CU 22 w/ after market pickups, tone and volume dials. What's the value lost?

[enigma]

I'm looking to purchase a very nice, used CU22 10-top w/ birds. But, the owner does not have the Eagle Hang Tag, original pickups and volume and tone dials. How much does this de-value this guitar? It's loaded with after-market parts and pickups. How much discount is appropriate?

 

[John Beef]

Dragon 2s are fine pickups but they're not for everyone, and they don't sell for a premium the way 57/08s or 59/09s or DGTs do, so IMHO there isn't a huge drop in value losing those as long as the replacement pickups are of similar value - Duncan, Dimarzio, etc. As far as volume pots, as long as they're good quality (CTS or Bournes) once again there shouldn't be a huge drop in value. But some people are turned off by modifications so if you're turned off by it, maybe it devalues it for you.

 

[Egads]

Do you know what is in the guitar now? We're the pots changed, or just the knobs? How old is it?

For Sergio: is it blue?

 

[andy474x]

IMO, not stock takes away from resale value unless the mods are undisputed upgrades, which on a nice PRS, I dont think there are any. Once someone starts "personalizing" a guitar, it loses value to everyone else... or the market for resale (people who want exactly those mods) shrinks considerably, whichever way you want to think about it.

 

[John Beef]

I can understand someone wanting a factory stock guitar, but basic things like pickups changed out seem somewhat irrelevant. When I bought my baritone it had Duncan Blackouts in it, which are 100% NOT my thing at all, but I saw that as an asset, mainly because I could pull them out and sell them and install something else more to my liking at zero extra dollars invested. In fact, in that case I think I already had a set of pickups kicking around so I sold the blackouts and that reduced the overall cash outlay by $150 or whatever it was, reduces my overall investment in the guitar from $400 to only $250.

 

[Whitecat]

I'm not sure there is a such thing as "undisputed" upgrades. One man's upgrade is another man's downgrade, after all. Closer to stock = higher resale. It's been that way across every brand and every model across all time.