Guitars you've owned that you thought are worth more than the price you paid? Less?

Steven Mal

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When it comes to musical instruments would you say "you get what you pay for," or have you ever owned a piece of equipment, modded or stock, that you thought you got more than what you paid for it? What about a guitar you paid for and thought "this isn't worth what I paid for it." For example, I've noticed some guys say Epiphone or PRS SE guitars are similar or better than Gibson guitars, and other similar comments.
 
my lawsuit strat. Found it at my favourite used gear trading store. This was around 2009 or so from memory... back then where I live, lawsuit stuff wasn't getting near the attention it is these days, so it was priced like the lower end used fenders in the store. I think I paid around 700 AUD, for a 1980 build it was in great condition. Some of the best workmanship I had ever seen (every fret end is a work of art, in fact the whole neck is), and I thought the price was silly for the amount of strat I was buying so I grabbed it. Even later model MIJ fenders I tried didn't quite have the buttery feel in the neck this has. Anyway, they've jumped hundreds in price in the past few years here after everyone started getting on board, so not only did I feel I was picking up a quality instrument for a steal, its value has increased by nearly 50%. It's a keeper though so I have invested in modifying it to my tastes.

+ My new purchase, my SE standard 245. For the money I don't think I had ever played a new guitar that was so good. Really, really great instrument. Feels great, plays great, sounds great, like I keep saying the best praise I can give it is I don't think it will be getting any mods or upgrades (aside from new bridge studs) because I like everything just as it is. Of course, in this case as EveryAxeAGem said if I sold it on I wouldn't gt my money back, but this one is also a keeper, and in regards to the quality of instrument you get for the price, in a relative sense, I feel it was a positive ratio.

I had a Jazz bass built for me around 08 or 09 from an MIJ fender neck and body, and after market hardware. The cost of buying the parts and having a local luthier put it all together, do the fretwork, drilling, wiring, setup etc was still far less than even a Fender standard would have cost, so there to me was another really great instrument for a relative steal.

**Edit the strat pissed me off tonight for the first time in 8 years:

I had to adjust the truss rod. Which, because it is a faithful 60s copy, is a heel joint cross nut deal. Let's just say some design aspects should be dead and buried, not reproduced
 
I'd say my Bernie is worth more than I paid for it. Not that I mean I could get more, but it's WAY more guitar than the price tag would suggest. I've said this before, I went into the store that day intent on buying an LP, Gibby or Epi. The best LP I played that day was the Bernie. Just felt so much better, in every way, than any of the others I touched.
 
I've been lucky (or smart) over the years and haven't overpaid too often. I suppose I don't think the ESP's I used to play were worth the money (even with the hook up) compared to say, an Ibanez.

I'd say my Bernie is worth more than I paid for it. Not that I mean I could get more, but it's WAY more guitar than the price tag would suggest. I've said this before, I went into the store that day intent on buying an LP, Gibby or Epi. The best LP I played that day was the Bernie. Just felt so much better, in every way, than any of the others I touched.


I can't imagine buying a Les Paul these days. I'm glad I got them out of my system before they became as popular and expensive as they are. $2000-4000 for a Les Paul Custom from the 70's? Pfft... No f@ckin' way. My Nick Cantonese is as much guitar as those were, and like $300 used.
 
To me the OP is more about "buyer's remorse" than resale value. I have yet to experience buyers remorse. My first "real" guitar was an Artist Package Cu24. I went from a $100 squire Strat I had fought for years to a more than $3K PRS, and never had the least notion that I paid too much. If you aren't going into debt, and the guitar does what you are willing to pay to get, everyone wins. It is only when you buy something that will not do what you are willing to pay to get, that you feel cheated. The Cu24 does everything I was willing to pay to get, and I enjoy playing it, so no downside.

IMO, in a world of consumer driven economies, there are categories in which we lump ourselves.
1. Unwilling to pay for value.
2. Willing to pay for value.
3. Only willing to pay less than someone else for value.

Those in #1 paid less, but did not get satisfaction and have to live with an inferior product. Many companies cater to these consumers. Whole market segments are built on knowing that certain consumers will not pay for value. These companies are willing to provide just enough to get the wallet open knowing that there are much better produces or services available.
Those in #3 feel that they are better off purchasing at below the market's going rate for value and often end up deceived or spend time and energy looking for the right deal. Counterfeiters and false advertisers prey on these consumers.

#3 is often a byproduct of #1.
#1 is worse than #3.
The only satisfying condition is #2.

Competition strengthens the market. Being unwilling to pay for value weakens it. This doesn't mean that we should always buy the most expensive thing. Competition not highest price strengthens the market. Our job as consumers is to evaluate the market and buy goods or services that satisfy us, and be willing to pay the market's going rate. Being willing to buy an inferior product to save money has a corrosive effect on our own buying power. Being willing to buy value as long as we get it for less than somebody else takes valuable time and might leave us with the uneasy feeling that there could be a better deal out there somewhere. This is also unsatisfying.

I saw great value in the Cu24, I bought it, and it makes me happy when I play it. Yes I could have paid less for another brand or a non artist, but I bought what I wanted. That is why I'm satisfied. We often hear people counsel us to "buy the best guitar you can afford". Wise counsel.
 
Well said AP515. I had a similar path: a few trash guitars for years, finally got an AM Strat, loved it for years. Now I am looking for a different sound/playing style and needed a great humbucking/versatile guitar, so I jumped in with a CU24 Artist. I didn't see the need to waste my time with bad setups, inferior hardware, endless tweaking just to get it to half-way sound good. It took almost 9 months of waiting for my CU24 Artist (just arrived last week) and sure it was expensive, but it is quality and sounds and performs better than I expected (and I expect a lot out of gear when I pay for it). But I guess that is the way I would define value: does it perform, work, look, etc. like what you expect for the money paid. If it does, why waste the little precious time you have on earth worrying if you got a perfect "deal".
 
Well said AP515. I had a similar path: a few trash guitars for years, finally got an AM Strat, loved it for years. Now I am looking for a different sound/playing style and needed a great humbucking/versatile guitar, so I jumped in with a CU24 Artist. I didn't see the need to waste my time with bad setups, inferior hardware, endless tweaking just to get it to half-way sound good. It took almost 9 months of waiting for my CU24 Artist (just arrived last week) and sure it was expensive, but it is quality and sounds and performs better than I expected (and I expect a lot out of gear when I pay for it). But I guess that is the way I would define value: does it perform, work, look, etc. like what you expect for the money paid. If it does, why waste the little precious time you have on earth worrying if you got a perfect "deal".

Congrats on your Cu24! And, welcome to the Forum
 
You get what you pay for, but you'll almost never get back what you put into it. Every once in a while you may get a good deal, or a good flip, but depreciation rules the luxury markets (any guitar at any price is a luxury in that it is not required to live).

I flip a lot of gear, so I look at the value to me as quality time spent + return. If I buy a $1k guitar, play it regularly for 2 years and then sell it for $600, it was essentially $200 per year to rent it. If I really liked it, not a bad deal. If I don't play it, it's a loss.

To AP515's point, I am category 4. Will pay for value, but will pay as little as possible for value. I buy new, but not if I can get used. I look carefully at used deals, and rarely get really shafted by them. Keep in mind that the used market also drives the new market.
 
...To AP515's point, I am category 4. Will pay for value, but will pay as little as possible for value. I buy new, but not if I can get used. .. . Keep in mind that the used market also drives the new market.

There is no difference between the used and the new markets. They follow the same rules. "You get what you pay for". It is true you are not paying retail, so the entry level into the market is lower, but the rules are the same. To buy used you have to give up certain benefits that the new market gives you; lifetime warranty, 30 day return policy, color or model selection, time saved, reputable sales person and location. You also have to navigate the perils of counterfeits and false advertisers. Worth it? Sure, for some (me included as I too buy both), but given up none the less. Some folks only buy new because to them the value to be given up is worth more than the money saved. No shame in that either. In my view you are still in category 2 or maybe 3 depending on how long you look for a piece of used gear you want in order to save money. And you are right about the used market being linked to the new.
 
I agree that you could call me somewhere in between 2 and 3. But I call it 4, as value is not necessarily universal. If I pay for a warrantee or insurance that I am terribly unlikely to take advantage of (how often do you expect a PRS to go back under warrantee?), then it really has little value to me. The fact that a guitar hasn't been played before, so may have a cosmetic issue or three also has little value, in that I will certainly not keep a guitar in pristine condition if I love to play it. So for me, it is very much about paying for what "I" value, not some sort of objective value. I also look at the things that would tend to retain value, rather than hold fleeting value. That new car smell is the most expensive smell in the world...

The perils are real, and we certainly take out chances. But I can also follow a few rules that significantly minimize that risk.
 
I've been lucky so far. I bought a MIJ 1968 reissue and was able to get more on a trade than I paid for it but could have sold it outright for even more. On my blues hawk, i was about even after 10 years of ownership. I think also the market has change the value proposition pretty significantly. Five years ago, if you walked into Guitar Center, there were maybe 6 or 7 PRS'es on the wall which kept the prices higher. Now there are hundreds on reverb and eBay to choose from and prices are beginning to come down. Due to supply and demand, gone are the days of people trying to get what they maid for it or what they had into it.

With all of the supply out there, you can set your value limits on what you will pay. I really want a McCarty and can see that there is really no need to go above $2k to get fine example and some value pieces at lower. It's finding the one i like at the right price.
 
my lawsuit strat. Found it at my favourite used gear trading store. This was around 2009 or so from memory... back then where I live, lawsuit stuff wasn't getting near the attention it is these days, so it was priced like the lower end used fenders in the store. I think I paid around 700 AUD, for a 1980 build it was in great condition. Some of the best workmanship I had ever seen (every fret end is a work of art, in fact the whole neck is), and I thought the price was silly for the amount of strat I was buying so I grabbed it. Even later model MIJ fenders I tried didn't quite have the buttery feel in the neck this has. Anyway, they've jumped hundreds in price in the past few years here after everyone started getting on board, so not only did I feel I was picking up a quality instrument for a steal, its value has increased by nearly 50%. It's a keeper though so I have invested in modifying it to my tastes.

+ My new purchase, my SE standard 245. For the money I don't think I had ever played a new guitar that was so good. Really, really great instrument. Feels great, plays great, sounds great, like I keep saying the best praise I can give it is I don't think it will be getting any mods or upgrades (aside from new bridge studs) because I like everything just as it is. Of course, in this case as EveryAxeAGem said if I sold it on I wouldn't gt my money back, but this one is also a keeper, and in regards to the quality of instrument you get for the price, in a relative sense, I feel it was a positive ratio.

I had a Jazz bass built for me around 08 or 09 from an MIJ fender neck and body, and after market hardware. The cost of buying the parts and having a local luthier put it all together, do the fretwork, drilling, wiring, setup etc was still far less than even a Fender standard would have cost, so there to me was another really great instrument for a relative steal.

**Edit the strat pissed me off tonight for the first time in 8 years:

I had to adjust the truss rod. Which, because it is a faithful 60s copy, is a heel joint cross nut deal. Let's just say some design aspects should be dead and buried, not reproduced

Yeah, I've heard the PRS SE guitars are nice. I had a positive experience trying one out a while ago. I've wanted to purchase an inexpensive instrument to try to teach myself how to swap out pickups and other parts, but that's not why I started this thread.
 
I've been lucky (or smart) over the years and haven't overpaid too often. I suppose I don't think the ESP's I used to play were worth the money (even with the hook up) compared to say, an Ibanez.




I can't imagine buying a Les Paul these days. I'm glad I got them out of my system before they became as popular and expensive as they are. $2000-4000 for a Les Paul Custom from the 70's? Pfft... No f@ckin' way. My Nick Cantonese is as much guitar as those were, and like $300 used.

Which ESP did you play that you didn't like? What could have changed about the guitar that would make you think it was worth the money? Personally, I'd like to demo an ESP USA M-II NTB.
 
To me the OP is more about "buyer's remorse" than resale value. I have yet to experience buyers remorse. My first "real" guitar was an Artist Package Cu24. I went from a $100 squire Strat I had fought for years to a more than $3K PRS, and never had the least notion that I paid too much. If you aren't going into debt, and the guitar does what you are willing to pay to get, everyone wins. It is only when you buy something that will not do what you are willing to pay to get, that you feel cheated. The Cu24 does everything I was willing to pay to get, and I enjoy playing it, so no downside.

IMO, in a world of consumer driven economies, there are categories in which we lump ourselves.
1. Unwilling to pay for value.
2. Willing to pay for value.
3. Only willing to pay less than someone else for value.

Those in #1 paid less, but did not get satisfaction and have to live with an inferior product. Many companies cater to these consumers. Whole market segments are built on knowing that certain consumers will not pay for value. These companies are willing to provide just enough to get the wallet open knowing that there are much better produces or services available.
Those in #3 feel that they are better off purchasing at below the market's going rate for value and often end up deceived or spend time and energy looking for the right deal. Counterfeiters and false advertisers prey on these consumers.

#3 is often a byproduct of #1.
#1 is worse than #3.
The only satisfying condition is #2.

Competition strengthens the market. Being unwilling to pay for value weakens it. This doesn't mean that we should always buy the most expensive thing. Competition not highest price strengthens the market. Our job as consumers is to evaluate the market and buy goods or services that satisfy us, and be willing to pay the market's going rate. Being willing to buy an inferior product to save money has a corrosive effect on our own buying power. Being willing to buy value as long as we get it for less than somebody else takes valuable time and might leave us with the uneasy feeling that there could be a better deal out there somewhere. This is also unsatisfying.

I saw great value in the Cu24, I bought it, and it makes me happy when I play it. Yes I could have paid less for another brand or a non artist, but I bought what I wanted. That is why I'm satisfied. We often hear people counsel us to "buy the best guitar you can afford". Wise counsel.

That's a very intelligent answer! Did you study business in college? I agree with you. I'm willing to pay for quality. It's worth your money in the long run to spend more to save yourself headaches from lesser quality products, or worse, having to replace them. I've wanted a CU24; I'm sure they're wonderful.
 
Which ESP did you play that you didn't like? What could have changed about the guitar that would make you think it was worth the money? Personally, I'd like to demo an ESP USA M-II NTB.

It's not that I didn't like 'em.. Just that they were kinda pricey (comparably) in the 90's.
 
The more satisfying/inspiring an instrument is to own and use, the greater its value.

The more one uses an instrument and creates on it, the more valuable it becomes to the player. Play the most satisfying and inspiring instrument, and you'll find it priceless.

It's amusing that most of us will readily accept the idea of dropping X dollars on computers and mobile phones that, regardless of price, will be useless doorstops within a few short years, but worry hard about the price of an instrument that will last a lifetime and give back to its owner every time it's played.
 
The more one uses an instrument and creates on it, the more valuable it becomes to the player. Play the most satisfying and inspiring instrument, and you'll find it priceless.
Well said. I was just about to express much the same thought.

At the time I bought any of my guitars, I always felt I paid a fair price - not based on market, but on the value to me.
Some of my guitars have become special enough to me that I wouldn't sell them even if offered significantly more than what I originally paid. In most cases, I'm sure the market would not value them as highly as I do.
 
It's amusing that most of us will readily accept the idea of dropping X dollars on computers and mobile phones that, regardless of price, will be useless doorstops within a few short years, but worry hard about the price of an instrument that will last a lifetime and give back to its owner every time it's played.

Agreed, BUT...

I think that behind that "price consciousness" is the fear that the instrument will not pan out to be that magical beast we all hope for. Or that we will not stay bonded to it and flip it in a couple years no matter how much we like it out of the box. If bigger price = more pleasure, we'd all buy one really expensive guitar and be done. I've had guitars over a wide price range, up to $11k, and I've been happiest with stuff in the $1k-$4k range. My current mad loves are a Nash T57 and a PRS SC. I fell hard for my Anderson Mongrel out of the box, but these days it's a comfortable and practical instrument, not as inspirational as I'd hoped.
 
It's amusing that most of us will readily accept the idea of dropping X dollars on computers and mobile phones that, regardless of price, will be useless doorstops within a few short years, but worry hard about the price of an instrument that will last a lifetime and give back to its owner every time it's played.

Totally. I've spent more on bricks in the last 5 years than I've spent on guitars in the last twenty.


Some of my guitars have become special enough to me that I wouldn't sell them even if offered significantly more than what I originally paid. In most cases, I'm sure the market would not value them as highly as I do.


Right on.

Agreed, BUT...

I think that behind that "price consciousness" is the fear that the instrument will not pan out to be that magical beast we all hope for. Or that we will not stay bonded to it and flip it in a couple years no matter how much we like it out of the box. If bigger price = more pleasure, we'd all buy one really expensive guitar and be done. I've had guitars over a wide price range, up to $11k, and I've been happiest with stuff in the $1k-$4k range. My current mad loves are a Nash T57 and a PRS SC. I fell hard for my Anderson Mongrel out of the box, but these days it's a comfortable and practical instrument, not as inspirational as I'd hoped.


Yeah, there is that fear. After every guitar I purchase there's an immediate "Oh, God. What have I done?" feeling like, "Why can't I just play a Mexi Strat and get over myself?" :p

But then it goes away and I wind up like veinbuster to where you couldn't buy my guitars off of me if you tried.
 
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