Gibson SG GT: A future collectable classic?

[trj44]

Hi all, would anyone have an opinion yay or nay on this? I cant seem to find one second hand anywhere on Ebay or amazon and I have access to a new one at a very good price. Should I pawn some stuff and buy it?? They have great features, I dont even play, the epi on the avatar is my son's. He is 13 and I am thinking of buying this and putting it away for his 21st birthday. A long away off I know but hell, there sure as hell aint gonna be any new ones available then so why not?

[leicester35]

I dont even play' date=' the epi on the avatar is my son's. He is 13 and I am thinking of buying this and putting it away for his 21st birthday. A long away off I know but hell, there sure as hell aint gonna be any new ones available then so why not?[/quote']

 

If you want to lay the guitar down for 8 years (in a climate controlled environment, of course) in order to give it to your son for his 21st birthday - well, that seems like a very nice idea to me.

 

In terms of appreciating value? Unlikely, I think. At least not for many years. The guitars most likely to appreciate in value are the collector's pieces - limited edition runs of artist signature guitars, for example. The type of thing that sells for thousands because it has Pete Townshend's signature on it.

 

However, the guitar you are thinking of buying your son (the Gibson SG GT) is a real player's guitar - and that's great, because electric guitars were made to be plugged into amps, not kept in bank vaults.

[carverman]

Putting a guitar away for 8 years just doesn't make sense. A guitar is meant to

be played. Even if it makes some sense now, it may not make any sense

8 years from now..as things change in that amount of time.

 

Your son's musical tastes may change and he might be interested in some other

model at that point.

 

It's hard to tell how much a 8 year old guitar would be worth then, even with

inflation. Speculators/collectors look for certain types and who might have

played them..that raises the value somewhat.

 

 

Nobody has a crystal ball to determine what is going to happen in 8 years

from now WRT to the guitar market. It may be worth more than what

you paid for it (due to inflation), but then again you may be lucky to get what

you put into it.... if you had to sell it for some reason.

 

Even if you put it away for 8 yrs, you have to worry about deterioration of

the nitro finish if you want to sell it as an untouched guitar and you may

have a hard time convincing a buyer of that...especially if your son finds it

somewhere in the house, between now and then.

 

Why not just put the money in a trust acct for him, let it grow and let

him decide how he wants to spend it at that point?

[lonesomeagle1]

GT was a limited run that ended in 2007 . If the price is right I would grab it.

Don't think they are terribly in demand, just not that many were made?

 

A very cool look ,nearly impossible to find although I did get a hit on craigslist

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/msg/1492957185.html

 

Good luck

P

[carverman]

They don't appear to be terribly in demand as mentioned. Even with the locking tuners, racing stripes and removable chrome

cover over the bridge /tp, and with limited production..they don't appear to be fetching that much

on the used market.

 

Here's one that somebody was trying to get rid of for $1250. The offering appears to be cancelled.

 

http://classifieds.castanet.net/showproduct.php/product/532192

[Hungrycat]

Generally It's a bad idea do buy a new guitar and hope it will be collectable someday. The truth is they just probably only have a 50% of ever being worth what you paid for them. The only guitars that will return your money will be uber expensive vintage models. The SG GTs went for over $2K new, and now they're selleing for about $1200? doesn't sound like a great investment to me, UNLESS you are going to play and love that guitar. Then, my friend, it's a fantastic investment.

[trj44]

Thanks to all who replied, the idea was not to make any money but to do something special for him really. Appreciate that it would truly be a shame to hide this away for so long. Perhaps his 18th birthday might be a better idea,

 

Cheers,

[charlie brown]

I'd say, sock away some money, over the next 8 years (or, whatever), and then let HIM decide,

what guitar he wants, when the time comes. The gesture is still valid, and I'm sure it will be

appreciated, but he will have direct input/responsibility, for his own choice, in the guitar...or,

whatever he decides to purchase, by then. Just my 2-cent's worth.

 

CB

[AlanH]

You're taking a big risk that he'll like it as an older teenager. A guitar painted like a car might look nice to a younger boy but it could become distinctly 'uncool' for an 18-21 year old who wants to look the part on stage. If the stores are struggling to sell them now I'll bet that they'll depreciate massively in the used market in the years to come.

 

Most people want the classic models within a range. All these limited editions end up having to be massively discounted. I've seen SG menaces and goddesses going for really low prices compared to standards and '61s. They have good specs but people just don't want to buy them because they're somehow not quite the authentic model, unlike the standard or the '61.

 

Put the money away and use the fund as an incentive in a couple of years time for him to do well in school at the time when it matters most. The prospect of a high end guitar of his choice for excelling in his studies will teach him that hard work in life reaps rewards. If you buy this now the temptation will be to hand it over sooner rather than later which will do him no favours in the long run.