buying a bad price/quality guitar knowing it...

[blacai]

The title might sound silly but I'm facing these thoughts...
It's my birthday and I want to give me a nice present. There are a couple of guitars out there I do like, but also I know the price is not fine according to what the actual instrument offers and I always ended delaying buying it because "for that price I'd better get an used prestige" (thanks people hahaha)

So, any experiences with that?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Eh, fuck it.

Just get what makes you happy.

 

[budda]

Eh, fuck it.

Just get what makes you happy.

Yep.

I spent almost double my original budget for a les paul custom (I did get a marginally fancier version of it). Dont regret it at all because I got my dream guitar.

 

[thebeesknees22]

Happy bday dude!!!! lol

Treat yourself right. Get what you want if you can spare the cash. You'll be happier with your present in the long run, and you'll probably keep it until you croak since it's a special purchase.

 

[TedEH]

People on forums like this talk about "value" of something like it's some absolute measurable quantity - which makes sense maybe if you're buying it to resell or something - but if you're buying something for yourself, for personal use, that you plan on keeping, then the only value that matters is what it's worth to you. Min/max-ing every decision in life is a great way to never be happy with anything. If you want it, and you can afford it, and the expense fits within your general sense of what it's worth to you - then buy it.

 

[MetalDestroyer]

My main guitar is possibly the worst value-for-money guitar that money can buy, but I've bought and played a lot of guitars in the last few years and this one is the one I want (for now at least).

 

[Demiurge]

If you like a guitar enough, you'll play the shit out of it and keep it for a long time. People pay far more money for experiences or for stuff that doesn't last nearly as long. I know someone who spent $20k on a cruise vacation and had a shit time due to weather- can you imagine?! Good gear is a fucking bargain in the long run.

 

[blacai]

Thanks people , yep, you're all right... better not to think too much and go for it anyway next year I'm gonna buy another one haha

 

[jaxadam]

anyway next year I'm gonna buy another one haha

shitchyes

 

[/wrists]

The title might sound silly but I'm facing these thoughts...
It's my birthday and I want to give me a nice present. There are a couple of guitars out there I do like, but also I know the price is not fine according to what the actual instrument offers and I always ended delaying buying it because "for that price I'd better get an used prestige" (thanks people hahaha)

So, any experiences with that?

For me the Caparison was a stupid guitar purchase, I like the guitar, I like everything about it, but I can't justify the $3k price tag. I still can't to this day, and it bothers me because I like my E II better, but I STILL love the Caparison. It's just not my favorite.

But the thing is, objectively speaking, I actually don't know if there are better guitars you can get at $3K. It's not quite enough for a custom shop, etc, but the guitar satisfied everything I was looking for at the moment.

Can we see what guitar you're talking about? Maybe we can offer some insight.

Sure, I could've gotten a used Ibanez Prestige or 5 Ibanez Prestiges for the price of the Caparison, and I honestly probably even would've found a reason to like them, but I would still always WANT the caparison etc.

 

[Hollowway]

Yep, I agree - go for it. I mean, don't be an idiot - find the best one for the price and buy that one.

And, if I may add, immediately after purchase delete the tag from your reverb search list. Otherwise the universe will present you with a steady stream of now-lower-priced versions of the same guitar.

 

[/wrists]

Yep, I agree - go for it. I mean, don't be an idiot - find the best one for the price and buy that one.

And, if I may add, immediately after purchase delete the tag from your reverb search list. Otherwise the universe will present you with a steady stream of now-lower-priced versions of the same guitar.

Always.

But also, can always return and repurchase. It's just a hassle.

 

[Hollowway]

Always.

But also, can always return and repurchase. It's just a hassle.

If from a proper store, yes, but Jim Bob (doing business as Jim Bob’s Guitar Emporium) in Topeka, KS prolly ain’t gonna let me return the used Les Paul I overpaid him for. *

*The names of the store, man, and guitar in this situation are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places, or guitars, is strictly coincidental. Hollowway STILL ain’t own a Les Paul.

 

[/wrists]

If from a proper store, yes, but Jim Bob (doing business as Jim Bob’s Guitar Emporium) in Topeka, KS prolly ain’t gonna let me return the used Les Paul I overpaid him for. *

*The names of the store, man, and guitar in this situation are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places, or guitars, is strictly coincidental. Hollowway STILL ain’t own a Les Paul.

I thought reverb has a force return policy w/e

 

[/wrists]

People on forums like this talk about "value" of something like it's some absolute measurable quantity - which makes sense maybe if you're buying it to resell or something - but if you're buying something for yourself, for personal use, that you plan on keeping, then the only value that matters is what it's worth to you. Min/max-ing every decision in life is a great way to never be happy with anything. If you want it, and you can afford it, and the expense fits within your general sense of what it's worth to you - then buy it.

in a sense there is a baseline value that is most definitely measurable.

logic like yours is why i see mass produced guitars that are made in korea go on the market for $2000 and also why i see a 2010 camaro with 130k miles go for $20,000

it walks a very close line to delusion

 

[Hollowway]

in a sense there is a baseline value that is most definitely measurable.

logic like yours is why i see mass produced guitars that are made in korea go on the market for $2000 and also why i see a 2010 camaro with 130k miles go for $20,000

it walks a very close line to delusion

It's true that you need a balance between financial prudence and yolo. I think that's why we all have our "white whale" guitars. For most of us, the only reason we don't have it is price (not availability). I got my white whale - an Ibby SR7VIISC - a couple of years ago, and paid $2000 on Reverb. It was hundreds more than I've seen them go for in the past, but I don't see them come up very often, and it wasn't a ludicrous amount. So I figured WTH, and paid the man. But, another white whale is the Jem 7V7, and I'll be damned if I pay the multiple thousands these lunatics are asking these days. If I pay that it'll just make me feel like a dumbass every time I pick it up.

The other factor is inflation. And by that I don't mean strictly the inflationary rate, but the fact that everyone is flush with cash, and still spending a lot on gear. I have to think that at some point the market is going to cool again, and we'll have more opportunity to buy stuff at reasonable prices. We're too close to the spending spree of the pandemic for people to have lost interest in their gear (or new-found hobby of playing guitar). But I suspect over time people will realize they don't need that gear, or are no longer interested in playing, and will sell it.

(And you're right about the Korea stuff - I fully intend to buy the Javier Floyd 8 LTD at >$2000.)

 

[/wrists]

(And you're right about the Korea stuff - I fully intend to buy the Javier Floyd 8 LTD at >$2000.)

!

No cap?

It's hard for me to justify paying $1K for a korean guitar because of the japanese ones that go for that amount used.

 

[Edika]

To the OP, if you're buying new it's going to be pricier of course than getting used (not so much more nowadays lol, have you seen the price of used Prestiges?). The main thing is, can you play the instrument before buying or able to return it if you don't like it? Sometimes price and specs won't matter much if you get something that sounds great and feels great. That when you pick it up it inspires you to play. And it's a guitar that you're planning to keep and not sell after a few months or a year.

 

[TedEH]

it walks a very close line to delusion

I didn't say yolo, I said that value is subjective. I said that resale value is meaningless if you never re-sell. I said that being in a constant state of min/maxing your every choice can suck the joy out of things. I said that the decision of "is x worth it" often comes down to deciding "do I want it enough to justify spending $x on it?".

Obviously, you can measure "value" of anything if you really want to - but it's not an absolute and it's not objective. A guitar worth ten thousand dollars is only really "worth" ten thousand dollars if you mean to sell it, and someone else wants it that badly. If you keep it, then it's worth its utility and your level of enjoyment. If nobody wants something and it serves no purpose, then it has no value regardless of what price sticker you put on it. There are subjective qualities to any product or decision that can outweigh the price tag. There's nothing delusional about that.

 

[Hollowway]

!

No cap?

It's hard for me to justify paying $1K for a korean guitar because of the japanese ones that go for that amount used.

I mean, I might wait to find one used. But it’s really the only game in town. The Hellraiser 8 string comes with a Floyd, but dang it’s ugly.