Very hard decision, I need help....

[barrymclark]

Congratulations! I did not enter the "fray" on this post, but all along, I was hoping you would not ditch your beautiful 140, for all the reasons mentioned. Will you and the guitar be at PSPIII?

Not this year. Ended up with another trip already in place by the time this one was set. Next year though, we are warning everyone ahead of time so I can be at PSPIV!

[Dick Seacup]

It had been some time since I played it that I was considering letting it go. I posted elsewhere on here that I played it while waiting for some software to install. As I played it, it took me some time to realize it, but I couldn't imagine not having that guitar. I didn't notice the blue or anything. It just sounded beautiful.

 

This close call did it for me. If I can help it, it is staying with me. I would have absolutely regretted it.

 

I pulled out my '81 Adamas II, in preparation for selling it. I sat down with it, as I hadn't had it out in a very long time (six months? nine? a year? been so long I can't recall) and started playing Moonshadow. Sent an email to a friend of mine who happens to be an Adamas/Ovation dealer, asking about value and telling him how great this one sounds. His advice, "You can get $1200 or so easy. But don't try. Those are the best acoustics ever made." Hyperbole aside, it truly does sound great, and it was still in tune after sitting unused for who knows how long. It's still next to my chair, it's not for sale, and I'm re-learning all those fingerstyle songs I used to know but have forgotten (how sad is that?!). Oh, and Mrs. Seacup informed me, again, that of all the guitars that have come and gone (and stayed), this one has always been her favorite. Weird.

 

I'm glad you're not selling it, as you've apparently formed a strong bond with it. Now, as someone I respect a great deal is wont to say, "Just play the f-ing thing!"

[mark555]

Hi Barry, like you I can not just add another guitar to my ownership. But I have, over the years, sold other guitars to finance something else I wanted. I once sold an SG that I had bought from my very close friend, which had a huge emotional attachment for me, it was the first Gibson I had ever held, let alone played. I sold that guitar to finance what I had always dreamed of, a sunburst les paul standard, and I never regretted what I did.

 

But when I wanted to add a Strat to my Les Paul, I had no money, but a genuine need for a strat to work in the band I was playing with. What I did was put a deposit down, and use plastic, paying off what I could afford as I went along. Not an ideal way to finance a guitar, but it enabled me to get what I wanted, the only time I have ever done that. Again, I have no regrets about financing the purchase in that way, 23 years on I still have the strat, it has been a working tool for years.

 

I do not advocate getting into hoc.. pardon the pun here..... but for that one guitar that is otherwise unobtainable, maybe there is a time to do it. You can always sell the 140 if you decide that the payments are too much, or if the 147 is not what you thought it would be, you can sell that.

 

As for tone, I don't think you will notice any difference, and I think you will just be so thrilled to own what is your ultimate guitar. I sincerely hope that you find the way to achieve the dream, good luck and my best wishes for your success in getting it.

[barrymclark]

There is a great deal of wisdom in that Mark. I am really taking it to heart.

 

I think the thing with the 147 is that it what I WAS looking for. So, when I saw it, I had that same goosepimpley feeling when I saw it in the catalogs. But, since then, I have gotten a 140 that I ADORE the sound of.

 

There is indeed that guitar out there that is one of those I know if I had it, that it would stay with me till I kick over barring some serious financial tragedy. This would be to me what that strat was/is to you from what I read.

 

Not the flashiest thing, but that isn't me. The guitar I am lusting after and have been for about a year now, for me, rides that fine line between classy, and dressed down. The mullet of guitars if you will. Business in the front, party in the back.

[koula901]

I'm a newbie on HOC with no self control when it comes to guitar purchases but FWIW. Buy the new guitar and promise yourself that you will sell the one you like the least of the two. It could be an easy decision or it could take years to decide if ever.

 

I think that's a great idea.

[Windstring]

Hi Barry, like you I can not just add another guitar to my ownership. But I have, over the years, sold other guitars to finance something else I wanted. I once sold an SG that I had bought from my very close friend, which had a huge emotional attachment for me, it was the first Gibson I had ever held, let alone played. I sold that guitar to finance what I had always dreamed of, a sunburst les paul standard, and I never regretted what I did.

 

But when I wanted to add a Strat to my Les Paul, I had no money, but a genuine need for a strat to work in the band I was playing with. What I did was put a deposit down, and use plastic, paying off what I could afford as I went along. Not an ideal way to finance a guitar, but it enabled me to get what I wanted, the only time I have ever done that. Again, I have no regrets about financing the purchase in that way, 23 years on I still have the strat, it has been a working tool for years.

 

I do not advocate getting into hoc.. pardon the pun here..... but for that one guitar that is otherwise unobtainable, maybe there is a time to do it. You can always sell the 140 if you decide that the payments are too much, or if the 147 is not what you thought it would be, you can sell that.

 

As for tone, I don't think you will notice any difference, and I think you will just be so thrilled to own what is your ultimate guitar. I sincerely hope that you find the way to achieve the dream, good luck and my best wishes for your success in getting it.

 

On a non-Heritage note if I may (briefly), is that your Alfa in your photo? Is it an 8C? Over here in the US, those that love Italian cars are still waiting for them to return here...perhaps now with the Fiat purchase of Chrysler... And, you are right in relation to the guitar question: if possible, it is best to have "both guitars" in hand so that a comparison can be made, and an "informed" decision on which one has the most "keeper" characteristics can be made... Cheers.

[barrymclark]

Decision made. Thanks, Mark!

 

'Incoming' thread

[mark555]

On a non-Heritage note if I may (briefly), is that your Alfa in your photo? Is it an 8C? Over here in the US, those that love Italian cars are still waiting for them to return here...perhaps now with the Fiat purchase of Chrysler... And, you are right in relation to the guitar question: if possible, it is best to have "both guitars" in hand so that a comparison can be made, and an "informed" decision on which one has the most "keeper" characteristics can be made... Cheers.

 

No, the Alfa is not mine, but I have a love of classy cars, my wife and I are hoping that we will have something in about four or five years from now as a weekender, possibly a Jag XK8, but it would be used one.