# Poll: Have you ever spent more than $1000 on a single piece of gear?



## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

This is something that has been on my mind since I joined online guitar forums like this one. The question is not judgemental, but comes out of curiosity due to the many posts that focus on what I would consider high-end gear. What constitutes "high-end" I suppose is an impossible question to clearly answer, so I just thought of a nice, neat, number ($1000) that should get the ball rolling. On my end, I have never spent more than $1000 on a single item. I pretty much always buy used, and reduce my costs even more by going for what some might consider mid-level gear. I'm neither ashamed nor proud of that. I'm simply wondering how many forum members are in the same boat.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Multiple times. I dont regret it.


----------



## GeorgeMich (Jun 6, 2013)

I can't remember spending under $1000 on gear....


----------



## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

Well, on the acoustic side, you rarely find brand new guitars under 1000$, even mid level used solid woods would be quite rare, I guess.
I own three notable exceptions I bought brand new : Alvarez AP66ESB (nice all Mahogany parlor with crappy electronics though), an entry level Eastman AC122ce (also with crappy electronics !) and a Seagull Performer CW QIT with decent electronics.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

The only single piece of gear I've ever spent less than a thousand on would be all pedal board related or accessories like picks and capos.


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

I don't think so. My gear acquisition has been death by a thousand cuts.

My S&P acoustic might have been just over a thousand with tax, but the sticker price was below. Other than that, I think only have two other guitars that cost over $500 (and one of those my parents paid for - my 1978 strat @ ~$750 in 1980).


----------



## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

You mean today?


----------



## Permanent Waves (Jun 2, 2020)

I suppose it also depends on when the purchase was made. You once could get a decent-shape LP custom for that price. 
I've always had a "mental block" about paying more than $2000 for a guitar, which pretty much limits any modern high-end purchases.
I hang on to what I have since I couldn't afford to buy the same today. Kind of like the housing market .


----------



## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

I am usually a bottom feeder, but I have spent more than $1k once, on my Jackson SD22 JB. That was a teenage dream come true, and I couldn't say no.

And my Peavey Wolfgang cost me $999!

If we count taxes, then I guess my Striped Series an Highway 1 fit the...uh,"$1000 bill" too.


----------



## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

$2000 strikes me as a more appropriate cutoff.


----------



## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

My VVRI and my Taylor are the only things I've paid more than 1k for.


----------



## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

Can't even think about spending that much.


----------



## RBlakeney (Mar 12, 2017)

I don’t think I’ve ever spent over $1000 on a pedal If that counts.


----------



## Griff (Sep 7, 2016)

I've spent more than $1000 plenty of times, but I don't think I've ever SUNK $1000. I think everything I spent $1000+ on is still worth at least what I paid, and in most cases more.


----------



## terminalvertigo (Jun 12, 2010)

I havent yet this month.


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Yes, of course.

I have had to purchase gear for which $1000 would be entry level. Regrets? No.

I needed gear and was working it, doing live sound.

Even when I was a musician (open to definition) some guitars I bought were well above $1000. and that was a long time ago so nowadays those purchases would be even higher of course.


----------



## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

RBlakeney said:


> I don’t think I’ve ever spent over $1000 on a pedal If that counts.


I once spent $1000 on a big box of pedals. They were all purchased three months earlier new from L&M for a bit over $3500 - some had never been opened. Kept what I wanted, sold the rest back to L&M for just about what I paid for them.


----------



## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

In 1989 I paid over 1k for an ART SGE rack unit. Thankfully it kicked the bucket and I got all my money back. Early 90's the Zoom 9002 half rack was $700. 

You can get way more for half that price today.


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Addendum:

In the early nineties, I spent about $1200 on a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. One of the few purchases I regret. At the time, I probably should have saved the money for something else as things were pretty tight. I could probably count the number of times I used it on my fingers. I still have it. Once in a while when I'm rooting through the storage closet, it makes an appearance to mock me.


----------



## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

I think the question really comes down to this..

As I have done many times, you can spend a good amount of time on a low level and mid level guitar and make them very playable.
Upgrade components , fixing frets and action and intonation ... all do able and most of the time well worth the effort.

I have come to the conclusion that what you cant do is duplicate the craftmanship and quality build of an upper end guitar. By the I mean in the $2500 to $3500 range.
There is something special about the way these guitars are made and put together that is not replicable by tweaking something else.

So what it usually comes down to is ... would you rather have 5 or 6 mid/low range guitars OR 1 or 2 upper end guitars.
Actually, most of us have both and then some but whose counting.

Bottom line, if you really do play guitar on a regular basis ( even at home counts), I think you owe it to yourself to have at least one really good guitar.
G.


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I agree with @Okay Player 1k is too low nowadays.


----------



## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

I haven't but not for lack of desire lol. I very nearly did on an amp once but chose a used Hot Rod DeVille over a new DRRI. I didn't regret it either. Still, I'm considering selling everything and starting again from scratch. That MAY necessitate changing my answer to "yes"


----------



## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Given that Mexican Fenders are not only over $1000, but there's MIM guitars that are pushing the brink of $2000, I'd say it's going to become increasingly difficult stay under the $1000 threshold.


----------



## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Telecaster Standard at $1000 even. Yamaha P255 stage piano at $1400 plus tax. No regrets


----------



## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

My brother loves to go to Michelin star restaurants, he told me above about 90 euro he can't tell the difference in the wine, as his palate lacks the refinement to tell such little nuances. The is me with guitars I guess. I have lots of plus 1000 dollar guitars, but 3 of my 4 favorite guitars would fall into the around 1000.00 in spite of owning a couple of much more expensive guitars. I am not convinced a 3k guitar is inherently better than a 1k guitar and for me I can't tell the difference. I think as investments they might be good if you really know your stuff, but above about 800.00 they all seem pretty/really good to me, some better for my taste, and those are the ones I hold onto. I find I like real light or real heavy guitars, so I look for light or heavy, same I prefer rosewood or ebony over a maple fretboard, so I look for that. Going above 2501 makes me nervous because it is really in investment level, and I am just a player. Final answer Yes.  1k is fine, no problem.


----------



## jfremillard (May 6, 2021)

I've been at it for over 45 years and now own over 10 guitars, some of them costing less than $500. I must admit many of them are gathering dust... So, what's the point... I am thinking of selling the "redundancy" and buy a few $1000 plus instruments, each providing a "specialty" (for example, one with single coils, one with humbuckers, a baritone, one with a Floyd Rose.... something like that...) so that each of them gets used in turn...


----------



## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

Back when $400 was worth $1000, yes.
It's a beauty.


----------



## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

I balked at paying $1K-plus for a MIM Vintera 70s Tele Thinline when they first came out; my mistake as they had a short run due to the ash wood issue, and now are closing in on $1.5K if you can even find one. Are they worth that? No, IMHO, but everything has increased in price over the last year, and $1K now seems to be the lower end of the range of decent guitars... "Big iron" amps (like Super Reverbs) OTOH, seem to be going the opposite direction.


----------



## 2manyGuitars (Jul 6, 2009)

This week?

Yes


----------



## brokentoes (Jun 29, 2014)

Yes, and i'm not even a pro.


----------



## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Stephenlouis said:


> My brother loves to go to Michelin star restaurants, he told me above about 90 euro he can't tell the difference in the wine, as his palate lacks the refinement to tell such little nuances. The is me with guitars I guess. I have lots of plus 1000 dollar guitars, but 3 of my 4 favorite guitars would fall into the around 1000.00 in spite of owning a couple of much more expensive guitars. I am not convinced a 3k guitar is inherently better than a 1k guitar and for me I can't tell the difference. I think as investments they might be good if you really know your stuff, but above about 800.00 they all seem pretty/really good to me, some better for my taste, and those are the ones I hold onto. I find I like real light or real heavy guitars, so I look for light or heavy, same I prefer rosewood or ebony over a maple fretboard, so I look for that. Going above 2501 makes me nervous because it is really in investment level, and I am just a player. Final answer Yes.  1k is fine, no problem.


A drummer friend of mine told me some years back that in the drum world once you get past a certain price threshold, it's more about ego than quality or tone. Like it's not going to sound or play any better, but you get into fancy finishes and hardware, etc. I think this is true of guitars and amps as well. In the end though it's about whatever makes you happy as a player.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Powdered Toast Man said:


> A drummer friend of mine told me some years back that in the drum world once you get past a certain price threshold, it's more about ego than quality or tone. Like it's not going to sound or play any better, but you get into fancy finishes and hardware, etc. I think this is true of guitars and amps as well. In the end though it's about whatever makes you happy as a player.


I don't know about drums but about guitars your friend would be wrong. Whenever I hear someone try to discredit high end expensive guitars they always justify it with a statement like "Eric Clapton (or whatever famous artist) could make a $300 guitar sound better than me on a $5,000 guitar". But I say Eric Clapton could make a $5,000 guitar sound better than Eric Clapton on a $300 guitar.
My Martin D-28 Authentic cost a little over 11k new (I didn't pay quite that) and it resonates and rings far more and is superior in just about every way to the Martin HD-28V that I owned before it, which was not a cheap guitar in its own right. I also have a D-18 Authentic thats about 8k new. These Martins are plain guitars as far as appointments, no pearl inlay etc. I also have a Taylor GS Mini that I enjoy picking up every now and then. When I visit music stores I almost always spend sometime picking up the sub $1,000 acoustics and electrics and sometimes I marvel at how good they sound and play for what they cost. And on that level I can really appreciate them. I even own a Made in Mexico Tele that is far less expensive than my custom shop and Martin guitars, although its on the high end for a MIM. I can appreciate instruments from all price levels. But I don't necessarily buy in to this a $500 guitar can be as good as a $3,000 guitar. For every price point you come down you compromise somewhere. The compromises may or may not matter to different players.


----------



## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

guitarman2 said:


> I don't know about drums but about guitars your friend would be wrong. Whenever I hear someone try to discredit high end expensive guitars they always justify it with a statement like "Eric Clapton (or whatever famous artist) could make a $300 guitar sound better than me on a $5,000 guitar". But I say Eric Clapton could make a $5,000 guitar sound better than Eric Clapton on a $300 guitar.
> My Martin D-28 Authentic cost a little over 11k new (I didn't pay quite that) and it resonates and rings far more and is superior in just about every way to the Martin HD-28V that I owned before it, which was not a cheap guitar in its own right. I also have a D-18 Authentic thats about 8k new. These Martins are plain guitars as far as appointments, no pearl inlay etc. I also have a Taylor GS Mini that I enjoy picking up every now and then. When I visit music stores I almost always spend sometime picking up the sub $1,000 acoustics and electrics and sometimes I marvel at how good they sound and play for what they cost. And on that level I can really appreciate them. I even own a Made in Mexico Tele that is far less expensive than my custom shop and Martin guitars, although its on the high end for a MIM. I can appreciate instruments from all price levels. But I don't necessarily buy in to this a $500 guitar can be as good as a $3,000 guitar. For every price point you come down you compromise somewhere. The compromises may or may not matter to different players.


I look at it like a $3000 guitar sounds 25% better than a $1000 guitar. How much that 25% improvement is worth, is up to you.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Guncho said:


> I look at it like a $3000 guitar sounds 25% better than a $1000 guitar. How much that 25% improvement is worth, is up to you.


When it comes to Telecasters I pretty much almost exclusively buy a custom shop because I can get the big U neck, slightly relic'd for a nice feel. If I could get that neck on a less expensive model like an American Original I would definitely buy the less expensive guitar. The less expensive non CS reissues have gotten better over the years but the neck alone means a lot to me so thats why I go Custom Shop. Over all it may seem like a 10 to 25% improvement but the ratio is higher because I put a lot more weight in that particular feature.


----------



## Guncho (Jun 16, 2015)

guitarman2 said:


> When it comes to Telecasters I pretty much almost exclusively buy a custom shop because I can get the big U neck, slightly relic'd for a nice feel. If I could get that neck on a less expensive model like an American Original I would definitely buy the less expensive guitar. The less expensive non CS reissues have gotten better over the years but the neck alone means a lot to me so thats why I go Custom Shop. Over all it may seem like a 10 to 25% improvement but the ratio is higher because I put a lot more weight in that particular feature.


Sorry I'm talking acoustic guitars and sound not features.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Guncho said:


> Sorry I'm talking acoustic guitars and sound not features.


Yes acoustics are a different animal. All the wood back, sides, top can really make a big difference unlike an electric. I've played and owned acoustics from every price point and have played actual vintage Martins. a 1935 a 1936 D-28 as well as several 50's D-28's and D-18s.
I got a chance to do a side by side comparison with My Martin D-28 Authentic 1941 and a real 1941 D-28. Mark recorded it but only gave me the video playing the vintage guitar. My Authentic sounds fantastic and is by far the best acoustic I've ever owned. However the real 1941 just had more of everything. Sounded bigger. More bass. More clarity. You'd really never know if you didn't have them side by side. My guitar cost 11k the vintage guitar was selling for $75k US. It was in collector condition. So probably a 25-30% improvement but almost 7 times more expensive.


----------



## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

$650 x 7




















































= $4500


----------



## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Many times.


----------



## dtsaudio (Apr 15, 2009)

I haven't bought any new gear in over 20 years, other than some stuff for my son.
If you go with actual cost, no I've never bought anything over $1000. If you account for inflation, then yes.


----------



## LouisFNCyphre (Apr 23, 2021)

No, I don't believe so.

I had a really nice Kramer for awhile, but I got it in a pawn shop for less than I paid for a G-400 that same year. When my brother sold that guitar recently he got over $1k for it.
The most expensive piece of gear I've ever owned in terms of purchase value is my AVT, it was gift from my parents so I wouldn't sell if even if it's only good to me as a powered cab for preamps that I like more.


----------



## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I think now the question is more like have you ever spent over 3,000 on a piece of gear.


----------



## Abiguitar (May 28, 2009)

Almost always. 😂 

As others have mentioned, I think $2,000 or $3,000 would be a more appropriate cut-off for designating something as high end.


----------



## alphasports (Jul 14, 2008)

bw66 said:


> Addendum:
> 
> In the early nineties, I spent about $1200 on a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. One of the few purchases I regret. At the time, I probably should have saved the money for something else as things were pretty tight. I could probably count the number of times I used it on my fingers. I still have it. Once in a while when I'm rooting through the storage closet, it makes an appearance to mock me.


Haha funny, around the same time, probably late 80's, I bought a big TASCAM reel to reel, thought it would kickstart my fabulous rock career, just loved that thing for the 3 times I used it, watching those reels go round-and-round with nothing on them! Sold it for at least a 50% loss within a couple of months, so at least I kicked the ghost out of the house


----------



## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

More than once, yes. A grand is just getting rolling these days. Like @Wardo said, $3K might be a better question.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I bought a Tascam 424 Mk II for $50 about 8 years back. Bought a Tascam 38 for $50, that came with a Tascam M-216 mixing board. I have some decent MIDI sound modules that I bought for [email protected], controlled by the keyboards I bought for [email protected] I usually set my Kijiji limit at $50, although I splurged $100 on the Korg PME modular effects system I bought yesterday. But then, it came with 4 effects, so I guess that is sort of within-budget. My shining success was the original '59 tweed Bassman I bought in 1992 for $30, and the tweed Princeton I bought for $50 in 1976.

With so many jewels for so little money, and given that even these things tend to have so little use, I honestly can't find any justification to spend $1000+ on anything music-related.


----------



## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

guitarman2 said:


> I don't know about drums but about guitars your friend would be wrong. Whenever I hear someone try to discredit high end expensive guitars they always justify it with a statement like "Eric Clapton (or whatever famous artist) could make a $300 guitar sound better than me on a $5,000 guitar". But I say Eric Clapton could make a $5,000 guitar sound better than Eric Clapton on a $300 guitar.
> My Martin D-28 Authentic cost a little over 11k new (I didn't pay quite that) and it resonates and rings far more and is superior in just about every way to the Martin HD-28V that I owned before it, which was not a cheap guitar in its own right. I also have a D-18 Authentic thats about 8k new. These Martins are plain guitars as far as appointments, no pearl inlay etc. I also have a Taylor GS Mini that I enjoy picking up every now and then. When I visit music stores I almost always spend sometime picking up the sub $1,000 acoustics and electrics and sometimes I marvel at how good they sound and play for what they cost. And on that level I can really appreciate them. I even own a Made in Mexico Tele that is far less expensive than my custom shop and Martin guitars, although its on the high end for a MIM. I can appreciate instruments from all price levels. But I don't necessarily buy in to this a $500 guitar can be as good as a $3,000 guitar. For every price point you come down you compromise somewhere. The compromises may or may not matter to different players.


I post this as someone who owns multiple American Originals and absolutely nothing about a Squier interests me, but in this video even he is kinda stunned at how similar they sound. However they don't play the same at all, but still if you need a particular tone... Also it's not about discrediting or cutting down expensive gear. But a $3000 guitar does not sound 3x better than a $1000 guitar. It's about options and features that maybe are more about feel or playability than tone. Like I buy AOs because I want classic designs with nitro finish and bigger necks but 9.5" boards and taller frets. I can't get that combination in anything else in the Fender lineup. But does my new AO50's Strat sound any different than the guitar I sold off which was a Highway One with the same AV59 pickups? Not really no.


----------



## Gavz (Feb 27, 2016)

I haven't graced the $1000 mark yet TBH, not that I haven't wanted to. I also don''t buy much new gear either. I'm sure one day I'll find something that I can't pass up, hopefully on this forum .


----------



## spacebard (Aug 1, 2009)

Many times.

-3 guitars: Ibanez guitars 2600$ each (in 2005-2006, double the price today!),
Musicman JP7 BFR 4500$

Mesa triaxis 1260 $

Mesa 2:50 1260 $

-Axe-fx 2800$

-RJM mastermind GT16 1350 USD

-Origin effects RevivalDrive Hot Rod Custom 1092$

-Allen & Heath Mixer Zed 420 1600$


----------



## Doug Gifford (Jun 8, 2019)

Just once or twice. I have, though, traded my way up from cheaper to more expensive. Like a Traynor YCV20 to Traynor YGM3 to Fender DRRI. I'm a stay at home dad and musician on the side. I keep trying to save up for something fancy and then the van goes to the garage and there goes that money. Someday I'll get rid of the van and save those expenses but then it will be harder to gig with a piano.


----------



## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

Around this place...or the emporium at least...the question is "have you spent over $1000 fewer than 10 times?"


----------



## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Looking around my office, there are 11 wall hooks with guitars (10 guitars and one bass, I guess).

Only the bass was less than $1k and most of the guitars were significantly more. I’m your classic hack player with expensive guitars and I love it


----------



## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I'm thinking that I need a 335 style Baritone Resonator Electric with a P90 on it.


----------



## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

Every chance I get. And it seems I get a lot of chances...


----------



## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

guitarman2 said:


> When it comes to Telecasters I pretty much almost exclusively buy a custom shop because I can get the big U neck, slightly relic'd for a nice feel. If I could get that neck on a less expensive model like an American Original I would definitely buy the less expensive guitar. The less expensive non CS reissues have gotten better over the years but the neck alone means a lot to me so thats why I go Custom Shop. Over all it may seem like a 10 to 25% improvement but the ratio is higher because I put a lot more weight in that particular feature.


AVRI's and AO's do come with the big U-neck.


----------



## Foxycats (Dec 31, 2020)

I think $1000 is a bit of a low number. maybe breaking it into ranges of average purchase

0-1000
1000-2500
2000-3500
3000+


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I've spent over a grand on used gear plenty of times.

I spent over a grand on a new guitar in the '80s and a couple of times in the '90s.


----------



## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

I have 4 guitars that clocked in over a grand.


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Always12AM said:


> $650 x 7
> View attachment 364166
> View attachment 364167
> View attachment 364168
> ...


Do Squiers cost $650.?

If I'm spending $650 it would be for a MIM Fender or even an American Strat.

I sure as F$#k wouldn't spend $4500 on a Fender either.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Okay Player said:


> AVRI's and AO's do come with the big U-neck.


And if you want chunky C, American Pro has you covered.

I realized i want my truss rod easily accessible, so I'm gonna go AP over AO. But the AO neck binding gets me GASy.


----------



## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I have a bit of a Les Paul fetish, and have two that sound very similar - a 2007 Les Paul Studio Vintage Mahogany I paid $620 for last year, and a 2018 Standard that was around $3K. From a playability and making music perspective, they're almost equal. But the standard does "feel" better. You can just tell when you tune it up - hard to explain but there's a difference. I don't know if that difference is worth $2000, but aesthetically there is no comparison between the two guitars. I've not played anything in the $6K plus range, but can only imaging the differences would be diminishingly subtle.

It used to be fairly easy to get a good (obviously subjective) guitar for under $1000, but I think that number has gone up by about half in the last year or so depending on what you're looking for and how much searching you're willing to do.

Amps are a completely different beast. Seems to be a big difference between the sub-$1000 amps which are fairly common, and something more "boutique" at $2000+ with not a lot in between.


----------



## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Budda said:


> And if you want chunky C, American Pro has you covered.
> 
> I realized i want my truss rod easily accessible, so I'm gonna go AP over AO. But the AO neck binding gets me GASy.


Am Pro isn't as thick as the reissues. They are a very, very nice in between size though.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Okay Player said:


> AVRI's and AO's do come with the big U-neck.


I've owned them all more than once. They don't get as big as the Custom shop big Nocaster U that I have on my current Custom shop. They're close. But one other annoying thing they seem to do with the AVRI and AO50's is roll the fretboards too aggressively making the 2 e strings too close to the edge. As well on my custom shop its been lightly relic'd providing a more comfortable feel. The last American Original 50's I had wasn't bad. It was the lightest guitar I ever owned at 6.7 pounds and the neck was almost as big as I like with a bit less shoulders than the Nocaster U. I had the nut re-spaced to bring the e strings in a bit from the edges but in the end my custom shop was better. 
The last AV I had was a wildwood 52AV that was a great guitar. The e strings were so close to the edge that it was almost unplayable. I wish I had known that before I got it but thats the dangers of ordering on line. I had Freddy's Frets refret with stainless steel and take the fretboard down some to regain some real estate on the ends. It worked fantastic as the e strings were no longer near the edges but then the neck was way too skinny for me. 
All that screwing around and trying to get the lesser expensive guitars to be what I want, it was worth spending more to get exactly what I want.


----------



## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

guitarman2 said:


> I've owned them all more than once. They don't get as big as the Custom shop big Nocaster U that I have on my current Custom shop. They're close. But one other annoying thing they seem to do with the AVRI and AO50's is roll the fretboards too aggressively making the 2 e strings too close to the edge. As well on my custom shop its been lightly relic'd providing a more comfortable feel. The last American Original 50's I had wasn't bad. It was the lightest guitar I ever owned at 6.7 pounds and the neck was almost as big as I like with a bit less shoulders than the Nocaster U. I had the nut re-spaced to bring the e strings in a bit from the edges but in the end my custom shop was better.
> The last AV I had was a wildwood 52AV that was a great guitar. The e strings were so close to the edge that it was almost unplayable. I wish I had known that before I got it but thats the dangers of ordering on line. I had Freddy's Frets refret with stainless steel and take the fretboard down some to regain some real estate on the ends. It worked fantastic as the e strings were no longer near the edges but then the neck was way too skinny for me.
> All that screwing around and trying to get the lesser expensive guitars to be what I want, it was worth spending more to get exactly what I want.


I too have had both. The necks being the same thickness are why the AVRI is still here and the Nocaster is gone.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Okay Player said:


> I too have had both. The necks being the same thickness are why the AVRI is still here and the Nocaster is gone.


Well I guess you got lucky. If you are talking about the original AVRI I owned 2 different ones and the necks were both thinner than the AV52 and A050's I owned which were thinner than any Nocaster I owned. And although the AV52 and AO50's both only measured slightly less depth than the Nocaster U the shoulders were far smaller. The bigger shoulders on the Nocaster U (which many find too much) is what makes it more of a handful. 
The original AVRI neck was a tad smaller than the AVRI 52 hotrod, which wasn't near a Nocaster neck. 
As for the AVRI neck pretty much every one on TDPRI (where they know their tele's) agree that the AVRI neck is thinner than the AV52 or AO50's neck
The 2 different AVRI's that I owned were fantastic sounding guitars, my only fault with them being the orangey finish color, which they ended up getting right with the AV52. Most likely if I'd had an AVRI with a big Nocaster U neck (shoulders and all) I'd have definitely kept it.


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

From the way the poll is trending, I would say, less than 10% of people here have not spent more than $1k on any gear.


----------



## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

guitarman2 said:


> Well I guess you got lucky. If you are talking about the original AVRI I owned 2 different ones and the necks were both thinner than the AV52 and A050's I owned which were thinner than any Nocaster I owned. And although the AV52 and AO50's both only measured slightly less depth than the Nocaster U the shoulders were far smaller. The bigger shoulders on the Nocaster U (which many find too much) is what makes it more of a handful.
> The original AVRI neck was a tad smaller than the AVRI 52 hotrod, which wasn't near a Nocaster neck.
> As for the AVRI neck pretty much every one on TDPRI (where they know their tele's) agree that the AVRI neck is thinner than the AV52 or AO50's neck
> The 2 different AVRI's that I owned were fantastic sounding guitars, my only fault with them being the orangey finish color, which they ended up getting right with the AV52. Most likely if I'd had an AVRI with a big Nocaster U neck (shoulders and all) I'd have definitely kept it.


For what it's worth, all Nocaster's don't have identical necks either.


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Chito said:


> From the way the poll is trending, I would say, less than 10% of people here have not spent more than $1k on any gear.


I'm actually surprised that it's that high, especially given the demographics of this forum.


----------



## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

Chito said:


> From the way the poll is trending, I would say, less than 10% of people here have not spent more than $1k on any gear.





bw66 said:


> I'm actually surprised that it's that high, especially given the demographics of this forum.


I'm surprised it isn't more than that. I thought the less-than $1000 would be a minority, but not by that much. @bw66 for me the demographics of this group is entirely unclear. Have there been previous surveys or polls before that shed some light on it?


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Okay Player said:


> For what it's worth, all Nocaster's don't have identical necks either.


No they don't. I've owned about 7 different ones. I've picked up probably 40 or 50 over the years. They were all pretty much characteristic of a 1" baseball bat neck and big shoulders, little to no taper. Identical? Maybe not. But dam close. The most different Nocaster neck I ever played was my Dennis Galuszka Masterbuilt which was .990 at the first and .990 at the 12th. What made that nice was the feel of the heavy relic neck. So Nocasters although may not be identical they're pretty consistent. Atleast in many that I've tried or owned.


----------



## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

guitarman2 said:


> No they don't. I've owned about 7 different ones. I've picked up probably 40 or 50 over the years. They were all pretty much characteristic of a 1" baseball bat neck and big shoulders, little to no taper. Identical? Maybe not. But dam close. The most different Nocaster neck I ever played was my Dennis Galuszka Masterbuilt which was .990 at the first and .990 at the 12th. What made that nice was the feel of the heavy relic neck. So Nocasters although may not be identical they're pretty consistent. Atleast in many that I've tried or owned.


Nocasters are also sold with V necks. If I'm not mistaken I've even seem them with C necks, but don't quote me on that.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Okay Player said:


> Nocasters are also sold with V necks. If I'm not mistaken I've even seem them with C necks, but don't quote me on that.



In the custom shop you can get anything you want. On the Wildwood guitars site you can find some Nocasters with 10\56 V and much rarer a C. But a true standard 51 Nocaster reissue will usually have the Nocaster U. 
Most Custom shop 52's that I've seen will have a slimmer V neck. The custom shop 52 that I bought from Dave's Guitars in Wisconsin has the Big Nocaster U normally found on Nocasters which is why I grabbed it. The most ideal tele for me is a 52 with a nocaster neck. Seems to be thats what Daves guitars orders a lot of in.
As I've said, the custom shop can do anything. In the early 2000's Almost all Nocasters were 7 .25 radius vintage frets and it was tough to find a Nocaster with 9.5 radius and 6105 frets. Nowadays its flipped the other way around. 
For the older AVRI's in my experience they've all been thin necks for the most part not alot bigger than the older American standards. However I did come across one that a buddy of mine owned that did have a fair amount of heft to it. Not as big as a Nocaster but close enough that most would think it was. So yes anything is possible.


----------



## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

guitarman2 said:


> In the custom shop you can get anything you want. On the Wildwood guitars site you can find some Nocasters with 10\56 V and much rarer a C. But a true standard 51 Nocaster reissue will usually have the Nocaster U.
> Most Custom shop 52's that I've seen will have a slimmer V neck. The custom shop 52 that I bought from Dave's Guitars in Wisconsin has the Big Nocaster U normally found on Nocasters which is why I grabbed it. The most ideal tele for me is a 52 with a nocaster neck. Seems to be thats what Daves guitars orders a lot of in.
> As I've said, the custom shop can do anything. In the early 2000's Almost all Nocasters were 7 .25 radius vintage frets and it was tough to find a Nocaster with 9.5 radius and 6105 frets. Nowadays its flipped the other way around.
> For the older AVRI's in my experience they've all been thin necks for the most part not alot bigger than the older American standards. However I did come across one that a buddy of mine owned that did have a fair amount of heft to it. Not as big as a Nocaster but close enough that most would think it was. So yes anything is possible.


This is what L&M carries:









Fender Musical Instruments - 1951 NOS Nocaster - Faded Nocaster Blonde


Fender Musical Instruments - 1951 NOS Nocaster - Faded Nocaster Blonde




www.long-mcquade.com


----------



## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

I haven't gone over $1k yet, because I can get what I want for less than that second hand. I'm not opposed to it, I just haven't encountered the need to go above it yet, although I've come close. 

I guess it helps that I don't like fancy finishes/binding etc.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Okay Player said:


> This is what L&M carries:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah I doubt L&M carries it. They have a lot of stuff on their site they say they carry. If it was in stock then I'd agree. If you order it they'll order it from the Custom shop. At which point you can have any spec you want. When I want to see whats in stock I go to Wildwood and Daves in the US. They have the guitar in stock with the exact specs right down to the weight of the guitar and the measurements of the neck. 
Cosmos music has a lot of custom shop in stock as well. I've visited several times and most of the Nocasters, telecasters and strats there have different necks and specs than are normal. 
Looking at the Wildwood site they've got 8 Nocasters. All are U except for 2 which are large C. Most of the 52's they've got are what they call a 52U which seems to be considerably smaller than the Nocaster U. 
So you're tight I guess if the point you're trying to make is that Fender necks vary. More so with the Custom shop. Non custom shop production like the vintage series are far more consistent. But even they can vary some.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

DeeTee said:


> I haven't gone over $1k yet, because I can get what I want for less than that second hand. I'm not opposed to it, I just haven't encountered the need to go above it yet, although I've come close.
> 
> I guess it helps that I don't like fancy finishes/binding etc.


I've found the used market quite horrible in the last couple years. Seems people want anywhere from 90% to 110% of new cost. So in theory you should be able to get a $1,000 piece of gear for $800 or less but in practice its tricky.


----------



## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

guitarman2 said:


> Yeah I doubt L&M carries it. They have a lot of stuff on their site they say they carry. If it was in stock then I'd agree. If you order it they'll order it from the Custom shop. At which point you can have any spec you want. When I want to see whats in stock I go to Wildwood and Daves in the US. They have the guitar in stock with the exact specs right down to the weight of the guitar and the measurements of the neck.
> Cosmos music has a lot of custom shop in stock as well. I've visited several times and most of the Nocasters, telecasters and strats there have different necks and specs than are normal.
> Looking at the Wildwood site they've got 8 Nocasters. All are U except for 2 which are large C. Most of the 52's they've got are what they call a 52U which seems to be considerably smaller than the Nocaster U.
> So you're tight I guess if the point you're trying to make is that Fender necks vary. More so with the Custom shop. Non custom shop production like the vintage series are far more consistent. But even they can vary some.


My point at the outset was that someone doesn't need to buy a Custom Shop to get a thick U-necked Fender.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Okay Player said:


> My point at the outset was that someone doesn't need to buy a Custom Shop to get a thick U-necked Fender.


My point is that if it were that easy I'd have an AVRI, AV52 or AO50's. Everyone I've come across were definitely not as full as a Nocaster U. As well as many of them, mainly the AVRI were 7 1/4 radius which aren't my preference. I would gladly pay less but found I get exactly what I want from a Custom shop. Not a single vintage series tele I've owned or played were the same. I'm exclusively a tele player so I know enough to know. And seen enough to know that probably theres a vintage series neck that might be out there that had the exact Nocaster U. I've just not been lucky as you to find it.


----------



## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

Milkman said:


> Do Squiers cost $650.?
> 
> If I'm spending $650 it would be for a MIM Fender or even an American Strat.
> 
> I sure as F$#k wouldn't spend $4500 on a Fender either.


You’re asking the wrong guy,
I wouldn’t spend a single dollar on any guitar made buy Fender.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

A vintage german LDC mic 

Gibson RD Artist bass

Sunn 1200S amp (vintage tube vs modern ss Fender era).

Those were all just over the line... except the Sunn, like 1.5k. Quite a few other things just under the line (drum kit, other guitars/basses, mixer....)


----------



## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Last set of winter tires and rims cost me about $1300 a few years ago, at which point I asked why am I playing around with a Squire that cost me $350 new? So I bought a used US Strat for $1200. 

When I pay property taxes, I quietly mutter there goes another Gibson R8...


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Milkman said:


> Do Squiers cost $650.?
> 
> If I'm spending $650 it would be for a MIM Fender or even an American Strat.
> 
> I sure as F$#k wouldn't spend $4500 on a Fender either.


You're not going to get a MIM for $650. Probably even used you'd have a hard time. The MIM guitar I have I paid $1,549 for new. Its 2 price hikes later and the same guitar is now $2,000. Yeah sure you wouldn't spend that kind of money but there are many who will. Or else they wouldn't be priced that high.
As for $4,500, yeah I've spent that on a Fender several times. Just because you wouldn't spend that doesn't mean that some how they aren't worth that to someone. Gibson custom shops cost even more. I wouldn't spend that on a Gibson, cause guess what? I personally don't value Gibson's that high. Me stating really doesn't make a point.
Some of the Boutique T style guitars are double or more what Fender sells custom shop. And some claim they're better made but really, how good does a Tele have to be? Its like the difference between 4k and 8k tv. My eye is probably done resolving at 1080P.
How about 8 to 10k for a Fender Masterbuilt. Guess that will really blow your mind. I owned a masterbuilt tele that I got used for a decent price. I no longer have it. I have a custom shop 52 that I paid about $4,500 by the time it got to my door. The Masterbuilt was nice. The only difference to me was, the Masterbuilt was a heavy relic but I prefer the look of my journeyman relic which is about the lightest you can go before NOS. The other difference is the Masterbuilt was built by one guy. My CS 52 was built by a team. I prefer the 52 and it sounds better to me.
I could easily live with just my MIM. I find it pretty much every bit as good, just very different.


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

isoneedacoffee said:


> I'm surprised it isn't more than that. I thought the less-than $1000 would be a minority, but not by that much. @bw66 for me the demographics of this group is entirely unclear. Have there been previous surveys or polls before that shed some light on it?


There were a couple of polls in the past.  I looked them up:








Age range of this forum?


I'm beginning to think I'm one of the younger guys on the forum (something I'm not used to D:) what's the average age-range here? (sorry about the 36 - 48, I meant 37 - 48) I'm 18, btw.




www.guitarscanada.com












How Old is our Membership?


It is interesting to see various points of view at GC on a number of topics whether it is musical or not. Some of the driving factors are our upbringing, musical background and experience. I'm just wondering how much of it is affected by our respective ages? So here is our chance to demonstrate...




www.guitarscanada.com





In 2009, 63.5% of us were over 37. By 2013, 77.3% of us were over 40 and nearly half were over 50. I think that it is safe to say that the demographics haven't gotten younger since then.


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

guitarman2 said:


> You're not going to get a MIM for $650. Probably even used you'd have a hard time. The MIM guitar I have I paid $1,549 for new. Its 2 price hikes later and the same guitar is now $2,000. Yeah sure you wouldn't spend that kind of money but there are many who will. Or else they wouldn't be priced that high.
> As for $4,500, yeah I've spent that on a Fender several times. Just because you wouldn't spend that doesn't mean that some how they aren't worth that to someone. Gibson custom shops cost even more. I wouldn't spend that on a Gibson, cause guess what? I personally don't value Gibson's that high. Me stating really doesn't make a point.
> Some of the Boutique T style guitars are double or more what Fender sells custom shop. And some claim they're better made but really, how good does a Tele have to be? Its like the difference between 4k and 8k tv. My eye is probably done resolving at 1080P.
> How about 8 to 10k for a Fender Masterbuilt. Guess that will really blow your mind. I owned a masterbuilt tele that I got used for a decent price. I no longer have it. I have a custom shop 52 that I paid about $4,500 by the time it got to my door. The Masterbuilt was nice. The only difference to me was, the Masterbuilt was a heavy relic but I prefer the look of my journeyman relic which is about the lightest you can go before NOS. The other difference is the Masterbuilt was built by one guy. My CS 52 was built by a team. I prefer the 52 and it sounds better to me.
> I could easily live with just my MIM. I find it pretty much every bit as good, just very different.


Well, I hate to contradict you, but I have purchased used MIMs for around that or less. My wife bought me a new MIM strat a few years back and there's no way she would spend more than a grand on a guitar, but it was a gift so I never saw the receipt.

As for $4,500 or $10,000., I don't recall saying that they weren't worth that to anyone except yours truly.

I know for a guy who plays as poorly as I do, it's simply not justifiable.

No, nothing about people paying way too much for anything really blows my mind. It's already blown.


----------



## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

bw66 said:


> There were a couple of polls in the past. I looked them up:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Interesting find regarding age. When you mentioned demographics I thought perhaps you were referring to disposable income which for the purposes of this thread would have been super interesting. Of course there's an obvious correlation between age and disposable income - but not always. Since this thread began and some of the comments have quickly poured in, I can't help but think of a book on investing I once read. If I remember correctly, in it the author stated that the most popular car for millionaires in the US was a Toyota Corolla. It's weird, right? His point though is that millionaires are often real careful with their money (like people in all income brackets), and many of the luxury vehicles are not people necessarily with lots of money, but people with lots of debt. Of course, nowadays one can far more easily justify a Gibson Les Paul as an investment than a car, but it is an interesting lens through which to observe the relationship between levels of consumerism (low-middle-high end) and income level.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Milkman said:


> Well, I hate to contradict you, but I have purchased used MIMs for around that or less. My wife bought me a new MIM strat a few years back and there's no way she would spend more than a grand on a guitar, but it was a gift so I never saw the receipt.



Yes a few years back your wife most likely bought an MIM for less than a grand and you'd likely get used for around $500. In, about 1984 I bought a 1962 Telecaster for $700.
MIM's have not only raised considerably in price, its my opinion the quality has gotten far better.
My wife bought me my MIM as well, for my 60th birthday.
And when it comes to buying expensive guitars skill\talent aint got nothing to do with it. I'm sure there are rich folk that own some vintage Martins that I could only dream about owning that barely string 3 chords together.
Paul Chapman (Chappy) from Paris could play circles around me on his MIM tele that he's had for eons that likely cost $500 new when he bought it.
And as far as I know he's using a Roland Jazz chorus not some expensive vintage Fender or Boutique amp.


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

isoneedacoffee said:


> ... Of course there's an obvious correlation between age and disposable income - but not always. ...


I also suspect that there is a correlation between disposable time and disposable income. 😁


----------



## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

On acoustics, yes. Electrics, never. Amps, once but probably wouldn't do it again.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

The only barrier between you and a 4+ digit instrument is your wallet. Nothing to do with skill level, frequency of play, live vs at home, nothing but money available.

Mexi fenders of any age are generally getting listed at $700 and up, at least in Ontario. You can get them for less, but its less often and you better act fast. The last 5 price hikes have caught up to used prices. New for $600 used for $400 is new for $900 used for $700 - different percentages yes, but same dollars saved.

Buy what you like, like what you buy. Like the guitars I have listed .


----------



## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

DeeTee said:


> I haven't gone over $1k yet, because I can get what I want for less than that second hand. I'm not opposed to it, I just haven't encountered the need to go above it yet, although I've come close.
> 
> I guess it helps that I don't like fancy finishes/binding etc.


I'm in this camp too.


----------



## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I used to be a "bottom feeder" and it helped me to figure out what I like and don't. But, it also costs as much or more to have multiple low price guitars as it does to have one or two really nice ones. I can only play 1 at a time. SO now I have 3 and two were relatively expensive, but I really don't need or want any more. In fact I'm thinking of thinning the heard further.


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I guess if you looked at the buying power of what I paid for gear int hat past -that could be over $1000 now, in 2021 dollars.
And my fretless bass is no longer made--but the fretted version is close to $1000 now.

So in some ways, yes, some ways no.


----------



## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

I just did for the first time a couple weeks ago for the Fractal FM3. Not a regret so far.


----------



## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Yes....many times.


----------



## Midnight Rider (Apr 2, 2015)

Allen & Heath GS-R24M - $5,500CAD (New-$15,000)









iZ Technology Radar 24 Multitrack Recorder with Controller & Meter-bridge - $4,500US (New $20,000CAD)









Avalon VT-737sp Tube Channel Strips - $2,500CAD for matched pair (New - $2,600CAD each)









Tascam MSR-24 Analog Tape Multitrack Recorder - $2,500US (New - $15,000US)









NEVE 81280 Channel Strip Pair - $1,800CAD.









Neumann U67 Tube Mic - $4,200CAD (New - $9,400)


----------



## Midnight Rider (Apr 2, 2015)

Over the last four decades I have bought many guitars under a grand and learned that simply changing the electronics can increase the timbre quality immensely. Upgrade the pickups, potentiometers, toggle switch, capacitor type and values, wiring, machine-heads will transform a $1,000 guitar to sound like a $3,000+ guitar for around a $500 investment of parts.

The wood quality will obviously differ from a MIM Strat when compared to American made but I don't believe to the extent of there being a huge difference in tone wood resonance,... a maple neck is a maple neck,... swamp ash is swamp ash,... mahogany is mahogany,... etc.,etc.. Does a 'AAA' flame top have better tonality than a 'A' flame top?,... I'm not so sure the average listener would hear the difference,... if in fact there is one.

I do the same for amps that I purchase over a wide differing price range. Change the stock pre-amp and power tubes with vintage NOS tubes of varying makes to achieve the sound/tone I'm after. Swap out speakers with ones that deliver a specific voicing I'm looking to achieve. The rabbit holes are many but it's a hell of a lot of fun to pursue your own trademark sound that inspires better playing and creativity.


----------



## VHTO (Feb 19, 2016)

Putting together a partscaster with quality components will run you $1K or more unless you’re able to find deals on certain parts/pieces


----------



## Midnight Rider (Apr 2, 2015)

VHTO said:


> Putting together a partscaster with quality components will run you $1K or more unless you’re able to find deals on certain parts/pieces


I always find the deals.


----------



## MFW777 (Aug 3, 2017)

Sure have, and been very happy with most of them. On the under a grand side, had a very eye (or in this case ear) opening experience about a decade or so ago. Bought my son who was just staring out a Squier Strat. Took it to my tech (who is also a builder) for a setup and he asked me how much I paid for it. I can’t remember exactly but it was somewhere under $200 bucks. When I picked it up we both put it though the paces (with low expectations) and were quite impressed. Eventually I swapped out some Duncan Alnico 2’s that were in an old Strat and they kicked it up another notch. Really changed my perspective after that. Didn’t think a good sounding guitar could be had for under a grand, and we ended up with one for under $500!


----------



## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

Nope. I think I topped out at $400 and $399 for my top two.


----------

