Have you ever not wanted to sell a guitar because...

[Koop]

...of the person who is going to buy it?

I am currently selling my LP studio with BKP, it's a very versatile guitar, but really shines when playing distortion-oriented music, though cleans aren't to shabby either. The guy comes over and plays my guitar and he wants to be on the clean channel the whole time, and plays power chords.
I hate sounding like a douche, but it bugs me that a guitar that has been used so well is going to someone who isn't going using it to full potential, especially considering the money I put into it.

Am i the only one?

EDIT: I have worded this in a really awkward way. I am not in any way pretentious. I just have poor forum communication skills

[MaxOfMetal]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you're really coming off as pretentious here. Insanely so.

[Koop]

Hence the reason why I said I hate sounding like a douche

[Rook]

Just lol.

When it comes to selling a guitar, I don't care who's buying it as long as he's giving me
a) More money than I paid for it
b) More money than anyone else would, or near enough
c) Money


I couldn't care less if he takes it outside and sets fire to it, I just want the money, which at the end of the day is the whole reason anybody sells anything. Selling without money is giving.

[MaxOfMetal]

To be honest, if using the neck pickup with a distorted tone is so "wrong" to you, then I honestly feel that you may not be using the guitar to full potential. Let alone using cleans.

[AxeHappy]

No. But I do always feel better if I know the guitar is going to a good home.

[Koop]

Originally Posted by AxeHappy

No. But I do always feel better if I know the guitar is going to a good home.

That's a good point.

[vampiregenocide]

If it was someone I thought would be a bad owner (not looking after the guitar for instance) then I might not sell it to them, but as for how they actually use it? I don't give a shit, I'm in no place to judge.

[ZOMB13]

Only if the person buying it is someone who might destroy it (but if it's not mine, not my issue)

Aside from that, I don't are if they play Justin Bieber covers with their toes using the middle position

[JPMike]

It hapenned to me once, I want to sell my Suhr S6 and this guy was interested.

So I go over his place so he can check out the guitar. There was this guy and his friend, so I take out the guitar and he sees it and stuff. He goes on to play, he didn't know shit, then he gives the guitar to his friend and tells him "what you think?". So the other guy was playing really well, like he knew what was going on and he sald, "it's a really nice guitar".

Long story short, the guy had his friend to test it if he was going to buy it or not, he had no idea on how to play, just collecting the guitars to learn his cover songs or whatever but seriously no skills, he had no idea what was going on. I could see it from the way he was holding and playing the guitar.

I prefered for someone else to buy it, in a lower price than that guy who had no idea.

[Necris]

Guitars themselves don't hold any potential, they are tools to help the players reach their own potential as musicians.

[Opion]

^ I dig.

Anyways - in my opinion, you have every right to feel that way, but in some cases where you would desperately need the cash, little things like that make no difference to the fact he is paying you for a guitar, plain and simple. Now, whether or not the guy would be playing it to it's full potential is completely subjective - maybe that guy would progress as a player as he's never played an instrument so advanced for his level. Maybe he wouldn't, and would stick to playing his power chords on the clean channel. Or on the flip side, what if he were some prodigy that didn't wanna show off in front of you, and can actually play flight of the bumblebee at 320bpms? On a LP for that matter?

If it bugs you that much, you have total control over the sale - if it were me, it wouldn't bug me too terribly much. That's just my

[Sephael]

Originally Posted by JPMike

just collecting the guitars to learn his cover songs or whatever but seriously no skills, he had no idea what was going on. I could see it from the way he was holding and playing the guitar.

...or you know, he could have been just learning and didn't want to suffer through a walmart special.

I can totally see being hesitant about selling to someone who had a half dozen mostly broken guitars laying around, but deigning someone the chance to learn to play on a decent guitar just because they are not a shredder yet or have no aspiration to do more than jam along with Free Bird in their den....that is just wrong, man. Play for the love of playing, and let others do the same.

[SirMyghin]

When I am evaluating a guitar, I generally only play it cleanly. I want to get a good feel for the response, and don't want too much extra sensory crap going on. Heck I don't even plug it in right away. Once again, distractions. I might give the dirt a quick check if that, but really pickups are so replaceable I don't care, it has to feel 'it'.

[Cabinet]

Every guitar I've ever owned has a unique feel to it so parting with it always feels somewhat personal to me. What, and how, the new owner plays isn't my concern as long as the owner treats it like a musical instrument.
I'm sure if your guitar is that versatile the new owner will start finding uses for different tones and styles. Before I finally got pickups I liked in my current Ibanez I was always using the bridge humbucker, almost never the middle or the neck. Since I replaced my neck humbucker I have so many varieties now it gets hard to choose which pickup I want to use, I find myself switching to my Dimarzio Air Classic in the neck and not wanting to leave that sound. Ever.

Anyways I'm sure they'll find multiple uses for the guitar, dude. As long as you keep listening and playing you're just going to get better and better.

[TRENCHLORD]

Originally Posted by SirMyghin

When I am evaluating a guitar, I generally only play it cleanly. I want to get a good feel for the response, and don't want too much extra sensory crap going on. Heck I don't even plug it in right away. Once again, distractions. I might give the dirt a quick check if that, but really pickups are so replaceable I don't care, it has to feel 'it'.

My thoughts as well. Same thing goes for doing setups IMO, except for setting pickup heights of coarse. The only thing is you have to be in a dead silent room so that you don't start over-attacking the strings in order to hear better (buzz city).

To the OP: I agree it feels better knowing that a much covetted instrument will get used well and not abused, however, most of us don't even come close to utilizing the guitar's potential anyways.
Imagine handing Steve Vai your favorite axe and being shocked at how much better "it" plays and sounds in his hands.

[djpharoah]

"Cash rules everything around me, dolla dolla bill y'all" - Wu-Tang Clan.

Sell guitar.
Get the cash.
Don't be a pretentious douche.
Profit.

[Stealthdjentstic]

I'd feel guilty if it was like a minty green dot and the bastard dropped it in a vat of acid or something.

[Demiurge]

Originally Posted by djpharoah

"Cash rules everything around me, dolla dolla bill y'all" - Wu-Tang Clan.

Whenever I've been in a position where I wanted to sell a guitar, it's because I needed the money. If sentimentality is such that is causes misgivings about who the guitar is sold to, maybe there are just misgivings about selling the guitar in general.

[BrianUV777BK]

I hate having to sell a guitar....!

[Konfyouzd]

I'll sell a guitar to anyone willing to pay the proper amount for it. And quite frankly, I know many guitarists that can't touch my level of technical proficiency and despite that fact I STILL can't touch their perceived level of musicality, so...?

[Konfyouzd]

Originally Posted by Necris

Guitars themselves don't hold any potential, they are tools to help the players reach their own potential as musicians.

[athawulf]

Originally Posted by MaxOfMetal

Don't take this the wrong way, but you're really coming off as pretentious here. Insanely so.

Is there a "correct" way to take that?

It's your guitar, sell it to whomever you please. Though I would sell it to any level of musician or non musician as long as they seem like a nice guy. If they walked into my place and started swinging the guitar around their shoulders or were otherwise a complete dick then I'd probably not sell it to them unless I really needed the cash

[Konfyouzd]

Originally Posted by athawulf

Is there a "correct" way to take that?

Yes... As constructive criticism.

[Ill-Gotten James]

I can relate to this post. I had a dimebag model guitar, I forget the exact model, that I was trying to sell. I was selling it because I wanted the money, which is the primary reason that someone sells something. However, when the gent came over to try out the guitar, he bust out some haggard version of the main riff in Cowboys From Hell. I remember cringing at first and thinking do I really want this guitar to go to this guy. Then I thought about it... Yes, I do want him to have this guitar. After all, I used to not be able to play the songs of my idols correctly, so who am I to judge?