Thinking of trading in my SG Classic for a Mustang Reissue

Armchair Bronco · Post by **Armchair Bronco** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:53 pm

Last Christmas, I bought a Gibson SG Classic with dual P-90's. The tone is killer, especially through my Orange Tiny Terror, and the guitar itself is a freakin' work of art. Unfortunately, I've never bonded with the chunky, thick neck, the standard scale, or the flat fretboard radius. (Fat U-shaped neck, 43mm width @ nut, 24.75" scale, 12" radius). In fact, I hate the neck, and my fretting hand cramps up after playing it for 30 minutes.

I recently bought a Fender Classic Player Jaguar Special HH, and I love the neck. I have small hands, and this guitar just feels right. So I'm thinking of rounding out my collection with another short-scale guitar -- a '65 Reissue Mustang. (Small C-shaped neck, 41.3mm width @ nut, 24" scale, 7.5" radius). I doubt I'll ever be able to make a Mustang sound as killer as my SG Classic, but to me tone is secondary to playability.

Anyway, what are my options for selling or trading in my SG Classic? I've never sold a guitar before, so I'm a NOOB in this regard. Does GC do trade ins? What about higher-end guitar shops? I have an eBay account, but only for buying. What are reasonable expectations, given that the retail price for a new SG Classic is $999? I also have a hard-shell case.

astro · Post by **astro** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:34 pm

Ebay might be your best bet. Trading it in at a guitar shop isn't a good idea, because they'll offer you only a fraction of what it's worth.

You can do a search on ebay for completed auctions, it will show you what similar guitars have sold for in the past 90 days.

Armchair Bronco · Post by **Armchair Bronco** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:43 pm

Here's some feedback I received on another site:

"Ebay - larger audience, listing fees

Guitar Center type place - poor value, immediate trade

Private sale/craigslist - local buyers, beware scams, smaller buyer pool, no fees

Credible local/higher end guitar shop - usually better trade value, want you to buy more gear over many years, better customer service (sometimes)

For a guitar that retails (street, not msrp) for $1,000, you might expect $700 from private sale (-fees if ebay), $600 - $700 for credible shop, $400 - $500 for a chain/bottom-line joint.

Oh, and it's a buyer's market right now - everyone is shedding gear. Look out."

BobArsecake · Post by **BobArsecake** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:48 pm

MRS.BUTTERWOURTH, IS THAT YOU?!

<3

finboy · Post by **finboy** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:01 pm

i LOVE the neck on my sg classic, i got the biggest neck from warmoth i could so my luthier can save it down to the same profile.

midget hands FTL

Armchair Bronco · Post by **Armchair Bronco** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:12 pm

Small, delicate hands FTW! (At least for rhythm guitar playing.)

Believe me -- I seriously wanted to bond with the neck on my SG Classic. I tried and tried for the better part of a year, but it just didn't happen. Then 2 months ago, I bought a Fender Classic Player Jaguar Special HH, and I was like: "Holy $*$%^! This thing is awesome! Why have I been fighting with this SG for a year?" Now I want to go even smaller with the Mustang.

I have a friend who is 6'-4". He loves to test drive expensive sports cars on the weekend -- that's his hobby. I can't tell you how many times he's wanted to pull the trigger on some fast European import only to walk away from the deal when he had to admit that he couldn't fit in the car without hunching over ridiculously.

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:33 pm

I don't know much about how much they re-sell for on ebay but you can search SG classic and click on completed listings and see what some others like yours have sold for. I remember them going on sale on Musician's Friend on numerous occasions for $799 so I wouldn't expect any more than that at the absolute most for a used one.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:48 pm

I would love an SG Classic: I love SGs, chunky necks and P90s. Sadly, I am A) In the UK and B) the poorest I've been in years. Of all the options listed, I would either sell it on eBay (not actually that much hassle, and you'll get most money) or trade it in at a dealer. The latter might work quite well in your favour; you'd be trading in a popular, easy to sell guitar for a more speciality, harder to shift model.

...that was designed for children and ladies.

Will · Post by **Will** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:55 pm

The market sucks for selling right now - I know I'm gonna hold off getting rid of anything for a while at least. I'd save up for a while - Mustangs aren't going anywhere. You could also look at the '69 reissue, which usually goes in the $400-$450 range.

The SG classic is an awesome guitar - I'd try to hold on to it.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:38 pm

BobArsecake wrote:MRS.BUTTERWOURTH, IS THAT YOU?!

<3

Memories of yesteryear!

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:19 pm

DuoSonicBoy wrote: The SG classic is an awesome guitar - I'd try to hold on to it.

werd.
if i was in the guitar market right now, i'd buy the thing off you. i love p-90z

Armchair Bronco · Post by **Armchair Bronco** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 11:54 pm

Damn it! Seems like no matter what I do, I'll end up with a bad case of seller's remorse.

I'd prefer to hold on to the SG, too, but I'll get in big trouble with my wife if I do...since I PROMISED her that the last guitar I bought (the Jaguar) would be the last one.

I'm sure most of our wives have heard us say stuff like that before, right?

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 11:57 pm

DUDE.
If your making some income playing music, tell her it's for business. You can write that off on your taxes too.

Armchair Bronco · Post by **Armchair Bronco** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:14 am

Sloan wrote:DUDE.
If your making some income playing music, tell her it's for business. You can write that off on your taxes too.

...or I could tell her I need it for alternate tunings!

"Look, honey, I need the SG for standard tuning, the Jaguar for drop D, and the Mustang for double drop D! Otherwise, I won't be able to perform sets that include covers from AC/DC, Nirvana, and Radio Head without re-tuning between each song!"

finboy · Post by **finboy** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:18 am

how many pairs of shoes does she have?

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:52 am

Armchair Bronco wrote:Damn it! Seems like no matter what I do, I'll end up with a bad case of seller's remorse.

I'd prefer to hold on to the SG, too, but I'll get in big trouble with my wife if I do...since I PROMISED her that the last guitar I bought (the Jaguar) would be the last one.

I'm sure most of our wives have heard us say stuff like that before, right?

I had a girlfriend that got mad at me when I bought a jagmaster a couple years ago, and when she asked where it came from I told her it was one of my first guitars but I hardly ever played it so it stayed in my closet for years and years and that's why she hadn't seen it yet. Never heard her mention it again.

oh, and when I bought Blane's competition mustang, I told her that I traded him a bass that she had also never seen for it...

Armchair Bronco · Post by **Armchair Bronco** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:01 am

I heard about a guy who has got his wife convinced that he only has 1 guitar: "a red one", at that.

Apparently, he keeps all of his guitars hidden away in the basement, except for his current favorite one, which he keeps out in the open.

"Whenever, I want a new guitar, I just buy it under the radar, making sure that it's always red! My wife hasn't figured it out 'cause she doesn't know anything about guitars. She sees a red guitar in the corner of the living room and just assumes that it's the same guitar that she's always seen there in the corner. Works like a charm!"

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:05 am

my ole lady has more guitars than i do, so... i really have no complaints, other than im automatically expected to make sure they are in tip top shape all the time, and when one isn't i get the third degree.

MaMo · Post by **MaMo** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:27 pm

...man up?

r40f · Post by **r40f** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:49 pm

MaMo wrote:...man up?