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

[Steven Mal]

When it comes to musical instruments would you say "you get what you pay for," or have you ever owned a piece of equipment, modded or stock, that you thought you got more than what you paid for it? What about a guitar you paid for and thought "this isn't worth what I paid for it." For example, I've noticed some guys say Epiphone or PRS SE guitars are similar or better than Gibson guitars, and other similar comments.

[Doctor Jeff]

I assume we're talking functional value, not monetary value at auction??

I paid $100 for a Tele partscaster. Best $100 I ever spent on guitars. The SD pickups or the Warmoth neck were worth the price I paid.

I replaced the body and added a tremolo. It's my Swiss army knife guitar. Also great for beating people off the stage when they swarm.

I have had some great deals on guitars, in fact I'd say all the guitars I've bought were worth at least what I paid for them.

The only guitar I really took a "hit" on, and I regret selling it like the dickens, was a Gibson ES-175 I bought in the early 80's. For some reason we never bonded, and I sold it in 1987 or so for about $500, several hundred less than I paid for it. In my defense the market for quality archtops was not great at all in the upper midwest at that time.

[DanielleOM]

I think one of the best value guitars I have is my Eastman E10-OM flat top. I would say any Eastman flat top with an E__-__ designation is definitely worth looking at.

Danielle

[Thumpalumpacus]

I got my 80s MiT Yamaha for $100 -- it runs about four bills on Fleabay -- and it's got a good sound and outstanding playability.

Picked up my old Les Paul used back in 87 for $375 -- this was before Slash drove the price up to silly levels. My #1 for fifteen years, fantastic guitar.

[TOMMO]

I possibly could list a handful but the best of them would be my Tokai 335 - for about a third what a used Gibson 335 would cost it gives a Gibson run for their money.

[wzpgsr]

I bought a Muddy Waters telecaster, Mexican made with American parts, in 2004 for $450. Sold it 10 years later for nearly double.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Longways to Go]

I've got a Squier/DeArmond Starfire that they sold for a couple of years right after Fender bought the Guild brands.
$200 at a pawnshop, not much in terms of resale value, but it keeps up with a 335 very nicely.

[Ray175]

My best value for money was (and still is) an Ibanez AR420 for 425 Euros. Although built in China, the quality and finish is impeccable - and it played like a dream straight out of the box with no need at all for a setup. I have paid 3-4 times this price for guitars that do not stand up to this particular one. Maybe a lucky one-off but it was my "best buy"

The only criticism I have is that it is prone to neck-dive, but at that price I'm not complaining

On the acoustic front I have a Martin JM jumbo which cost about 1kEuros about 15 years ago. Very basic finish, but the sound it produces would put many of its (much) more expensive brothers to shame. Balance, projection - it's all there, and all the way up the neck

[goldenwave77]

I bought a Muddy Waters telecaster, Mexican made with American parts, in 2004 for $450. Sold it 10 years later for nearly double.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The big neck on that model made this distinctive. For those of us with big hands, this was worth looking for.

[Max405]

Gibson Midtown Custom.
Great Guitar. Great Pickups, added complexity because of the "slightly" hollow body and Gibson Custom binding and headstock treatment. Extremely Playable neck all the up to where it attached to the body.
That was a GREAT guitar, and I paid $1500 for it, new.
JD

[Gilpy]

For me, the defining characteristic of good gear is that it "disappears". In other words, it does what it does so well that I can forget about it and just play. The best equipment can inspire you to play better.

I think it's ridiculous to pay $2000+ for an amp! But I have two that fit that description: Bogner Shiva (85 watt, 2x12) and Carr Rambler (28 watt, 1x12). Both are over 15 years old. Hundreds of gigs, zero problems, gorgeous tone. I would call that good value.

I have some expensive guitars, some vintage, and they're great. When you get into that area, value becomes more subjective.

A couple of my very best guitars were not super-expensive and are about as good as anything out there. Seventy Seven "Albatross Jazz" model and Seventy Seven "Hawk". New, these are $1600 - $2000. But the resale value for Seventy Sevens is crap because they're unknown in the US. You can get an Albatross Jazz used for $700, and that will definitely be a guitar that's worth more than you paid!

[50Hz]

For the simple fact that it makes me want to play more and caused me to put my other guitars back in their cases, I'd say my MIM Classic Series Jag was well worth what I paid for it, which wasn't much.

[ThatRhythmMan]

This may not be a fair contribution to this discussion. I got a 1980 Gibson LPC in silverburst for my 19th birthday.

My dad's best friend owned a pawnshop in Tulsa and my dad used to go and work there on Saturdays in exchange for things in the shop which he would get for whatever the shop had put into the item. The shop had $250 in this LPC, so it came of a few Saturdays time at the shop for my dad.

It was my one and only electric guitar for the following 11 years. I still have it almost 27 years later and after playing many, many Les Pauls, it's still the best playing and sounding of all of them to me.

I know it would bring far more than that $250 on the market now, although I think silverburst LPC's have cooled a little bit. It doesn't matter though. I'll never sell.

[rsclosson]

Just about every guitar I own I got for a real bargain. My new Eastman had some repaired damage which brought the total price down to less than a third of the street price. My Altamira also had repairs which really brought the price down. Same with my Cordoba classical. All of these guitars play superbly. Repaired and factory second guitars can be a great value if minor flaws are not an issue,

[mr. beaumont]

I think I got a real bargain on my 575--I could probably sell it tomorrow and actually make money on it. But I sure as heck ain't selling that guitar, it rules.

Everything else I own is beat up enough, was already cheap enough, or customized enough to be worth less than I paid for it, but it doesn't really bother me. I buy guitars to play 'em, not flip 'em.

[Gitfiddler]

My all time best 'bang-for-buck' guitar is my '79 Ibanez 2630. I paid about $650 for it, used, back in '85, and it is still my go to guitar today. It's been modded, banged and abused by me, but still makes me smile whenever I pick her up.
i love my Heritage and Gibson gits, but have a special bond with this old Ibanez.

As someone mentioned above, this guitar has become 'invisible' in terms of value. To me my 2630 is like Scofield's AS200 is to him.

[tonyp145]

I have a '66 Guild Starfire III that was my main axe after my dad gave it to me 5 or 6 years ago until recently. The real story is how he got it. He's a keyboard player and back in the 70s he was looking for a cheap, beater guitar to learn on. This one has body damage on its back that some moron fixed with bondo and painted red (I'm not kidding, I'm at work now or I'd post a pic of it). Dad bought it from a buddy of his for $75 bucks in 1974. After decades in his attic I had to get the neck reset and refretted but it's been great ever since. Love the Bigsby. It's my most versatile guitar for playing blues, jazz and rockabilly. I'll take this one to my grave.

The guitar that knocked the Starfire off its pedestal is a 1958 Gibson L-4C that I just got for $2,400 -- a grand below market because it's been refinished. I don't mind, they did an amazing job on the refin, the guitar is gorgeous and I really couldn't afford to pay the going rate for one of these so this is manna from heaven.

I also have a 1997 Ibanez Pat Metheny sig model I got off Craig's last year for $750. That's my pretend 175 and I think it holds its own when I want "that" sound.

[Woody Sound]

I paid about $600 each for my two Carvin acoustic electrics (steel & nylon). Used price, of course. They play effortlessly and sound great amplified. I get tons of use out of them for a variety of music and gigs.

[goldenwave77]

I have a '66 Guild Starfire III that was my main axe after my dad gave it to me 5 or 6 years ago until recently. The real story is how he got it. He's a keyboard player and back in the 70s he was looking for a cheap, beater guitar to learn on. This one has body damage on its back that some moron fixed with bondo and painted red (I'm not kidding, I'm at work now or I'd post a pic of it).
.

Bondo, huh? I always said Leo F. was barking up the wrong tree when he introduced custom car colors to Fender guitars.

Look at the bright side, though. It will never rust, and it probably costs next to nothing to insure.

[lammie200]

I have a mix of bargains and money pits.

The most striking bargains in USD:
Godin Jazz AAA Flame Maple Sunburst, $2250 to $1900 MSRP, paid $931 new with case
Martin 000C Nylon, $2000 MSRP, paid $1000 new with case

The money pits:
Partscasters, Strat and Tele

[rpjazzguitar]

My main instrument is currently a Yamaha Pacifica 012 Strat copy. This guitar is on CL every week for about $75. Mine had replacement tuners when I bought it in a store for $125. I added a Lil 59 humbucker. I use it every day.

Meanwhile a genuine Made in America Fender Stratocaster sits in the closet.

To be fair: The Fender sounds a little better, but the neck on the Yamaha is more comfortable. And, I can get my sound out of the Yamaha.

[ugarte]

Hofner HI-J5, the kind with the set-in HB, even after the rewire I have less than $500 in it, beautiful cosmetics, great neck, excellent plugged-in tone. The Ibanez PM and Gibson 339 are in their cases.

[jasaco]

Ibanez AF105NT. Paid $400. Easily worth 2-3x more.

[entresz]

I got my Gretsch Synchromatic G400 for far less than I should have - bought it from the US when the Australian Dollar was strong and the US dollar was weak. It's one of the best guitars I have - the build quality from the Terada factory is top notch.

My Les Paul Recording was a bargain in the sense that when it was new it was more expensive than a Les Paul Custom, but today a LP Custom is worth significantly more than my LP Recording.

[jazzbow]

Best value bass guitar i have now has to be my Yamaha BB300 bass. Made in Japan and a Precision beater all for £80

Squier custom vibe Tele for £200. Good to go but it got the full Jazzbow tweakings. Absolutely stunning to play and is a keeper.

I had a brace of basses back in the day, 69 precision for £200, 73 4003 Ricky for £250, Guild B301 for £190 and a rinky dink 70s Mustang bass for £120. I flipped them all for profit in the early 90s but would now go for mega coinage.