If you had $50k to spend - what guitars would you consider?

[Rusty55]

OK, this must seem like a completely ridiculous proposition - the vast majority of us will never in our wildest imagination have $50,000 to spend on dream guitars, but bear with me. A couple of months ago I could have and didn't - but now I wish with all my heart that I had.

Back in March I seriously considered buying another guitar. It seemed like a completely irresponsible notion. I already have more than enough. Anyone should be satisfied with the guitars I already have and if you heard me play, the kind and wise ones among you would tell me that the money would be better spent on lessons and my time on practicing, rather than lusting after offerings in the AGF marketplace.

Some context. I am 67 years old and play fingerstyle. I retired in May. My wife and I will be living on a fixed income - my scanty pension and our social security, along with some savings. Ours was never going to be a plush lifestyle, but our house will be paid off next month and we have zero debt. Uncertainty with respect to future medical bills and rising inflation and fuel prices all combined to stay my hand. I did what was supposed to be the smart conservative thing.

I left my retirement savings in the stock market and now 3 months later, that rather modest and well diversified portfolio is now worth $50,000 less than it was back in March. It hurts now but will be much worse later on, when we really need the money (and I'm happy to say I didn't have any Bitcoin).

Life is full of 'could have done', 'should have', 'would have, if only I had known' decision points. I got nervous and sold everything in my investment portfolio at the outset of the war in Ukraine and then when the markets didn't tank, I waited a few weeks and bought back in. I was happy when I got out and satisfied when I got back in, even though I took some loses.

High end guitars are a dubious investment. They may well hold value, but there is a limited market and liquidity is a concern. A stock portfolio can't be insured and guitars can, those stocks won't disappear in a flood or fire or tornado but their value can evaporate. I did what investment advisors have always recommended - I stayed the course - in the long run they always tell us we would be better off (and history tends to show that), but right now I wish I'd listened to my lesser angles and invested some of those now lost funds in guitars. I had my eye on a sweet little parlor guitar. Thousands of dollars that could have been turned into guitars, something solid and beautiful and functional and fun have simply evaporated into the ether.

Right now I wish I was playing a new guitar and not the market.

Help me salve the wounds. Commiserate with me. I was never going to spend $50k on guitars, such a thing was never justifiable and still sounds a bit crazy, but if I had made that decision, it would look pretty smart right now.

So, help me out. If I had invested in dream guitars rather than Google, what should I have bought?

Oh, and of course I do realize that even if I had diversified and invested more in guitars and less in Google and Exxon and index funds, those stock investments would still be worth 20+% less today than they were in March, and my wife would still be asking, "why are there are so many guitar cases in the living room, you do realize that you can only play one at a time."

[SuperB23]

I'd hunt for a good solid collectors grade 35-37 Martin D-18. If I had a bit of cash left over I'd buy another Goodall or Ryan maybe.

[Gas]

A pre war Martin, Collings, Santa Cruz.....oh baby I'd spend it fast

[TomB'sox]

A McConnell and a Casimi.

[rstaight]

I think I would have a custom built.

[Russ C]

Knowing me, probably so something that costs $60,000.

[RJVB]

Is it supposed to be an "investment" guitar or your dreamguitar? Does it all have to be spent on guitar(s)?

$50k. That should buy me a Loar-signed Gibson L5 plus the custom-made nylon-string archtop I'm dreaming of, possibly with some money to spare.

The L5 will probably only increase in value (but selling it for market value is something you should count on not succeeding in.

Of course the smart thing to do would be to put the money in a savings account and hope it'll buy a decent EV by the time my 13yo car goes belly up or is no longer allowed anywhere...


And at the same time I keep seeing claims from (Asian) instagrammers (I try to keep up with my time ) how they sometimes make over $5000 worth in bitcoin in a single day... and apparently not by selling drugs or weapons

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by Russ C

Knowing me, probably so something that costs $60,000.

I almost thought "Monteleone" myself, and then realised 50k is probably just the down payment...

[Dotneck]

I’m your age and my retirement account also took a hit this week. A lot of us are going to be singing the woulda, coulda, shoulda shuffle. I have no idea what I would have done if I had decided to invest $50K in guitars.

but 18 months ago I put a deposit of a Kopp Trail Boss that should be coming towards the end of the year. The two year lead time gave me a chance to get my finances organized so it won’t be a big sacrifice to buy it. It’ll most likely be my last big guitar purchase until the market makes a big rebound soon…

[TBman]

A Ryan, a Hatcher, a Spohn and a Santa Cruz.

[jaymarsch]

My dream guitars aren’t going to be yours so you would need to go to guitar festivals like La Conner and Woodstock or visit Guitar Gallery and TNAG and play lots of handmade guitars.
Mine would be EJ Henderson, Rebecca Urlacher and Santa Cruz to go with the Wingerts and Kramers that I already own.
Best,
Jayne

[Kbonger]

HAha, I did just stop putting as much as I have in order to get a Martin D 18 and some dental work. I'm loosing my behind too but I'll be able to play my new
guitar with a smile.

[tommieboy]

Originally Posted by Rusty55

OK, this must seem like a completely ridiculous proposition...

A timely thread, as I just walked in the door with my retirement guitar a few minutes ago. The budget was 67 years/$67,000 USD The money was there, but at the end of the day, I spent $10,000 out of the $67,000 and called it a day. Truthfully there was nothing beyond the $10,000 price point that was of any interest to me.

I should note that this was the first time my wife didn't complain about a $10,000 guitar.

Tommy

[cc132]

Originally Posted by tommieboy

A timely thread, as I just walked in the door with my retirement guitar a few minutes ago. The budget was 67 years/$67,000 USD The money was there, but at the end of the day, I spent $10,000 out of the $67,000 and called it a day. Truthfully there was nothing beyond the $10,000 price point that was of any interest to me.

I should note that this was the first time my wife didn't complain about a $10,000 guitar.

Tommy

You can't just say all that and not let us know what it was!!!!

I had a similar experience (with much smaller numbers) recently. Set myself a pretty hefty budget and ended up buying something that was about 60% of my maximum. There just wasn't any need to spend the full amount once I found "the one."

[colins]

I’m around your age and watching the latest stock market volatility with concern. For my limited investments I’m sticking with well-established companies that make actual profits in stable industries. They’re the ones that are safe in the long term. But Tesla? No way. Tech stocks? I want something real, not investor hype. Crypto? I’d sooner invest in belly button fluff; it’s just as beneficial to our society and it’s far more tangible!

And for the guitar? I’d invest in my personal enjoyment, and commission something special from Kathy Wingert. Then I'd put the rest of the $50,000 into a mix of safe stocks, property and cash, so I can afford strings and picks!