What's the Best Guitar for the Money You Have Ever Owned?

[Cas-v86]

Blueridge BR60 with K&K Pickup. The guitar was €600 and the pickup €100

[StephenHD35]

My Martin CS-D18-12.

[Steel and wood]

Originally Posted by N+1

1997 Martin DM.

Bought it in 1998. There was no price tag on it, and when I played it alongside Taylors, Martins, and Gibsons costing thousands of pounds, it was obviously The Guitar, for me, by miles.

I asked the price, expecting it to be more expensive than any of them. It turned out to be half the price of the cheapest of the contenders! Easiest choice I ever made.

I too have a Martin DM Mahogany Dreadnought about the same age and yes, it is a fantastic guitar. (My one and only acoustic).

[Don W]

A 1980 Ovation Legend that I bought for $250 new (with case) when they had a hard time selling "plastic" guitars...not long after that Al Dimeola went on tour with one and the price tripled. It has always been a great sounding guitar even though the top split many years later (a common problem with solid top Ovations). Had it repaired. Back then they offered their guitars with or without electronics because they sounded so good acoustically. Mine had no electronics. It is my "go to" guitar when playing with a pick and playing with others...great volume and playability.

[brancher]

Mine was a Tacoma DR-28. Beautiful finish, post-Fender (no finish issues), loud and rich sound, 1 3/4 nut. I got it on Ebay when Tacoma wood was being ravished by Fender after the acquisition.

It was about a $3k list guitar, I got it for $600. Kept it for a year or so, then sold it for a nice profit. But I shouldn't have. I was too dumb to realize what a value that baby was.

[jazzguy]

The Martin 00-18 in my signature. It will not leave me. I think a second would be a Taylor GA-K I owned. Fantastic sound but not as comfortable.

[Nymuso]

For me, it's my recent purchase of a Godin A6 Ultra. It is perfect for the job for which I employ it, playing gigs. It is extremely versatile, plays like a dream and I have not yet been able to get it to feed back. Best of all, it only cost $700. I might get another one to use as a backup.

[djg]

My best guitar for the money was not inexpensive by any means, but I've had it since 1995. I bought a Santa Cruz OM, new, on sale, for 1800 bucks and a little change in 1995. That was slightly more than a Martin OM-28, and the most expensive guitar I'd bought yet. FWIW, the inflation calculator says that 1,800 1995-dollars would be 2,913 dollars in today's money.

It's the best guitar for the money that I've ever owned because it's a great guitar that's suited me well for more than 22 years. It's still going strong -- hasn't needed a neck reset or anything, so the upkeep, apart from strings, has been minor. What seemed pricey at the time seems a bargain in hindsight.

[Tone Monster]

For me it is my 1964 minty kinda Guild D40 1 3/4 , there have been others of course but this Guild delivers and delivers!

[lt20dbl]

My new 12 fret, 000-28, custom ordered from Gary Cotten of Grayson, Ky. that I recieved last April. $2500, shipped. It is now my main gigging guitar against some pretty impressive competition.

[gfspencer]

My new Martin D-21 Special.

[HHP]

Probably my Martin D-28. Its standard, pre-imagination, no alphabet D-28. Bought it mostly because I'd never owned a D-28. Its like a friendly old dog that just wants to make you happy no matter what you do. Change strings, change picks, try new styles, it takes it all in stride. I play with a lot of guys who also have D-28's and they always ask me what model it is. I tell them its the same as the one sitting on their lap and they don't believe me.

[j3ffr0]

I'm kind of a value guy anyway so I can't pick just one.

Hamer USA Californian for $300 in 1994 (This is probably the best deal I ever got on a guitar overall. It is beat to heck now, but it still plays great. Best neck I ever had on an electric guitar)

Alvarez DY61 for $500 in 1995 (A great price for a great guitar. Best acoustic deal. Tone is superior to most high end guitars head to head)

Martin E18 for $300 in 1985 (great all around electric for a good price. better quality for the money than most other electrics that were available in these days)

Taylor 314ce for $1400 in 2013 (great all around acoustic for a good price; a sweet spot in the Taylor lineup, great intonation on this one)

Huss and Dalton DS Crossroads for about $2600 in 2017 (premium acoustic, my #1 guitar, great price)

[zombywoof]

For the money? Picking one is tough as I am a notorious cheapskate. I have a 1942 Gibson J-50 which after all was said and done ran me about 1/2 of what they generally sell for and a pre-War Regal jumbo 12 string which was found in a dumpster and which after restoration is worth easily six times what I have in it. But I will go with my 1955/56 Epiphone FT-79. I just love this thing. I got it about a decade back. It was hanging on the wall of a small Mom & Pop music shop which I frequented. The owner started off at $800. I think he told me to take it home and live with it for a bit at least three times over the course of a year, each time with a price drop. I kept bring it back. He finally offered it to me for what he had paid for it - $400 just to clear up some shelf space. What was a poor boy to do. This is one of those guitars that it apparently just took some time to figure out and warm up to because I have now put it up for sale or trade twice and both times ended up pulling it because I realized I was not ready to let it go.

[Spyvito]

Larrivee P03. His entire line is well priced.