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i was just watching some stuff with george gruhn on youtube, and he was spouting a bunch of stuff about how expensive instruments are best.

here's my question:
what is your spending limit on a single guitar/bass?

as of right now, the most ive spent is $800, and that got me a great guitar with a case that has lasted me 7 years and will last me much longer.

and i know that this is on a case-by-case basis, but i'd say that i wont spend more than $2000 on a single guitar, ever. sure, i love guitars, but $2000 can buy a lot of food/gas/whatever else.

Most I ever spent was $1000 on my Rickenbacker 330. Before that it was my Les Paul Studio for $800. Both of these guitars were brand new and came with a hardshell case, and were had for far under their normal price, and before that, the most I had spent was $400.

I like to think $1000 is my limit for an electric, although I think this is because I have so many guitars as it is. If I was in the market for an acoustic or bass, my limit might be a tad higher since I'm only likely to want to own one and that's it.

I must also stop spending money on guitars right now for a year at least.

I was offered a TB500 for $3000 a few years back, which is nothing compared to what they cost now. But at the time I don't think I was happy to play a guitar that valuable at some of the venues I played at the time, and probably will again.

Most I've ever paid for a guitar is £1000ish for the Electrical Guitar Co Custom- bought new- and nearly as much for a mint condition black '67 Hagstrom Viking I (which is technically over market value but I was on a collecting spree at the time).

Over market value now at least....those reissues really hurt the market for some reason. I remember when I first got my viking II there were some selling on ebay for over $1200.....now you're lucky to get $800 for a vintage one it seems

The most I've ever spend on a single guitar is $800. I mod most of my instruments and don't really see the point in paying top dollar unless it's vintage and/or not easily attainable.

my coronado was about a grand, which is quite expensive but i wanted it badly. that's probably my limit, i don't honestly think i could justify spending more than that on a guitar (even though i've been tempted in the past).

The most I've spent on a guitar was $800.00.I think that's about my limit.

The most i have ever payed for a NEW guitar was somwhere around $550 (Deluxe Player Strat)
And for a used guitar, i think right around $750 for an '80's Jazzmaster.

My Mustang at £700.

about 600 U.S. dollar...

The most I have spent is on my Jaguar which was £550 new.

I would be interested in a vintage Jaguar at less than £1000 but this is below market value for anyhing with original pickups/finish etc, so I just don't think it'll ever happen.

Would I feel comfortable leaving a £1000+ Jag in our rehearsal space when going for our mid practise pint? Probably not, which is odd considering my JCM800 is £500+ and my Jaguar would cost £550 to replace, plus all those parts, time and effort in my pedals. I have a built in reservation to spending over a grand on any piece of musical equipment though, it's just the way I am.

If I'd been in the market 5 years ago I'm sure I could have got a good example for £800. No longer and probably never again. :-/

The most I've ever spent was £620 for my current Jaguar. I feel that that was too much, but I really wanted that guitar. I love it and don't see myself buying any other decent guitars unless it gets stolen or melts because I rock so hard on it. So nowadays I probably wouldn't pay over £200.

i'd spend maybe 2k on a really great acoustic.

The most I've spent on a guitar is £570 for that Rickenbacker, and that was new. I don't know what my limit would be, I suppose it'd depend on my income, if I was earning a lot and had no real commitments I can't see why I'd limit myself based on some principle. I'm not sure I'd ever buy a new guitar again, just because I like them a bit worn in, and there's no real need to buy a new one I don't think, especially as they're generally cheaper. So no, my only limit is my means, which is also based on money I would have, i.e. not borrowed/on credit.

I suppose if I had Oprah money I would just buy whatever took my fancy.

I have two. £1000 for something spectacular and around £500 for guitars that are nice but not nice. The market value also matters, and as BobAC says so does my means. The only things that have tempted me at around the £1000 limit have been a hollowbody Gretsch or a Rickenbacker bass. In both cases I didn't quite have the means and didn't see one that was quite worth it.

I think I'd be ok with paying about £800 for a Rick bass, but that's below market value for the UK so it's unlikely I'll have one unless my expendable income increases quite a lot.

Part of the problem is the waiting lists keep prices fairly inflated. You also get clowns like this...

This bass has been stripped down and is in 99.8% condition, there is a very small mark on the fretboard. You can get it fretted which is cheap to do, the side dots on the side of the neck maybe slightly out.. Just a thought.

£800 for a bass with no parts on it, and the side dots about a fret too high.

I did $850 for my Dano. The most before that was $700 for a Ric 330 (some years ago) that I resold cause I just couldn't get on with it.

I fully plan on buying a Gibson J-45 at some point, so $2000 would be about my limit.

Compared to sax players, we're all misers - they have to spend over $2k just to get something that plays in tune.

I guess I'm used to (though not happy about) having to spend more money on guitars being a lefty, but the only time I have spent what I would call "silly money" on a guitar was my recent custom made Les Paul.
I knew what I wanted and was part of the building process from start to finish and every single thing was to my specification. The result is a guitar that I am COMPLETELY happy with - something that doesn't happen often. This gem cost me £1650. Less than a Gibson LP Standard lefty...and much much better. I doubt I will spend this much ever again.

lamp wrote:I guess I'm used to (though not happy about) having to spend more money on guitars being a lefty, but the only time I have spent what I would call "silly money" on a guitar was my recent custom made Les Paul.
I knew what I wanted and was part of the building process from start to finish and every single thing was to my specification. The result is a guitar that I am COMPLETELY happy with - something that doesn't happen often. This gem cost me £1650. Less than a Gibson LP Standard lefty...and much much better. I doubt I will spend this much ever again.

Any pics?

Search for 'custom les paul', Author 'lamp' brings up only four results.

http://www.shortscale.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22415