How much is 'too much' for some wood and wire?

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Panama_Jack666Panama_Jack666 Frets: 2988
Pretty much as the thread title suggests.

We all know some manufacturers have ridiculous prices for some of their products. Gibson have some pretty ludicrous prices for their collectors choices and artist series, are they worth it? Would YOU pay that money if you had it?

What is the upper value of materials/craftsmanship/man hours/brand?

I'll admit it. I'll pay more for a Gibson to buy into the brand and have that history on the headstock. My upper limit would be £2,500. I might pay more for something that could be 'vintage' but I wouldn't buy it on the basis of it being 'vintage'.
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    Yes, if I had the money.

    If I had twice the money, I'd buy one AND get someone to custom-build me another one like it.

    'Vintage' only means something if it has the sound you want and it's playable. Otherwise it's only a museum piece.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • Panama_Jack666Panama_Jack666 Frets: 2988
    edited May 2014

    'Vintage' only means something if it has the sound you want and it's playable. Otherwise it's only a museum piece.
    Wisdom awarded on 'museum price'.
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  • jd0272jd0272 Frets: 3867
    It's all relative to what's in the bank.
    "You do all the 'widdly widdly' bits, and just leave the hard stuff to me."
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  • IanSavageIanSavage Frets: 1319

    For gigging, I don't think I could justifiably pay more than five or six hundred quid to be honest (I might then swap out pickups / electronics though) because accidents do happen and I don't want to take anything too valuable out where I might break it ;) a good resonator might be an exception.

     

    If I had the money, for home use I'd go up to about twice that. Short of major Lottery win "I wonder what all the fuss about '59 Les Pauls is about" levels of cash, I've got more important things to spend money on.

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  • ESBlondeESBlonde Frets: 3576
    I think the time of your life journey plays a part.
    When I was 19 and 'serious' about playing, then I would borrow and spend huge sums so the £2.5k in todays terms would not have been out of the question. Late 20s and family/mortgage means £250 is a massive commitment only sustainable by gigging income. By the time the kids are grown and morgage paid off the budget is less restrictive again. At present buying the branded instrument is the safer investment. In 20 years time the luthier built option might prove to have been better as all those Gibsons flood the saturated and then limited used market.

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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    Well, most of my favourite music was made on production line non-blingy guitars, so that's where my tastes lie today, regardless of my spending power.

    There's no real reason to add superfluous "quality" past a certain point with electric guitars, you just can't keep adding desirability to a Tele for example, it just starts to look a bit silly.

    The only reason I'd ever go over 1500 for anything is for something special like a Super 400, but normal electrics? Nah, never, not even with a giant lottery win.



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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71956
    For me, it's a bit over a grand used, maybe up to double that new. I think you generally get an improvement in actual quality up to around that price point - beyond that it tends to be more about cosmetics, historical accuracy if it's a vintage reissue, or whether you think 'hand made' is better than 'mass produced'… although that line is quite blurred in high-end manufacture.

    For anything, probably about five grand. I don't think there's any electric guitar - other than perhaps hand-carved archtops - which can really justify more than that. You can get pretty much anything you want to any level of detail for that sort of price.

    That said, you can get 95% of the way there for £250 (5% of the price, in other words) if you're lucky.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306

    I went over a grand for the first time with a guitar last year (Gibson), prior to that I'd just been gigging with MIM Fenders and lower end Gibsons. I'm now actually gassing for a PRS of some sort, but that'd be a year or two down the road (unless I get a nice bonus from work which is actually possible).

    So I could see me going to £2.5k for something really special. I would think twice about gigging it though!

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  • jellyrolljellyroll Frets: 3073
    I get a bit irritated by the "I only play sub £x working man's guitars."

    Yeah....but you've got 6 of 'em......which cost in aggregate a lot more than my one PRS.
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  • GuitarMonkeyGuitarMonkey Frets: 1883
    jellyroll said:
    I get a bit irritated by the "I only play sub £x working man's guitars."

    Yeah....but you've got 6 of 'em......which cost in aggregate a lot more than my one PRS.
    Yes but if one gets stolen/smashed they've still got five more.
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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306
    jellyroll said:
    I get a bit irritated by the "I only play sub £x working man's guitars."

    Yeah....but you've got 6 of 'em......which cost in aggregate a lot more than my one PRS.

    I don't quite get where you're coming from there.

    Maybe the person with 6 cheaper guitars doesn't take all 6 to a gig, but likes to have a selection of guitar styles (strat/tele/les paul/pointy rock machine etc).

     

     

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  • IanSavageIanSavage Frets: 1319
    jellyroll said:
    I get a bit irritated by the "I only play sub £x working man's guitars."

    Yeah....but you've got 6 of 'em......which cost in aggregate a lot more than my one PRS.

    I don't quite get where you're coming from there.

    Maybe the person with 6 cheaper guitars doesn't take all 6 to a gig, but likes to have a selection of guitar styles (strat/tele/les paul/pointy rock machine etc).

     


    Exactly how I do it - almost without exception I end up customising the shit out of my instruments anyway so I prefer to buy cheap, fettle 'em about and keep the ones that turn out to suit me. Currently got SG, Tele, Esquire and Strat types, altogether they probably owe me about £500 and I'd happily gig any of them (once I've put pickups in all of them...:/ )
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  • jellyrolljellyroll Frets: 3073
    jellyroll said:
    I get a bit irritated by the "I only play sub £x working man's guitars."

    Yeah....but you've got 6 of 'em......which cost in aggregate a lot more than my one PRS.

    I don't quite get where you're coming from there.

    Maybe the person with 6 cheaper guitars doesn't take all 6 to a gig, but likes to have a selection of guitar styles (strat/tele/les paul/pointy rock machine etc).

     

     

    I agree that there can be very practical reasons for having several guitars and of course I wouldn't question anybody's right to spend their money as they wish.  What I dislike is the self-righteous inverse-snobbery I sometimes hear from players of cheaper guitars players who have a dig at owners of higher end guitars whilst they actually have a far more expensive collection sitting at home.
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  • ThePrettyDamnedThePrettyDamned Frets: 7472
    edited May 2014
    If I had the dollar, I'd spend 3k on a guitar.

    And it would be made in UK because it's better value, thanks to no boat to ship it across on.

    And it would be as good, or better (probably the latter) than anything Gibson churn out of a factory.

    And I'd be able to spec it out fully.

    Edit: Mayones do some cool stuff, too, but I'd love to have Feline do me a guitar.
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  • DeeTeeDeeTee Frets: 764
    Yeah, it would chafe me to spend much more than £600 on a used guitar but if I had the cash, a bespoke one from someone like Feline would be very tempting.
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  • jd0272jd0272 Frets: 3867
    I gig all of mine and they're not cheap uns. Bloody things are meant to be played regardless of value.
    "You do all the 'widdly widdly' bits, and just leave the hard stuff to me."
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  • monoaminemonoamine Frets: 506
    met my max at £1500 on a les paul
    cant justify spending more than that really.... especially when i drive a £500 car :)
    1979 Tokai TE-85
    1980 Tokai LS-80
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  • NeilNeil Frets: 3594
    The level of my playing determines that I will not spend thousands on a guitar.  :-S
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  • jd0272jd0272 Frets: 3867
    I justify it by rightly stating it's my hobby. I don't go out on the piss with the chaps, don't spend fortunes on cars/bikes, spend me life at work and trekking around after the Mrs and Wallet Emptiers, so if I want to spend £3200 on a LP, I bloody well will. I'll still get stabbed off the Mrs tho. :(
    "You do all the 'widdly widdly' bits, and just leave the hard stuff to me."
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  • jd0272jd0272 Frets: 3867
    Although I am finding partsacastering much easier as she's clueless about what 'bits' cost. ;)
    "You do all the 'widdly widdly' bits, and just leave the hard stuff to me."
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