Have you a guitar worth more than you paid for it?

maltingsaudio · November 2019

My 2006 Fylde Alchemist offers? ( only joking never going to be sold!)

https://imgur.com/gallery/HqnGwec

ToneControl · November 2019

yes, it's all about refusing to buy when the price is reasonable or expensive

It's a long game though

youngsc · November 2019

The trick is not buying new. I bought both my Fyldes secondhand and both are worth at least double now. Classic cars might beat that but you have the cost of maintenance to add in! In both cases you have the joy of ownership.

artiebear · November 2019

I guess I must be lucky own quite a few. As this is the acoustic section, firstly, there are the instruments that are typically custom builds, top end builders, top materials, at the right time and price, admittedly due to a good relationship with the builder, then there are the Martins I have owned for a long time now.In both of these cases I can recover a better rate of interest on my initial outlay than I can find in any form of FSA covered investment portfolio ( that being said, I make my living out of music, love these instruments and will play them until either my hands give up or the rest of me does ).

Then there are the nice guitars like Collings etc, for example my Collings OM2H Koa, which I bought in 2005, for a decent, but not outrageous price new ( they never have been cheap ) To continue with this particular guitar as an example, Collings don't make too many and acknowledge that the Koa available now is either of lesser grading or just becoming crazily expensive to use without charging a great deal more for in comparison to back in 2005, they tend to go for the high end wood and prices go boom. I was offered a significant amount more than I paid for that guitar around 18 month ago by Collings /Koa aficionado , not as much of a jump as some of the previous group of guitars, but a surprise to me as I have played the heck out of it without considering the jump in prices over recent years.

Then there are guitars like, for example, a custom built Gibson J185, with very figured koa back and sides, bearclaw top, pearl inlays and rare for a Gibson, especially an acoustic, a nice ebony board and bridge. An impulse buy at a good price for a new guitar in the mid noughties. Lovely guitar, play it a lot because it is archetypal Gibson fat thump on a rhythm track, but due to the Koa, and maybe the ebony, has enough snap for finger style stuff. The possible new price now on an item like this would, according to Gibsons modern era pricing suggest something up with the Collings, realistically, we all know that modern Gibson's aren't really rare and apart from being bloody hard to find in that kind of spec., is not going to make me a fortune anytime soon. I would get more than I paid for it, down to the levers of inflation etc. but an investment, not sure in the short term. Like I've said before, I don't care, but it's interesting to think about.

Then there are guitars I really love for various reasons, some with braz r/w / honduras r/w etc, one offs by either lesser known builders, or makers like Lowden, Larrivee, Lakewood etc. which I bought because I couldn't leave the retail shop or the builders workshop without them ( In the case of the latter, possibly relatively higher end prices while disregarding resale, never on my mind tbh, realising that a talented builder should be getting top money regardless of investment value or bragging rights, which screws up too much of the guitar related sales business ) .

The electric side follows a slightly different pattern due to our fickle trends at a particular time ( anyone around to remember the 80's when LP's were admittedly far less ubiquitous than they are today ( don't remember many walls full of LP's then, especially all supposedly from some magical, pixie staffed Custom Shop within the Gibson factory. ) There were Gibsons on the wall because you couldn't give them away. Late 80's/ early 90's things changed.

Without going into that side, one thing I did notice that during the financial crash around 11/12 years ago, there was, for a number of reasons a serious bump in new prices ( not just guitars, a lot of stuff, we were conned in so many ways, and still are being shafted ) which we felt the pain of but carried on buying afterwards. I bought a lot of guitars just prior ( Gibson CS . PRS, Fender CS, ). I got busy and didn't bother looking at gear again for a couple of years, lo and behold, there was a huge spike against pre crash prices, which feels like it has just kept going. In relation to that, if you bought. like I did, before the spike you might argue that, yes your guitars are probably ahead of inflation ( dependant on desirability/brand ) and are a non depreciating pleasure.

I can't think of many things that can be enjoyed, make money, and be something to love, while, unless your a serial short term flipper ( buy new and try to sell 6 months to a year later ! ), these things can still get a) your money back, or b) In my case, at worst "a" , or maybe a couple of quid to go to the pub with before I die. Plus they have, hopefully, served us well to make a few quid.

wrinkleygit · November 2019

‘72 SG std bought in 74 for £250
S/H Strat bought early 80’s taken as a swap for Tascam portastudio
2014 ish 000-28ec £2000
Hopefuly my grandchildren might make a few quid on those

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Have you a guitar worth more than you paid for it?

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