Here is a photo of my first guitar. It is a 1985 Dauphin Classical. I purchased this from my first guitar teacher, Pauline Cormier, who was stabbed in her home on Spring Street, just blocks from my own home, over the weekend. (sj-r article)
Dauphin Classical Guitar
I pulled the guitar out and took a look at it after hearing of her passing. I handled it, strummed it and looked at it as I once did when a teenager just learning to play. Then, I looked at it as a luthier. While at the time of purchase, to me, this was an outstanding classical guitar that I would never be able to play as it should be played. As a luthier, I see characteristics of the guitar that would have steered me to a different brand.
This made me think, what is an instrument really worth?
Purchasing a guitar is much like purchasing anything else. You should determine why you are buying a guitar. Do you have a need for the guitar? Are you looking for a return on investment? Do you just have money (let’s face it, space on your credit card) burning a hole in your pocket and you saw a guitar on tv and thought, cool, I must have one. In some cases, maybe all three.
If you need a guitar, you need a guitar. Are you looking for a beater to leave out and play around the house, maybe something to show off while jamming with friends, a finely tuned machine to play in the studio or a workhorse that will withstand touring and/or heavy use playing out? In these cases, your value is dependent on its use. A guitar you require to pay bills is worth more to you than one that can set on a stand at home and sometimes get knocked over by the dog’s wagging tail.
So what are these guitars worth?
In real estate if you wanted to purchase a piece of land you might have the appraiser follow an income based approach to value the property (especially if you know the current business on the property is having trouble). On the other hand, the day you want to get a second mortgage (to get a home equity loan) on your property, you may want the appraiser to take a comparative based approach. Hopefully your property compares to other properties that have recently sold for a high price, probably more than they are really worth… but that explanation is reserved for a different forum.
At the end of the day, you may have some comparative sales to help make your decision but I have a different point you may want to consider. Although there may be some really run down and poor playing guitars and some super clean pretty ones with awesome setups, listen to the tone. Nearly any $100 pac-rim guitar can be setup to play as good as any other guitar and many multi-thousand dollar new and vintage guitars can sound like a $100 pac-rim guitar.
Listen to the tone. If you are buying it to play and sound good, make sure it is well built (take to luthier for inspection if needed… my sales pitch) and listen to the tone. Listen for the deep sound of the lowend, clear punch of the mids and steady volume and clarity of the highs. If you can find good qualities in two to three of these areas, you have found something to work with. Now the setup may piss you off and make you want to pass on it altogether, but, a poor setup is your opportunity to negotiate price (in your favor). During your negotiation, don’t forget you may have to spend $50 – $300 to get it set up with bone nut and saddle, action adjustment, proper bridge placement and fret work. At the end of the day, if you ‘need’ a guitar, find one with great tone and let your luthier take care of the rest.
For those of you wanting a guitar just the way you want it. Definitely work with an independent luthier (who builds and not just repairs) to get what you want. The big box stores can also provide a custom instrument but the process is pretty canned.. fill out an internet form, a few months later your guitar is built in one to two days (factory parts) and you will receive it in several months… I did this once. With a luthier you get to be part of the process. If your luthier really hand-builds his instruments and doesn’t just buy a mostly fabricated kit and glue it together, you get to pick out your woods. I’m not just talking about the type of wood but the actual back and sides, top, peghead plate and even fretboard lumber. Your neck can be shaped and finished to your specs… even after the instrument is finished. Customized inlay is possible and tone can be changed by shaving top bracing. Do you have a tree or some lumber that you want turned into to a guitar, a luthier is your only source for this work.
What is the value of a luthier built instrument? I think this area is a speculative market where only the most courageous tread. What I mean is, if you are buying a luthier built instrument solely for investment, you are really making a guess at its future value. Some luthiers’ instruments resale is impressive, some even have customers ordering instruments only to put them up for sale for even more than the purchase price (and always getting it), some are not worth half the originally paid price. Be careful if you go this route for investment alone.
Now for those of you looking for return on investment of factory guitars, you can’t beat the market on old Martins. Unfortunately, if you are reading this and do not own an old Martin you are too late. Your only hope is that one of your relatives passes and you find an old early 40′s Martin or possibly a Lloyd Loar signed F-5 mandolin in the closet; preferably in the original case and with no aftermarket additions or subtractions.
There are still good deals to be had on vintage instruments. Due to the internet and the hype it has created about vintage instruments, my opinion is that they have been over-valued and will decline in value slightly when folks find out the truth… old guitars really don’t sound better than new guitars. There are just as many (percentage wise) bad sounding vintage instruments as there are bad sounding instruments built today. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m talking about guitars built to the same specifications here. Comparing a pre-war HD-28 to a wally world silvertone is reaching a bit.
Fit and finish… what a lot of guitars manufacturers get right except for excessively thick finish. As a luthier that also builds, my first focus is on using materials and techniques that ensure a greater chance wonderful tone. Following these proven techniques and specifications helps increase the chance of great tone but the intangibles of wood selection, grain orientation and determining the best top thickness vs. stiffness and bracing shape are what really sets a luthier built instrument apart from a factory build.
Now, on your way out the door to pick up that garage sale find don’t forget to take along a truly wonderful sounding instrument to compare. It might not be worth the fifteen bucks and it’s definitely not a long lost vintage. Also, don’t forget also to take that truly wonderful sounding instrument to the Guitar Center to compare. You may be surprised to hear that the best sounding Martin in their humidor might not sound as good as yours.
So, hopefully I have conveyed the idea that a pretty or vintage instrument may not be what you really want or need. Find a guitar with great tone and the rest can be fixed. Also, value is relative. Figure out why you are buying and value becomes apparent.
