Many of us have done it. Walked out of the shop going "if it's still there tomorrow/on pay day". Not bid high enough on eBay. Fallen in love with the ad but by the time you've picked up the phone someone else beat you to it.
For me,
this Les Paul was on eBay last year, and it was on for weeks. I was waiting for my birthday for the funds and umming and ahhing whether or not to take the plunge as it had a neck repair... and just as I'd decided, "it hasn't moved for weeks, I'll buy it if it's still up on Friday", it went.
If it were to pop up again, I'd have to buy it. I've never seen that colour or that kind of top on a Les Paul before and since, and I think it went for less than £700 in the end. I've even saved all the eBay pictures from the listing so I'll know it again if I see it!
So, what guitar haunts you? What do you wish you'd not been shy
about buying? The guitar that if you saw it again you wouldn't
hesitate?
Tim
Comments
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
more recently early 70s Jazz bass, modified by Ned Callan with a double bass fingerboard and used/owned by one of my favourite players, Dill Katz. On eBay for £600, it didn't sell. I phoned the number just after it closed and the seller told me he'd just agreed a sale, below asking price and to make it worse, it was a few minutes drive from my office.
On the floor was a beautiful white Les Paul custom, my absolute dream guitar.
I asked how much, £1000 he says.
Fine says I (having saved a load of money working over the summer), I'll be back in half an hour.
So I gets the bus home, collects me monies and heads back to the shop.
I get there and the bloke says unfortunately he sold it just after I left.
Still bothers me to this day.
I know the guy who bought it.
From the same shop.
A week later for £1700.
I reckon the guy didn't think I would have a grand and then just mugged me off when I came back as he knew he could sell it for more.
Now I can't stand the sight of them.
£850 was a lot of money in 1983....
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Slept on it, went back the next day to buy it and it was gone :-(
I’d have got off at the next stop and phoned them if, a) I’d had £600 spare and b) even had 10p to make the call.
As it was, I visited my parents, begged for a loan to buy the most rare and perfect guitar for me, and got told to get lost. For some reason I phoned the shop anyway and found they’d already sold it. Never seen one for sale since.
Then there was the Fender Electric XII that I saw advertised in the back of The Guitar Magazine a couple of years back for £1000. It was local, re-finished and I knew it was the same one I had considered back when I bought mine in the early 90's. I called the guy in the ad and was told it had been for sale for ages but he'd just sold it earlier in the day and was waiting for someone to collect it, but he'd ring if it fell through etc... needless to say it didn't! He did confirm that it was the one from the shop I'd bought mine though, so it would have been nice to have got it!
Me : “When did you get it”
PSD: “1963, it’s got a couple of dings & I had the machineheads replaced in 1974”.
Me: (without thinking) “Oh no Terry, it’s worth much more than that!”
On reflection I’m glad I didn’t rip him off. He was the sort of guy who if he’d found out would have cut my bollocks off.