The 90/50 Rule for buying gear

[Mad_Hater]

For virtually every guitar I've owned I've made some sort of compromise due to price. Thus, I sort of followed that rule. My last guitar purchase was my "holy grail". I won't say I'll never look for cheaper alternatives but at this point in life I'm buying fewer guitars and buying what I want.

Next on the list for you; a real 80's Ibanez Jem for 6 grand!

 

[Sapient]

Next on the list for you; a real 80's Ibanez Jem for 6 grand!

I remember seeing Steve's for the first time autographed at a local music store in the late '80s. Its was $1600 new. I could never afford that then so I thought of selling my car ...that only would have got me $900. Lol. I folded pretty quick.

 

[C-Grin]

We all have our own idea of what the holy grail is. I rather enjoy taking a $129 guitar and making it into something cool. And I can get them to play how I like them to play awesome and put better hardware on. This guitar kicks ass, thats the holy grail to me, but horses for courses.

 

[Outta Here]

My rule...

Sounds good...is good.

The rest is up to the individual.

 

[Seamus OReally]

It's not that. Lol. It's just that I think MOST can afford a $2K to $2.5K Lester here once in a while.

If you're talking "grail" as in $12K I think that would be different to most of us.

I was mostly talking about recording gear, which makes Stratocasters look cheap.

Which brings up a point… I had way over $80K in my home studio, not counting guitars or my Fuchs ODS amp, and the audience I was writing for had as much or more invested in theirs. I had a pair of Genelec monitors that cost more than a CS Strat. And I was making a living at it, as were many of my readers, so I was always looking for ways to cut costs.

Hence the semi-austere approach.

 

[Mitch Pearrow SJMP]

My only used amps I bought and still own are the 3210’s, my Origins were purchased new, the DSL’s were bought new, all but one of my Gibsons were bought new, the strats and my black V were purchased used.
I have a variety of gear and I plan on holding on to the gear I have now for as long as I can,, plus I am looking for another V ..

 

[Outta Here]

I had a 71 Les Paul Custom. Black Beauty. And an Inca Silver 65 Strat. Sold them and bought a house.

 

[smitty_p]

When I was still plying my trade and writing about it for EQ and Keyboard magazines, I devised the 90/50 Rule as a way to get the sounds you want without blowing your budget.

Step one: identify the holy grail, the thing you’d buy if money was no object.

Step two: search for a piece that produces 90% of the grail’s performance for 50% of the price or less. There is almost always an inexpensive equivalent that fits this rule.

Step three: buy the cheap one. Unless there is no equivalent. In which case, bite the bullet and cry once over the grail.

What great gear do you have that fits the rule?

Interesting premise.

While I can't say I ever had this 90/50 rule in mind, as I look back I can see that I inadvertently followed a similar approach, even if I didn't realize it at the time.

I do think it has merit.

Now, however, I have pretty much precisely what I want for gear. But, I think that comes naturally. As time goes on, I think many of us become a little more focused in our acquisitions and may be willing to "bite the bullet," as you say.

For me, that piece of grail gear isn't actually a guitar (though I have some pretty nice guitars, too). Rather, it's in the processing gear. For me, that's my Helix. It is a perfect fit for me with what I do and I can't imagine being without it.