Guaranteed Reference System for $750

Like many, I’ve been searching for the holy grail in various systems, and I am pleased to report that I have finally found a reference system and can advise how you can acquire one too-

1) Go to local music store.
2) Buy guitar (any variation), keyboard, drums or whatever fires your rocket.
3) Play it – even badly. Take lessons as a last resort.

Very soon you’ll have a new reference that will make you more socially acceptable, as no one else your obsession with your electronics and tweaking it. Within a day or two your obsession with multi thousand dollar cables, amps, turntables etc. will diminish, and you’ll now truly know what an acoustic guitar, organ, piano etc. really sounds like.

There’s another benefit – if you have kids you can share with them, and they’ll love it - my 11 and 13 year-old’s won’t stop playing their guitars and we show each other things we’ve learned. You might also find some buddies who play something, and two instruments and a bottle or whatever make the hours pass like minutes – lots of laughs too. Maybe even your spouse wants to play? (Sorry, just kidding).

For about $750 for a Fender (Mexican) Stratocaster with the sunburst finish, a Marshall amp with lots of cool distortion modes (showing my age am I?), and assorted cables and stuff, I’m leaving the audio system alone, and having all kinds of fun. Check out used equipment if you want to do it on the cheap. What’s the worst that could happen – you use the guitar, keyboard, whatever as a prop in your system?

Just one caveat – audiophoolery is never is full cured – I’ve just got some adapters so I can use some of my old, long Transparent I/C’s for my guitar cord – sounds much better than the Monster crap that passes as reference. Uh-Oh.