Biggest "I should've bought that" regret?

danny_777

I like to think I'm pretty quick and decisive in buying, but I've got a few nonetheless. In particular:

- a Gibson Heritage 80 Les Paul for £1200 back in the days of scouring Loot, before I knew anything about values.
- missing out on a lovely birdseye-necked relic Nocaster with a Herbie Gastelum neck over a £50 difference in negotiations (wish I'd just ponied up).
- an all-original 62 Strat for £6500 earlier this year.
- a '64 Tele for £1500 about eight years ago.
- and of course like everyone else I wish I'd bought a Blackmachine while they were still reasonably obtainable 10 years ago!

I also regret selling (there's a whole 'nother topic) a beautiful John Cruz Masterbuilt Strat a couple of years back. Best guitar I've ever played (a little too nice for a Fender, if that makes any sense to Fender players!) - bought it for £2k and sold for £3k so wasn't too upset at the time, but looking at their values more recently I wish I'd kept it!

downbytheriver

1947 Martin OOO-18 for £3000 in 1993. This was a mad amount of money, but I had it and to this day it's the best acoustic I have ever played. I was mad to turn it down. 

ICBM

1956 Les Paul Custom for £3750 in 1999.

Still the best electric guitar I've ever played. I could have afforded it then, too.

pintspiller

I regret drinking four nights a week. If I'd have just done two, I probably would have not had as many money troubles and maybe bought some more items than I did in my twenties.

Trotter

A refinished, humbuckered, 54 Les Paul that was around £1400 about 15 years ago (maybe more.) It would appear that neither myself or the vendor knew what we were looking at, at the time. I decided it was too much back then as two of the pots didn't work.... d*ckhead... 

Megii

Mid 1980s - should have bought a 1962 blonde ES175 for £650...

Stevepage

An 80's San Dimas Jackson Soloist. Exactly the same as what Jeff Hanneman had. For only £750 as well

A Bc Rich Gunslinger built for and owned by Tony Macalpine. That was only £800.

Plectrum

A John Birch SG for £200 in the late 80s.

Strat54

Many...but here's one.
In the first issue of Guitar and Bass back in the early 90's there was an article on a guitar shop. They featured Antones in Yorkshire and said they had some great old gear. They had a refin only '52 Tele for £1100. I thought about it for a couple of days, cobbled the cash together and rang them....it had sold the day before....ffs.

Neil

In the '70's when I was starting out pre CBS Strats were always on sale in the Exchange and Mart for around £200.

They would have been a great investment but £200 to me then.........

octatonic

Apple Stock in 1995.

fields5069

Possibly small fry this, but I always remember my dad buying me an Elite Tele many years ago, the Gibson-esque one with weird pickups, and for the same money I saw the shop had a '68 Tele chalked up on their board. I didn't see it so it could have been a dog but I always wonder.

Sporky

A couple, but not serious regret. An Ibanez AS193 that appeared briefly at Machinehead, a Parker Singlecut prototype... I think that's it.

richardhomer

'54 GT LP and '54 Strat - both priced at £850 in the '80s....

Gassage

At the moment, the 62 partsatelecaster that I hooked up for @miserneil !!!!

I really regret not grabbing it myself but I've got more Tele's than Channel 4.

impmann

1964 SG Junior in The Guitar Factory, Bexley in around 1992 - £495...

Atilla Ballough Odyssey in a little shop in Kentish Town around the same time -
£120

Elwood

Custom 24 from @Hubobulous

Should have bought it.

beed84

I remember missing out on a Heritage gold top Les Paul for £500 on eBay about 10 years ago. I expected it would've gone for  more but alas, it did not. I had the money too.

One guitar that I really should've bought was a roadworn JV squier. It was somewhat over priced but had the best neck I've ever played and sounded incredible. Every time I went to the shop I had to play it. I was doing my best to garner some money and put a deposit down but someone had the wisdom to buy it before I had chance to. If it ever came up again, it'd definitely be mine.

Finally, I don't really play acoustic guitar but about 16 years ago or so I put a deposit down on a 1993 Yairi. It was a relatively small body, excellent quality, and had the sweetest sound I'd heard. It was only £400. However, it was Christmas, decided I couldn't really afford it and pulled out. Another wise guy bought it instead.

JayGee

A mid '60s Strat for £180 in 1976, which is what I paid for my CSL branded Les Paul-a-like about 3 months later. OK, the CSL is actually a pretty good guitar and did me proud as only or main guitar for about 15 years, but still...

Any number of Gibson LP or SG Juniors and specials through the '70s, '80s and early '90s before the vintage boom really got going and they were just funny little cheap old guitars.

DrJazzTap

Fender American vintage 59 in sonic blue from pmt a few years back. That was the strat for me.

Apart from that a wine red les paul standard in 98 for £600. Or a Marshall jmp when they were £300 in a local music shop. I didn't buy one because they only had one channel-doh!

fretfinder

55 and 59 Juniors from atoyboy a couple of years ago, both near mint with original cases, I could have had the pair for £6.5k. It would have been a stretch to find the money but I could have done...