Is it worth investing in expensive guitars?

[Surrealistic]

 

The problem I have is not with the cheap guitars in and of themselves...I own some that I like a lot....it's when the cheap crowd try to convince me there is no difference between a low end guitar and a high quality one. No set up in the WORLD is going to make my 150 dollar Aria Strat ever play as well as my high end Seymour Duncan strat. And while I can play all the same stuff on both, the Seymour Duncan is far more enjoyable to play in every conceivable way. It's simply just a better guitar.

I think part of the problem is that whilst it's true that a high end guitar is usually better in both sound and playability, those two attributes aren't the only reason you're paying a premium. Some of your extra money is going on things like bindings, inlays and figured tops. None of those contribute to sound or playability; they just look nice. Don't get me wrong, it's great to have something that looks nice, but it's a minor benefit in comparison to sound and playability. In some cases your extra money is also going on owning something that is seen as a premium brand. Again, nothing wrong with that - premium brands (for the most part) earned the right to charge more by making exceptional instruments. Then if you really want to spend big money on top of that you can buy a vintage instrument where something like 99% of what you're paying is going on none of the above - just the collectibility/rarity of the thing.

 

So, in other words it's never as simple as "more expensive" = "better instrument".

[soundcreation]

 

I think part of the problem is that whilst it's true that a high end guitar is usually better in both sound and playability, those two attributes aren't the only reason you're paying a premium. Some of your extra money is going on things like bindings, inlays and figured tops. None of those contribute to sound or playability; they just look nice. Don't get me wrong, it's great to have something that looks nice, but it's a minor benefit in comparison to sound and playability. In some cases your extra money is also going on owning something that is seen as a premium brand. Again, nothing wrong with that - premium brands (for the most part) earned the right to charge more by making exceptional instruments. Then if you really want to spend big money on top of that you can buy a vintage instrument where something like 99% of what you're paying is going on none of the above - just the collectibility/rarity of the thing. So, in other words it's never as simple as "more expensive" = "better instrument".

 

 

And I never said it was. In one of my first posts I said quality generally follow price. Key word...generally. And I think that is true. Yes there are exceptions, but not that many.

 

I think it depends on the company. There are many factors in the price. Cosmetics can be one. Marketing budgets for certain companies can be another. But for many of the companies I choose to buy from you are paying for the fact they are not made in a third world country and their workers are paid better. You are paying for them to hand select the best pieces of wood, tone tap them to make sure they are resonant and not dead scraps. You are paying for hours of hand sanding and finishing. You are paying them to basically make sure every guitar they release is the best guitar it can be. Attention to detail. Making sure nothing is missed. No flaw accepted. Of any sort.

 

That kind of guitar...the kind that feel absolutely alive and resonant in your hands, where notes just seem to jump off every part of the fret board; where the whole thing feels like it's a "system" working together....is what I consider a great quality guitar. And all guitars fit on a sliding scale of quality beneath those types of guitar. And you can tell as soon as you play one where it fits in comparison to all the others you've played.

 

I'm sure even the cheap lovers here have some guitars they feel are better than others. ie they rank their own guitars or ones they've played in terms of "better". So if it's possible for two mexican strats for example, to be better or worse than one another how come they can't see that scale sliding higher? It kind of makes me laugh when some people say.."At X number of dollars there is no difference". Why? Why could there be noticeable differences between a 99 dollar guitar and a 700 dollar guitar but not between a 700 dollar guitar and a 2000 dollar guitar? It's not my problem if someone else can't tell the difference. I can.

[mistersully]

each to their own... it's really that simple... there's no right or wrong in any of this... it only gets ugly when we try to push what we prefer onto others

 

for some it's about the bare minimum to get the job done... for others it's about more than that

 

it's all good

[jaeger82]

Invest in silver and gold bullion , not guitars.

 

Not good investments... Just good securities.

[Surrealistic]

 

And I never said it was. In one of my first posts I said quality generally follow price. Key word...generally. And I think that is true. Yes there are exceptions, but not that many ... Why could there be noticeable differences between a 99 dollar guitar and a 700 dollar guitar but not between a 700 dollar guitar and a 2000 dollar guitar? It's not my problem if someone else can't tell the difference. I can.

Although yours was the post I quoted, my post wasn't intended as a go at you soundcreation. Sorry if it came over that way.

 

I agree with a lot of what youi're saying here. For example, I love my Gretsch Electromatic 5124 and for the price I paid, it represents amazingly good value, but I know it's not quite up there with the top-of-the-range Gretsches. It's almost there but, sure, there's a difference.

 

On the other hand, an electric guitar isn't really a complicated thing (acoustics are a different matter altogether) and I think there's no reason you can't have a flawless top-quality instrument for somewhere around $1000, perhaps less. Not saying there necessarily IS such a beast but I'm sure it's possible.

[soundcreation]

 

Although yours was the post I quoted, my post wasn't intended as a go at you soundcreation . Sorry if it came over that way. I agree with a lot of what youi're saying here. For example, I love my Gretsch Electromatic 5124 and for the price I paid, it represents amazingly good value, but I know it's not quite up there with the top-of-the-range Gretsches. It's almost there but, sure, there's a difference. On the other hand, an electric guitar isn't really a complicated thing (acoustics are a different matter altogether) and I think there's no reason you can't have a flawless top-quality instrument for somewhere around $1000, perhaps less. Not saying there necessarily IS such a beast but I'm sure it's possible.

 

 

Oh no don't worry...I didn't take it that way at all. Sorry if I worded that first sentence a little edgy. The rest was just trying to clarify my position. But as Mistersully so rightly put it...each to their own. I guess I just think that it's usually the cheap crowd throwing the first shots here.....I can only think of a couple of people in my time at HCEG who used their high end gear to belittle guys with cheaper stuff.

 

I'm sure it's possible too. I wouldn't call my carvin perfect but it's damn good for around the 1000 dollar range. One of my favorite Japanese brands Bacchus, hover around a grand for their MIJ models and the one's I tried were easily at the custom shop level of the big two.

[maltomario]

I like things like quality hardware, premium tonewoods, nice paint, binding and figured tops. prefer and try to buy only made in usa. unfortunately these things come at a price. a guitar is a guitar but at some point they become more than just a sum of parts and become functional art.

I keep buying guitars because i enjoy playing them and can afford to. My IRA and 401k have sucked so its nice to diversify. most of mine are considered "expensive" but i have a few cheapies which i bought knowing full well they are not investment grade instruments. I think if you buy smartly, guitars can be good investments. i could cite some personal examples if anyone is interested.

 

In summary: i love guitars!

[tiltsta]

If you think a $400-800 dollar guitar fits your needs, go and buy one and enjoy it. If you feel the higher end price models are noticeably better, spend the extra money and enjoy. I wouldn't consider any instrument an investment. It seems we have this same type of post almost every week. They usually derail into car, fine wine, or watch comparisons...none of which are really relevant to guitars. Bottom line, buy what you want/need and ignore the price tags. Maybe even better, if you dig the mid priced stuff, BUY TWO to make it the same cost as the high end model.

[DavidMgT]

no, but it is certainly worth buying expensive guitars to play them.

[Ralph onion]

Yes! If it is a Martin, Gibson, or Fender, or a Rick.

[GreatDane]

 

no, but it is certainly worth buying expensive guitars to play them.

 

 

+1

[SteinbergerHack]

 

2. With the ability to use EQ, modelers and and endless array of effects, you can make a plywood Chinese single coil sound like a '59 Les Paul. (I agree the difference in things like wood's affect on tone, etc. is much more pronounced if you are playing acoustic guitar, or playing as clean as possible with nothing in your signal chain, or perhaps playing completely solo guitar pieces.)

 

 

Sorry, but I have to diagree strongly with this statement. While I think the difference between a very decent midrange guitar and a $5K+ "high end" guitar are not terribly pronounced, there is just no way that a crappy $100 Chinese knockoff with underwound single-coils is going to sound like a Custom Shop Les Paul or PRS. The resonance and sustain just aren't going to be there, and no amount of arguing will make it so.

 

Now, if you want to suggest that many $500 Epis can keep up with their $5000+ brethren in all but the most critical listening, I'll marginally agree.

 

Speaking for myself, I have a decent collection of solidbody electrics. The two that have the best tone are on opposite ends of the original cost spectrum - one is a Custom Shop LP (R0), and one is a Japanese "superstrat" from around 1980 that was about $500 new. More money above the midrange doesn't necessarily equate to "better"in terms of functionality, but you have to get into the realm of decent instruments before that principle starts to take hold.

[esphil]

 

you think your guitars are going to appreciate? Good luck with that.

 

 

Gold will eventually not hold much value either

[PrawnHeed]

My god is better than your god

[scuzzo]

no... meaning, i have no doubt in the world that a decent player will be able to get to the same tones on a MIA or even an MIM with a proper pup change.. that he would be able to on a vintage fender strat..

but the price of one vs the other is just silly.. one is to collect one is to play.. but take it a bit less extreme.. say a custom shop MIA vs a Any strat-olike.. im pretty sure you can take any Blank o caster and given the same pups and a good fret dressing on the neck.. it will have the same golden toneage as that Custom shop wonder machine.. i have seen it happen.. i know cats who just slay with simple mim fenders.. and i know folks despite having a custom shop... just cant get there... spend what you like... buy what you wish but in the end ... its just a guitar... wood some paint, mag bits.. and wires and stuff... its pretty easy to get all that stuff right with out having to fork over huge cash...

 

at least thats my findings...

 

jmho

[Muddslide]

 

there is just no way that a crappy $100 Chinese knockoff with underwound single-coils is going to sound like a Custom Shop Les Paul or PRS. The resonance and sustain just aren't going to be there, and no amount of arguing will make it so.

 

 

Which is why I made the mention of EQ, modelers and effects pedals.

[RaVenCAD]

 

Which is why I made the mention of EQ, modelers and effects pedals.

 

 

Regardless of the sound-on-tape, if the $100 plywood guitar feels and plays like a cheap piece of {censored}, then it is not a guitar I'd want to own. If it sounded identical to a $150,000 Les Paul, it's still be a waste of my time if I wasn't enjoying playing it. There is more to a guitar than just how it sounds.

[BydoEmpire]

Buy the guitar that speaks to you and you really enjoy playing. Nobody but you can justify whether it's "worth it" for you - how much do you play, what other financial commitments do you have, etc. There are great cheap guitars out there to be sure, but I've played some really nice guitars ($5 Suhrs, for example) and they can be leagues above. Being expensive doesn't make it good or make it the right guitar for you, but it was an eye (and ear) opener to play something so incredible. It's not just about tone, it's about feel and expressiveness, too. The most important thing, IMHO, is to try our LOTS of guitars to find what you really want.

 

If you mean "invest" as in you buy it to make money, then I'd say no. They'll never pay you to own them, unlike, say real estate. There's no guarantee their value will even keep up with inflation, and if it does, they're only worth anything if you can find a buyer. I've been trying to sell a really nice National Tricone for a year now and it's hard to find a buyer, unless I was willing to let it go for half what it cost. There are lots of cheap resonators out there now, so competition is fierce. Who knows if by the time you want to sell your Expensive Guitar X if other market forces or products will make it take a dive in value.

[mymindsok]

Buy the guitar that speaks to you and you really enjoy playing. Nobody but you can justify whether it's "worth it" for you - how much do you play, what other financial commitments do you have, etc. SNIP... SNIP.... I've been trying to sell a really nice National Tricone for a year now and it's hard to find a buyer, unless I was willing to let it go for half what it cost. There are lots of cheap resonators out there now, so competition is fierce. Who knows if by the time you want to sell your Expensive Guitar X if other market forces or products will make it take a dive in value.

 

And there you go...

 

Matt Uminov in NYC offered me $10K for my National until the the guitars went back into production but the month the new ones hit the stores, the Vintage instruments dropped 50% or more in value. Want to know whos worried right now? All of those rich Yuppie guitar players with a half dozen 59 Les Paul's hanging on the walls of their 6,000 square foot houses! Can't sell the house and can't sell the axes. Oh.... The horror...

 

Most "expensive" guitars are simply low-priced luxury goods and as such are lousy investments. In a failing economy, the only thing that is worth anything is cash, food or sex and usually in that order.

[benzem]

[video=youtube;CMNry4PE93Y]

[Angry Tele]

Squier CVC!

[straycat113]

I never thought of resale value on a guitar for over 30 years. I dont know how everyones train of thinking is but as a young teen in the mid 70s all my guitars were under a hundred dollar Tele and Strat knock offs. To be honest I would of loved to have been able to have seen Fender on the headstock, but the bottom line was I had a guitar to play and that was all that mattered. Then as you get older and can afford better gear you get it. I have never spent insane prices for an instrument and even in my 40s my best guitars were around the 2K range, as I honestly feel that you can buy all the guitar you will ever need in the 2-3 grand bracket-tops. After that it is just company gimmicks like Limited Editions, Cosmetics, Artist Series and all the other nonsense.

 

Anyone who believes they are going to buy an off the rack guitar today that will shoot up in price is going to be sadly mistaken, as the market is flooded. The good news is you can go buy a Fender Strat as an example for a grand that will play and sound like a dream.For those who want to put out huge chunks of scratch for a Gibson or PRS Limited Run guitar- honestly the term is so watered down these days it means nothing as they do LE runs one after another to where it has become a joke. For a third or even less of the price you can nail a keeper from either company off the line.

 

I am not saying that there are no guitars out there that 10 years from now may more than triple in price or others that will be seriously desired. But I think 10 different players would have 10 different ideas of what those axes may be. I feel that sooner or later a bunch of kids will come around and have that special gift that seems to happen every decade. I am talking on the level of a Beatles, Cream, Hendrix Experience or Vanhalen, and what ever guitars they are holding will certainly be the ones to have, but your guess is as good as mine. Buy what you enjoy and can afford to play, we all got into this to make music and have fun.

[jimwratt]

No. Buy a used MIA guitar or go out and find a good foreign made ax. Also, learn to do your own mods. A lot of the high cost guitars are really just suped up versions of the classics and new classics (Ibanez and Jackson stuff). A lot of times, you can make up the difference as long as you have a guitar with decent construction. A great set of pickups and some wiring improvements go a long way, fretwork goes even further (and that's really all they're charging you extra for).

 

You do slightly better to invest in amps and pedals/effects but what I've come to realize is that tone is really a phenomenon that has a lot to do with volume and good combinations of gear. Everything sounds better loud, but when you combine the right gear you get a sensational rather than good result (assuming good settings). For example, a lot of people complain about strat bridge pickups being ice picky until they plug one through the right amp. Figure out what the strongest part of your set up is and them make investments from there. Also note that the majority of great tones were made with relatively average gear played well and loud as hell.

[bugsbunny]

Depending on if you buy guitars as an investment or just play them. For playing metal in a live mix, I don't hear that much of a difference between a $2000 guitar and $1000 guitar. For investment purpose, you can make some decent cash if you buy expensive guitars at the right time. See the historical price charts of 1959 Reissue and Gibson/Fender custom shop.

 

 

On the other hands, some brands just have terrible resale value such as Parker (even though they make great guitar) http://guitarshopping.org/parker-guitar/

[DavidMgT]

Depending on if you buy guitars as an investment or just play them. For playing metal in a live mix, I don't hear that much of a difference between a $2000 guitar and $1000 guitar. For investment purpose, you can make some decent cash if you buy expensive guitars at the right time. See the historical price charts of 1959 Reissue and Gibson/Fender custom shop. On the other hands, some brands just have terrible resale value such as Parker (even though they make great guitar) http://guitarshopping.org/parker-guitar/

 

adjusted for inflation?

Anyhow, I do not think it is worth buying expensive guitars for investment purposes. It is, however, well worth it to buy expensive guitars to play them