It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
The justifications topic (all of which I understood), got me thinking.
Historically, I was strictly in the sub £1000 a guitar club, really in the sub £500 if I'm honest.
Now a change in life circumstances, and also an appreciation of the finer things has meant I'm able to spend more.
18 months ago, I spent around £2k on a Les Paul and felt amazed. Then I found out it was worth it, and the value has gone up (it was an old one).
So since then I've bought loads more (not Les Pauls, well not all of them) - and I've kind of got 'used to' looking at guitars in the £4-6000 price range as a 'valid price' for a guitar.
But when I look over £10k, that's the point I clench. Had the opportunity recently, and I could have made the numbers work by selling a few etc. but just couldn't do it.
That got me thinking, we often put limits on purchases which aren't due to what we can afford (meaning if we buy this we starve), but more what we're 'comfortable' paying.
I see lots of people on here, who I'm sure are not all rockstars, regularly spending way more than me on guitars/kit - interested to hear how others balance this
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
The limits can change as circumstances change in your life.
I think you have just proved this.
Real answer - £2,000ish is my upper limit!
For me, well I bought one last year for £600 and one for £500.
The year before that I couldn't have done either, but a change in circumstances meant I could take a punt.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
This is my comfort limit, not my economic limit, so even if I had a million pounds in my bank account I'd still probably not spend much more on a guitar. I think there is a line around this point where you start to pay more for the prestige than the quality, and I'm not really a prestige kind of guy...
That said I had a really hard time justifying my most expensive guitar purchase of £2500 to myself and I still feel guilty. I prefer to keep it under a 1k and I only have 1 (at the moment) that cost more than that. But yeah, for the right thing, I'm prepared to spend a lot.
It is great that we can spend 'disposable' income on such hobbies - at least a hobby for many of us
For me (talking as Mark here and not Guitars4You) is that any guitar I buy for me, out of my own income, has to give me pleasure and deliver the appropriate tonal character, feel and playing performance that I like - I also require the back up that if I don't get all my money back, or more, over the years, my loss will be minimal - Chances are over 10/20/30 years you'll sell most/many guitars for more than you paid for them - subject to the guitar of course, but I can't recall losing money on such a guitar over such a decade or more
So nothing wrong with spending 1K, or 10K, as funds allow, but do it because you know you can and more importantly, for the pleasure it will give you today and tomorrow and many years to follow
Personally I'd rather have 2 guitars each worth 5K than 1 guitar worth 10K - Yet I am getting tempted by a clean early 60's Tele - I don't need it, but it is an option to me at the moment and the temptation is strong so who knows
Whereas my Baja Tele has been with me for nearly 6 years and would not part with it (well not at the moment anyway!).....
I do have a guitar being made in the UK that is ~$8000 and I have to confess that sometimes I do wonder what I'm doing
On the other hand I don’t know that the value is the key factor I worry about. I recently bought a guitar from our own Juansolo for the princely sum of £500 and I could not be happier with it, amazing concept and guitar!
That said, my limit for an electric would be different to an acoustic. Acoustic probably somewhere £1600 ~ £2000 which unfortunately leaves the much coveted (by me) Martin OM-21 just out of range!
Electric £1200. Not because I think Acoustic is better (although I do) but you seem to get way more for your money with an electric.
And I completely agree, the lad who has saved a year will absolutely treasure that guitar and he good thing is now for £400 that’s a really decent instrument.
Most of my current guitars are around the 1k price bracket. Tele, SG, Avante Gryphon
My D18 was obviously a bit more, closer to 2k and my old 00028 was 2.5k
I personally wouldn't spend any more than what I paid for my 335, even though I could probably afford it if I thinned the herd.
I've no problem with people paying more, but, I worry about the extravagance of my purchases let alone me spending more.
Love the paper round story @guitars4you
I never borrowed to buy a guitar again, they were all from apparent reserves but I only ever had 2 electrics and a cheapish acoustic.
As circumstances changed and the family grew up I started looking at other guitars but even now the idea of £2k makes me take a sharp intake of breath.
I'm one of these. My "best" was a jap guitar well under a grand (though over 20 years ago) and I just don't need to get something "better". These days I could afford to buy a few in the 3-5K range, but I'm comfortable with what I have and don't really feel the compulsion to GAS.
(I would still buy something in that price range if I wanted something specific though - like I might still get a headless, an ergonomic shape or some other feature.)
For example. My dream guitar is a Yamaha SG1820. Retail is just over £3k and to me that’s a lot of money, I could have afforded it quickly but elected to save instead to appreciate it more.
However, GuitarGuitar were selling one, brand new, with 48% off. So I had to dive in and buy it. So, I suppose it also is subject to how good the deal is too.
A purchase i’ve never regretted.
I don't think I would spend that much again unless I sold the tele, the issue for me isn't the cost of one item, its that I have 3 electrics, 3 acoustics, 2 amps and a drawer full of pedals and I don't play in a band, or with anyone else I'm just a home part time strummer so struggle to justify massive outlays.