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View Poll Results: How high does a guitar's cost have to be to be considered 'high-end'?
Above $1000 28 7.41%
Above $2000 54 14.29%
Above $3000 93 24.60%
Above $4000 67 17.72%
Above $5000 79 20.90%
Above $6000 13 3.44%
Above $8000 16 4.23%
$10,000 & above 28 7.41%
Voters: 378. You may not vote on this poll

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  #31  
Old 03-31-2023, 08:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by foxo View Post
A question for those who don’t see the Martin D-18 as high end due to its ubiquity - would you conversely view a (real, not reissued) 1937 D-18 as high end due to its scarcity and price tag of $50k plus? Does scarcity come into it? Maybe I am a cynic but I would hazard a guess modern quality control on the newer standard series Martins is less variable than in the olden days.
That would fall under the true "vintage" label (another term that gets tossed around too much)
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  #32  
Old 03-31-2023, 08:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Jim Comeaux View Post
That’s simple! It means I can’t afford it!
This is the absolute correct answer to the question.

My most expensive guitar cost $4000. I love it. It sounds amazing and is a beautiful piece of music art, but I have no more attachment to it than I do my less expensive guitars. My least expensive guitar cost $385 used. It has far more value to me than the $4000 guitar. I feel that it would probably cost me $2000+ to replace the used guitar with anything approaching its playability and tone.
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  #33  
Old 03-31-2023, 08:24 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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This question has dogged me, so I'm coming back for another bite. (see what I did there!)

Firstly, I am a Brit, so I think/pay in UK Pounds, which are steadily sinking beneath the waves that we used to "rule".

The most I've ever paid was under £3000 for a '30s Gibson archtop from a US dealer. That figure includes shipping Excise duty, handling charge and 20% (VAT Purchase tax if you will)

My preferred brand is Collings and I bought my first one in 1999 for £2750 (less trades) it was more than twice what I'd ever paid before.

I've bought four more between then and 2012 and bought used and for less.

My last three purchases were new (getting lazy) So I guess £3000 would be my acceptable limit, but I couldn't get a Collings for that now - more like twice as much, however, if a used 002h became available - for £3k or so, I'd be tempted.
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  #34  
Old 03-31-2023, 09:13 AM
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Its true that a pro can play a guitar of any price, even less than 1K but the better guitars cost more. So does what a pro play reflect the quality of the guitar, no. Better guitars have consistent build quality, sound optimized and beauty. I dont agree with the poll to this point.
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  #35  
Old 03-31-2023, 09:17 AM
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It depends on how you define “high-end.” Is it based on what you personally can or can’t afford? Or is it based on build quality and the truly hand-made attention you’ll likely only get from a single-luthier build or perhaps from a small shop. I went with the latter and voted $5,000+.
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  #36  
Old 03-31-2023, 09:17 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by foxo View Post
A question for those who don’t see the Martin D-18 as high end due to its ubiquity - would you conversely view a (real, not reissued) 1937 D-18 as high end due to its scarcity and price tag of $50k plus? Does scarcity come into it? Maybe I am a cynic but I would hazard a guess modern quality control on the newer standard series Martins is less variable than in the olden days.
It’s not about quality control. A modern-day D-18 looks like a pre-war D-18 and clearly shares its lineage, but the minute you pick up a 1930s or 1940s D-18 you notice the difference—it’s at least a half-pound or more lighter. A D-18 Authentic 1939 or 1937 is closer, but even those don’t feel as light and responsive as the originals that they are based on. And the newly announced D-18 Authentic 1937 Aged is $8k—almost high-end!
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  #37  
Old 03-31-2023, 09:24 AM
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1. Anything above a standard series Martin, or a Standard series 40 model
2. Any archtop built by Campellone, Triggs, or similar
3. Any f-Style mandolin over $6k, which is most of them
4. Any custom banjo
5. Any instrument built by Dale Unger
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  #38  
Old 03-31-2023, 09:56 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fitness1 View Post
- in my book it's the line where the factory built instruments stop and the one-off, one man or small shops like Collings, Bourgeois, etc start. So not really a price, but attention to detail which an individual desires.
This feels right. 'High end' is usually the guitar I want, but I have to think hard about whether I'm comfortable buying it.
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  #39  
Old 03-31-2023, 10:30 AM
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I didn't vote. I figure $500 more than any of my existing guitars.
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  #40  
Old 03-31-2023, 10:31 AM
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I was sitting on the couch the other evening, stroking my HD-28 and singing with my wife. Several times I paused and savored the sound coming out of that magnificent instrument.

Of course I know it’s not “high end.” But it is to me.

Funny, but now I want a D-18 and its price feels prohibitive. (At least it does to my wife.)
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  #41  
Old 03-31-2023, 10:31 AM
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I would disagree with those who think 'high end' necessarily denotes high or exceptional quality. Implicit within the term is a location, an 'end,' and this location is physically demarcated in guitar stores often by a lock around the neck and the wall holder or, in some cases, a room requiring permission to enter from a member of staff. In magazine ads for guitar shops that list the inventory, these instruments typically come at the top of the list - the 'high end' of it.

These guitars are usually top quality, but what marks them from other instruments in the store is the price. This is the 'top' or 'high' end of the market. Most will probably be excellent guitars because they have premium components and individual care. Soundwise, some may be less than spectacular for some reason, but that doesn't stop them from being 'high end'; they are still classified among the higher echelons.

I have an Eastman E2 OM and an E100 Ltd -12-fretter, and they are both wonderful guitars. However, I don't think anyone would call them high end. The first cost around $650 new and the second around $750 new. I also used to own a handcrafted guitar that did not play or sound as good as the two Eastmans. Nevertheless, I imagine everyone who saw and played it would have categorized it as high end.
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  #42  
Old 03-31-2023, 11:02 AM
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High end is a relative term. Some have already mentioned that various people have different budgetary ranges, so the dollars-range survey may be more reflective of that, which may be what the OP was after.

As a relative term it's probably most appropriately used in a relative context. Like unto the related term "height." Being twenty floors up and looking out the window in many places would be high up -- but then there are taller buildings yet, and mountains, and airplanes, and orbiting the earth etc.

So, if I buy an Alvarez or Seagull etc and say I considered "high end" instead, meaning a standard series Martin, we understand. If one buys a standard series Martin and says I considered a Collins or something from other pricier builders or a custom order, we nod. If we buy a Collins and say we considered a pre-war Martin collectable, we can say we considered a high end purchase, and again we all will understand.
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  #43  
Old 03-31-2023, 11:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankHudson View Post
High end is a relative term. Some have already mentioned that various people have different budgetary ranges, so the dollars-range survey may be more reflective of that, which may be what the OP was after.

As a relative term it's probably most appropriately used in a relative context. Like unto the related term "height." Being twenty floors up and looking out the window in many places would be high up -- but then there are taller buildings yet, and mountains, and airplanes, and orbiting the earth etc.

So, if I buy an Alvarez or Seagull etc and say I considered "high end" instead, meaning a standard series Martin, we understand. If one buys a standard series Martin and says I considered a Collins or something from other pricier builders or a custom order, we nod. If we buy a Collins and say we considered a pre-war Martin collectable, we can say we considered a high end purchase, and again we all will understand.
Good post.
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  #44  
Old 03-31-2023, 11:26 AM
JackC1 JackC1 is offline
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I think "high-end" is different for acoustic, electric, and classical guitars.

For acoustic, I'd say $2k and above is high-end because that's the price point my Guitar Center locks up their guitars (hahaha, JK). I think that $2k is the magical number where many manufacturer put in something extra like soft edges, hardcase, nicer-looking woods, etc. It's that price where the playability and materials don't necessarily improve but player comfort and attention to detail are more focused.

For electric guitars, this magical point happens much sooner; I think it happens at $1k. For classical, oh boy, the sky is the limit with pricing there. High-end classical guitars, I think, starts above $5k.

All the above are for mass-produced guitars. Custom guitars are a level above high-end to me.
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  #45  
Old 03-31-2023, 02:55 PM
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I'm generally torn on this issue. I voted $5000 on the poll, but it is hard to quantify a dollar amount.

Using Martin as an example, I never considered guitars like a D-18, D-28 or even D-35 to be really high end, just professional grade guitars and bread and butter models. Guitars like the D-41 or D-45 would be high end. And this seems to make perfect sense.

Now if we hop on over to other brands Guild, it becomes quite a bit harder. They have the D-40 then it jumps up to the D-55 which is their rosewood dreadnaught that also includes all of the bling too, but there is nothing inbetween. So if the D-40 is not high end, then is the D-55?

Gibson? You have the J-45 at $2800, and the Hummingbird is around $4000 and the SJ-200 I think is $5300 last I checked.

Finally, there is a point where the return per dollar really fades and preference is what really matters. So perhaps my initial take is wrong and around $2000 or $2500 would be a better starting point.

Last edited by Boomstick; 03-31-2023 at 03:06 PM.
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