The PTC, customization, and guitar values---

[tonyvenn]

Hello folks....

Let me start by saying I friggin LOVE my PRSi and the PTC especially.

I can afford "Private Stock" stuff, but the PTC allows me to tweak out my guitars to exactly how I want them.

I'm pretty conservative, so it's nothing crazy like "purple pink day glow burst" with cowabunga wood for the top, blah blah...but it got me to thinking....

Vintage guitars are usually highly praised and valued when they're totally stock. PRS is the next generation of classic guitar builders. But, I wonder after the 85 vintage yellow CU24, what, if any, PRS' become valuable?

I'm not asking like "which one should I buy?" But more of an observation of PRS customization and variations. I'll use a term from the toy-collecting world---"kit bashing"....where you take the original model and mod it right out.

Whenever I buy a PRS, I know it's going to play beautifully so I immediately think "how can I PTC this?"

I highly doubt a person buying a Flounder reissue crapocaster or Glibson reissue less paul would ever dream of doing anything to deviate from how it came in the box.

But PRS is different?

Each one is amazing--but they seem to lend themselves to endless customization to the player. To truly match and bond with the owner. Y'know?

So while I love that...lets fast forward 20 years. How will total personalization affect collectability, speculation and the sometimes seedy world the guitar buying secondary market??

Opinions??

Tony


PS---a very public THANK YOU to Matt and the folks in the PTC that help me make my PRSi all "mine"!

 

[kingsleyd]

I think worrying about what might be the case 20 years down the road -- with respect to current-era guitars, anyway -- is a fool's errand.

I also think making an off-the-shelf guitar a little more perfect for you is always worth doing for its own sake.

With respect to those G----- Hysteric Less Pols, you have no idea what kind of aftermarket there is for making those things a little more right, it would appear. People drop a whole lotta cash on things that would seem utterly trivial to the uninitiated, all in an effort to make them a little more like their 1958-60 forbears. There are several aftermarket companies which specialize in that, since G----- doesn't appear interested in the post-sale market.

 

[aristotle]

I think that Kingsley is right as usual....

It sounds like your question was more academic though since it doesn't seem like you are going to stop customizing your guitars in any case.... My opinion is that the guitars of today are not likely to increase in real value regardless of the manufacturer. Vintage Bursts had a production run of only 3 years, after which they were used to make iconic music for the next 30 years. Most vintage guitars of that period aren't particularly valuable, and they are considered to have done well if they kept up with inflation. As nice as PRS guitars are, there are a lot of them out there, they all sound great, and unless there are a bunch of iconic musicians who all end up using...say... DC Teds.... (or any other limited and recognizable run) to make recordings that span generations we aren't likely to see the Burst phenomenon again (with guitars at least...maybe something else....)

 

[Screamingdaisy]

I think worrying about what might be the case 20 years down the road -- with respect to current-era guitars, anyway -- is a fool's errand.

If the next Kurt Cobain picks up a PRS, we'll all be laughing... at least you will be if you happen to have the same model and colour.

If he picks up some other guitar, someone else will be laughing.

(see: Jack White & Airline guitars)

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I think there are certain things that won't affect value negatively -- tone woods, scale lengths, solid or semi-hollow-ness, etc. -- but I think there are choices that will impact value negatively -- skipping on the bridge or the neck pickup, eschewing the tone control, etc. There will still be a market for it, it'll just be a smaller market.

That's assuming we're not Mad Max post-apocalyptic by then. No fossil fuels, no fusion power, no electricity.

 

[vchizzle]

Aside from 1st year(or 2) PRS and maybe some anniversary models, it probably doesn't affect things much. If it's a PTC mod, that's obviously better in people's eyes. With all mods, the "value" is really determined by the buyer if the guitar is sold. I suppose all original is most collectible, but if you're not selling, it doesn't much matter. So, like you, I am a big fan of making it yours. Do whatever to make the guitar better for YOU. That will just make the guitar more enjoyable.

 

[Faded]

Rock and Roll and the instruments used to create it will never again reach the prominence of the 60's-90's. To use a more common phrase "Rock is dead". Particularly as the dominant force in social and cultural identity. Society has become stratified and the importance of these instruments in people's lives has diminished. As that market has shrunk so too will the value of newer instruments over time. I wouldn't worry about the value of your PRSi as beyond a few select models that only matter to a handful of collectors you'll be lucky to get what you paid for them or slightly more with inflation in 20 years. New production guitars value is in their use, not their storage.

In 50 years we'll all be clamoring over vintage pro tools and a ableton plug ins...time marches on.

 

[andy474x]

Like Vaughn said, aside from 85's, and maybe some of the limited more rare guitars (alder CE's come to mind due to recent forum happenings), and of course Dragons, etc., I don't think being totally stock changes value. Especially if the potential buyer sees value in the mods, for example swapping Dragon II's out for a set of 59/09's in an older CU22 would probably add value for many players.

I think PRS values have a lot to do with the fact that PRS is constantly making significant improvements in their guitars. In my eyes, they're making the best stuff they've ever made right now, and will continue to improve. So you don't have to worry about most PRSi being some kind of holy grail in 30 years.

 

[CVS]

I hate to say this, but most guitars will lose value as time marches on. As other have pointed out, unless your guitar is considered "rare" by the marketplace or to have some very unique attribute that is hard to find in the market, the value of the guitar will most likely go down with the passage of time. Also as Andy points out, future innovation can effect older guitars' value as well.

If I go the custom route, it will be only because I think that the customization that I do will increase the amount of joy I get from playing the instrument. I know others think differently than I do.