Reason for the Q is that since being made redundant early in the year I’ve sort of recovered and the panic-saving and cutting back and selling some things has left me with a small GAS nest egg.
I’d like to treat myself a little to mark the end of what has been a VERY stressful period but also I’m left feeling cautious so would prefer to sink it in to something that could be liquidated again if the need rose. Hopefully I’m being far too cautious, but that’s the thinking. The nest egg in question is about 2k. It could be added to a bit.
I don’t want to restrict thoughts to much - interested to hear what you think.
Red ones are better.
Comments
Just make sure it’s a banger.
(** I mean Strats, Teles, SGs or Les Pauls, of course. Probably best not to buy a Firebird X.)
Avoid anything boutique unless the maker is likely to retire/pass in the near future.
I can point to a few guitars for sale on here and on Reverb previously owned by me that for sale three times the price I paid for them. I always joke the guitars most likely to appreciate are the ones I just sold or passed on, Yes I really did turn down the opportunity to buy the SRV No.1 Strat masterbuilt for £9500 back in 2004....now they are £40k upwards. Also sold a rake of early Masterbuilt Strats and Teles for £2500-3000 ten yrs ago. Amusing.
Would add though....just buy what you like.
Oh and one of you @BBD has my old 1995 Cunetto Nocaster that I sold for £2200 in 2010.....must be worth more now.
*everyone whose opinion matters
Fender, Gibson, PRS, Suhr ,Tom Anderson
The less esoteric the better, you want standards that everyone always wants. USA strat, etc.
Even better, buy them when there is a fad of fashion against them, which there was when I bought some PRSs about 12 years ago
Late 80s (87-89) USA standard are good bets. Old, lots of effort into the design and manufacture during that period, not just 50s/60s cliched sounds done to death, will go up like the inferior 70s models just cos of age. They are stupidly good strat/tele all rounders and cheap as chips .. think 800 uk for a really good 88/89 strat.
It'll be a lovely instrument, and buying used means you'll lose very little if anything if you ever sell
USA Fenders, a core PRS, Gibson, and possibly even something like a Patrick Eggle should all hold their value. Go for popular models or versions that people are always likely to want. Most buyers generally prefer traditional single coil Strats and Teles, and Gibsons with humbuckers rather than P90s. Limited and anniversary models are usually OK but I'd avoid signature models as these will typically appeal to a smaller potential market.
Make sure what you buy is substantially all original, unmodded, in as near mint condition as you can find, with its original hard case, and where possible with original case candy, documents, hex keys, labels etc. This will all help you to achieve a better resale price.
My band, Red For Dissent
Anything bought at the right price.
Though thinking about it, I suspect you were probably after slightly more ethical suggestions.
I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.
Hypothetically - How about when the Vietnamese custom shop is making stuff at a higher level than USA custom shop today?
What are the resale prices then? I am wary about these big brands to be honest. How about when the early Japanese Fender models were just so good?