One $4.5k guitar or three $1,500 guitars?

[Inverted314]

This is an interesting thread cause I wonder this about a lot of things people buy. People with 30 guitars, 15 mics, etc. Im into minimalism though, so sign me up for the all in guitar. A Bourgeois Small Jumbo or Slope D short scale sure looks cool. I'm generally a quality over quantity person myself.

[llew]

One $4500 guitar for me. Probably a Bourgeois?

[Don54]

I'd go with one

I've got four $1000 - $2000 guitars in maple, rosewood, mahogany and hog-top. There's no one guitar that can do everything that they can do.

[ifret]

I'd take the 3 so I can have a variety of tonewoods and sizes for varying styles of play.

One really nice one. I find that I have a psychological barrier to justify owning more than one really nice steel string guitar.

[magazine]

I have never liked having three guitars. Two makes sense I guess... I would modify the allowance a bit and spend $1200 on one, and $3300 on the other. $3300 gets you a LOT of guitar, and $1200 gets you all you needed in the first place. Martin and Taylor both offer some of their best guitars in the $1100-$1300 range.

[Guitar1083]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Would you rather have one great guitar or three pretty good guitars with different tone woods?

1 Guitar to Rule them all.

Really tho, when you get a $4,500 guitar and you try guitars for $1,500 - $2,000 $3,000 they will all sound cheap when compared.

I have 1 because i can only play one at a time

Good luck with what ever you want to do.

[birkenweg42]

If I buy new I would choose the 4.5k guitar....which probably would be a Santa Cruz OM. I probably would make that decision at Gryphon in Palo Alto.

[guzzijeff]

Variety for me. Different body styles & different woods.

[Mbroady]

$4500 gives you some nice buying power and Grand ma always said never buy retail.
I would probably spend $3500 on one guitar providing I get a great deal. I would then find a killer deal on a used guitar for $1000. this would be my banger/gig guitar.

[Rwpierce]

Go for your dream guitar. If it's the right one you won't have time for the other ones in the flock.

[Chedeng88]

It depends on the GAS situation.

There are times when I want to add lesser known hidden gem to my stable, so I would be gassing for a used Stonebridge, Webber etc. They're pretty affordable, so I often end up buying 2-3 such guitars with varying tone woods and appointments.

But right now that I'm in Goodall GAS mode, I'd rather have just one that costs $3.5-4.5K (used).

[Greg Rappleye]

At this moment, I'm more interested in filling a few holes / stepping up slightly than I am in making a single $4,500 statement. My three:

Martin 000-17SM
Yamaha LL16-12
Taylor HV GS Mini

With the change ($1,300, + or -) I could finance a long weekend touring the Nashville guitar stores for the Martin and Yamaha. The Mini would be waiting on my porch direct from Taylor when I got back from the Music City.



Greg Rappleye

[Redbeard]

$4500 puts you in world class guitar territory in this second golden age of acoustic guitar making. Knowing what I know now, I would say buy one. But enjoy the search for that one!

Off the top of my head, in that price range recently I've been very tempted by guitars like: a used Martin D18 Authentic 1937; a used Rockbridge dread with Red Spruce top and Brazillian back and sides; a Merrill C18 with koa back and sides; a new Martin OM 18 Authentic...I could go on. We're talking powerhouse instruments here. Obviously my tastes veer right toward traditional Martin inspired guitars. And this is just a small sample. But if you're into modern finger style, you can also get into an heirloom quality instrument for 4500 in today's used market.