How much would you spend on a Guitar?

[Mandobart]

I voted $3k -$5k because I have spent that amount on other custom instruments. In fact I'm having a custom hardanger fiddle built right now that will be in that range. The thing is, you can't get decent hardanger fiddle for much less than 3 grand. Same for my custom 10 string mandocello. But guitars? We can get great, professional level flattops for less than a grand! You want an archtop or Sel-Mac? You'll pay more. Harp guitar? More still. So yes, I may pay $3k -$5k for a guitar at some point, but its unlikely.

[RP]

My sweet spot has increased over the past several years but I suppose that I justify it by purchasing for the long haul using some sort of justification rather than just buying/selling on a whim...

[mdshax]

In the last 3 years I went on a bit of a buying spree, and my upper limit ended up being a hair under $4k. I've dropped $3-3.5k on three others and caught a deal on a vintage Guild for only $800. But I console myself with knowing that the retirement fund is well in hand, the mortgage is low, and I quit all the drinking and drugging many years ago. So other than travel, this is where I spend my disposable income. If I were to buy again, it would mean parting with something in the collection for sure. And I just don't think there's any way I could go over that $4k line. I played some great prewar Gibsons and Martins recently, but my GAS just isn't bad enough to be able to justify those prices to myself.

Then again, if I hit the lottery then all bets are off . . .

Sent from my SM-T807T using Tapatalk

[383roller]

I've bought multiple guitars at every bracket in this poll, some multiplied by many in the cheaper.. And beyond the top price. There is something that comes with price no doubt but that's not everything, sometimes it's just timing.

[JeffreyAK]

Originally Posted by ronadair

Oh, I should mention that I gave up motorcycle racing to focus on music. Track days, crashing; especially crashing, was expensive. Wife's very happy - and willing to fund - the new focus.

Ha, I used to roadrace too, in AFM. I retired 10 years ago, but I used to budget about 5K per year on racing - tires mostly, also gas, truck wear and tear, motorcycle upkeep and parts, hotels, track days, schools, fees, and of course crashing, which meant bike damage, new helmets, suit repairs, new gloves, new boots.... Spending a few grand on a guitar that will last more than a lifetime seems cheap in comparison.

[flaggerphil]

Generally somewhere between $1500 and $2500.

[AndrewG]

My principle is basically to buy the best I can afford with available funds. The most I ever spent was on a Bourgeois Slope D. I did spend more on a Gibson F4 mandolin (1917). Both long gone.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by kydave

Where I live, in the Bay area of California, the sales tax on my $5000 plus Authentic was 10%...

that would be half of what we pay on everything apart from some medical, safety and food items.

Of course when it comes to foreign made (American or Far Eastern) instruments shipping costs, Customs charges, excise duty (3-6%) and the importing distributors's cut, all of which compounded, are subject to 20% VAT.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

My principle is basically to buy the best I can afford with available funds. The most I ever spent was on a Bourgeois Slope D. I did spend more on a Gibson F4 mandolin (1917). Both long gone.

Nice to see you back here Andy,

[RP]

Originally Posted by flaggerphil

Generally somewhere between $1500 and $2500.

Sounds about right for me as well...

[s2y]

Depends on what it is. An archtop or harp guitar has a different limit than a conventional acoustic.

[jseth]

A couple very strongly weighted variables to this question...

1) How much $$$$ do I have that can be justifiably spent on a guitar?

2) Do I actually need/want another guitar?

Seems that number 2 is the motivating force, while number 1 would be the "limiter"...

Without the answers to those questions, the poll is meaningless... right now? I wouldn't spend a dime on a guitar, unless it was VERY special and the price, absurdly low. I neither want nor need another instrument (matter of fact, I'm selling a few that I've owned for years...).

Now, 6 or 7 years ago, I had a bunch of "disposable income" and I had met James Goodall and become good friends with him and his family in Fort Bragg... I commissioned James and Luke to build a guitar for my 60th birthday, and the cost was well above $5,000... and worth every penny!

[island texan]

I guess I'm a little bothered by this poll. If you've been on this forum any time at all you've read comments as well as seen photos of various rooms with guitars on couches, etc. This should tell you that our community spans not only ages but incomes. Let's take the mean on this poll, which is a couple of thousand. There are members here where that represents a month's income. There are others who I suspect clear that much a day. The last guitar I bought would have been a year's savings for some members while it was pocket change for others. Add to that, we have an abundance of members (yours truly included) who have the indulgence in fine instruments entirely for self-gratification, while there are others who make all or part of their living with these instruments.

Maybe a more telling question would have been, "What percent of your annual income, or disposable income, would you put down for the guitar of your dreams?"

[kydave]

Originally Posted by island texan

... Maybe a more telling question would have been, "What percent of your annual income, or disposable income, would you put down for the guitar of your dreams?"

Hmmm... Well, as a minimum wage earning 20 year old kid in 1971 (which equates to $3,328 for a full time year at 40/hr week), paying $500 for a new D-28 was certainly a HUGE chunk of my annual income!

Commitment! (Still have and play it, though...)

[jpd]

I've begun the slow and winding road to discovering less expensive acoustics. I'm selling off all of my "name brands"(except for my 0-15) and discovering the joys of great built, less expensive, new and used acoustics. Man, there's a boat load of great acoustics out there