How much would you pay for your dream guitar?

lovestrat74

Teflon said:

Some great comments folk, it's interesting to see things from others view points. Just for completion, the object of my desire is here: https://www.oasismusic.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000002.pl?WD=crs&PN=Used%2dFender%2dGuitars%2ehtml#aCrs59 (fist one on the list: Fender 50th Anniversary).

I just might buy a cheap Fender lookalike tweed case from Amazon, keep it locked, and then tell myself that I've bought the guitar but lost the case key. That would work, wouldn't it?

Just buy a MIJ HM signature they are great guitars

merciful-evans

I would pay up to 4k for a Spanish nylon string acoustic (no plans to do so though).

solid body electric: No more than 2k. I've pretty much got that covered and I paid less anyway.

Twinfan

I think it hinges around just how much you want the particular guitar, and whether it's in reach financially to you.  If you really want it, then the price starts to be less of an issue as you find the money somehow.

So my answer would be "it depends".

grappagreen

The maximum price I will pay is proportionate to my level of perceived wealth at the time of purchase.. 

skullfunkerry

I've posted on here before about the custom shop Jackson I bought after my girlfriend was killed. That was £4k and in hindsight it was a ridiculous purchase. I think now the most I'd pay is about a grand, possibly slightly over for something that *really* floated my boat. For what I play though and the guitars I like, that gets you an awful lot of guitar...

I guess I'm slightly unusual in that I'm not really interested in the slightest by vintage instruments. I can appreciate them and some of them are absolutely gorgeous, but I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to own one. That reduces my potential future outlay on guitars!

Twinfan

skullfunkerry said:

I guess I'm slightly unusual in that I'm not really interested in the slightest by vintage instruments. I can appreciate them and some of them are absolutely gorgeous, but I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to own one. That reduces my potential future outlay on guitars!

I'm the same as you - vintage stuff is just old tat to me.

Brand new Custom Shop or Private Stock guitars can certainly rack up the £££s, new stuff isn't always more affordable than the old stuff...

PhilKing

I'm extremely lucky in being old enough to have bought vintage guitars before they started to get stupidly expensive.  At the time I was buying them, the most expensive was my 1955 Les Paul Custom, which @WezV ; just restored for me.  I've got about $5,500 in that, but for what it is, it isn't a lot.  My most expensive single purchase for a long time was my Feline Lion 20th anniversary http://www.felineguitars.com/20thAnniversary/20guitar07.html, which was a great purchase.  I've been a fan of Jonathan's work for a long time and was playing it yesterday and regularly pick it over may others to use.  

When I had some spare money, my indulgence was a pair of Teye Guitars, 


These cost around $13,500 for the pair.  I've played them a lot but tbh, I would have been able to live without them.  You will either love them or hate them.  I actually like the way they look and they do have an amazing amount of sounds in them.  However, if I hadn't been able to pay for them in several installments, I probably wouldn't have bought them.  It was to satisfy my craving for a Zemaitis metal top, but I might have been better with one of the new ones!

Of course, if ever I had the money I would love to have a real 58/59 Les Paul Standard, but that is extremely unlikely to happen.  I'd also probably be afraid to take it out and play it!

TeleMaster

PhilKing said:

I'm extremely lucky in being old enough to have bought vintage guitars before they started to get stupidly expensive.  At the time I was buying them, the most expensive was my 1955 Les Paul Custom, which @WezV ; just restored for me.  I've got about $5,500 in that, but for what it is, it isn't a lot.  My most expensive single purchase for a long time was my Feline Lion 20th anniversary http://www.felineguitars.com/20thAnniversary/20guitar07.html, which was a great purchase.  I've been a fan of Jonathan's work for a long time and was playing it yesterday and regularly pick it over may others to use.  

When I had some spare money, my indulgence was a pair of Teye Guitars, 


These cost around $13,500 for the pair.  I've played them a lot but tbh, I would have been able to live without them.  You will either love them or hate them.  I actually like the way they look and they do have an amazing amount of sounds in them.  However, if I hadn't been able to pay for them in several installments, I probably wouldn't have bought them.  It was to satisfy my craving for a Zemaitis metal top, but I might have been better with one of the new ones!

Of course, if ever I had the money I would love to have a real 58/59 Les Paul Standard, but that is extremely unlikely to happen.  I'd also probably be afraid to take it out and play it!

People would just think they’re Reissues. I guarantee you could give it to 99/100 people and they’d say something like the relicing isn’t authentic. 

LastMantra

Maybe it's just that I can't afford 'expensive' guitars, or maybe it's because I'm just an average hobby player, but I often think I have too much gear as it is.
If I owned anything over £1k I'd feel a bit silly.
I've just gave a spare to my nephew to learn on. That leaves me with 2 leccys 2 acoustics and 1 bass.

I like to look at guitars, they are nice things to look at, but I don't feel the need to buy them. Watching people buying guitars on here often I feel glad that I don't have much money. 

bodhi

I once spent £2499 on my dream guitar, just to find out that the one I already had (cost about a grand) was actually my real dream guitar already.

andy_k

I have done the journey, and managed to be able to trade up to my 'dream' guitar, which was an R9, I had a chance to actually get into vintage once, which was a 60s SG junior, for 3.5k, but couldnt go through with it.
Les Pauls are a bit like a drug addiction, you start thinking a studio will do-300-500, but its not a standard, so thats around a thousand, if you are lucky, but then you want a historic-cos thats the pinnacle, so you get a 57 goldtop, if you are lucky thats under 2k, but its not a Burst, is it? even though it is the same guitar-different paintjob.
By then, you might have a few to play with, but the R9 for me was something I could just take out the case and stare at, too exotic to gig with though, then I did a trade on here with it for a customshop custom, which is a different beast entirely, I saw the ad and offered to trade my dream guitar for it, we did the deal, so I guess my dream came true, and then it helped me to realise that reality is something better than a dream.
That 12k dream guitar you are looking at, is a fantasy based on Fenders RRP, wasn't Frankentstein or Blackie signed limited runs both 25k, and more recently the Blind Faith and 78 Frank around 12k??
I think the threshold is really 2k, for me at least.
There is no way a playable, gig'able guitar should cost more.
Guitars are a bad investment, at least new ones, but if you have the money-spend it how you want.

Philly_Q

How much I'd pay and how much I could afford are two different things.  I don't have a partner or kids or a mortgage or a car.  Or a drug habit.  So I could go fairly big if I really wanted to.  But I'm not a natural spendthrift.

My maximum has slowly crept up over the years.  Ten years ago I was constantly buying and selling relatively cheap guitars, now I might buy one or two in a year but they'll be higher up the price scale.  The most I've spent is about £3.5k, I don't really balk at all at £1.5k to £2k but I'd still buy something much cheaper if I liked it. 

But anyway, dream guitar...?  Right now, I guess I'd go up to about £4.5k.  Nothing vintage.

Blueingreen

My current most valuable guitar cost me £2,200 used (it's a limited edition Les Paul Axcess, with "Custom" appointments, ie gold hardware, triple binding, ebony board, split diamond logo, rectangular inlays).  I've spend money modding it (6100 wire, Bareknuckle pickups) so it's maybe cost me £2,600 all-in.

The thought of gigging a £2,600 guitar doesn't bother me too much, but  it's a bit sobering to think that the way prices have gone the past few years Gibson would probably price this model (if they still made it) at well over 5 grand - before the mods.  Taking a 5 grand guitar to a pub gig does feel a bit crazy.

If I were buying something new now I'd probably have a top price somewhere between three and three and a half.  I feel that's about the point where you're not going to get better, only rarer and it's also about the upper limit I wouldn't feel too uncomfortable gigging it.

roberty

andy_k said:

Les Pauls are a bit like a drug addiction, you start thinking a studio will do-300-500, but its not a standard, so thats around a thousand, if you are lucky, but then you want a historic-cos thats the pinnacle, so you get a 57 goldtop, if you are lucky thats under 2k, but its not a Burst, is it? even though it is the same guitar-different paintjob.

Absolutely true although the other way the story goes is buying a studio and realising it's not for you. You really have to judge each one on its own merits, price and quality do not strictly correlate with Gibson. I don't know enough about other brands to comment

gregm

octatonic said:

For me there is no 'dream' guitar.
My dream is to be surrounded about 20-30 high end guitars with different form factors, capabilities, shape, colour etc.
I have achieved my dream.

£3.5k is about as much as I will pay for a single instrument.
I mostly buy around £2k and used.
I've got 2 custom made guitars that were towards my upper limit and two more coming.

Couldn't agree more, I have sold and bought so many guitars over the last years but I have currently 28 guitars. Ranging from an Epiphone Special I bought in 1998 brand new and could never part with to gibsons, fenders, japanese and everything in between. I don't have any desire for anything new at the moment and enjoy the differences each guitar gives. I couldn't pick 1 dream guitar regardless of cost and if I had to choose only 1 keeper I have right now I couldn't!

Iamnobody

So far I’ve paid £1150 for the Emperor’s new junior. 

That was in 2016.

If anyone knows JXG’s current situation I’d be interested to know...

If it ever turns up there’s a discussion to be had about the remaining balance!

I’d probably swap one of my kids for a 1978 Ric 330.

guitars4you

I'm spoilt - I see play, sell, set-up so many nice guitars and have done so for over 40 years - Yet I still don't know what the dream guitar is - So many different guitars have so many different great attributes - I admit today that I'm more of a dealer who plays a bit, as against a player who plays 3-5 hours a day

Yes I have access to guitars in the shop/business, but I personally own a few guitars as well - How much would I pay on 1 guitar, then I'm not so sure - But I know I'd rather own 5 guitars worth £15k than 1 guitar worth 15K - Granted I have not spent 15K on 5 guitars in one day, as it is a case of gradual acquirement - But 5 guitars means I don't get bored of 1 guitar - 5 guitars means I can cover most of my needs/desires - 5 guitars means I'm less likely to need another - 1 guitar will always have me wanting more and that is a fact

AlexO

I've been hankering for a Gretsch Custom Shop for a while so as soon as I'm in the position to spend that 5k on one I'll do so but in my mind it need's to be perfect and pretty much make all my other guitars redundant.

Jalapeno

Dream guitar is an interesting concept.  I agree there isn't one guitar to rule them all.

I have largely most things I want and can afford, and plenty of them. However ...

There are a couple that still give me the GAS tingle, but these would be in the aspirational (ie. big Lottery win) zone

1. Gibson L5/6/7 vintage archtop

2. An original D'Aquisto, probably a Centura archtop

3. Benedetto Bravo or Pat Martino model (there's a pair of lovely walnut Pat Martino versions in Bob's Boutique at the moment).

Maybe a Benedetto or L5 as a retirement present .... Hmmmm

DB1

Jalapeno said:

Dream guitar is an interesting concept.  I agree there isn't one guitar to rule them all.

I have largely most things I want and can afford, and plenty of them. However ...

There are a couple that still give me the GAS tingle, but these would be in the aspirational (ie. big Lottery win) zone

1. Gibson L5/6/7 vintage archtop

2. An original D'Aquisto, probably a Centura archtop

3. Benedetto Bravo or Pat Martino model (there's a pair of lovely walnut Pat Martino versions in Bob's Boutique at the moment).

Maybe a Benedetto or L5 as a retirement present .... Hmmmm

I really wish I hadn't seen those Pat Martino's now - or the others, to be honest. It's bought on a GAS attack although, without a pot to piddle in at the moment, I don't suppose it really matters. I had an L-5 Signature recently, and it's one of the few guitars that I've regretted selling, along with the Gibson Pat Martino. :-(