Guitars you've owned that are worth more than their price?

[Stringswinger]

I am pretty sure that I could sell most of my Gibsons for more than I paid for them, but I bought them all used. Same with my Fenders.

Buying used, I have generally been able to get my money out of my guitars when I am done with them and often make a profit. Sometimes I have lost money (I see it as a "rental" fee). My biggest profit to date is about $2,000 (to be fair, I owned that guitar for about 25 years, so some of that profit is simply inflation) and my biggest "rental fee" is about $300.

At this point, I am not sure that guitars will be a great place to store money. The popularity of the instrument may have passed it's zenith and they are mass producing guitars today at a level never before seen.

Super rare guitars may well hold value as historic art artifacts.

At the end of the day, if a guitar inspires your playing, it is worth whatever it cost. You cannot eat money, nor can you make music with it.

[deselby]

I wish I was astute. But the reality is that over the years I've probably spent way more money on instruments than I could reasonably expect to get a return on. But honestly, it's not about that. Some of it might be the quest. And some of it might be the simple fact that not every instrument will answer every need. I have too many guitars but if forced to pare down to one or two I could do it in a heartbeat.

I wish I had the acumen and talent of PB who only needs one instrument. I am in no ways he.

[GNAPPI]

I have several really good buys that the price Waayyy outperforms not only their cost but compare favorably in playability, sound, and quality of some expensive models costing many times more.

I once wrote, "I was blessed to have very good instruments all of my life" not THE best which I honestly have no interest in. Also my playing is not "worthy" of them from a user tool standpoint as they're not money makers. I'm not an investor either leaving really rare specimens to peeps who can justify the higher tier models.

At this stage in life I've come to appreciate just how fortunate we as a playing community are. Many superb instruments are crafted outside of the U.S that deserve acceptance.

That said, I have also appreciate less expensive models and can compare them in hand here to much "better" gits. Most immediately those that come to mind are:

My Epi Casino compares very favorably to my ES-330

My D'Angelico EXS-1DH is easily as usable, flexible and playable as my ES-195 or ES-150

Finally the Ibanez AS153 stands shoulder to shoulder with any of my Gibson Semi hollow body models of which there are a few.

Are any of my inexpensive selections a Tal Farlow or 175? Not in their unique sound department but in playability? Yes! in looks, most definitely... Price? Absolutely!

Note, none of these comparisons are me looking for a "Tone Clone" because as I aged I began to hear the redeeming qualities of gits without the need to have them sound alike.

This saves me money, time, and frustration overall.

[pingu]

Ibanez AF120 ....
cost about £200 ....bargain

Agreed the cheap chinese stuff is amazing these days
(after a good setup !)

[icr]

Frequently I'll only buy the most inexpensive guitars I can find for repair or restoration. I know how much I paid. The 1976 Les Paul Custom was $250 and the Sebring/Samick was $350. After I'm finished they are worth a lot to me. I wouldn't sell any after all that work I have done.