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A Trade In The Works, Looking For Opinions


Kenny V

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A good friend of mine and I are thinking of trading guitars. Mine is a Les Paul Blackwater, one of 200 made. His is a ES335. I have three LP's, and want to pickup a double cutaway hollow body. I did buy the Blackwater in hopes that being a limited edition guitar it would someday be worth a lot more than I paid for it. My thought process now is it would be nice to pickup the 335. I have recently been selling some of my guitars and amps to buy a Collings DC hollow body guitar. The Collings Guitar I am looking at is 5K, which is an awful lot of money for someone who just plays to please myself. This trade would save me money in the long run. Is this a fair/good trade? Would I be better off selling the Blackwater and putting the proceeds toward the Collings guitar?

Kenny V

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A good friend of mine and I are thinking of trading guitars.

 

Good friends don't let their good friends trade guitars. Save them all for when the world economy crashes. The strings can be used as snare wire to catch rabbits which you can then roast over a rosewood or Mahogany fire.

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I don't know. While visually it's an unusual LP and the Piezo pickup does give it a little bit more sounds to use. Pickups (490/498) are a good combination but nothing out of the ordinary. I honestly don't know if this would ever be worth a lot more because it's a "Blackwater" edition. (a mis-judgement lots of ppl make I think)

 

found one completed Ebay transaction that looked to end at around $2,200 back in March, so there's a ball park for the value if that helps you at all.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-Chad-Kroeger-Blackwater-Les-Paul-Electric-Guitar-w-Case-/291408642745?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43d94f02b9

 

personally I think you are quite possibly winding up on the plus side of this one. if it's an even trade. What is the ES335 in question? those start at around $3k new and go up from there. (and quickly if you're looking at Reissues)

 

Steve's idea of a trial period is about as reasonable an idea I've heard yet. I'd probably go that route. the only thing I'd be leery of is the fact that since it's a friend, if he decides down the road he wound up on the short end of the stick, you may feel compelled to reverse the deal.

 

What I would probably do is continue on the road of selling to score the 335, but if I was dropping $5k on a 335 style guitar, it would not be a Collins, I know they are probably great guitars, but you could probably pickup a used one for half the price new. The Gibson will hold it's value better on a resale I believe, hands down.

 

Good luck!

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Thanks. We are in a trial stage of the deal. The 335 is not a high end model. I believe both guitars are quite similar in value. As I said this is a good friend and I want the trade to be fair for both of us. My biggest concern was the possible increase in the value of the LP. It sounds like my speculation purchase panned out. I do like the LP, but I have a standard and a dc, so the Blackwater won't be missed.

Kenny V

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I don't know. While visually it's an unusual LP and the Piezo pickup does give it a little bit more sounds to use. Pickups (490/498) are a good combination but nothing out of the ordinary. I honestly don't know if this would ever be worth a lot more because it's a "Blackwater" edition. (a mis-judgement lots of ppl make I think)

 

found one completed Ebay transaction that looked to end at around $2,200 back in March, so there's a ball park for the value if that helps you at all.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-Chad-Kroeger-Blackwater-Les-Paul-Electric-Guitar-w-Case-/291408642745?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43d94f02b9

 

personally I think you are quite possibly winding up on the plus side of this one. if it's an even trade. What is the ES335 in question? those start at around $3k new and go up from there. (and quickly if you're looking at Reissues)

 

Steve's idea of a trial period is about as reasonable an idea I've heard yet. I'd probably go that route. the only thing I'd be leery of is the fact that since it's a friend, if he decides down the road he wound up on the short end of the stick, you may feel compelled to reverse the deal.

 

What I would probably do is continue on the road of selling to score the 335, but if I was dropping $5k on a 335 style guitar, it would not be a Collins, I know they are probably great guitars, but you could probably pickup a used one for half the price new. The Gibson will hold it's value better on a resale I believe, hands down.

 

Good luck!

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4H

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The days of guitars increasing in value for being a limited edition are over… There are too many limited editions. Guitars will never go up in value again like the guitars from the 50s and 60s. That is over… The demand for guitars is becoming less and less each year as the new generations of guitar players is less and less every year. The Les Paul you have and the ES 335 should hold their value pretty evenly in the coming years. Do the trade and if you guys are both happy you did good.

 

The guitars of the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000, 2010, and into the future will spike in value when the woods that were used to make them are no longer available and replaced by synthetics… So if we live long enough to see adds like Les Paul 100% real wood, then we will see the guitars of today going way up in value again but don't hold your breath… The guitars of the 50s and 60s have gone up so much in value because they are part of history, not because of their age. Rock stars and legends used them and they have become iconic. Will there be another generation of rock star legends to pump up the values of todays guitars? I kind of doubt it. There is no longer the incentive of becoming rich and famous as a guitar player like there was when people could hit it big and sell millions of records. Music sales are way down. If you put out and album and are lucky enough for it to get airplay or go viral on you tube, that will promote your concert tour. That being said you need to be young enough to sustain that life style for a while. You can make some good money touring but not the millions that our rock legends made. The cost of the tour will eat much of the money. And that's the way it is…

 

I

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