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Help me spend $4K


docjeffrey

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I've been saving my overtime pay for gear since last November and I have a nice check coming for around $6500. I figure that after taxes, it will net me about $5 grand. I have two guitars that need new frets so I'm putting aside $1000 for that (is that enough?).

 

I'm open to just about anything except for boutique instruments with weird bodies or funky scale lengths. I have really nice Strats, LP's, ES335/339, Ricks, Gretsches, and two PRS's. Initial considerations: Gretsch with Dynasonics, PRS single cut, Custom Shop SG, possibly a Gibson or Martin Dreadnaught with Adirondack Spruce. I still don't have an R9, so maybe a used one. Any ideas--maybe I've missed something cool.

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If I had the $$$, and wasn't looking at other expenses or investments, I'd look at a nice PRS, Gretsch or a Martin.  Although BG76 makes a good point: why not save the $$$ for something really nice next year?

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ajympt wrote:

Just have something built - its way more fun to pick out what you want than just buy off the shelf.

If you really want to buy a guitar with the money, I'd go this route.  There are so many great builders out there, spend 6 months figuring out exactly what it is you want - woods, pickups, neck profile, bridge type, etc - then go to Suhr, Carvin or one of the hundreds of other custom builders (or Warmoth) and get something built that's your dream guitar.  You've already got a lot of guitars, but it's not every day you have that much cash to afford exactly what you want.  The trick is figuring out exactly what it is you want. ;)

I'd check out the online Suhr Configurator at RocketMusic.net - they're a great dealer, and you can check out pricing on any custom build.

You might also want to pick up an amp you've always wanted, or a high-end modeller like the Axe FX 2 or Kemper.

You might also want to set aside a chunk of money for lessons with a good teacher.  A few years ago I took some cash out of my gear fund for a month or two of lessons with a really good teacher - Berkley grad - and it was totally worth it.

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You may be able to find a decent Martin for $4000 but you'll probably end up with a 70s one and honestly I would rather have a new one then one of those. Not bad guitars, but certainly not a high point in Martin's history. You may be able to find a repaired mahogany (18, 17) one or one that needs a refret and/or a neck reset for $4000. I don't know.

 

I have a newer D-41 and it's a pretty nice guitar. I think you can get one for about $4000, probably less if you shop around. I bought it because I always liked the way they look and didn't want to shell out big bucks for an original (not to mention they're hard to find). They have some newer models I would take over the non-Brazilian old ones.

 

Over the past couple years I have just tried to bank money when there wasn't something I desperatly wanted. If I had to come on a forum to ask what I should spend $100 or $4000 on I probably don't need it that bad. Throw that money in the bank/into a fund a few times older and you end up with 4 or 5 times that amount then when something you REALLY want comes along you can buy it and really, really enjoy it. There's nothing quite like buying something you have always wanted and it took a while to find/buy. Plus times are tough for a lot of people and you never know what kind of deal will pop up if you have the cash to jump on it. I'm just more about finding stuff I will love and less about instant gratification. YMMV.

The 41 looks cool

 

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But the Brazilian models are where it's at!

 

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If I wanted to spend the whole thing (and then some) I'd get an Ian Anderson Standard.  Otherwise, I'd get a Nik Huber Krauster or a Fano Alt de Facto model.  I would not care about guitar as investment; and I'm an Accountant and Financial Analyst ...

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Agree. If you're worried about your guitars as investments there are a few rules to follow:

1- Don't buy anything new or anything with the "collectable" factor as a selling point - like the ads from Gibson/Fender that used to say something like if you bought this new in 1959 it would be worth a ton and now you can buy an identical limited one for an inflated price.

 

2- Buy models that are historically valuable. Something like a Brazilian Martin, 50s 6120, Pre-CBS Strat, Burst, etc... are as valuable on the antique/Americana market as they are on the guitar market. An all original unmodified example is a pretty solid investment providing you can hold it long term and buy it for a reasonable price.

3- Don't buy a guitar expecting to make a profit. If you want a guaranteed profit there are safer investments and selling a high end guitar can take some time. There are not a ton of people with the funds to buy a 5 or 6 figure guitar at a moment's notice. When you buy an antique car, piece of furniture, guitar or painting you should BUY WHAT YOU LIKE so that you can enjoy it for a lifetime. On the other hand, a friend of mine did a calculation a while back and figured out that an original LP Standard would pretty much be worth its weight in gold had you invested the purchase price in gold when it was new (I don't know if this is still true as gold fluctuates).

There are some cool guitars you can buy for $4000 - $5000. If I were looking for a serious investment I would keep saving and buy something like an old Strat/Tele, etc... as they're already a solid collectable but for that money maybe he could find a nice amp or one of the modern "collectable" guitars.

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I would be curious to know who is doing your neck resets if you need them every few years. Martin guitars generally need a neck reset after a while, but luckily they're made to come apart and they're fairly simple to reset when compared to other brands (especially Guild!).

I generally don't do any work on my acoustics because I'm friendly with a guy who has been building acoustic guitars since the early 60s (he has built for David Bromberg, James Taylor and a bunch of the well known folkies) and I'm willing to pay for his experience on my more valuable things. He rebuilt a Kel that I picked up really cheap and sold for close to $50,000 a couple years back and did an amazing job. Right now I have a 1929 Nick Lucas in similar condition being redone.

At any rate, I have had a couple neck resets done by him and have never had a problem. My dad has a beautiful old OOO-21 from the 40s that this guy reset in (I'm guessing) 1971 or 72 and it has never had a problem.

What year is the Martin you have? From what your saying I would guess it's from one of the less desirable years.

I can see where you're coming from. If my budget was $4000-$5000 I would definitly not be looking to pick up any vintage pieces.

 

The Murphy Les Pauls are pretty cool but out of his budget for sure. That one is about $7000 USD. That's why I said I would save up and get something really special.

 

One thing to remember is if you bought something for X dollars 15 years ago and now it's worth Y it doesn't mean it has appreciated in value, it may have simply kept up with inflation. That's where a lot of "collectors" lose their shirts because that money could have done better in something with historical value (or a traditional investment). If you had bought a Burst when they were going nuts in the mid 90s your $25,000 investment would have paid off pretty well.

As for spending 5 figures on a guitar I always tell people add up what you paid for what you have and figure what the return would have been if you had bought less guitars for more money. I never really bought many guitars for investment purposes but it's nice when you go and sell things and make 5 or 6 times what you paid.

 

Best of luck!

 

 

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kayd_mon wrote:

 

If I was going to spend aroumd $3k on a guitar, I imagine I'd get a fancy 335.

 

You're like I am...  Actually, the ideas like Hamer and Duesenberg are excellent, and I would consider them for sure.  If you really dig a good Gibson semi-hollow as I do, then a newer 335/345/355 is a great idea, as Gibson seems to be nailing these models consistently well, based both on videos I've seen from Wildwood, Grigor Hilden, etc, and, more importantly, from the 2011 ES-345 that I own (purchased  a demo model for well under $3000, with dealer warranty in lieu of Gibson's).

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