Is this a silly guitar purchase?

chrishill901

For context I don't need a guitar. If I were to get one it would have to have a whammy/floyd and be capable of 80s metal.

I went into my local guitar shop and saw a 2017 PRS SE Custom 24 in spalted maple and fell in love with it. I played it and it was very nice indeed to play. I nearly walked out with it but something about the £799 price tag bugged me. Are these guitars worth the money? I usually buy used so that if it turns out it was just a whim I can sell it for not much of a loss. I feel that a PRS is like a car and the second it leaves the shop it will significantly drop in value. It played like a dream though and the fact I know that specific model in the shop plays so well it is drawing me in.

Anyway, I thought 'surely you can get more guitar for your money than that, its still an SE after all' - my USA strat only cost me £650 used. So I had a look around and I saw this:

https://www.station-musicshop.de/WebRoot/Store8/Shops/64398533/574C/3E46/8E4F/A25D/8724/C0A8/2AB9/78B5/esp_ltd-gl-burnt-tiger7.jpg

Its new, online for £999. Its one of 330 and comes with a hard case and a signed COA by George Lynch. I'm a huge Lynch fan, got tickets to see Lynch Mob in November. I love the design and the idea of a limited edition guitar. I can hardly find any info/reviews of them online at all though and it is a very limited one trick pony only having one pickup. I suspect however that it does that one thing quite well indeed. Is this worth the punt or am I going to end up with a guitar that probably doesn't deserve its £1000 price tag? It looks well made and sounds good from the demos.

I have searched a few shops within my price range and there is nothing new that jumps out at me. I always thought if I was going to spend that kind of money on a guitar I'd get a used Les Paul but I have a MIJ Tokai and have a feeling that its better than I'd get from Gibson in that price range. I have a strat too, I'm really looking for something Van Halen/Lynchy that doesnt have a maple fingerboard as I don't like them. The GL ticks that box... however so does the PRS! Any opinions on what I should do?

Legionreturns

The SEs are excellent guitars for the money but yes, you'll lose a lot if you sell it on. On the plus side, you'll undoubtedly find the same our similar guitar out there used for less than £400 in a shop or £300 privately. The resale value sucks. Why not have a look and see if there's a second hand one on your area? 

HarrySeven

Resale value to be considered?

Parking my innate dislike of guitars like this ^ (sorry!) and being objective, this is a niche guitar, with a limited range of potential (re)purchasers.

Also, re. PRS - @ £1K, there's always plenty of S/H USA stuff around (and some will undoubtedly fall within that price bracket), so my suggestion would be to just buy used (as you already highlight).

Finally - if you're contemplating a £1K spend, there are tons of (mid/higher-end) classic '80's/'90's shred machines out there - Hamer, Kramer, Robin, Jackson, Charvel, etc, etc which are well worth thinking about.

Adamski

If it was a new 2017 one, with the signature logo on the headstock rather than 'SE' in block writing, then they are a bit of a jump up in quality over what was originally an already good guitar - wood selection seems to be better and lighter and the pickups are Korean replicas of the new 85/15's on the core models and by all accounts are very good. 

You will take take a bit of a bath if you sell but I think these days, £799 is good value (new) for a guitar like that - I paid £499 in 2005 for an SE Santana 2 and these current ones are a significant step up from that! 


I agree that used you you will get something 'merican but if the custom floats your boat then why not? Those spalted maple finishes are awesome too

Funkfingers

In my opinion, if you are going to place serious demands on a double-locking vibrato system, it needs to be Made In Germany. If the FR Licensed bridge on the PRS SE Custom 24 is manufactured in S.E. Asia, it is going to wear out swiftly and disappoint.

Plenty of pre-owned PRS SE bargains lurking out there. If you have a specific finish in mind, it might be necessary to wait until that exact variant turns up. That done, the money that you have saved compared to a brand new example can be invested in pickup and hardware upgrades.

Given the nature of spalted wood, if you see a grain pattern that appeals to you, buy that one. 

Sassafras

Thank heavens that George Lynch thing is a limited edition.

chrishill901

Legionreturns said:

The SEs are excellent guitars for the money but yes, you'll lose a lot if you sell it on. On the plus side, you'll undoubtedly find the same our similar guitar out there used for less than £400 in a shop or £300 privately. The resale value sucks. Why not have a look and see if there's a second hand one on your area? 

I did think about just hanging fire and waiting for something on a facebook group...

HarrySeven said:

Resale value to be considered?

Parking my innate dislike of guitars like this ^ (sorry!) and being objective, this is a niche guitar, with a limited range of potential (re)purchasers.

Also, re. PRS - @ £1K, there's always plenty of S/H USA stuff around (and some will undoubtedly fall within that price bracket), so my suggestion would be to just buy used (as you already highlight).

Finally - if you're contemplating a £1K spend, there are tons of (mid/higher-end) classic '80's/'90's shred machines out there - Hamer, Kramer, Robin, Jackson, Charvel, etc, etc which are well worth thinking about.

Resale value is irrelevant for the George Lynch, I would never sell it, its too unique and I'm a huge fan. On the PRS however it would annoy me to see the spalted maple 2017 model on a facebook selling page in a year for £400 (although I suspect these will retain more value than the non limited run ones). The GL guitar I doubt I'll ever see for sale used so that won't annoy me!

As for the higher end 80s shred machines I do have a serious dislike for pointy headstocks (although that still leaves Charvels and a few more) however you say 'mid/higher end' - does the Burnt Tiger not fit under that? Original retail was £1750, it has an Ebony fingerboard, comes with a hardcase etc... it that not mid/higher end?

Adamski said:

If it was a new 2017 one, with the signature logo on the headstock rather than 'SE' in block writing, then they are a bit of a jump up in quality over what was originally an already good guitar - wood selection seems to be better and lighter and the pickups are Korean replicas of the new 85/15's on the core models and by all accounts are very good. 

You will take take a bit of a bath if you sell but I think these days, £799 is good value (new) for a guitar like that - I paid £499 in 2005 for an SE Santana 2 and these current ones are a significant step up from that! 


I agree that used you you will get something 'merican but if the custom floats your boat then why not? Those spalted maple finishes are awesome too

The thing that draws me to buying new is the fact that I've played that exact one and it is excellent. I could order the same guitar online and it could play poorly, similarly you take that chance used!

chrishill901

edit* double post, sorry

fretmeister

I'm an overweight mid 40s bloke and I just bought a new Ibby Jem Blue Floral, even though they sometimes come up used for sub £700

I wanted a shiny new one and I really don't care if I look stupid with such a blingy guitar.

If you want the GL (sounds like you like him like I like Mr Vai) go for it.

It's not like there will be loads of that model around. Once the limited run has sold out that could well be your chance gone. 

57Deluxe

no no no! = I bet you will find any rhythm work will result in your little finger strum handing getting chaffed on those 'creeks'!

A raised pickguard  with an edge is enough to do this to me...

imalrightjack

The new PRS SEs are excellent. The Tremonti I tried was a ridiculously heavy piece of wood but amazing neck, sounded great. 

You sound like you have no reason to NOT buy the George Lynch. You'll never sell it? Buy it then. Enjoy it. 

I just traded every guitar I owned for a £4.5k PRS. I could have farted on selling them all and bought a pre-owned Custom 24 or otherwise (and had a significant wedge left over) but have, I imagine to many, 'overpaid' for a fancy looker. I don't care. I enjoyed the experience, it looks, feels and sounds amazing - and know I'll never get that much cash back. Given your Lynch love, what's to regret?

ICBM

Buy the George Lynch. You'll never see another one at that price probably, and it's something fairly unique (some would say thankfully ) and special. The PRS is just a generic - albeit nicely made - modern guitar.

chrishill901

ICBM said:

Buy the George Lynch. You'll never see another one at that price probably, and it's something fairly unique (some would say thankfully ) and special. The PRS is just a generic - albeit nicely made - modern guitar.

Its hideous but I love it. Thanks for the advice everyone, I've ordered it!

to answer my question, yes it's a silly purchase. But someone's got to!

JDE

Sassafras said:

Thank heavens that George Lynch thing is a limited edition.

They're wicked guitars, though. I'd have bought that one rapid if it had a maple board. 

I would look at a used RG550, personally. Or any used Japanese Ibanez, infact. 

Bellycaster

Ooooh, that'd be a right Bugger to dust

mike_l

You can pick up 80's rock guitars for £not much these days. For example, I picked up a virtually mint 1986 Charvel model4 for £100 + a bunch of pedals (£499 with out the pedals).
However, as Fret said, if it's your thing and you are happy with the price, then go for it. You live once, get the guitar you want.

Chalky

Spalted maple is a Marmite look.  I remember Ibanez did an AS103 semi in it several years ago and they were very very slow to sell even after sizeable price reductions.

TonyR

A short answer to your question "Yes", sorry fella t'ain't my bag at all.