Can you help me put a price on this McCarty Soapbar Trem?

Molly

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Jun 22, 2013
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Going to thin the herd but struggling to put a price on my '98 McCarty Soapbar Trem. With just 12 or 13 made it's quite a rarity but that's not the same thing as being desirable I guess. If you don't mind, could you give me any idea what I should be asking for it? Save for a single, tiny chip it's 'as new'. All original with tags / case etc.

Thanks guys.

Molly.

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Hi Molly, that's a really sweet McCarty! I am not familiar with that particular limited run, but Dave's Guitars has/had quite a few similar McCarty Korina models they sell as used. Perhaps their pricing could give you some guidance.
Discussion of pricing here on the forum is frowned upon, so I won't list what Dave's usually sells them for. Perhaps someone with more direct knowledge can send you a PM.
 
Man I like that guitar! Pushes a lot of buttons for me. :)

But to your question. It looks like a McCarty Standard Soapbar in Vintage Cherry. Looks like an S2 trem bar instead of the original. If it were the same guitar but without the trem, I'm guessing it would be about $1200ish based on what I see floating around the used market. Now for the trem. I do see very few McCarty trems out there, but how do you know there were only a dozen or so made? I think the trem could be ordered for a few years as an option, but I may be wrong. IMO, it only adds to the price of the guitar if someone is willing to pay more for it. For example, I'd be willing to pay a little more to get a trem model instead of a stoptail, but not really because it's rarer. As an opposite example, some would not want to pay a premium for anything without the maple cap and without birds. So it comes down to finding the right buyer in order to get the premium.

But what do I know...:rolleyes:
 
It’s a very cool guitar, regardless of how many were made. Nice piece of mahogany it appears, the trem is indeed fairly unusual for a McCarty, and personally, I think moon inlays are awesome.

If I hadn’t bought a 594 Soapbar last fall, I’d be on it. I don’t think you’ll have trouble selling it.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Hadn't appreciated the question might be frowned upon so apologies if that's the case.

By the way, I bought this 'new old stock' just a couple of years ago. It was one of two - the other non-trem - that'd seemingly been in storage for years.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Hadn't appreciated the question might be frowned upon so apologies if that's the case.

By the way, I bought this 'new old stock' just a couple of years ago. It was one of two - the other non-trem - that'd seemingly been in storage for years.

I think it’s OK to talk prices for used guitars, actually. Very cool that you got it NOS. I think it’s a very desirable guitar for the right buyer; the McCarty Standard is in and of itself not very common, and coupled with the trem, the soapbars, the good condition, and the winged tuners? Super-nice.

Super, super-nice. :)
 
Hmm... that is rare, and super cool! If it's in great condition, I wouldn't hesitate to list it for around $1800, although I don't keep a close eye on used prices, so take with a grain of salt.

Being such an odd guitar, if you list low, I'm sure someone will scoop it up just for kicks. If you list on the high side, it may take a lot longer, but you could find someone that wants that specific feature set, and is willing to pay.

Thanks for sharing!
 
Don’t listen to these guys - they’re trying to set you up for their own benefit.

The way to get the best return in the guitar is to ship it to Brian’s Guitars and have him evaluate it. Make sure - and this is important - you include the code FORALANSNEXTPSBUILD in the letter you include. So you gets the best deal!

Very cool guitar - not a ton of two P90 trem PRSi floating around.
 
I think it’s OK to talk prices for used guitars, actually.
From what I gather, used pricing on currently available models is a no-no, but used pricing on out-of-production models is OK, since there is no "MAP" to compete with.

I would say somewhere between $1800 and $2200 might be what I would pay for such a model, if I was in the market. The standards with moons instead of birds might knock down the price a bit, but the trem adds back in even more.

There is a McCarty soapbar trem 10-top (so maple cap) with moons listed on Reverb right now for ~$2900 with shipping. Seller should probably expect at most about $2700, probably closer to $2600. Maple caps and 10 tops might add $800.

Birds are usually a difference of $300 to $500, though that isn't relevant.

I paid a whole lot less for my McCarty soapie Korina with Brazilian FB (with birds), no trem (just wrap-around stop tail), but I suspect that guitar is now worth a fair bit more than I paid, based on recent comparable Reverb listings.
 
From what I gather, used pricing on currently available models is a no-no, but used pricing on out-of-production models is OK, since there is no "MAP" to compete with.

I would say somewhere between $1800 and $2200 might be what I would pay for such a model, if I was in the market. The standards with moons instead of birds might knock down the price a bit, but the trem adds back in even more.

There is a McCarty soapbar trem 10-top (so maple cap) with moons listed on Reverb right now for ~$2900 with shipping. Seller should probably expect at most about $2700, probably closer to $2600. Maple caps and 10 tops might add $800.

Birds are usually a difference of $300 to $500, though that isn't relevant.

I paid a whole lot less for my McCarty soapie Korina with Brazilian FB (with birds), no trem (just wrap-around stop tail), but I suspect that guitar is now worth a fair bit more than I paid, based on recent comparable Reverb listings.

Your guitar was worth more than what Dave’s was blowing them out for!
 
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