Sevendaymelee

Most of the guys who I use to party with (yes, I have had my share) twenty-five years ago are either dead, suffering from major health problems and/or depression, in jail, or are going nowhere fast, working entry level jobs along side teenagers and college students lol. I don't envy party-goers. It's a lifestyle for the very young, and very naive. Or, if you really wanted to get to the crux of it: the very empty, and very lonely.

Pot has a lot more carcinogens than tobacco, so it's not 1:1. I can't remember exactly what the ratio was, but it was ridiculous, I remember that. Something like one joint to one whole pack etc.

Both are known (and proven) carcinogenic substances, with the former actually having untold amounts of more cancer-causing substances than cigarettes. So if you're drinking and smoking pot all the time and avoiding cigarettes, you might as well go buy a pack of unfiltered Pall Malls and have at it. Cigars too.

Yes, old wood. I hear that a lot. But you know what you never hear? People saying 70's Martins are superior because they were using old-growth Indian rosewood. Now why do you think that is? Seems to me, if "old growth" was the holy grail, than those guitars would be coveted, since they were using first generation, old-growth rosewood. But they're not. As a matter of fact, if the internet is to be believed, 70's Martins are the worst sounding guitars in the history of solid wood guitars. The vast majority of what we all think is fact is actually myth. Double blind studies have proven it. Of course, we snicker at these studies, because we want to continue to believe what our less-than-informed parents and grandparents told us... but that doesn't make it any less true. There are bad guitars, good guitars and great guitars. The age of the wood doesn't elevate these things. It may change them, but it doesn't elevate them. You can find a dud from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's just like you can find a dud from the guitars built today. The only difference? Modern guitars will (mostly) be flawless, carry a warranty, and won't set you back the cost of a kidney to obtain.

Humdipack into the sound hole, keep it in case. That's all that needs to be done.

Imo, vintage is overblown to the point of lunacy. Do they sound different? Absolutely. Do they sound better? That's subjective. Is it worth the added money? You'll have to decide that for yourself. But I've played fifty-year-old guitars, and I've played brand new guitars, and there's no winner either way. Some new ones blow the older ones away and visa versa. Probably because there's no clear difference. A great guitar sounds great, new and old.

Let the guy like what he likes.

Understandable. But life isn't guaranteed. Remember that. So if there's something you want really badly, and you can afford it, I wouldn't sweat it. You can always replace the extra cash, but you can never replace the one that got away.

I see a Fender amp, so that checks off one of my boxes. But do you own a Strat to go with it?

No, not in the least. But I put up with it, anyway. lol

Things are worth what the market says they're worth. The market and I rarely agree on anything.

I don't know if it's bias or what, but it's the shape of the Epiphone headstock that gets me. I find it really unpleasant to look at.

Fixed. 😂

It probably has nothing to do with guitars at all. It's probably just the whole sociological aspect of owning something that other's don't, so you feel validated as a human being. Because think about it... why are all the mystical properties attached things that are hard to obtain? Doesn't law of averages say that sooner or later, there would come a day when something mystical was easy to obtain? That we would find an abundance of trees which produce this harmonious sound that everyone could afford? If people had a look at the top forty-or-so greatest rock and folk albums, they would be shocked at just how very few of them were recorded with brazilian rosewood guitars. They would be even more shocked to discover that a great many of them featured 70's Martins... large bridge plates and all.

See how I formatted your post? It's also easier to read when every sentence isn't bullet-point. Just some friendly advice for the future. As for the guitar, it looks fishy to me, so I would pass if I were looking at it. At that price, I would always err on the side of caution.