Well, at only the 5 month post-release mark, they're almost halfway there in number, as I'm informed of.
Hey congrats on your investment, and I'm glad to hear that you're being inspired by the playability and tone. It tends to have that effect on people once they give one a go, they really are fantastic instruments.
That being said, these guitars are going to appreciate in value in the future, and any alterations to it will definitely affect the resale/collect-ability value, particularly a refin. It's common knowledge in the vintage/collector market that a refinished piece will automatically drop the value 50%. Yes, half. Immediately. It would be worth more worn but original, than refinished years later.
If you're liking the tone of it, another aspect you may not be considering with this particular instrument is that a refinish is going to definitely change the tone of it - and not in a good way either. It will slightly deaden it. As Meshuggah's repair tech, I've worked on and studied all of them right from the earliest prototypes in painful detail. I can assure you that the bare stain and extremely light, clear sealer dusting aids in the vibrancy and transfer throughout the neck and body. Many people are surprised at how light in weight these guitars are for their size, and having a minimal finish on it is a big part of it. You can go ahead and refinish this if you really want to - but frankly you'd be foolish in the extreme to do so.
This would be as good a place as any to say: I'm thinking about adding an online M8M Registry Page to the existing Meshuggah Guitarchive very soon for all owners, so that everyone can see how many and where they are, along with an M8M Forum for discussions.
