Do you have to be good to collect?

;D

Well i suppose you dont have to be good to collect, you could be no good and just collect yoyos and display them somewhere for looks or something… But i havent seen anyone collect yoyos that are below the advanced level(yye standards)

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no

Absolutely, without a doubt: NO.

I’m living proof of that!

The collection is growing, the skills are growing. I am improving slower than the rapid growth of the collection.

I collect what I like. I’ve been going a bit retro, getting 4 of the different TMBR models and an EH, but I’ve also gotten a couple of Classics and even an “@”. If I can afford it and I want it, I get it. I do have with the latest 2 Classics, a total of 5. Each will be set up for a specific purpose. My collection includes stuff as “low end” as the Imperial, Butterfly, keychain yoyos and all the way up to premium dollar throws such as the Anglam and limited run stuff. I’m all over the place as far as price, materials and dimensions.

I throw to enjoy. I collect to enjoy. I share what I collect at meets. No point in spending the big bucks to then be selfish and just keep it to myself like a yoyo hermit.

I find it’s usually the opposite. The players who are most obsessed with collecting and tracking down new or limited models and discussing them on the forums tend to be, no offense, but less skilled than those who have just a few yoyos and practice all the time, ding them up, and don’t get caught up in the hype. I’ll happily admit i’m in the middle, but probably closer to the prior. This might also have to do with the really good players being sponsored and so just playing their sponsored throws, but i also notice it with extremely skilled players who aren’t sponsored.

You just need money really, haha.

$$$

No offense taken. I definitely match that profile.

I do have a regular group that I use the most, but I enjoy the variety and the collecting aspect.

With audio, I NEED gear to do my job, and so I have to collect equipment that matches my requirements or that of clients. For me, audio is artistic. I make microphone selections based on what I have to mic up, which goes down to drum kits, guitars and bass, other acoustic instruments, wind and brass, other drums and percussion and of course, vocals. I know my tools intimately and know how to get what I want out of what I have. Matching the transducer to the source. My crew is often amazed at how little EQ I use, since most of the work is done at the source and with mic placement.

With yoyo, it’s not artistic for me, yet nonetheless just as enjoyable. Each yoyo, like with each microphone, has certain personality and character. I’m unable to truly maximize what I can do with a yoyo yet, but that doesn’t prevent me from enjoying this activity any less. But, back to what was said, I’m not going to say I’m a great player or even a good player. I think after nearly 2 years of doing this, I am no longer a “new” player. I certainly am an “old” player, since I’m 41 right now. I have bought into the hype but at the same time, I’ve enjoyed the hype and discovered amazing stuff as a result. I’m not in this to compete, I’m in this for the enjoyment of it.

So, I am squarely in the category of “less skilled”. No argument from me there. I enjoy this position of not being great, but I have goals of getting better. I also buy a LOT of yoyos, and the collection is on the large side. I just got 6 new ones in this week, 4 2 weeks earlier(all off-strings), 2 yoyos 2 weeks before that(in Vietnam, Loop 360’s) and 5 the week or two before that before going to Vietnam(all went with me to Vietnam, BTW!) I’m trying to slow down, but there’s so many interesting models I want to get. I share what I have with my kid, my friends and when I run meets and go to meets. This allows other players who may be lacking funds or otherwise have access to this stuff to have an opportunity to try before they buy.

I know I’ve driven MANY sales here as well as to other places(if YYE doesn’t have it) thanks to my collection being available for others to give it a shot.

But in the end, the only thing preventing someone from collecting is, aside from money, the desire to collect.

So, if you see me playing, you can decide for yourself if I’m good or bad. I don’t care. You can tell me to my face I suck at yoyo. As long as you’re not doing that just to be a disrespectful jerk about it, I’m more than happy to let you try anything in any of the cases. A yoyo not being enjoyed is a yoyo not being to be what it’s supposed to be.

The same thought is with audio gear: There’s no point in having it just to collect it. I got ribbon mics and the first thing I did was say “alright, I’m mic’ing up the guitars with these”. My crew thought I was nuts, because I left the 3 day event to drive 30 minutes home and 30 minutes back just to get the mics so I could have them for Day 2. Ribbon mics on metal guitar? Am I nuts? Maybe, but they sounded awesome and that’s what I bought the ribbon mics for!! Gear is meant to be used.

Yoyos are meant to be played. Don’t collect if you just want them to sit in a case looking pretty. Collect because you want it AND because you want to play it!

No. If you have the money go nuts.

Buying yoyos to collect is just as good a reason to buy them as it is to play with them.

Buying new yoyos satisfies my curiousity. I’d probably buy fewer if I had access to Studio42’s case. But when a yoyo grabs my imagination (like the El Ranchero did) the only way I can try it is to buy it. :wink:

Luckily, a friend of mine started throwing at around the same time as me and is a self-professed CLYW fanboy… so I’ve tried most of the current-generation CLYW many a time (and loved’em!).

But any other brand or individual yoyo? Gotta buy.

BANG BANG BANG!!
OPEN UP THIS IS THE YOYO POLICE, WE HAVE THE PLACE SURROUNDED, SURRENDER THE YOYOS! YOUR NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO COLLECT THEM.

Oh crap!

That would explain the noise outside then…

You can have one throw and be a boss.  You can have  over 9000 throws and be a boss.
You can have one throw and be a noob.  You can have over 9000 throws and be a noob.


One of the best in the world, has a nice collection

This video inspires me to play better and collect more.

I don’t think I’ve come across any serious collector who has been interested in anything produced in the last 10 - 15 years. In that way, NO… the yoyos worth collecting have no value to modern players.

That does seem to be changing though…as we see yoyo players who started with the “birth of unresponsive” grow older. It’s interesting to see people going after “vintage modern”, like Duncan (eg. FH1), discontinued YYJ or very old YYF. Even so… how much value do these have as “collectables”? Hspin was truly groundbreaking, rose up above the quagmire, eventually faded, and yet, I don’t think any of their yoyos are considered exceptionally collectable.

Then again, I could just be talking to collectors who collect more than I talk to players who collect…

“Anything worth collecting isn’t worth playing, and anything worth playing isn’t really worth collecting…”.