A few things to think about if you’re looking to “invest” in that must-have guitar.
Every so often, I'll get an email from someone who owns a guitar that was previously owned by a famous musician. When they ask me how much I think it's worth, I always tell them I'm not the guy to ask, but that my best guess is that it's worth more to a fan of that musician than it is as a guitar. (You don't have to be an industry insider to figure that out.) Similarly, to add star appeal, brands sometimes add artist editions to their line as the next best thing. This is a double whammy of exclusivity that brings the cult of personality into the sales equation. And it got me thinking about memorabilia and collecting. Do people actually buy guitars because they think they will be worth more someday, and why is a signed Wayne Gretzky poster worth more than my car?
Most guitarists own instruments for the explicit reason of making music. It's how they express themselves, be it for pleasure or for profit. And on occasion, it is both. How guitarists choose a guitar has been studied and written about for decades, with seemingly little in the way of concrete conclusions beyond the Strat/Tele/Les Paul paradigm. Utility, fashion, peer pressure, and even boredom can be the motivating factor behind guitar acquisitions. For the most part, I don't think resale value is generally a huge part of the equation. When it is, it's usually in terms of how little you will lose. I'd say that guitar buyers typically regard their purchase like an automobile, which drops a third of its worth on the drive home from the dealership. At best, speculating that a guitar will ever regain its original new value is wishful thinking. If you are prepared to wait 30 years in order to see if it was a wise investment, good luck to you.
There are collectors, but even they have varying motivations. Not every collector is a capitalist. Some gather one brand, one model, one time period, or even one color. Other collectors try to lay out history—the width and depth of the instrument industry, so to speak. Their purchases are gently pinned like butterflies to an expanding board at home.
Then there is the least understood of the species: the investor collector. This rarely seen bird is difficult to identify, but usually falls into one of a few categories. The first is the most obvious—a hoarder of unobtanium. These individuals covet the most expensive and highly lauded survivors of the golden age(s) of instrument building in the U.S. And the game is basically the same whether you are talking a pre-war Martin, a mid-century Fender or Gibson, or a Loar mandolin. (Pardon me for the mandolin reference.)
In larger collections, the moneyed patron/curator may include some of the lesser-known or underappreciated siblings of the royal families in order to show context. The purest of investors will build a portfolio only of the most coveted “blue-chip" and (hopefully) liquid of guitar assets—knowing that they are the thoroughbred runners in the race towards a return.
In the meantime, collections like these can bring the kind of pleasure that gazing at a stack of stock certificates cannot. Although I'm just guessing here, it seems that the larger collections tend to stray into displays of pure love for the instrument as opposed to merely building a portfolio. The canny ones, however, keep their feelings in check until the day a check is written.
What about boutique and limited-edition guitars? Certainly these must be the way to mitigate the financial downside to owning guitars, right? Limited availability is one of the pillars of the collectable-item market, and that force is what brands leverage when offering small runs. In the whiskey business, it's called “small batch." Mix a little of this, a little of that, and voilà! As if by magic, a star is born. These instruments can be numbered or named, custom painted, and bedecked and inlaid—all in a bid to entice with the promise of exclusivity. Can't you just taste it?
The limited-run instrument possesses another leg upon which desirability stands: bragging rights. Generally, consumers tend to fall into two camps. There are those who want what everyone else wants, and those who wish to appear different from the first group. Small-batch guitars scratch that different itch. Large brands love the limited editions for many reasons. It's a sinecure. When lost for a way to juice up flagging sales, limited editions are a stupid-simple way of chasing down revenue without having to come up with anything really new. I know this from attending endless marketing and product-planning meetings. (I'm just as guilty as the next guy, too.) On the positive side, short runs are exclusive, and if there is ever a chance a model will become collectible, these will probably be first in line. Oh, and there's that “different" factor too.
As per usual, I've probably asked more questions that I've answered. But one thing is for certain: There are way more sports fans than musicians, so you are probably better off with sports collectibles if you are looking for a payday. If you are dead set on buying a guitar, just follow your heart and get a great instrument. And then enjoy the pleasure it brings every day.
Stompboxtober Day 29 is live! Enter today to win a pedal from StewMac—more chances to win tomorrow!
StewMac International House of Overdrive Pedal Kit, With Bare Enclosure
The IHOO is based on the Crowther Hot Cake, an overdrive that became available around 1976. It was one of the earliest hand-made boutique effects pedals available. The circuit was designed to be what is now referred to as a “transparent” overdrive. An effect that enhances the player's sound while keeping the original tone intact.
This circuit has undergone many changes since its inception, and we have further expanded on the design by returning to an earlier version most revered by players and removing the buffer, which resulted in a reworked circuit that is true bypass but still retains the charm of the design.
We also include the original LM741 IC chip found in the originals, as well as the TL071 that is found in later versions so you can experiment with which IC best suits your playing style.
A 1000-watt speaker cabinet crafted for musicians who demand power and precision. Sunn Amps intends to reinvent the standard 4x12 configuration with the introduction of this new cabinet.
The Sunn Amps DoomBox is built to accommodate both guitar and bass, offering an impressive 1000-watt handling capacity—making it the first commercially available 4x12 cabinet with such high power handling. With four specially designed 12” drivers rated at 250 watts each, this cabinet provides clean, unrestrained sound levels that can maintain power integrity across all frequencies, ideal for high-volume performances.
Inspired and developed using feedback from artists and bands who rely on the depth of lower tunings and high volume genres, the DoomBox was engineered to meet the unique demands of professional musicians looking for a robust, high-efficiency cab that can translate the raw power of their sound without compromise.
Premium Craftsmanship and Materials
The Doom Box cabinet is crafted from solid finger-jointed Baltic Birch plywood, ensuring both durability and tonal clarity. Each cabinet is constructed by hand in the U.S.A. using original 1930s machinery, the DoomBox reflects Sunn’s historic commitment to quality, contrasting with some of the mass-produced, MDF-based cabinets on the market today. The cabinet’s aluminum basket, ferrite magnet, and custom Sunn weave Tolex with a custom grill design complete its professional-grade build.
Technical Specifications:
• Power Handling: 1000W
• Inputs: 1 x ¼”
• Impedance: 8 Ohm
• Drivers: 4 x Sunn 12S250
• Construction: Marine Grade Baltic Birch
• Dimensions: 29.25” X 30” X 14”
• Weight: 107 lbs
• Price: $2399.00
With clear low-end punch, even sound response, and ample air movement, the Doom Box ensures that every note reaches the audience with clarity and power. This cabinet is a game-changer for musicians who need high-performance, road-ready equipment that enhances their unique sound.
Does the guitar’s design encourage sonic exploration more than sight reading?
A popular song between 1910 and 1920 would usually sell millions of copies of sheet music annually. The world population was roughly 25 percent of what it is today, so imagine those sales would be four or five times larger in an alternate-reality 2024. My father is 88, but even with his generation, friends and family would routinely gather around a piano and play and sing their way through a stack of songbooks. (This still happens at my dad’s house every time I’m there.)
Back in their day, recordings of music were a way to promote sheet music. Labels released recordings only after sheet-music sales slowed down on a particular song. That means that until recently, a large section of society not only knew how to read music well, but they did it often—not as often as we stare at our phones, but it was a primary part of home entertainment. By today’s standards, written music feels like a dead language. Music is probably the most common language on Earth, yet I bet it has the highest illiteracy rate.
Developed specifically for Tyler Bryant, the Black Magick Reverb TB is the high-power version of Supro's flagship 1x12 combo amplifier.
At the heart of this all-tube amp is a matched pair of military-grade Sovtek 5881 power tubes configured to deliver 35-Watts of pure Class A power. In addition to the upgraded power section, the Black Magick Reverb TB also features a “bright cap” modification on Channel 1, providing extra sparkle and added versatility when blended with the original Black Magick preamp on Channel 2.
The two complementary channels are summed in parallel and fed into a 2-band EQ followed by tube-driven spring reverb and tremolo effects plus a master volume to tame the output as needed. This unique, signature variant of the Black Magick Reverb is dressed in elegant Black Scandia tolex and comes loaded with a custom-built Supro BD12 speaker made by Celestion.
Price: $1,699.