Valid reasoning but I've encountered some situations where you definitely don't want the cheapest possible object when starting out. For instance, when I was learning guitar, at the time, the cheapest guitars were junk and wouldn't stay in tune and had other problems that affected one's ability to use them to practice music. A more expensive instrument is worth it because a beginner stuck with the absolutely lowest tier instrument may never get started because it's so bad. I still think it's wise to get a modest instrument though.
The worst tool for the job
71–80 of 196 posts
Re: The worst tool for the job
#72What a great principle. One of those things I've felt for a long time but never express so well as John did. This idea extends to many other things, like... sports equipment. Beginner runners/bikers/skateboarders/whatever will not really feel the difference between equipment that cost $100 and $1,000, so get the cheap one and use it to (its) death. If you're still into the sport by then, go ahead and get the nicer on…
Sometimes you don't know what the minimum viable is because you are a beginner and don't know yourself well in that field. For example, I started running with shoes that were somewhat fine for beginners when I would double-check online, but happened to have limitations that affected people who practice a lot, or people who don't practice properly, or in my case undiagnosed issues (hypermobility of the knee). In my ca…
Hey, just as a long-term advanced guitarist, you should look into getting a professional fret-job/setup for your cheapo guitar first rather than buying a higher end model. You'll save a significant amount of cash that way even if it's a couple hundred dollars to get a quality setup from a good tech.
Or if you're really dedicated to saving money, you can always pick up the almost entirely separate hobby of doing guitar setups yourself, but that's probably not worth it at your current stage, based on how you've described yourself.
Re: The worst tool for the job
#73What a great principle. One of those things I've felt for a long time but never express so well as John did. This idea extends to many other things, like... sports equipment. Beginner runners/bikers/skateboarders/whatever will not really feel the difference between equipment that cost $100 and $1,000, so get the cheap one and use it to (its) death. If you're still into the sport by then, go ahead and get the nicer on…
Sometimes you don't know what the minimum viable is because you are a beginner and don't know yourself well in that field. For example, I started running with shoes that were somewhat fine for beginners when I would double-check online, but happened to have limitations that affected people who practice a lot, or people who don't practice properly, or in my case undiagnosed issues (hypermobility of the knee). In my ca…
Upvoted because I was going to mention the guitar as an example. High action makes it very difficult for beginners to get a decent sound – particularly if they’re trying to change chords while keeping time. The learning curve for guitar is already steep enough and a cheap guitar could easily put off a beginner and lead them to believe that they are not cut out for playing the instrument.
I’d also add sporting equipment such as mountain bikes to the list. A bike that is marketed as a “mountain bike” may be fine for cycling on paved surfaces but not be entry-level for actual mountain-biking, i.e., be very unpleasant – or downright dangerous – for off-road cycling.
My strategy for starting new hobbies is to research as much as possible, talk to friends who are already past the beginner stage and – if possible – borrow equipment from those friends. After that, try to buy second-hand. Whether or not you keep up the hobby, you can sell on the original equipment. And if you decide to keep with it, you have a better idea of what you want/need when upgrading.
Re: The worst tool for the job
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sometimes you don't know what the minimum viable is because you are a beginner and don't know yourself well in that field. For example, I started running with shoes that were somewhat fine for beginners when I would double-check online, but happened to have limitations that affected people who practice a lot, or people who don't practice properly, or in my case undiagnosed issues (hypermobility of the knee). In my ca…
Hey, just as a long-term advanced guitarist, you should look into getting a professional fret-job/setup for your cheapo guitar first rather than buying a higher end model. You'll save a significant amount of cash that way even if it's a couple hundred dollars to get a quality setup from a good tech. Or if you're really dedicated to saving money, you can always pick up the almost entirely separate hobby of doing guita…
Thanks for the advice. I'm far from being a good guitarist but I've been playing for over 15 years now so thankfully I've managed to learn a thing or two about at least the minor improvements that can change a lot of things, so I've adjusted the action myself as well as any problematic fret (thankfully there weren't too many - it's easy to overdo any adjustment when it compounds..)
In the case of this guitar though, it was really the cheapest thing out there because I am on a budget (and a really tight one), so any real work done on it would cost more than a few times the guitar itself and more than I can afford to dedicate to it. My actual guitars are an ocean away for the time being, but I'll still get them back eventually. In the meantime I have a nice decorative thingy I can pick up sometimes, and I try to remind myself that now that I'm "more experienced" I should take this as a challenge rather than an excuse.
Re: The worst tool for the job
#75I do this a different way. I think about how much I'm going to use something and try my best to over-invest in what is typically cheap and could last years and under-invest (or avoid all together) in what is expensive or could last less than a year. Pen: Very expensive. Sunglasses: Very expensive. Phone: Very expensive. Laptop: Very expensive. Shoes / most clothing: Midrange, since they don't last long, but they're n…
> Sunglasses: Very expensive. This one is confusing. Sunglasses are 90% fashion. What exactly are you getting with an expensive pair? I take the opposite route. Cheap sunglasses that I'm unconcerned about dropping, sitting on, or leaving behind.
I have a pair of Oakley Juliets that must be on their fifth set of lenses - as far as I can tell the frames are effectively indestructible (and I've put that to the test with the aid of dinghy booms quite a few times).
They were quite expensive, but have turned out to be pretty good value 15+ years later.
Re: The worst tool for the job
#76What a great principle. One of those things I've felt for a long time but never express so well as John did. This idea extends to many other things, like... sports equipment. Beginner runners/bikers/skateboarders/whatever will not really feel the difference between equipment that cost $100 and $1,000, so get the cheap one and use it to (its) death. If you're still into the sport by then, go ahead and get the nicer on…
> Beginner runners/bikers/skateboarders/whatever will not really feel the difference between equipment that cost $100 and $1,000, so get the cheap one and use it to (its) death.
Back when I used to go to mountain bike races, I noticed that you could roughly divide the people who rode $6000 bikes into two groups: Novices, who had no need for such a bike, and professionals, who get all their equipment from sponsors.
The take away for me was that it never actually makes any practical sense to buy high-end equipment for myself.
(Granted, I'm not self-employed.)
Re: The worst tool for the job
#77I agree that an ASCII diagram helps concentrate on the content by making the attention to the irrelevant impossible. But it's way clumsy and hard to edit when you need to change the text and move the boxes because of that, making it... not the best tool for the job. I would take Graphviz [1], or went to https://plantuml.com/ and drew a nicer diagram while using fewer characters. Also, a much more easy to edit one. So…
"But it's way clumsy and hard to edit when you need to change the text and move the boxes because of that, making it... not the best tool for the job."
Original article says "I’m not doing this completely bare-knuckles. Emacs has tools like artist-mode that make it easier than manually positioning every character." See: https://youtu.be/cIuX87Xo8Fc?t=149
Re: The worst tool for the job
#78Eh, something to be said for mid-range too. I have a 12v cordless drill. Ended up saving me tons of work over the years but by no means either the best or the worst. Musical instruments. The low-end ones tend to be true disasters. Mid-range CPUs and GPUs are wonderful. Kitchen mixers, knives, screwdrivers, soldering irons, drill presses, etc. Plenty of times the worst tool is so obviously terrible that you probably s…
On Bicycles: I've ridden cheap bikes ( $ Yesterday I went to my local Trek store and rode a $2500 bike for the first time, and it was a joy to ride. I didn't know gear changes could be so accurate/seamless/instant. First time I rode with disc brakes: I feel way more in control when I need to stop at high speed. The frame fit my body perfectly. Obviously the bike will wear down like cheaper bikes, but the difference i…
A brand new bike can be as low as €100 highly dependent on current availability and discounts. Cheap bikes are €100-200, maybe up to €250 for an adult man mountain bike.
I'm shocked you'd call a $750 bike "cheap" when that's undeniably high end.
Re: The worst tool for the job
#79What a great principle. One of those things I've felt for a long time but never express so well as John did. This idea extends to many other things, like... sports equipment. Beginner runners/bikers/skateboarders/whatever will not really feel the difference between equipment that cost $100 and $1,000, so get the cheap one and use it to (its) death. If you're still into the sport by then, go ahead and get the nicer on…
The problem with this is that we live in a world where there are versions of things so cheap is to be unusable. you don't need a top-of-the-line skateboard to learn how to skate, but it's much harder to learn on a Walmart board, if not impossible. Bearings that don't roll, wheels that get flat spots, decks that are made of particle board and have no pop and l plastic bushings are all a huge impediment to doing the mo…
You can extend this to guitars, too.
On the cheapest models, the "action" (distance between strings and fretboard) is so long that only the most precise master of the craft can hope to play anything.
Re: The worst tool for the job
#80I have a decently expensive Bahco socket set. I find that because it's expensive I always know where it is in the house, I never leave it behind in the shed when I move, I always make sure each tool goes back in its proper place after I've done with it.
I tend to find that I treat cheap tools with a lot less care and attention. Flaws in their design (e.g. susceptibility to rust) takes care of the rest.
Maybe it's just a quirk of my personality but I'd have spent almost as much replacing cheap tools. Besides, it cost about two hours worth of labour at hourly rates in my area so one decent job and it's paid for itself.