Gear upgrade report card

Since I've been filling up this blog with album reviews recently, I decided to change gears and talk about guitar stuff today. Over the past few years I've completely revamped my entire lineup of equipment - I have nothing that I had two years ago. Over this time I've bought and sold a host of gear for one reason or another. Now that the revamp is complete, I'm going to go through the list of things I've bought and sold and grade them, and at the end I'll tally them up and see if it was all worth it.

Things I've sold

Gear: Charvel Model 2
Reason sold: It sat in my closet for a long time collecting dust and deteriorating.
Proceeds used for: I traded it at Guitar Center for my Stratocaster.
Regret selling it: Yes. I had neglected it but I would have been better off taking it to a luthier and saying "fix it." The good thing is that I got my Strat for it, but I probably could have just bought the Strat outright because they didn't really give me that much on the trade anyway.
Grade: D. Not a failure because of the Strat but pretty close.

Gear: Fender Stage 112SE 1x12 160 watt SS combo amp
Reason sold: It was too damn loud for home practice.
Proceeds used for: I traded it at Guitar Center for a Line 6 Spider III 15. Yes I'm an idiot.
Regret selling it: Yes. I got rid of it because it was too loud. I ended up getting the Spider III, which blows. Since getting my RP90 I've realized the benefits of a good modeling effects processor through a good clean amp, which the old Fender was. It would have made a great rig if I ever ended up jamming with other people.
Grade: F. Even if I wanted a different amp, I could have got something much better than the Line 6. Epic fail.

Gear: 1995 Fender Telecaster Squier Series MIM
Reason sold: I found a nicer Telecaster I wanted to buy and I had to get the money somewhere.
Proceeds used for: I bought the American Tele listed below.
Regret selling it: Yes. Even though the pickups and hardware were crap it played nicely. It had a neck profile like my Strat, which made it more comfortable than the American Tele I bought with the proceeds.
Grade: F. I could have easily upgraded the pickups and hardware. I'm an idiot (again).

Gear: 2006 Fender Telecaster American Series HH
Reason sold: I couldn't play the damn thing without serious wrist/thumb pain.
Proceeds used for: I traded it at Guitar Center for an Ibanez RG4EXQM1.
Regret selling it: No. The only regret was that I couldn't play it. It was a lovely guitar but the neck was too thick for my DeQuervain's-addled left wrist. And I tried, I really did. I put on lighter strings and dropped the action, but it didn't work. It hurt me too much. It was a real shame as it was my first and only American-made Fender.
Grade: A. I should never have bought it, despite how nice it was.

Gear: 1998 Gibson Les Paul Jr. Lite
Reason sold: It was the least played of my guitars and it had some issues - the pickups were muddy and the intonation was off at the first four frets (it probably needed a better cut nut).
Proceeds used for: I traded it at Guitar Center for an Ibanez RG3EXFM1.
Regret selling it: No. I miss it sometimes but I didn't play it enough to justify keeping it. Besides, I traded it for my hardtail Ibanez RG and I can't imagine life without that guitar.
Grade: A. It had some sentimental value but the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Things I've bought

Gear: 2008 Fender Standard Stratocaster MIM
Regret buying it: Hell no. Love this guitar.
Grade: A. Even though I lost my Charvel to this, it's still one of the best gear purchases I've ever made. I probably should have bought it without the trade but the benefits are still worthy of the high grade.

Gear: Line 6 Spider III 15
Regret buying it: Hell yes. I wish I would have done more research before making the purchase. I use it as a power amp now for my RP90 but even for that it kinda sucks.
Grade: F. I could have either kept the Fender combo and just got an effects processor like the RP90 to use for headphone practice or got a better amp for the trade.

Gear: 2006 Fender Telecaster American Series HH
Regret buying it: Yes. See above for more info. Great guitar, couldn't play it.
Grade: C. It was definitely a nice enough guitar to give it a try, but in the end my DeQuervain's couldn't handle it. Anyone else probably would have loved the upgrade from a Mexican to an American Tele.

Gear: DigiTech RP90
Regret buying it: No. It's a great little piece of gear. I don't know what I'd do without it.
Grade: A. The only thing missing is an MP3/CD input. With one it would be a perfect practice tool that can also be used through an amp. It sounds fantastic - without it I'd still be stuck with the crappy amp models from my Line 6.

Gear: Ibanez RG4EXQM1
Regret buying it: I'm starting to. I thought it would stay in tune with the locking tremolo but I've had nothing but problems with it. I hardly play it because of that. There are times I wish I would have bought the Sterling JP50 instead, or even an LTD with a Floyd Rose Special.
Grade: B. It's still a great guitar to play but if I can't sort out the tuning issues it's going to be another closet dweller.

Gear: Ibanez RG3EXFM1
Regret buying it: Hell no. Another desert island guitar, along with my Strat. If I were only allowed by law to have this guitar and my Strat I would be happy.
Grade: A. It's the best guitar I own, really.

Gear: Durango Contender
Regret buying it: Kinda. Don't get me wrong, it's a great little guitar and I play it regularly, but I could have bought something I needed more with the $300. I was overtaken by the excitement of a "new guitar day" when I got it sent to me for review and I bought it because of that. It was an impulse buy that should have been thought over more carefully.
Grade: B. I love the guitar and I love playing it, which should be enough, but I can't help but think that I could have used the money for something better suited to my needs. At least it's something I use and it doesn't just sit in my closet.

Results

Going by the standard grading system, my final grade is a 2.42, which is either a C+ or a B- depending on your perspective. Not too bad but it shows that I could have put a little more thought into some of my moves. My ideal rig, based on this list, would be my old Charvel (refurbished of course), my old Telecaster with some upgrades, my Strat, my hardtail Ibanez, my old Fender amp or equivalent, and my RP90. Three old, three new.

I noticed as I was writing this a lot of "shoulds" and "coulds." I understand that this exercise is speculative and that it's impossible to go back in time and change what's already happened. All I can do is take this information and learn from it and ensure that any changes I make to my guitar rig in the future are more carefully considered so I can better align them with my needs and my goals. I look at my current rig and the list above and realize that a lot of my needs could have been filled by things that I already had. I can't help but look at what could have been and wish I had it but I can use that wish to align any future purchases to my goals. This is an important lesson for anyone looking to make changes to their own equipment. It's OK to make changes but it's important to know why you want to make them and how to best make those changes to mitigate future regret.