$3000 Price Range

[fingerguy]

Originally Posted by merlin666

Sorry to hear that small-shop shrewdness has caught up with you. That's what they have to do to survive.

Yes but this place is the only PRS approved dealer in CT. They must be doing fine IMHO; most of their stuff is high quality.

[Dwight]

Originally Posted by fingerguy

Well this whole plan got stopped in its tracks. What they were offering me for both bass's total was less than the cheapest one by itself. No way!!!

I am better off keeping them than giving them away for that amount they offered.

I had written a response advising you of that, then I decided not to post it because I didn't want to seem too negative. You must be talking about Brian's Guitars in Cheshire. Maybe you could try Craigslist?

[lovgren]

I would consider adding a Gibson J-45 to the list. I recently tried the J-45 Sustainable at a local dealer and I could barely put it down.

I would have purchased it, but I already own a J-45 Vintage, which is my #1 guitar.

[Mark L]

When I first read your plan I thought you’d be disappointed by what they’d offer you for used gear. Got to remember, above all, they’re in business to make money, and usually as much as they can. If they weren’t they wouldn’t be there for long.

As for $3k, I’m in the used Collings camp 100%, for so many reasons. They have a full line of excellent guitars in a wide variety of body and wood types, their fit and finish is the best in the business, their customer service is deservedly legendary and, not least, they are generally the easiest to resell of all of the “non-big 3” acoustics.

I suggest a plainly appointed 1 or 2 series in a body shape that suits you physically and sonically. 1 is sitka/mahogany and 2 is sitka/eirosewood. I suggest sitka because it is an excellent tonewood and much less expensive than adirondack. Adirondack needs break in time and playing, moreso on Collings than on many other makers, which is imo by Bill’s design and intent. This is overlooked by a lot of people, and appreciated by a lot of others..... German spruce is nice on Collings and the choice of many who like “sweetness”. Personally, I like them all!

Sell your stuff on reverb, here on agf, over on tgp, maybe on craigslist.

Good luck!

[EverettWilliams]

For sure the downside to trading is the hit you take in perceived value and, if you want to get top dollar, I’d absolutely suggest going for Reverb. That said, I say “perceived value” because most people don’t seem to factor their time into the equation. You can get more money selling it yourself, but it takes time and effort. When I look at the time it takes me to get the extra $1000 or so out of something I’m trying to offload, it doesn’t look like such a good value. So, for me, the shops that play fair with trades (and it isn’t all of them) are appealing playmates in the gear churn game because trade value plus the value of my time saved almost always exceeds outright sale proceeds. Everyone is different on this, but I almost never see anyone raise this point and most take the “penny wise, pound foolish” approach of looking just at money without considering time.

As to what you can get for fingerstyle for $3,000, I’m strongly in the camp of looking used boutique. These guitars will get you great bang for your buck and you can enjoy the process of finding what you like. In this range, a H&D OO-SP could be great, I love Collings too. I’m less enamored of SCGC and Bourgeois, but it’s personal taste. At that price point, you could be dipping your toes in a much more appealing segment of the market than the off the shelf Taylors. You may not agree, but if you’re looking to make a splash and find something special, you’ll be rewarded by the search.