daveinspain Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 All my guitars are pre Lacy Act... Rosewood and ebony all over the place... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 "Guitars make terrible investments" ~ George Gruhn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 There's seems to be some misconception about the Lacey act. Whether you have a vintage or new guitar, the Lacey Act does not prohibit you from owning one just because it may have Madagascar Ebony or Brazilian Rosewood. The act is intended to prevent the import of endangered species of wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 There's seems to be some misconception about the Lacey act. Whether you have a vintage or new guitar, the Lacey Act does not prohibit you from owning one just because it may have Madagascar Ebony or Brazilian Rosewood. The act is intended to prevent the import of endangered species of wood. Â Yeah....but I STILL would be as nervous traveling internationally with one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS1976 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I bought a Jonas Brothers guitar as an investment... and flipped it in 45 days for a tidy little profit!!!! bought a faded Flyin V & flipped it for $125 clams... same with a couple small amps. Â so it can be done, and i look at the situations as small gambles. Â i figure i couldn't make that same amount of money in interest at a bank so i did ok in all my situations. Â but as far as buying old guitars... never really gone that route. but i have one in the pipeline that i bought to use for an art project and only time will tell as far as how that one pays out... Â reckon at the end of the day... i have chipped away at buyin & sellin... but not enough to have a full blown habit. meanwhile the guitar i play the most has very little resale value. so that's good for me!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 There's seems to be some misconception about the Lacey act. Whether you have a vintage or new guitar, the Lacey Act does not prohibit you from owning one just because it may have Madagascar Ebony or Brazilian Rosewood. The act is intended to prevent the import of endangered species of wood. Â No confusion at all. i never thought any of my guitars would be at risk... The investment part comes in as these woods become scarce and other woods or materials are used instead. Just like a guitar with Brazilian rosewood has more value because you can't get it anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I've never bought any guitar as "an investment!" I buy them, to play! IF I've made any money on them, it was by gigging, or in the case of a trade, or sale, only because of inflation, over the years. The one guitar I do own, that could be considered of "investment caliber" has way more "sentimental" value, than anyone could give me enough money, for. Â CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I've never bought any guitar as "an investment!" I buy them, to play! IF I've made any money on them, it was by gigging, or in the case of a trade, or sale, only because of inflation, over the years. The one guitar I do own, that could be considered of "investment caliber" has way more "sentimental" value, than anyone could give me enough money, for. Â CB Â CB.... I'm kinda like you... I buy them to play..... but I have a couple that I have purely to pass down.... my cousin made two solid-body electric guitars that are VERY nice.... I don't play them, (although I keep one of them in the Motor Home....just in case), and of course the DIF and 'Bird are definately "players", but I plan on passing them down to my grandkids..... (as soon as my son gets the hint!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 My guitars are an investment in my own ability to play. It's more than monetary. It's metaphysical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 My guitars are an investment in my own ability to play. It's more than monetary. It's metaphysical. Â Wow that's deep but I strongly agree. Â I just get too sentimental with my guitars. Did you every notice how you play the same exact Gibson model in a store that you own, but it doesn't feel the same? I have two similar Les Pauls and I call which one I'm playing with my eyes closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I've only had one guitar to actually appreciate in value.  And it just keeps getting better even with the slump.  The rest I could flip for equal or slightly more than what I paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanH Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Buying a Gibson, at best, = cheap rental. In 5 years or so you'll get your money back but, given inflation, that's still a loss. Hence why I say it's cheap rental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Back in the mid 70s I paid $150 each for a '65 Fender Mustang,'65-66 Vox Astro IV bass,and a '65 Fender Jaguar,$90 for a '65 Vox Mk VI Acoustic and traded about $150 worth of stomp boxes etc. for a '65 Vox Phantom XII.Each one of these is worth at least $2,000 so these ivestments did OKn.I also bought 2 early 60's Hagstroms,a Hagstrom II and a rare Hagstrom Corvette with only 1,400 made over a 3 year period these are going for up to $1,200 now.The '66 Gretsch Tennessean and '74 Guild S-100 NB I paid about $500 each for in the late `70s have also appreciated considerably too.For people who bought vintage guitar before the mad run for them started,they did pretty good as far as investments sake goes.Buying a recent guitar wouldn`t be a worthwhile investment unless it was a very limited run such as the 40 Fender Strats that were done in British Racing Green with intricate abalone inlays for the 75th Ann. of Jaguar Cars or a one off Custom Shop guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I did buy a couple of guitars with that in mind only to realise that you have to wait too many years to really make something substantial back on it.. plus the biggest issue I had is I hated having guitars sitting in their case and not being enjoyed and played.. I lasted about a year before I decided to sell them on and I got back what I paid.. so nothing lost nothing gained.. Â Id say its a good way to have a varied guitar collection and experiences.. buy some, keep it for a while and if its not a keeper sell it and start with a new one.. it is the one thing about Gibsons is at the very least they hold thier price. Â Ive seen lots of limited edt guitars on ebay, like the Slash and Page models and they never seem to sell.. maybe in like 10/20 years when they are rare they will be worth alot.. I think if we knew which ones will be, we would all be doing it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 If you want to make money investing, talk to a broker. Guitar dealers and collectors are NOT qualified in that area. The term 'investment' seems to be tossed around so much most don't know what it actually is. Â INVESTMENT: Putting money into something that has a value that increases for the purpose of increasing the initial amount. EXPENDITURE: Spending money on items or uses to increase the ability to make money. GAMBLE: spending money on the CHANCE you will make more for it. Â Don't confuse 'investment' and 'expenditure' because of the idea you need to spend money to make money. Items like work trucks, tools, factories and toolings can be thought of as 'investing money', but the items themselves are NOT investments. They can not be sold for more than the cost. Â A guitar for the purpose of USE to facilitate a playing it IS an expenditure item, aside from increase of decrease in value. Â IF we want to use guitars as investments, then when we would be wise to compare them to what an investment actually is. They would fall WAY short in that category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightTimeConcealmentX91 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 deleted comment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I have to agree that buying a guitar for investment purposes is not generally a good idea. Every time I've done it (4 or 5 times) I've either lost, only broken even or to this day regretted selling the instrument in question.  Generally it used to be that non-American made guitars didn't tend to hold their value anyway and semis appreciated less than solids, however this has changed a bit with the coming of the net and the 'limited-edition/artist edition' tag. So you have prices going up versus the saturation of the market and the economic climate bringing them down in real terms - there's a glut of guitars out there, and actual prices will continue to drop the longer the recession/depression carries on. As far as who buys 'em goes, it tells you something when a limited edition artist-signature Les Paul costs $50k and comes in a glass display case! Isn't that too valuable to play?  And have a look at this; http://www.vintageandrareguitars.com/web/Home  Debating the prices of our beloved guitars will alway be a great topic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This_Dying_Soul Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I had bought my Les Pau Push Tone as an investment and it is still, because it is a limited run model and is more likely to appreciate in value than a Les Paul Standard. Â However I did change my intention to keep it in it's case all the time and put it out for display occasionally and also jam on it occasionally when I have other musicians in the house. Â I've since decided that I now have all the guitars I need in terms of players guitars and will only buy instruments that have potential to appreciate in value. Not saying these will go unplayed...I can't stand hearing their little voices calling from where the cases are stashed saying "PLAY ME...YOU KNOW YOU WANNA". Â Basically, I plan to focus on limited run models or models that become discontinued after a very short time. And when I'm finished with them hopefully they're worth more than I paid for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich W Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I've never bought any guitar as "an investment!" I buy them, to play! Â well said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich W Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I've got mixed feelings about guitar collectors who purchase instruments as investments. Â It's good a thing because the increase in monetary value of rare and vintage guitars means they are more likely to be carefully preserved rather than lost over time. On the other hand, because the price of certain older guitars has skyrocketed, the average guy will never have the budget to get one (or even see one). Â The guitar investment boom has also inflated the prices of many new guitars because manufacturers have introduced costly new lines they're marketing as knockoffs of the classics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 I think there are too many limited runs for them to be investment worthy, unless it's something really special like my JP EDS 1275... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Yep, 90% of folks frown upon signature models yet some of these models are the ones that appreciate in value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Namvet Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I also buy mine to play. I will pass them down when I'm gone and hopefully they will be played and appreciated as much as I appreciate playing and having them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyMoon Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 My opinion ....if you bought a 1954 Gibson goldtop (back in 1954) and sold it today for 40.000 dollars then it was an investment....other than that, just buy em and play em. Unless that famous person had a hand in the design or the build, than anything signature is just a name for selling purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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