How much would you spend on one guitar?

NeilMcG · January 2018

Wow - people are prepared to spend a lot. I don't buy new and £600 is my absolute max.

If I was a pro musician I'd buy whatever I needed to do the job, but I can't justify it as a (very) average amateur.

midlifecrisis · January 2018

my guitars are all under £1000, baja tele, les paul studio, epiphone 339 and a few others. Im comfortable to take these out regularly gigging dodgy pubs and not beeing to paranoid about damaging or worse, being nicked. a few months ago i was seriously looking at guitars 1500-2000 but nothing really grabbed me and i decided i didnt really need them, and id be best waiting until i see something that i really fall in love with rather than trying to find one.

munckee · January 2018

midlifecrisis said:

my guitars are all under £1000, baja tele, les paul studio, epiphone 339 and a few others. Im comfortable to take these out regularly gigging dodgy pubs and not beeing to paranoid about damaging or worse, being nicked. a few months ago i was seriously looking at guitars 1500-2000 but nothing really grabbed me and i decided i didnt really need them, and id be best waiting until i see something that i really fall in love with rather than trying to find one.

The other point to make is what would it have cost you in the past to assemble a collection of guitars that good in terms of quality.

adamm82 · January 2018

my budget increases over time.

I used to be comfortable around the £400-£600 range,
that increased to the £700-900 range. and now gone over the £1000 mark.

I think perhaps once you start buying guitars are a certain price you think only guitars of equal or higher value will suffice for future purchases.

Sesh · January 2018

I'd love to spend £££ on guitars but there's probably more important things I should spend that money on and frankly a high end guitar would be wasted on my ineptitude. £300 is the most I have spent and I can't ever see myself going over £500, windfalls excepted.

adamm82 · January 2018

Sesh said:

I'd love to spend £££ on guitars but there's probably more important things I should spend that money on and frankly a high end guitar would be wasted on my ineptitude. £300 is the most I have spent and I can't ever see myself going over £500, windfalls excepted.

I Probably I use it as an excuse to justify some of my purchases but a new guitar seems to make me play better. Though it's probably more likely I spend more time playing it as it's new and depending on the type of guitar I may learn a certain style or song.

guitars4you · January 2018

peteri said:

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.

I thought about that at the time and after and didn't mean 'bragging rights' to be a competition and certainly not a go at you or anybody else - after all I make my living selling such guitars - But more that the price itself is just an amount of money - I think it has to have something that means something to you and not just the price - Maybe I don't know what it is, but some emotional/bonding that is part with you - I know I could never own a 12 string - I don't know what to do with it - Likewise I have in stock an original 64 Country Gent that is exceptionally clean and is the exact model George used on the Ed Sullivan Show - So will have a big appeal to someone, but not to me - I think you have to enjoy spending that amount

I mentioned this before - But I could not enjoy spending 5K or 10K on a new kitchen - No emotional gain whatsoever for me and my poached eggs would not be any better - But 5-10K on a guitar is feasible or indeed 5/10K on a trip to watch the British Lions tour NZ or the cricket team on an Ashes tour would be a joy (even a shit tour like this one)

impmann · January 2018

adamm82 said:

I think perhaps once you start buying guitars are a certain price you think only guitars of equal or higher value will suffice for future purchases.

Only if you let it.

I have guitars in my collection ranging from sub £200 to nearly 10x that. A good guitar is a good guitar no matter what the price or label on it. And yes, you can define "good" as being made of this wood, or by this manufacturer at this time or with fit and finish of "x" but ultimately, if you bond with it and if it inspires you, its a good guitar.

Frankly, my Squier Jap Strat that cost my mum £199 in 1992, now fitted with Mojo pickups (£130 iirc) and a Kev Hurley trem block (£30) came with me when I went shopping for a CS Strat at Coda Music as a 'datum'. TBH, I preferred that old Squier to a *lot* that I played - and I didn't end up splashing nearly £3k on a Custom Shop. Its subjective, but that's my fave Strat.

guitars4you · January 2018

ennspek said:

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

so did I - a nice touch - you do get a few similar stories at times and it reminds me when I was a kid and such early purchases (along time ago)

aord43 · January 2018

guitars4you said:

I mentioned this before - But I could not enjoy spending 5K or 10K on a new kitchen - No emotional gain whatsoever for me and my poached eggs would not be any better - But 5-10K on a guitar is feasible or indeed 5/10K on a trip to watch the British Lions tour NZ or the cricket team on an Ashes tour would be a joy (even a shit tour like this one)

At least a kitchen or similar gets you some big, chunky, heavy stuff that suggests it's worth thousands.
I struggle to understand the obvious difference between a £500 and a £5000 guitar. One day I will have to play a high-end one to see for myself

TommyVercetti · January 2018

Most I've paid was £1300 for a new 2016 LP trad T. I'd love a 335 but i've not found one yet i really, really liked and if I'm going to spend £2k+ it has to be amazing. Maybe I'm building it up too much, maybe i'll never find one that feels worth that much money to me.

I think i could justify it to myself more easily if it was an instrument that was unlikely to depreciate.

TommyVercetti · January 2018

aord43 said:

guitars4you said:

I mentioned this before - But I could not enjoy spending 5K or 10K on a new kitchen - No emotional gain whatsoever for me and my poached eggs would not be any better - But 5-10K on a guitar is feasible or indeed 5/10K on a trip to watch the British Lions tour NZ or the cricket team on an Ashes tour would be a joy (even a shit tour like this one)

At least a kitchen or similar gets you some big, chunky, heavy stuff that suggests it's worth thousands.
I struggle to understand the obvious difference between a £500 and a £5000 guitar. One day I will have to play a high-end one to see for myself

Well, quite. It's the law of diminishing returns. A £500 guitar will be a lot better than a £250 one. A £1000 guitar will be quite a bit better than a £500 one. A £2000 one will be a bit better than the £1000 one. The £4000 one will be a little bit nicer than the £2000 one, the £8000 one will be a tiny bit better than the £4000 one etc etc

it's not like, say, houses or cars where there are almost infinite variables that can change as you spend more money.

guitars4you · January 2018

TommyVercetti said:

aord43 said:

guitars4you said:

I mentioned this before - But I could not enjoy spending 5K or 10K on a new kitchen - No emotional gain whatsoever for me and my poached eggs would not be any better - But 5-10K on a guitar is feasible or indeed 5/10K on a trip to watch the British Lions tour NZ or the cricket team on an Ashes tour would be a joy (even a shit tour like this one)

At least a kitchen or similar gets you some big, chunky, heavy stuff that suggests it's worth thousands.
I struggle to understand the obvious difference between a £500 and a £5000 guitar. One day I will have to play a high-end one to see for myself

Well, quite. It's the law of diminishing returns. A £500 guitar will be a lot better than a £250 one. A £1000 guitar will be quite a bit better than a £500 one. A £2000 one will be a bit better than the £1000 one. The £4000 one will be a little bit nicer than the £2000 one, the £8000 one will be a tiny bit better than the £4000 one etc etc

it's not like, say, houses or cars where there are almost infinite variables that can change as you spend more money.

agree it is a diminishing returns syndrome - but if you can feel it, hear it, want it and can afford it then no competition many times - can't ever get excited about looking at my kitchen

Bridgehouse · January 2018

ennspek said:

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

peteri · January 2018

TommyVercetti said:

Most I've paid was £1300 for a new 2016 LP trad T. I'd love a 335 but i've not found one yet i really, really liked and if I'm going to spend £2k+ it has to be amazing. Maybe I'm building it up too much, maybe i'll never find one that feels worth that much money to me.

I think i could justify it to myself more easily if it was an instrument that was unlikely to depreciate.

I think this last paragraph is key for me - I think I have a very, very hard time buying a new guitar above £2k, just because of the depreciation

buying used or vintage (uber-used?) feels much better

Sassafras · January 2018

Apart from a few really nice old guitars I've never played anything that I thought was worth more than £2k.
If I spent more than that I'll have taken leave of my senses.

Neill · January 2018

I don't know if she has been reading this thread but today, by co-incidence, my wife has tried to get me interested in redesigning our kitchen and buying a new carpet for the sitting room. The strange thing is the more she goes on about this the more interested I become in buying expensive guitars. I think I am going to call this phenomenon Fender's Law.

usedtobe · January 2018

Quite a few years ago, my wife asked me if I really liked and wanted a particular guitar, how much would I allow myself to spend, if money were no object. I said a grand. I couldn’t really imagine spending that much, anyway, but there’s no way I’d go over.
Years later, I’ve still never spent 500 on a guitar. I could have spent more. I’ve had the cash spare at certain times. I could sell up and buy something for more than my limit, but I won’t. For me, it’s simply not worth it.
I don’t begrudge anyone spending what they want/can on a car/guitar/watch/whatever, but for me, there’s a limit to how much a ‘thing’ is worth. We’ve all got different budgets and priorities, of course.
Coincidentally, sat watching the end of Flog it, and someone just bought a watch that doesn’t go, for 1500 notes!

Sassafras · January 2018

Neill said:

I don't know if she has been reading this thread but today, by co-incidence, my wife has tried to get me interested in redesigning our kitchen and buying a new carpet for the sitting room. The strange thing is the more she goes on about this the more interested I become in buying expensive guitars. I think I am going to call this phenomenon Fender's Law.

Sounds more like Divorce Law to me.

Danny1969 · January 2018

The most I have spent on any guitar over the last 20 years is £280, that was a secondhand Epi Les Paul, a really good one. I wouldn't spend any more than around £300 ish now on a guitar because cheap guitars these days are so good. Plus there's all the other great guitars that go for peanuts because they don't have Fender or Gibson on the headstock.

If you don't care about the brand and you don't care if it's a bit battered then there's normally something in the music shop or Gumtree that's perfectly gig-able for around £250 ish

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How much would you spend on one guitar?

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