Major guitar purchase (EBMM Majesty 7) and lack of motivation to practice/unsure if I am doing the right thing.

[ReleasedtoReign]

Hello, everyone. I’be been a long time peruser of this forum for many years but never joined in. I did today because I could just use some advice. A little background about me as a guitarist: I’ve been playing since I was 13 and I’m 42 now. I’m not some super shredder but I’ve got a great ear and can jump into most any musical situation never having heard the songs before and improv beautifully, most people think I’m pretty good.
I owned a JP6 years ago and absolutely loved it and have been wanting a Majesty for years. I’ve never owned a 7 string (oh wait yeah I did many years ago a Jeff Loomis signature but I pawned it for heroin a few weeks later, I’ve been clean for years now) but aside from that never owned one this might as well be considered my first.
I find myself questioning should I keep this guitar because I’m finding it hard to find motivation to even practice for one. I just had major surgery and am in pain a lot and kind of depressed so that’s part of it but part of it is I feel unworthy to be paying for such a ridiculously expensive guitar (bought it new from SW for $4k).
It’s absolutely gorgeous and the best feeling guitar I’ve ever owned and I’ve owned many. Super nice, it’s not the guitar.
I just keep thinking do I really need something this nice but at the same time if I send it back and get something not as nice am I going to regret it.
I keep thinking that for the money I could get a different guitar AND a Fractal FM3. I was looking at some American made Vai guitars, some strandbergs (I’ve never played one and man, talk about different but that could be cool) and some American made ESP’s and some others. Again I could get a $2-$3k guitar and a fractal for what I’m spending on this one guitar but my God is this guitar nice.
Anyone out there ever gone through anything like this and do you have any advice for me? I’m not looking for anyone’s opinions of the guitar itself I’m sure you’ve got other places you could praise or bash the guitar itself I see it all the time lol.

 

[ItWillDo]

In my opinion, just keep it.

All true, it's expensive and a luxury expense, but from experience I end up regretting it sooner or later. If you don't keep the Majesty and get a different axe, you'll play the other guitar and somehow still always have the Majesty in the back of your head.

 

[budda]

Keep it.

 

[fantom]

You are being hard on yourself. If you want it, keep it. How many nice guitars do you think are owned by professional musicians compared to working dudes in their 40s? Most touring musicians I have seen tour on a budget guitar. The nice stuff is for a mid life crisis. Consider it an earned vacation and enjoy it when you can!

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

Life is full of uncertainty - in the here and now, you know that you love this guitar, and that's enough. Keep it, enjoy it, cherish it!

 

[Dayn]

That's simple: you're not unworthy at all. You don't need to play it 18 hours a day.

You bought it, you earned it, you're worth it. It's yours, play with it as you wish.

 

[ReleasedtoReign]

Greatly appreciate everything you all said. I got in there and practiced some today. Practiced some of my own songs and learned some 7 string Dream Theater stuff and some worship songs. Love the guitar. I’ll work on saving for a fractal once I finish selling what other gear I’m selling and pay off this guitar. Until then I have a 600w BIAS head which is a pretty sick amplifier. If I got something else I would indeed miss this guitar. Long as it’s not putting us in the poorhouse then it’s worth it lol. Again I do appreciate the community encouraging me. Have a great night.

 

[thacZERO]

I think a lot of folks go through this in one way or another.. even in a non-guitarist setting. Like a mixture of oh crap do I deserve having something like this coupled to imposter syndrome where you're like shit, I'm no where near good enough to be owning such a good guitar.

I try to approach it from the fun angle.. is there a song or some theory you've always wanted to work on and it sounds like there is (based on your most recent comment). Approach it with that in mind.. set small achievable goals and work towards them.

One thing I'll note though is sometimes you get your dream guitar / dream girlfriend / dream car / dream whatever and it's just not 'right' for you. That's 100% OK. If you have the time and the resources it's OK to keep looking for the one that fits. If a guitar and you simply don't bond it sucks because chances are you'll lose some money but otherwise just move on to something better.

 

[ZXIIIT]

I think I would playing at the same level I am now even if I had kept a JEM777 I stupidly stumbled upon years ago, but I felt it was too pricey for what I do and regret selling it to this day.

Keep it if you enjoy doodling on it ever so often, that's what makes it worth it.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Just be thankful your mid life crisis was a $4K guitar and not a camaro or some stupid shit.

 

[ArtDecade]

Just be thankful your mid life crisis was a $4K guitar and not a camaro or some stupid shit.

I dunno. You can probably grab an IROC in the NJ/PA area for just about the same price.

 

[arasys]

I find myself questioning should I keep this guitar because I’m finding it hard to find motivation to even practice for one. I just had major surgery and am in pain a lot and kind of depressed so that’s part of it but part of it is I feel unworthy to be paying for such a ridiculously expensive guitar (bought it new from SW for $4k).

Keep it! If you sell it, you'll probably regret it; and that won't help with depression. Keep things that you like in your life; no matter how you feel atm. Even if you don't play it, seeing that guitar, and knowing it's part of your life will hopefully make you smile more otten.

 

[Wucan]

As far as expenses goes, even a high end guitar is peanuts compared to most other things. Even a beater car will cost you more in a year than what you paid for the Majesty. Where I live, it would only be good for a few months of rent for a shoebox. You get the idea.

And as far as playing guitars you feel "unworthy" of... have you seen how most guitar "influencers" play? If anything, it's given us plebs validation that we can play whatever we want in any guitar we feel like playing.

Lastly, this should be a NGD thread so how about some pictures?

 

[fantom]

One thing I'll note though is sometimes you get your ... dream girlfriend ... and (she's) just not 'right' for you.... it's OK to keep looking for the one that fits....

I agree for material possessions, but girlfriend? No, it's not ok to be with someone "just not right" for you while looking for another.

 

[thacZERO]

I agree for material possessions, but girlfriend? No, it's not ok to be with someone "just not right" for you while looking for another.

Yeah I meant more along the lines that sometimes the ideal doesn't work out and that's ok. But sometimes you don't realize that until you're already in.

 

[makesexnotwar]

I think you should keep it. You are a GUITAR player and having a nice guitar in your hands will probably bring you more joy than a combo of less nice guitar with an fx unit. Last year I bought myself JP15 7 string. It's basically same price range and it was a first guitar that I ever purchased at this price point. I can't put it down to be honest and I would love to try Majesty in the future

 

[MetalDestroyer]

I went through this with my PRS. I think you should keep it and I don't think you'll regret doing so.

 

[Albake21]

As long as you're not struggling financially, and you have the money to actually spend, I say keep it. If the guitar is truly speaking to you, you love it, and don't want to get rid of it (other than money reasons) I think it's worth it.

Hell, I think it's worth the reward for you staying clean for all these years. That alone makes it worth keeping. Congrats on the sobriety, enjoy the guitar!

 

[jephjacques]

That's the depression talking. Don't listen to it, keep the guitar and don't beat yourself up if you're not playing as much as you think you "should" be. (hint: there's no such thing)

 

[LunatiqueRob]

I'm going to go against the grain a bit here, as I'm a pretty pragmatic guy, and try to always get the most bang for the buck in everything, although I do splurge when it's something I just really really want.

You said you could return it and get a slightly cheaper guitar and a Fractal. Now, let's be objective here for a moment.

The cheaper axes you can get are still going to be considered high-end, expensive guitars. Once you get past $1K, you're really paying for luxury and not necessity, or even additional features. A Strandberg is no slouch, and there are countless guitar players out there who can't afford a Strandberg or a Fractal.

I've never played a Majesty, and I'm sure it's amazing. But there are plenty of other amazing guitars that cost less, and it's very likely you can find something that plays equally nicely and looks just as awesome, and you'd also have a Fractal.

But I do agree with others about this: If you can afford it, and owning an expensive guitar isn't going to derail your life in any way, then why not? You earned the money, so enjoy what your money can get you. Some people might put that money towards investments to ensure they can retire comfortably, but unless you are habitually throwing money away on luxury items instead of planning for your financial future, you should be fine splurging every now and then.