Invest to sell
There are, however, edge cases and scenarios where instrument buyers will nab a deal because they know the instrument will appreciate in value over time and they’ll be able to use it and sell it for more than they paid for.
A great example of this would be something like the mythical Gibson Les Paul 1959 models. These guitars are the holy grail of electric guitars and well known to be the most valuable second-hand guitars and an original 1959 will easily fetch £100,000 at an auction to the right bidder. These are huge numbers and in fact, differ from the 1958 and 1960 models by quite a lot.
There are a number of reasons that a guitar might appreciate in value so much and sometimes, it can just be folklore that lends itself to giving an instrument such imaginary kudos. But as a guitar lover myself, it’s all part of the fun! Whilst there may be better-made instruments out there, the 59 Les Pauls are just ‘special’, Amongst some of their other qualities that I won’t go into here. It’s like the perfect, aged, fine wine. It’s safe to say that buying a 59 would be a worthwhile investment if you have the spare cash.
What if I don’t have £100,000 spare?
If you don’t have that kind of money spare, then you can still be on the lookout for other worthwhile investments on your guitar safari adventure. Look for guitars, pedals and amps that are a bit special or limited run.
Just because an item is a limited edition doesn’t mean it will be incredibly valuable, but it definitely stands a far higher chance. It all depends on the item and how it’s received in the market at the time. And demand for the item. As demand grows over time, so will the value of the item.
The Fender FSR range is always a good place to start as these amps and guitars are always cool, special items that you’ll always wish you bought and will always regret selling. I once had a Fender FSR Hot Rod Deluxe White Lightning which was such a sweet-sounding amp and I sold it for far less than it’s worth now.
The Gibson Custom Shop Collectors Choice models from a few years back also make a great example because each run of these guitars was based on an older model but because of trying to match the original guitar, Gibson only produced limited numbers of each model. For example, the Gibson Collectors Choice #2 (based on the Peter Green/Gary Moore Les Paul) is now worth well over £10,000. A worthwhile investment when these guitars started at around £6000. In general, Custom Shop guitars are the ones that will be worth something in future due to their rarity and the small numbers in which they’re produced.