Honest question >> How do people afford very expensive guitars?

[Old Woody]

You spent your pension fund for a late model Les Paul?

It's a nice looking guitar so like Ms Crow says "if it makes you happy" I like your Gretsch are those stock pickups?

 

[Roy Clark]

It's a nice looking guitar so like Ms Crow says "if it makes you happy" I like your Gretsch are those stock pickups?

All stock, an exact copy of Eddie Cochrans 6120 Gresch

 

[Raiyn]

It's a nice looking guitar so like Ms Crow says "if it makes you happy" I like your Gretsch are those stock pickups?

The way he wrote it led to my question.

 

[dasherf17]

View attachment 13396 View attachment 13395 View attachment 13397 My 2017 Gibson les Paul --pension fund

View attachment 13394 Well, for my Gretsch 6120 Eddie Cochran guitar, £3300 I sold my stamp collection.
View attachment 13393
and so on.

I dig the "Jagcaster"! All very nice!

 

[Dennie]

Without getting into all of the politics of income inequality consider this.

A married couple in their mid 50s or older with a home that's paid off or nearly paid off still earning over $100k a year jointly would in all likelihood have a pretty fair amount of discretionary after tax income.

I know of single or divorced guys with no other monthly expenses but some utility and insurance payments and the cost of whatever they spend on food, clothing, and other incidentals getting over $3000 per month in retirement income. It's not too tough to spend $3000 or more on a pricey guitar or multiple guitars and pay them off over 12-48 months taking advantage of a dealers 0% interest payment plan.

Or, we can look at some who are triple dippers. Over age 65 and retired collecting monthly SS income, a military pension, and a pension from a corporate plan or monthly/annual income from personal retirement plans such as 401k, 403c, or IRAs.

While this may be a fairly small group comparatively speaking they do exist.

For me that’s it exactly.
I have almost no bills, kids are grown and house is paid for.

I own a $5,000 Gibson Les Paul and a Gibson Pre-War Rosewood SJ200 that I gave around $6,800. Both of those guitars were bought on 0% interest credit.

My lesser expensive guitars say $1,200 and under I just pay cash.

I enjoy all of these guitars regardless of price. I don’t generally think of one ax being better than the other but there are some serious differences between the cheaper and more expensive in some cases,

I have an Epiphone SJ200SCE that I love to play. It sounds and plays good. It was easy to buy and gets a lot of my attention around the house. My Pre-War Gibson is in a complete class of its own though when it comes to sound. In some ways it’s way better, not even close but there are things about the Eppy that I actually like better.

I play lead guitar mostly and prefer a slim fast neck. The Eppy’s neck reminds me more of an electric guitar and I play it like one sometimes. So the Eppy is great and has its place.

The Pre-War Gibson is very expensive. I buy insurance for it. It’s an investment and a family heirloom. I don’t let the Grandchildren play it or much of anyone else for that matter and I’m very cautious when breaking it out to play. I’ve never played anything other than another Pre-War that sounds like it. It’s one of the best if not the very best Jumbo acoustic you can buy and I love it as it truly is a phenomenal guitar but my $368 Epiphone SJ200SCE gets way more playing time because it’s left out and on a stand 24/7.

I love all my guitar children. Some are just higher maintenance than others.

 

[Dennie]

View attachment 13396 View attachment 13395 View attachment 13397 My 2017 Gibson les Paul --pension fund

View attachment 13394 Well, for my Gretsch 6120 Eddie Cochran guitar, £3300 I sold my stamp collection.
View attachment 13393
and so on.

Love your Gretsch guitars!
I bought a USA made 70’s era Chet Atkins Nashville new back in 1974-76 best I recall and still have it after all these years.

it’s in mint condition. I still play it some but not much. I probably spend more time cleaning and polishing it than playing.

They have their own unique sound that’s for sure. It’s true what they say “nothing else sounds like a Gretsch” at least not a USA model.

When I want to hear and feel something unique and different in an electric guitar that’s when I break it out.

 

[BlackSG91]

I have a Gibson ES335 Rusty Anderson model that will probably set you back about £4,000 in the UK today. Here's how I funded it.

My wife suggested that as I hadn't plugged in the two vintage tube/valve ex-BBC monitors for more than 25 years, and we were in the process of moving, they should go to the dump. I understood the sentiment, but said I'd put them on eBay as an auction. When I received an immediate offer of £50, I sensed they were worth more and turned it down.

What I didn't know was the serious following these amps have in the Far East, and the lengths collectors will go to secure these rare and prestigious items. My jaw almost hit the floor when the amps went past £1,000. When the auction finally closed on a bid close to £4,000 from a gentleman in China, I started to worry I was being set up. No, all went as planned, and I found myself several thousand pounds better off.

I could have spent the money on carpets for the new house, but I decided my windfall was going on the guitar I'd always wanted but could only dream of owning: a 1958 spec 335 in natural blonde. (My tired old hands get cramp if I play a 60s profile neck for even 30 minutes.)

A dealer was auctioning the Rusty Anderson on eBay at an SP of £2,750. I told him I'd give him exactly £2,750 that very day if he'd agree it was mine. He did.

That was five years ago, and I've never regretted buying the guitar. I just wish I had another two amps, because I'd love to buy an ES175, or a Gibson Byrdland...

View attachment 13008View attachment 13009

What a beautiful guitar Simon! I would love to draw your guitar in chalk so that I could own it too!!!

 

[imnotcreative]

i don't own a guitar for which i paid over €400, but a friend of mine does own some expensive equipment IE a Rickenbacker 4003 and a few other expensive guitars and amps. He works a regular day job with an average wage which he uses to pay all the bills. For his guitars and basses he restores old beat up guitars and he builds guitar pedals (copies) which he sells on sites like marketplace (the dutch version) and with the money he makes from that he mostly saved up for the more expensive gear with just sometimes chipping in a tiny amount from his regular wage. He also doesnt buy gear for himself often and is always looking for deals.

 

[The Convert]

Any guitar player that says they would never want a $5k guitar is a liar.

That said, when you look at reality, someone can get 9 or 10 high quality Epis that span every tonal and style need for every genre...or get one Gibson LP Custom for the same price. Hell, you could get a high end $2k tube amp and still have 3 grand for guitars left over.

It's a no brainer for me, but some people have to have the name. If they have the cash to spend then by all means go out and buy that $10k PRS and have fun looking at it in the display case on the wall.

I have some nice guitars. If I could get a 12 string Ric that’d be sweet but otherwise I’m not too interested in guitars that are just more expensive.

To the OP, I’d say that I got mine very gradually...decades of working, trading and saving and making choices about small windfalls.

I’ve been on SSDI since 2012, and if I was starting now, I’d not even have that as a goal. It costs too much to live and I get too little to live on. It’s actually a constant battle to hold onto my few nicer instruments, when selling them can seem like an easy short term solution to a money problem. Knowing I’ll never earn them back, I have to defend them until there are really no more options.

Good luck!

 

[Davis Sharp]

I have some nice guitars. If I could get a 12 string Ric that’d be sweet but otherwise I’m not too interested in guitars that are just more expensive.

To the OP, I’d say that I got mine very gradually...decades of working, trading and saving and making choices about small windfalls.

I’ve been on SSDI since 2012, and if I was starting now, I’d not even have that as a goal. It costs too much to live and I get too little to live on. It’s actually a constant battle to hold onto my few nicer instruments, when selling them can seem like an easy short term solution to a money problem. Knowing I’ll never earn them back, I have to defend them until there are really no more options.

Good luck!

Welcome back my friend.

 

[The Convert]

Welcome back my friend.

Thanks Davis

 

[Raiyn]

I have some nice guitars. If I could get a 12 string Ric that’d be sweet but otherwise I’m not too interested in guitars that are just more expensive.

To the OP, I’d say that I got mine very gradually...decades of working, trading and saving and making choices about small windfalls.

I’ve been on SSDI since 2012, and if I was starting now, I’d not even have that as a goal. It costs too much to live and I get too little to live on. It’s actually a constant battle to hold onto my few nicer instruments, when selling them can seem like an easy short term solution to a money problem. Knowing I’ll never earn them back, I have to defend them until there are really no more options.

Good luck!

You've been gone quite some time my friend, welcome back.

 

[soulman969]

I love all my guitar children. Some are just higher maintenance than others.

Glad to know I'm not alone in looking at my guitars with the same love and pride I have for my daughters. I wouldn't part with any of them or trade them for sons either.

Man, this thread really has legs. Long distance legs.

I'm a player not a collector so I don't shop the higher end of the market. My "collectables" were sold long ago before anyone ever realized what they may be worth some day.

The only "high end" guitar I own now is a CS '51 Nocaster I bought about 20 years ago. And I wouldn't even have that had it not been offered to me for under $1000 when new ones sold for $3k. It's been stowed away for much of that time anyway kept safe so I wouldn't sell it to buy booze back when I was an alcoholic like I did a 400 Series Taylor I also had.

These days I prefer moderate priced quantity and versatility over high end singularity. I could easily sell what I have to finance two or three top end guitars and basses but that's not where my head or heart are at. I actually prefer the more value oriented approach and using my knowledge and ability to make those instruments as good as they can possibly be.

Losing a $5000 instrument or having it stolen would be crushing whereas with a $500 instrument it would only be annoying. My insurer is also far more cooperative insuring less expensive gear for full replacement value than pricier stuff that much like expensive jewelry needs a separate rider and written appraisals instead of a Sweetwater catalog page.

I have no axe to grind with those who own their treasures and I can admire them too if only through photos and the way an owner describes his. But for my part I enjoy my lower budget lower stress fleet of "stuff" and the fact that for me GAS is more like filling up my 30 + mpg 13 year old Toyota for $25 once a month than a pricey high end 20 mpg SUV for twice that or more several times a month. I like cheaper GAS.

 

[Lou-Hela]

How do people afford expensive guitars?
Cos they're caked up and have no sense of reality.

 

[Lou-Hela]

I'd go as far as to say that people like Joe Bonamasa are ***** for stockpiling all those lovely Gibsons.
One day soon, someone is gonna blast the Universe playing a Harley Benton.

 

[Cozmik Cowboy]

I have a 6-string flattop, a 12-string flattop, a biscuit-bridge resonator, a classical, a parlor, a semi-hollow, a jazz box, a solidbody, a bass, a guitar amp, a bass amp, a mountain dulcimer, an autoharp, a nose flute, a harmonica, and a kazoo.

Only one is a superb instrument, but the parlor & the classical are the only ones that I'd hesitate to gig with.

I don't have $200 invested in the lot; I'm afraid the only answer I can give to "How do people afford very expensive guitars?" is "Have a lot of money".........

 

[The Convert]

"How do people afford very expensive guitars?" is "Have a lot of money"

I think the question breaks on what "a lot of money is" and this is going to vary widely on circumstance.

Now I'm disabled and on SSDI, so I'm far from rich, but I did work for 25 years before that (which is how I invested in that disability protection). In my state, the median household income was around $74K in 2019. (I'm guessing this has plummeted since the human malware hit). Everyone makes choices, but if playing music is a priority, buying a $2,000+ instrument EVER, given that level of income (or even half that), seems very achievable if it is your #1 hobby.

These days I'm able to get a couple hundred into savings every month. If my goal was to get that 12 string Ric by the time I was 65, I could do that without destroying my savings. I don't think I would though.

I think it's all about priority and persistence.

Of course if you're rich, then you can buy whatever you want.

 

[Cozmik Cowboy]

I think the question breaks on what "a lot of money is" and this is going to vary widely on circumstance.

That is one question; the other would be what "a very expensive guitar" would be. I mean, I have played guitars well into five figures (that's "played", not owned, mind you......); I consider a $2000 guitar to be (while beyond my means - at least according to Her) a moderately priced instrument.

 

[The Convert]

That is one question; the other would be what "a very expensive guitar" would be. I mean, I have played guitars well into five figures (that's "played", not owned, mind you......); I consider a $2000 guitar to be (while beyond my means - at least according to Her) a moderately priced instrument.

I'm with you. I just wrote $2k, since that's what the OP started the first post with.

Once a guitar price goes over $2,000 (to me) that is expensive.

But I'd also maybe distinguish between expensive, and maybe exotic. Like a Lexus is expensive, but a Bently is luxury spending. Similarly, $2500 for a new Les Paul Standard is expensive, but $20,000+ for a mid-50s LP is luxury money. I don't know where the line between those might be, but I have a hard time considering guitars like Friedmans, even though the price tag is higher, whereas I'm not so blown away by a $6k price tag for a Rickenbacker, knowing they basically aren't mass-produced and they offer a unique experience.

I'm babbling. Happy day!

 

[Cozmik Cowboy]

I'm with you. I just wrote $2k, since that's what the OP started the first post with.



But I'd also maybe distinguish between expensive, and maybe exotic.

And to make it more confusing, there's a luthier a few miles down the pike (Austin McKee) who builds customs with a base price of $2500; Jamie Kinscherff starts at $6700, and a basic Ervin Somogyi guitar will run $40K (in all cases, more for options). Somogyis are pretty darn nice axes - but are they really $37.5K nicer than a McKee? I have serious doubts on that.
And that's my babble.