I might have $7000 worth of guitars in my house... but I might not.
If I had that much to blow on guitar(s) ...and if I didn't own any, I'd want to buy a collection like this:
I would never squander it all on just one guitar. To me, the idea of spending more than $2000 on any guitar gives me the willies.
It makes my heart go diddy wah diddy... it gives me the Heebee Jeebies... it gives me the Fantods...
If I had that much to blow on instrument(s) ...I'd be thinking what ALL I could get, including amps and pedals too.
I've sold all my vintage and valuable instruments now... The amber Mossman dred in the center and the venerable J-bass second from right
are the most valuable instruments in this array. I accepted $3000 for the bass and $1100 for the '75 Mossman.... so they're gone.
But I didn't pay that much... that's the important part. Someone else did.
I wish them well. Both the old '66 Fender and the '75 Mossman were well worth the money (for someone who has that to spend).
And I will need that money later. Part of it went to fund my Gibson J-45 (the shiny new one fifth from right) which now becomes my
go-to acoustic, along with the Martin next to it. I bought that Martin XC1T used for about $600, and its got a beautiful tone that spits on
the idea of any over decorated acoustic that costs more than $2000. The Gibson has nearly paid for itself in the six months of gigging
I've done with it since I bought it. I spent about $1700 on that one,
the most I've ever paid for any guitar.
Funny that I paid $100 for that old Fender Bass in like 1972, used. Those were bigger dollars then. And I paid about $600 for
the Mossman. Then I played them both for more than forty years of gigging. They did everything I was capable of.
So, in this thread,
I maintain that if you want value, buy the best used guitar you can afford. Figure out why the old
owner sold it, and fix that. Then play the hell out of it.
Funny to think that the oldest guitar I now own is the black P-bass, it's a 1997 ex-Squier... completely rebuilt by me.
Wow, it's almost 20 years old. The rest of my collection are 21st century guitars.
Martin guitars really are the best. I would never pay more than $2000 for one, but if a D-28 came within reach for just
under that I'd be severely tempted. But the Gibson and the Martin I already have seem to do what I need to get the audience
to rare up on their hind legs and call for another song. They sound great in the studio, and they sound great onstage, and
they sound great in my living room. So I don't need any vintage instrument, or any fancy schmancy one with an elevated
price tag. What's left in my ready rack are all work horses.
I like unique and unusual instruments, as you can see. And I enjoy turning ye pig ear into ye silke purse...
...as this collection shows. None of my remaining instruments were very expensive, and none of them seems outwardly very fancy.
But they all have excellent tone and playability, they are practical and dependable and they get the job done.
I've modded most of them, to get them just where I want them in terms of tone and playability.
Decorations are unimportant, so I've done subtle (but excellent) decorations on mine.
