Best Current Guitar Investment

[rlintz]

What would you guys consider to be the best current guitar investment? What guitar make and model do you believe to be currently undervalued and likely to increase in value over the next several years?

[uberthrall]

I'd imagine there's more than one answer to that question,but off the top
of my head I'd say the older Yamahas......1221 and 1421 Pacificas and the
old Studio Lord Les Pauls would be a good choice.

[Eggy]

1958 Gibson Les Paul. Clean examples were $5000 ten years ago, they're worth $25,000 now. There are people saying that the $1m Les Paul is only a matter of ten years away.

[the.godfather]

Personally, a good clean 70's Strat. You can still pick them up for very reasonable prices at the moment. And in 10 years time they'll be worth just as much as the 60's ones are now. I've been on the hunt for a nice example of a 70's model for a while now for exactly this reason. Not to play it, just to resell it on it 10 or 20 years time.

[jim777]

I'd tend to agree with the 70's Strat idea, though they are often absolute rubbish. The problem here is that collectors with a good idea of the answer to your question won't answer you, as that might make you competition for the prizes out there But something that says Gibson or Fender on it will always be a good bet I think.

[the399]

Originally Posted by Eggy

1958 Gibson Les Paul. Clean examples were $5000 ten years ago, they're worth $25,000 now. There are people saying that the $1m Les Paul is only a matter of ten years away.

10 years ago 58 Les Pauls were $25,000
Today 58 Les Pauls are $250,000 to $400,000 depending on flame and condision. Also if you were to have one that was lets say a plain top with many changed parts with issues. IE a neck reset or other big issues your looking at $100,000 to $150,000 (these prices are just an idea but are very near todays prices)

[jim777]

Depends on the Paul; not all 58's were Bursts, and the Gold Tops are worth quite a bit less.

[the.godfather]

Originally Posted by jim777

I'd tend to agree with the 70's Strat idea, though they are often absolute rubbish.

That's the problem I've been finding. And alot of the 70's Strats I've looked at have all been hardtails too. Which aren't always as desirable. Pllus I've seen a few in some strange colours too which doesn't help. But if you find the 'right' one and look after it, I swear blind it will rocket in price in the future.

[rlintz]

A few friends of mine have bought some G&L's a few years ago which have also sky-rocketed in price over the last few years. I don't consider myself a collector as all of the guitars I buy, I play and each guitar was purchased to add some unique aspect to my small collection. But now my collection covers most bases so I'm starting to consider both aspects (unique qualities / tones a guitar might add to my collection as well as the investment side of it).

[Scali]

About the Fenders... Won't the whole 'CBS-era' thing mean that 70s and later Fenders will inherently be less valuable, because they are basically completely different instruments, of completely different quality?

For the same reason I don't think that any 'new' Les Pauls will ever become as valuable as the original 50s/60s run.

I do hope my Gibson M3 will at some point become valuable, but it's not likely
At least it's worth more now than the catalog price back in 1992, so it's kept its value pretty well. But no more than that.

No, I really don't have any idea what kind of guitar would become a really valuable piece in a few years, other than the obvious 50s/60s Fenders and Gibsons.
But who knows, the RG/S/Jem/JS are already 20 years old now, and the original 80s models are still doing pretty well value-wise on the Bay. Give it another 5-10 years and they might become real collectors... After all, these guitars played a significant role in that era, just like the Strat and Les Paul are basically icons of the 50s/60s/70s.

[waylay00]

Originally Posted by Eggy

1958 Gibson Les Paul. Clean examples were $5000 ten years ago, they're worth $25,000 now. There are people saying that the $1m Les Paul is only a matter of ten years away.

Wow, way off...

Current 58/59/60 bursts fetch close to $150,000-$200,000...Just check Gruhn's website

Originally Posted by jim777

Depends on the Paul; not all 58's were Bursts, and the Gold Tops are worth quite a bit less.

Still though, they're worth a pretty large sum.

Goldtops can fetch anywhere from around $30,000 to $125,000, depending on year/condition, etc.

My dad had an old 1956 TV Special that's worth about $15,000 now. Too bas he sold it long ago.

[David McCarroll]

Late seventies Strats and Teles - particularly the model generally dubbed the "tuxedo", which had a black scratchplate and white knobsm pickup covers etc - this was only made for I think one year, then all the parts changed to black plastic. Get a custom colour (ie: anything other than sunburst), and CHANGE NOTHING - not even the squalid Fender frets - for maximum investmet value, the guitar has to be mint, in the original (also preferrably mint) case with hang tags, instruction manual etc.

There is a vast difference between a guitar bought purely for investment and an instrument to actually play - you'd never want to play an unmodded seventies Strat, in fact they are close to unplayable, as they come factory fitted with dweeby frets and a monel metal trem which will NOT stay in tune, no matter what you do to it, but in terms of an affordable investment instrument, you can't do much better.

YOu can still sometimes pick up L or Pre L Jazzmasters - again, a great investment opportunity (when you compare what you'll pay to a similar vintage Strat), but I'm not sure you'd actually want to do anything with it other than start a Dinosaur Jr tribute band .........

[elcid]

I was wrong once before, but 59 Les Pauls are the money Pauls. A student of my friend found his dads 59 in the attic and it was beat, Gruhn offered him $350K and a private jet to bring the guitar there.

[David McCarroll]

............. and you'd be quite correct there Elcid - '58s supposedly had less figuring in the Maple, and '60s Les Pauls have the considerably thinner 335 style neck shape, hence '59s are regarded as the bomb, with values reflecting that. Personally I prefer Goldtops, and given that you can pick one up for about a third of the price of a '59, they probably represent much better value, if you can apply that word to a $100K bit of wood!

[newbieguitarmaker]

I was thinking about making an investment in a 70's strat then storing it in a controlled humidity environment for years, then hopefully cashing in later
How much do 70's strats go for now? like 4k?