Pawn shops often have some great deals on used guitars.
I found a mint condition and like new old Fender bass in a hospital thrift shop. Paid $50 for it, with the original case. I know that's rare, but every now & then...
Guitars are a lot like motorcycles in that a large number of excellent condition low mileage used ones are out there for sale. My brother bought his son a used Gibson Les Paul for a song, as the boy was getting pretty good at guitar, and so he wanted him to have a decent instrument. He had his guitar teacher buddy do the setup for free. Nice guitar it is. Brother also scored a Martin acoustic (model D?) for free. It too was in excellent shape.
Remind me to talk to him about finding me an Alembic bass...
Lately I've had a hankerin' to learn Violin. It fits so many styles of music, and allows participation in melody, harmony, & rhythm. Easy to carry, (fits in a saddle bag - maybe?) and it might be possible to just plug into the house sound and not lug an amp? Hmmm...
Might even have to hook up with a Suzuki teacher.
I'll have to get my wife some really good ear plugs for the cat torture audio portion of the learning curve. Do they make 'em with frets? (ha ha)
