen an epi one. I have never worked on an epi or owned one. All PCB-based passive guitar electronics piss me off. I guess some use nicer parts, but its all a bunch of bunk that's prone to problems and is impossible to modify. When buying a real Gibson try to be aware of what you are getting for your money. Poorly prepared wood, an undercoat of gloppy colored lacquer that rubs off too easily and PCB based electronics is just not "Gibson Pure" to me... nor is it a recipe for solid resale. Most Gibson guys are very aware of what years Gibson cut the most corners on the entry level models. I'm not, but I almost never screw around in the cheap seats with Gibson. I feel like they have a minimum buy-in for the real deal and that starts with the fancier LP studios and the SG standard. You can bring the buy in down goig used. There were some great LP studios made in the early 90s and the SG standard had a fabulous run between about 98 and 2010. They iterally don't make them aswell now in my experience. Fortunately they made SO MANY studios and SGs that they actually have depreciated a bit and you can get a lot of guitar for your money going the used route if you stay within the good years. Think '90 to '97 on studios (which is what you want). Also, if you are dead set on cutting costs with a 'faded'or 'worn' model, the 1st few years were finished a lot better than they have been since and they generally had discreet wiring. Think 2005 thru 7. They were pretty good guitars and are CHEAP. No resale at all.

Gibson's entry level guitars really keep me skeptical of their management. I don't understand why they can't make an affordable LP studio with a decent finish and good attention to detail on the frets, neck shape etc at a working man's price. They mostly sell you a name.

okay, I should have my life a little better under control by then too. All this dadding really cuts into my time for creative pursuits, though the responsible working parent schtick has been known to pile up luxury money for more guitars!

BUMP... I am still trying to do this internet song with you guys, but I have been crazy busy lately!

I will get back to it soon. I will try to throw down a tight electric guitar track with my ac4 soon.

There's been some talk about Gibson here, so this link wlll explain to you how Gibson built their overblown rep:

https://reverb.com/blog/gallery-1950s-letters-with-gibson-concerning-one-doctors-electric-guitar-purchase?_aid=listingrelatedarticle

a quality product for almost every type of player in the "golden age of guitar building" and massively attentive customer service from even the busiest higher-up....you hafta read this shit! Gibson realy worked ahrd tog et where they got in the electric guitar age, though they have done little since the 60s to maintain it. But I just don't see Fender corresponding like this with an amature-level, mail order customer as late as 57. Its a shame but I think Fender's Henry Ford style had a profoundly negative influence on Gibson as they tried to hang onto their market share. When these letters were written Gibson was an enormous manufacturer who still marketed a hand-made product built to spec by skilled craftsman, continually innovated but even under Ted "corporate America" McCarty they made time to treat every prospective customer with the individual attention the purchaser of this sort of instrument deserve. Ah the glory days.

From what I can see Gibson Memphis ahs been attempting to revive the old Kalamazoo spirits. Its a shame the buy in is so high compared to the average modern income, but that's also a product of runaway inflation and a dearth of quality, sustainable sources of their traditional tonewoods. In Memphis they seem to communicate heavily with their customers and continually strive to offer innvations and reproductions to meet the demands of their fans.

I haven't tried a spirit. Sorry. If pcb electronics bother you do not get a low end studio, even some of the nicer ones get the pcb/300k treatment some years. I was thrilled to find good stuff in the cavity of the platinum. My buddy's studio plus had pcb and was a similarly priced guitar from the same timeframe as mine. I would ask the store clerk to unscrew the back for you b4 buying!

Gibson really busts my buffers.

Bump. More guitar experiences and war stories guys!

yeah, I've seen that oddball GT in person (usually in blue and white, but maybe twice in black and white). Its been awhile since it was on shelves all the time, but like I told the OP they are around! As to the neck shape? Tough to say. Every Gibson is different. Once you locate a black and white one there is no guarantee it will have a 50s roundback profile!

No, he's been tested and is NOT autistic, he is just a very boyish boy. If he were autistic he would be afraid of everything. He's gregarious, chatty and fearless. Lucian just brushes of pain. He got his mother's whacky impulsiveness and his father's total indifference to discomfort (though like me he is whiney when he's sick... but I am also a guy who played a jazzband competition as a kid on a broken finger). I was a lot more cautious as a kid, but Lucian is more brazen like a lot of little boys. He's not a crybaby though so I guess its okay as long as I continue to keep him out of lfe threatening trouble until he gets a little older and it all clicks.

yes we can buy nitro spray cans but only through certain dealers and not in large quantities. You can't get it at the Home Depot LOL. Acetone/nitrocellulose products aren't banned but they are restricted for environmental reasons as are CFC based spray cans.

Well, the Epi isn't a copy, its just a 330 with an Epi headstock. I think the 330 came out alongside the 335 and then within a year or two Gibson decided to rebrand some of their hollow and semihollow guitars so that all the old Epi dealers could now have more than the jazzboxes that Epi previously made in NYC without having to apply for a separate Gibson dealership (there was a whole territory setup then so in a certain city there would only be 1 or 2 authorized Gibson dealers, but they increased their market share by overlapping the same rock friendy guitar designs with different headstocks to Epi dealers who were not also Gibson dealers that way stores that previously only catered to the jazz crowd could also lure some rockers in who might otherwise have bought Fender or Gretsch... or that was Ted McCarty's thinking.... it worked out well actually, old Ted was a smooth businessman as well as being a visionary idea man and amazing talent scout)

I wish Lucian had more fear of assholes and dangerous things. He has no sense of caution even after he gets hurt...

OMG, my kid is a MUTANT! Lucian can walk like a half mile at a solid clip. He likes me to pick him up and carry him if there are weird people around like in a store or at the mll, but when the weather is good he will just walk off with me and walk to his aunt's if he's in the mood! and its not that close!

god, strollers (pushchairs, prams) are such a pain. I am glad Lu Is done with that and I am not having any more. If my marriage had lasted we woulda had another one with all the fun of the 1st year. UGH! I do NOT envy your second child. The 1st time was kinda fun (or woulda been if I had a different spouse), but getting that kid to potty training age unscathed is such a relief that I can't imagine jumping back in. I give you and your almost-wife credit for boldly going for #2 when you're not even old enough to drink in the USA. I felt ill-prepared for 1 little boy at 32. Then again I already took care of a spoiled little girl who was 33 years into her toddler-hood.

yup... had to look him up, but yup

If you want my advice (for whatever its worth) then read on. If your mind is made up to buy the junk squire and hope you can get some of your money back on her later then stop readin' NOW:

If you can't afford exactly what you want today, then save until you can. Unless you just got hired as a sideman and the gig demands a J-bass of ANY kind then its foolish to be in a rush. There's no guarantee you will get good resale or trade-in on anything you buy, ever, but going with a stopgap student instrument is a really risky proposition that will likely see you tossing out a lot of your hard earned money if you decide to trade up at a time the market for cheapies in a slump (as it often is). An MIM standard J Bass will give you a relatively stable resale or trade-in when you want to go USA deluxe later.

Or (and here's what I would do AND HAVE DONE) open a high interest savings account with powerful withdrawal and balance restrictions and put all your money in there and keep adding to it, hopefully the interest rate will cover your sales taxes assuming you are good about not withdrawing any funds until you are ready to close her and buy that USA deluxe bass....

I am a big fan of locking my extra income up this way when I want to save up to pay cash for a luxury item or even just create a rainy day fund...

In the interim while you are saving you could take a 100 euros or so a week and begin to customize your beginner bass a bit with pickups and caps/pots... set her up right (your no-name bass is a great instrument to learn set-up and electronics work on since fucking her up a bit is no loss and once you have it all down you can start charging people you know to work on THEIR gear putting even more cash in the American Deluxe pot). You could fund some of the mods by donating blood every week to the red cross and still put much of your earnings away apart from rent, utilities and a few bucks for beer, smokes, munchies... tighten your belt across the board to facilitate more effective savings (I once cancelled all my utilities but electric and water for a few months and got rid of my car to save on parking and insurance just to cut my living costs and start the nest egg with the car sale proceeds... I got up early all spring and summer and walked across center city philly to work instead of driving or paying for a train or cab... I was never home anyway then and when I was I tried to barely use the utilities other than to shower before work... I literally paid a minimal electric and water bill, sued the internet cafe's wifi, paid rent and bought some food here and there... I even quit being a pack a day smoker cold turkey and just scammed cigarettes off of coworkers, friends and clients whenever I could LOL! I am an accomplished home cook and I would invite people who could not cook over to dinner on the grounds they brought ingredients and alcohol. I would do the work and serve a great meal and get to eat it myself AND get nicely wine buzzed in exchange for a little cullinary work I found to be a lot of fun. These days I make lots of besoke toddler meals for a picky sprout at my own expense. You tell me what lifestyle is crazier. Anyway this period in my early 20s after art school was the basis of my gear collection really and that nest egg of self-denial really is why I can always buy, sell and trade gear pretty easily as a hobby... as a 35 year-old-single dad I could not manage such a bare bones existence, but there is a time when you are young enough to live like a bohemian squatter and if you are passionate about music and gear then that's what you need to do... you will get equipped from instruments to amps to a van for the band and maybe even a budding homestudio for when you are ready to spend on electricity again).