$2-3K is not that much to pay for a guitar

Ridgemont

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dreadnut said:
Can't believe Gruhn doesn't have those little locking devices on his wall hangers, gee whiz, I even have those on my guitar stands :shock:

I've also noted the comparison of prices for vintage paintings vs vintage instruments - at least you can play an instrument, all you can do with a painting is look at it. Even a rare, vintage Stradivarius goes for a fraction of what "The Scream" sold for; the highest price ever paid for a Strad was $16 million, previously the record was about $4 Million. Compare that to $120 Million for "The Scream." Not that any of us at LTG will ever be in the market for either of these items. :roll:

But life, liberty, the joy of making music; who can put a price on these? They are priceless :D :D :D
I am not really into the realm of vintage painting, but here is my take. All of these items stimulate the senses. We value the quality of the guitar based on how it sounds and how it looks. The tone and beauty of the guitar makes us feel a specific way. Not everybody has an appreciation for that. We do, so we invest good money into good guitars that elicit that response. The same could be said about an expensive vintage piece of art or an expensive bottle of wine or scotch. When people see that piece of art hanging on their wall, it creates a sense of happiness. Yes we can play our guitars that make us feel euphoria, but I am sure art enthusiasts would say that a good piece of art can create those same feelings in them. Same for wine or scotch. Lucky for me, I have a $2 palate.
 

adorshki

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davismanLV said:
but I kept fretting that I was gonna trip on the ripply carpet and plow through a vintage Martin and D'Angelico New Yorker all in one fell swoop and cause a half a million dollars worth of damage.
They DID give you the ol' "you break it you own it" warning, right? :lol:
davismanLV said:
If you wanna talk about whacked priorities take a look at our sports greats and look at their salaries. They play games for a living...... jeeze.
I knew a guy once who said the highest paid people were entertainers. These days I'd put sports into that category.
Really, it's been that way ever since the gladiators.
In fact, it's one of those scenarios where nothing, not even TV, has ever topped the original.
Well, maybe pro wrestling.
:lol:
 

john_kidder

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twocorgis said:
john_kidder said:
The total that I have paid for my guitars is probably about the same as a new pickup truck. So if I keep driving my '78 3/4 ton van for chores, I can keep the gits without guilt.

You can rationalize with the best of 'em John! :lol:
I try, Sandy, I try.
 

adorshki

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john_kidder said:
twocorgis said:
[quote="john_kidder":2gqib00z]The total that I have paid for my guitars is probably about the same as a new pickup truck. So if I keep driving my '78 3/4 ton van for chores, I can keep the gits without guilt.
You can rationalize with the best of 'em John! :lol:
I try, Sandy, I try.[/quote:2gqib00z]
Lessee...3 Guilds, 12 cars... and paid more for my D40 or F65 than I did for 7 of those cars... and more for my D25 than 3 of those...no wonder I still have all 3 Guilds but am down to only one car... :lol:
 

dreadnut

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What you say is probably true, Ridge, but then why the huge disparity in pricing? I'm guessing it has to do with "status." I'm guessing paintings are much more of a staus symbol than instruments. One could argue that paintings are "one-of-a-kind," but then so are instruments when you get right down to it.
 

Bing k

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john_kidder said:
twocorgis said:
[quote="john_kidder":yrb7wyo0]The total that I have paid for my guitars is probably about the same as a new pickup truck. So if I keep driving my '78 3/4 ton van for chores, I can keep the gits without guilt.

You can rationalize with the best of 'em John! :lol:
I try, Sandy, I try.[/quote:yrb7wyo0]

The Guitars I drive are worth way more than the junk trucks I play. :roll:
 

evenkeel

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It seems the general consensus is the prices for vintage cars, guitars, violins, mandolins and old master paintings can be attributed to the over indulged baby boomers and our shallow culture. My take is just the opposite. I take heart that in our disposable culture where reality TV, the Kardashians, autotuned pop stars, etc. generate gazillions of dollar there are still people willing to pay for real quality and real art. Sure I'd love to be able to buy a prewar AJ or D-45, but since they are now so highly valued at least the ones that are left are being preserved. Would that be the case if we as a culture did not value these musical treasures?

Same thing with art. Lots of great art was lost as a result of poor conservation and general neglect. So while $245 million, top price ever paid for a painting in a sale to an individual (a Cezanne for those keeping score) is a ton O' dough, those same prices have made conservership important. Museums now put a lot of time, energy and money into keeping these fragile works of art. At least in part this is due to the value of their holdings.

Each year Mrs. keel and I go to a few museums in Washington DC. A fave is the National Archives home of the Declaration of Independence. I think it's moving not just to lay eyes on the document but to know we as a people want to keep these things. So from historic documents to guitars and all points in between I'm rather encouraged that there is enough critical mass to keep the value of these things high. The fact I can't afford them is minor.
 

fronobulax

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I'll just say that the reaction to prices also has a lot to do with where one is situated along the economic spectrum. I once had a friend whose gross income and net worth were both easily a factor of ten more than mine. He was building a new house. His wife did not like the granite counters she had selected after they were installed. They spent an amount equivalent to a year of my salary ripping the counters out and getting new ones - all because she changed her mind. There is no question in my mind that if he saw a vintage guitar, car or anything else he liked, the price would not be a factor.

I will say that I was blessed to have them as friends because I got to see first hand how money does not solve very many problems and often creates them.
 

dreadnut

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I will say that I was blessed to have them as friends because I got to see first hand how money does not solve very many problems and often creates them.

Amen, brother.

And if I can wear my preacher hat for just one more minute, I recently made the observation that although Jesus healed the sick and lame and made the blind to see, he never made the poor (monetarily) rich. He evidently didn't consider poverty a handicap.
 

mad dog

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How you perceive price and value is, as Frono says, very much dependent on your vantage point.

To the largely invisible, often very hungry poor, none of this stuff makes any sense. There are no relative values when you can't feed your family. Having luckily moved to a more secure but still not affluent level, collecting for most becomes a different type of curiosity. More subject to envy and comparison. Amass enough wealth, you might be looking for far bigger game than Guilds.

There's also the collector versus player divide. I always find it strange when people pay biig bucks for guitars they basically cannot play. But it really isn't so strange. We all clutch our little trinkets. It's part of life.
MD
 

CA-35

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Ridgemont said:
Tom: regarding our sports icons, just count how many of them, with their bloated salaries, declare bankruptcy a few years after retirement. It is nuts to see how many can't handle their money.

Ridge: great link with Gruhn and his multi-million dollar collection. I must have missed the part where he showed all his Guilds.

The NFL is the worst of them all; 90% of all players that made more than 5 million dollars in their career are broke with in 5 years of retirement! :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
 
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