How much would you spend on one guitar?

peteri

The justifications topic (all of which I understood), got me thinking.

Historically, I was strictly in the sub £1000 a guitar club, really in the sub £500 if I'm honest.

Now a change in life circumstances, and also an appreciation of the finer things has meant I'm able to spend more.

18 months ago, I spent around £2k on a Les Paul and felt amazed. Then I found out it was worth it, and the value has gone up (it was an old one).

So since then I've bought loads more (not Les Pauls, well not all of them) - and I've kind of got 'used to' looking at guitars in the £4-6000 price range as a 'valid price' for a guitar.

But when I look over £10k, that's the point I clench. Had the opportunity recently, and I could have made the numbers work by selling a few etc. but just couldn't do it.

That got me thinking, we often put limits on purchases which aren't due to what we can afford (meaning if we buy this we starve), but more what we're 'comfortable' paying.

I see lots of people on here, who I'm sure are not all rockstars, regularly spending way more than me on guitars/kit - interested to hear how others balance this

SNAKEBITE

The limits can change as circumstances change in your life.

I think you have just proved this.

Panama_Jack666

I'm a Telecaster man. So a chopping board from ikea and neck will do me. £200.

Real answer - £2,000ish is my upper limit! 

SNAKEBITE

For me, well I bought one last year for £600 and one for £500.

The year before that I couldn't have done either, but a change in circumstances meant I could take a punt.

Phil_aka_Pip

depends on the guitar, and whether I really want (or neeed) it. Suits you Sir!

paulphoenix

If the price is higher than the sum of the parts and craftsmanship to put it together then i'd walk away.  i couldn't imagine paying more than £2500 for any one guitar. 

Maynehead

The most I have ever spent on a guitar (which coincidentally is also the most I've ever spent on an amp) is £1100.

This is my comfort limit, not my economic limit, so even if I had a million pounds in my bank account I'd still probably not spend much more on a guitar. I think there is a line around this point where you start to pay more for the prestige than the quality, and I'm not really a prestige kind of guy...

builttospill

£1000-£1400 used, both my K-Lines were within this price range.  

Teetonetal

So long as I can afford it, it doesn't really matter. I would never, ever buy a guitar on credit or go overdrawn to get one.

That said I had a really hard time justifying my most expensive guitar purchase of £2500 to myself and I still feel guilty. I prefer to keep it under a 1k and I only have 1 (at the moment) that cost more than that. But yeah, for the right thing, I'm prepared to spend a lot.

guitars4you

I think it is a valid question but the amount on its own is maybe just some form of a bragging rights - I recently sold a £400 guitar to a young lad at a guitar show - He was with his Dad - The lad paid in cash and at that point his Dad told me he had saved for this for nearly 1 year - I was just so delighted for him - it will mean so much to him that he saved, out of a paper round, for his first luxury item and may well keep it for ever - he'll certainly remember the guitar and the moment - So a 15 year old spending all his pocked money is just as important to him as CEO of a big business spending 10/20/30K etc on another guitar

It is great that we can spend 'disposable' income on such hobbies - at least a hobby for many of us

For me (talking as Mark here and not Guitars4You) is that any guitar I buy for me, out of my own income, has to give me pleasure and deliver the appropriate tonal character, feel and playing performance that I like - I also require the back up that if I don't get all my money back, or more, over the years, my loss will be minimal - Chances are over 10/20/30 years you'll sell most/many guitars for more than you paid for them - subject to the guitar of course, but I can't recall losing money on such a guitar over such a decade or more

So nothing wrong with spending 1K, or 10K, as funds allow, but do it because you know you can and more importantly, for the pleasure it will give you today and tomorrow and many years to follow

Personally I'd rather have 2 guitars each worth 5K than 1 guitar worth 10K - Yet I am getting tempted by a clean early 60's Tele - I don't need it, but it is an option to me at the moment and the temptation is strong so who knows

jrc2806

Most expensive purchase was a custom 24 @ £2000. Have to admit though that I dont tend to bond as well with higher value guitars - probably due to the amount tied up in them and through fear of them being damaged!

Whereas my Baja Tele has been with me for nearly 6 years and would not part with it (well not at the moment anyway!)..... 

webrthomson

I've got some guitars that I spend £4000 on, but they are pretty special to me and I don’t think I'd go much above that in the normal run of things.

I do have a guitar being made in the UK that is ~$8000 and I have to confess that sometimes I do wonder what I'm doing

On the other hand I don’t know that the value is the key factor I worry about. I recently bought a guitar from our own Juansolo for the princely sum of £500 and I could not be happier with it, amazing concept and guitar!

tralfamadan

I don't own a house so its hard to justify anything that would probably be better spent on a mortage :P

That said, my limit for an electric would be different to an acoustic. Acoustic probably somewhere £1600 ~ £2000 which unfortunately leaves the much coveted (by me) Martin OM-21 just out of range!

Electric £1200. Not because I think Acoustic is better (although I do) but you seem to get way more for your money with an electric.

peteri

Thanks interesting replies. And not this wasn’t a bragging competition at all, genuinely interested in how people feel about this. 

And I completely agree, the lad who has saved a year will absolutely treasure that guitar and he good thing is now for £400 that’s a really decent instrument. 

Chris_J

Most I've ever spent was around 3k for my '63 Reissue 335 it's a stunning guitar and I feel it's worth what I paid, others may not. 

Most of my current guitars are around the 1k price bracket. Tele, SG, Avante Gryphon

My D18 was obviously a bit more, closer to 2k and my old 00028 was 2.5k

I personally wouldn't spend any more than what I paid for my 335, even though I could probably afford it if I thinned the herd.

I've no problem with people paying more, but, I worry about the extravagance of my purchases let alone me spending more.

ennspek

Personally? £129.99. My talent deserves no more!
Love the paper round story @guitars4you ;

ESBlonde

When I started work and was also in a working band I took out a loan to buy my first proper guitar to replace my woolworths semi that cost £21 compared to the £300 proper guitar. I still have it 4 decades later.
I never borrowed to buy a guitar again, they were all from apparent reserves but I only ever had 2 electrics and a cheapish acoustic.
As circumstances changed and the family grew up I started looking at other guitars but even now the idea of £2k makes me take a sharp intake of breath.

Ravenous

peteri said:

That got me thinking, we often put limits on purchases which aren't due to what we can afford (meaning if we buy this we starve), but more what we're 'comfortable' paying.

I'm one of these. My "best" was a jap guitar well under a grand (though over 20 years ago) and I just don't need to get something "better".  These days I could afford to buy a few in the 3-5K range, but I'm comfortable with what I have and don't really feel the compulsion to GAS.

(I would still buy something in that price range if I wanted something specific though - like I might still get a headless, an ergonomic shape or some other feature.)

Neill

Ravenous said:

peteri said:

That got me thinking, we often put limits on purchases which aren't due to what we can afford (meaning if we buy this we starve), but more what we're 'comfortable' paying.

I'm one of these. My "best" was a jap guitar well under a grand (though over 20 years ago) and I just don't need to get something "better".  These days I could afford to buy a few in the 3-5K range, but I'm comfortable with what I have and don't really feel the compulsion to GAS.

(I would still buy something in that price range if I wanted something specific though - like I might still get a headless, an ergonomic shape or some other feature.)

Ditto - I suspect one of these days I'll come across a "must have" guitar and I'm lucky that whether it's £50 or £5k I'll be able to afford it.  In the meantime my comfort zone is probably under £250 because I know there's no simply no need to spend any more on an electric guitar.  Acoustics, that's another matter.
       

kurtrowe2000

It’s all one of perspective. How much you want the guitar and also how much you are willing to pay for it. 

For example. My dream guitar is a Yamaha SG1820. Retail is just over £3k and to me that’s a lot of money, I could have afforded it quickly but elected to save instead to appreciate it more. 

However, GuitarGuitar were selling one, brand new, with 48% off. So I had to dive in and buy it. So, I suppose it also is subject to how good the deal is too. 

A purchase i’ve never regretted. 

munckee

I set a budget of £1250 for a treat myself US Fender when I got a bonus a couple of years ago, tried every US strat and tele I could find both new and second hand and bought a used mexican roadworn tele for £800 as they were the best guitars I played.  I even bought it without trying it as I played 3 and they were all amazing so jumped on a used when it popped up.

I don't think I would spend that much again unless I sold the tele, the issue for me isn't the cost of one item, its that I have 3 electrics, 3 acoustics, 2 amps and a drawer full of pedals and I don't play in a band, or with anyone else I'm just a home part time strummer so struggle to justify massive outlays.