How much would you spend on one guitar?

Neil

richardhomer said:

It depends entirely on circumstances - a friend of a friend sold his business for £70,000,000 and treated himself to a £180,000 Aston Martin. As a proportion of his net worth, that’s a lot less than my Ford Focus is of mine....

That the real point isn't it?

Different people have different amounts of disposable income, which, unless you are a professional guitarist is hobby money really. 

Depends on your priorities too, family, outgoings etc etc.

midlifecrisis

when i re-started playing guitar, about 9 yrs ago, i said to myself if i start gigging regularly id treat myself to a decent guitar up to £500, i bought and sold a few and settled on a LP studio which i still have. ive bought several others, teles, strats others. i then said to myself, if the gigs are regular and cover the costs, i would treat myself up tp £1500.  i reached that target but even though i can afford to spend that or more, i m just not interested in buying something that pricey. I know my ability and what i do doesnt need it. I think i use to equate , better/dearer guitar meant better playing and better sounding. reality is for me it wouldnt. i have tried dearer guitars and they may be good but if i cant feel or hear it its like emperors new clothes.

horse

This thread is a helpful reminder that we've all got different budgets and VERY different ears

Philly_Q

horse said:

This thread is a helpful reminder that we've all got different budgets and VERY different ears

And different requirements.  I'm quite fascinated by all the replies from people saying "I haven't spent over £X because I don't need anything more than that for what I do."  A proper guitars-as-tools approach (and that's not a criticism).

If I only bought guitars I need I wouldn't have any.

Strat54

TommyVercetti said:

aord43 said:

If I got a big bonus from work I would still feel guilty if I didn't use it for all the stuff my wife can list that needs fixing around the house.  I live there too...just she cares more than me   Or a car...
I guess if it was a really big bonus I would happily spend 500-1000 on a guitar/gear but no more.  Probably.
If it was a Euromillions win (100M+) then it's a different story!

Of course. If you've got £10k of savings to your name then spending £3k of it on a guitar is probably a bit crazy. If you've got £100k of savings then £5k is probably sensible enough. If you've got £10,000,000 of savings then you probably wouldn't even notice spunking £10k or £50k on a guitar and why not?

Crazy or sensible rarely come into play when we are dealing with guitar purchases. I'd hazard a guess that most people that spend £3k on a guitar never have £10k of savings nor do those that spend £5k have £100k sat there. 
I grew up guitar buying wise in the late 80's/ early 90's and back then £2500 was about the absolute max you would need to spend on a special guitar be it Anderson, Custom Shop or PRS. Even the rarer boutique stuff like Lentz or Pensa Suhr weren't anymore than that. As a result I still tend to stick in that price range regardless of my stash in the bank, I guess its where I feel happy. The idea of spending £7999 on a relic masterbuilt guitar doesn't work for me. Sure I can easily afford it but it wouldn't bring me any more joy. I once nearly put down on a Cruz SRV No.1 in 2004.....£10k...I skipped last minute though, sense set in. What was I thinking...ffds.
My most expensive purchase was on a vintage Strat over 25 years ago and that was circa £5k.....today its worth multiple times that so I don't feel so bad and its brought me a lot of pleasure over the years. However a couple of years back when I was conscious of its new found value, rarity and the fact I was wearing the old thing out I set about buying a newer less expensive replacement. After buying Masterbuilt 54's and other 'exotica' I found an unplayed used super light '54 90's Custom Shop guitar for the princely sum of £1200. Guess what? It plays a whole lot better than the original and sounds 95% as good, just with a bit less 'mojo' Its a joy to own and three times the guitar the Cruz built £3k 1954 CS was. MAtes come round with their new £5k masterbuilts and go away depressed when they compare, I lucked out for certain but these bargains and gems are out there, you don't have to spend so much despite all these crazy retail prices that increase almost quarterly.
Worst guitar I ever bought was one of the most expensive....A $4500 John English Stealth Esquire from the Custom Shop, one of you guys owned it long after I got rid, it was for sale here too. Bit of a myth with his latter builds methinks (no disrespect to the departed meant) 

Wolfetone

I think that the guilt would kick in at anything over £1200

Schnozz

Wolfetone said:

I think that the guilt would kick in at anything over £1200

It's £1500 for a Les Paul/Semi-Hollow for me, but I'm on the same page.