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Your best guitar deal...


Tim Plains

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Posted

...can we talk prices?

 

This is clearly a case of it's who you know...not what you know.

 

The best deal I've ever heard on a new Gibson was a woman I work with. She bought her husband a brand new 2007 Gibson LP Standard for $1,400, taxes in! He loved the guitar!

 

Unfortunately, he left it out on the stand one day, their son ran by and knocked it over, causing a fracture down the neck. The guitar was professionally repaired for $17. You can't even tell it has a repair.

Posted

In 1974 I was playing a really cheap SG copy, and decided I needed a REAL guitar. Me and a buddy were window shopping at a local music store when we ran across a couple of old used Fenders, a Strat and a Tele. He bought the Tele and I bought the Strat. We were both glad to finally be playing REAL guitars. We had no idea of vintage or collectors guitars at the time, and neither did the music store that sold them to us.

 

I found out later what I had bought was an original 1960 Startocaster, for $195.

 

Still own it, still play it. For what it's worth today, I'd say it's the best $195 I ever spent.

 

 

 

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Posted

I picked up my FSR Fender Highway One Surf Green Strat with Custom Shop 69s (switched for Hot Noiseless) for $800 with a case, normally they were $900 w/ a gig bag, but my Les Paul BFG Limited beat that, regular $1300, I paid $800.

Posted

I was given an old Ibanez electric by a friend for helping him move. It was a beat up les paul look alike with a curly mandolin style headstock. I liked the looks but it played like crap after many years of abuse. He knew I was an acoustic guy but said I had to have an electric in my collection. I kept it on a stand for about 10 years. I finally started looking on the net to see what I had and it turns out it was a pre-serial number 1973 or 1974 Ibanez Custom Agent. I sold it to a collector for $750. He wanted it as he was a big collector of Custom Agents but mine was the rarest color they made I guess and the only color he didn't own.

 

I spent the next year buying/selling/trading on craigslist with about $500 of the cash I made off of the Ibanez guitar, (Yes, my wife made me spend the other $250 on her and the kids!) Through a series of excellent trades mostly, I was able to take that money and through several trades turned it into a custom handbuilt acoustic guitar and the best acoustic amp available (200 watt Genz Benz Shenendoah Stereo Deluxe) as well as a Boss RX-20 loop station. If I were to have the luthier build this guitar today, it would be about $3500 or more. (I purchased it from a kid going to college that needed cash and because it was not a known name (small custom builders rarely are) nobody was looking at it on Craigslist. It took awhile, but taking a guitar I got for helping a buddy move and turning it into about $5000 in equipment is always a good deal!

 

Here is a photo of my Custom Legato Lutherie - Bear Claw Sitka/Walnut back & Sides with custom inlay.

 

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Posted

Best deal I ever got on a guitar was free... Doesn't get much better than that. Here's what happened. About a year ago I started a project that sent me searching for a company that would build me an acoustic guitar. I needed the guitar built but not finished, no tuners, bridge or varnishes, just the naked body. Then I had an artist paint the guitar and I sent it back to the manufacturer for final assembly and varnish. All this was done threw a local music store where I know the owner. While talking about how great the project was coming out with the music store owner I said I will probably end up getting another acoustic because I'd be afraid to play my project guitar, just jokingly, for fair of damaging it. I was trying out a Takamine EG 440 SC, auditorium style acoustic with cutaway... As it turns out the music store owner's son has a band and out of the blue he says to me, if you get my son's band a gig at the club you work at I'll give you that guitar... I got them the gig, I got the guitar. ](*,)

 

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Posted

I hate to do this but Tim started it....

My best Gibson deal was in 2007, a brand new 2005 R8 in Washed Cherry Sunburst.

Mint condition, taxes included....$1600.

Some of you guys wouldn't believe where I got it......

Posted
I found out later what I had bought was an original 1960 Startocaster' date=' for $195. [/quote']

I hope it doesn't say "Startocaster" on the headstock, or $195 may not have been such a great deal. happy-smiley-575.gif

Posted

I hope it doesn't say "Startocaster" on the headstock' date=' or $195 may [i']not[/i] have been such a great deal. happy-smiley-575.gif

 

Maybe for one of the new features of this website we can get automatic Spellcheck.

Posted
I hate to do this but Tim started it....

My best Gibson deal was in 2007' date=' a brand new 2005 R8 in Washed Cherry Sunburst.

Mint condition, taxes included....$1600.

Some of you guys wouldn't believe where I got it...... [/quote']

 

Do tell... How about some pics too... :-)

Posted

 

 

 

$75? NO SH¡T! You are kidding right? are you? O:)

 

No sir. Serious as a heart attack. A friend of mine had been rear ended in his brand new Mustang by some one who's Dad owned a music store. He gave him 3 guitars to cover the damage... and avoid turning it over to insurance. He sold one and paid for the repair (Guess what it was.... RIGHT a Les Paul!!) He brought the other 2 to me and gave me my choice for $75... this Strat and a 40 ton Gretsch (had the split/steel headstock). As I was playing out at the time and the thought of carrying that Gretsch was not pleasant, I took the Strat :P.

Posted
Do tell... How about some pics too... :-)

Tim's right' date=' the dreaded GC. This salesman always saw me checking out the high-end stuff and couldn't

get me to buy anything. One day he told me what he'd let this one go for.... "blowing out the older inventory".

I'm pretty sure it sat on that top row hanger the whole time they had it. Of course no case and no C.O.A., they did

get a reissued C.O.A. for me though. I never saw that guy again.... strange... Anyway....

[img']http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm147/PaulMarshall/DSC01317.jpg[/img]

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Fattest neck I own (I love 'em FAT!) What a great guitar!

Posted
Maybe for one of the new features of this website we can get automatic Spellcheck.

 

My Mac (Safari browser) underlines all things misspelled in red. Does this not happen in Windows?

Posted

Well, I got my Faded '05 LP for free when my father in law died, but he got a pretty good deal...

 

...My father in law, Joe, and I were in GC on a Saturday, and I bought a Classic goldtop. The sales dude pointed out a faded tobacco burst that was going on sale the next day. So Joe, gets up at like 4:00 AM the next day and sits outside GC. While he's waiting in line, he's talking to this guy who is planning to get a bass. Well, when the doors open the faded is gone - poof! A few minutes later he sees it in the hands of the bass buying dude! Apparently the guy knew one of the sales dudes and he had stashed it for the guy just before the opening. Not to be denied, Joe grabs the guy and explains to him how he is going to hand the guitar over... "What happened to the BS about buying a bass... I don't want to be an ***, but it's obvious you made up the whole bass story and had the Faded set up, but I'm is not leaving without it even if I have to kick your ***," etc....

The kid hands it over and it goes home with Joe for $978 with the case. not a bad deal for a Standard Faded LP.

Posted

I have gotten good deals on all my instruments, but I was very happy back in April when I purchased a brand new SG Standard still in the box with case, in Heritage Cherry for $1,125. Not bad since most of the online dealers are getting $1,579.O:)/

Posted

My Gibson F-25 cost me $150 in 1982 which was half the normal price for used Gibson's in the pawn shop then. It was half price because someone had refinished the top and the job was very amateurish so it had to be discounted. It's a fabulous player and every time I pick it up the hair on the back of my neck stands up even after all these years.

Posted
My Gibson F-25 cost me $150 in 1982 which was half the normal price for used Gibson's in the pawn shop then. It was half price because someone had refinished the top and the job was very amateurish so it had to be discounted. It's a fabulous player and every time I pick it up the hair on the back of my neck stands up even after all these years.

 

That's awesome man!!

Posted

Hmm... the best deal I ever got... I have to agree with Senor Dave, that would be my free acoustic. It's no Gibson and it sat in a case for 20 years before my Dad gave it to me, but it's a great guitar nevertheless. Althought I may be getting a great deal on an LP Standard sometime VERY soon... *cough* ...

Posted
Hmm... the best deal I ever got... I have to agree with Senor Dave' date=' that would be my free acoustic. It's no Gibson and it sat in a case for 20 years before my Dad gave it to me, but it's a great guitar nevertheless. Althought I may be getting a great deal on an LP Standard sometime VERY soon... *cough* ...[/quote']

 

I love older acoustics.... post a photo and tell us something about it when you get the chance.....

Posted

Well, it's not a Gibson, but I still love it

 

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It's also not "vintage" old... I think it was built in 86... that's old as my standards go, though. I'd never heard of the "Tradition" brand of acoustic guitars until I found this in my Dad's closet, apparently he bought it to relive his childhood dream of playing guitar (he asked for a guitar for his 10th birthday and his parents got him a violin instead) but he only stuck with it for 2 months. I'm more into electric playing, but when I do play my acoustic guitar, I play it with LOVE! Though tomorrow I'll likely have to take it off the stand to make room for a Les Paul... *cough*

  • 3 years later...
Posted

Guitar: Fender MIM Strat, Boss SuperChorus CH-1, and an amp.

 

Price: My lego collection.

 

Traded a neighbor who wanted to fulfill a childhood dream of his and needed tons of legos.

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