Shads 50th Anni Strat writeup

[roger bayliss]

Never felt drawn into paying that much money for a guitar myself but there are plenty of people out there that believe in investments and such and will pay potty money for gear and I guess if we had the money and wanted it we might buy what we want to because you got choice and it's up to you in the end... but I dunno if I could feel good about parting with the cash. It's a free world and you live your life as you wish and if a £5000 guitar is what you want go for it...

[s4wgb]

How about this one for sale?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Masterbuil ... 500wt_1159

[John M]

It's o.k. George, dont worry... (the nurse has brought me tablets)
Just curious as to why an item like this has such a perceived value.
Probaly as said, the Hank and Bruce connection.
I'll stick with my NOS thank you very much.

[Yankshadslover]

I'm with Phil and Ecca on this one, except that Ecca overlooked that you need a soldering iron as well as a screwdriver!

My favorite guitar is the white home made unit depicted in my avitar. It's a true "Frankencaster" and I have less than US$500 in it. Beat up '50's Mexican Strat reissue body, big, flat, chunky Allparts neck, Fender vintage tuners, '57 reissue bridge and trem and a loaded pickguard from a 2007 American Standard with stock Alnicos. I had a beautiful Custom Shop Jazzmaster that I used for surf music, but was afraid to take it anywhere. So I sold it and built a a "Frankenmaster". That was a bit more pricey as I have about US$700 in that one.

Cheers, folks. I LOVE this site!

[David Martin]

Different strokes for different folks... I have one and am well pleased with it. Check out the original thread for my reasons for buying it... and as you will see, I didn't buy it for investment purposes. But tell me where you're getting a better rate of interest on your savings right now... Does your bank statement remind you of your musical heroes and all the associated memories when you look at the framed copy on the wall? Does it sound good when you play it?

Meanwhile, when I want to play, I look at my guitars, think about what style I want to play in today, and choose the one which tempts me...



p.s. Don't knock Howard. In a very murky world, he is honest, reliable and helpful. Without him, 54 lucky/shrewd people would not have the opportunity to own this little slice of musical history.

[leddo]

I am glad you like your guitar David. They are lovely instruments and I came close to buying one. I hope I haven't been picked up wrongly here. Howard has a business to run and from my chats with him he seems to be a good guy, unlike some guitar traders we could mention! My point was that there is no way these guitars are worth £8000 now. They should not have sold for £5000 in the first place. The price was inflated, and I believe there were reasons for that which were outwith Howard's control.
If people have £8000 to spend on one guitar, then that is up to them. I have spent four figure sums on guitars before and as I said in my first post, Masterbuilt guitars are very good instruments although I would question if they are worth £3000/£4000/£5000 etc. But the problem with selling a guitar for £8000 when it cost £5000 a year ago is that it drives up the price of similar instruments and creates a bubble. And we all know what happens to bubbles. They burst and everyone suffers.
There is a seller on eBay trying to punt a Hank Marvin CS Strat for £6000. I'd say that is ambitious, but good luck to him. I have also noticed the price of Jap and Mex Hank Strats creeping up again.
Regular Fiesta Red CS Strats appear on the 2nd hand market for silly prices too. One guy was trying to sell his for £500 more than the price of a new one. That is madness. But people think because of the Hank and Shadows connection that they can pick a price out of the air and people will pay that. Sadly, in some cases, that is what happens because the buyers think they are getting an investment instead of a guitar. I once attempted to explain to a chap on ebay that the guitar he was asking £2600 for was on sale new for £1750. Same guitar, same specs. All he could trot out was the Hank Marvin argument, yet the only connection to Hank Marvin was that it was a Fiesta Red Strat with maple neck.
I know we have had this debate before about Hank Marvin guitars and their perceived value but I still feel that people get carried away with themselves when they try to sell their guitars. After the Oasis batch, there are now more Strats bearing Hank Marvin's name or his blessing available than ever before, yet people still believe these guitars are going to double or triple in value in the coming years. I doubt it.

[keithmantle]

The market will always find its own level !!, An item is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. Didn't we have all these points of view about over inflated prices/not worth 50p/wouldn't have one if they gave it me !! etc etc when they first came out. If you have the money to buy a 'Roller' do you go and buy a Trabant !!. There is only one thing you can do with money, SPEND IT whichever way you like

[leddo]

That is very true, but if sellers are pitching their instruments at silly prices and no one is buying then you cannot get any idea of what that guitar is really worth. There is no track record of sales. All that tells you is what it isn't worth. I cannot think of any other fender guitar produced in recent years where the buyers expect the value to increase year on year.
The Clapton Strats are probably the best Fender make (in my opinion) with a great neck, amazing sounds and a pedigree endorsee, yet they do not double or triple in value. A John Cruz EC Strat can be had for a few grand. Even the Blackie copies which Fender produced for £10,000 or whatever a few years back still surface for that price or in most cases less than that.
My beef on this issue is that by inflating the top prices, all the other HM guitars get sucked in too and the prices all rise artificially (bit like the property boom). Now that is great if you are a seller, not so good if you are a buyer. And it is a nightmare if you buy during the boom, then see the value of that guitar plunge.

[David Martin]

That's assuming that you consider the price to be inflated... relative to earlier HM Signature series guitars - e.g. 40th Anni, the CRS 59 is amazingly good value for money, and is a whole lot better guitar than any of the earlier ones, being MasterBuilt... I had 3 new 40th Anni offered to me by The Flying Pig before I found one which played acceptably.

In my view, owners can't push the price up - it's not an essential like petrol or diesel which the buyer can't do without or buy elsewhere, it's a luxury whatever reason you buy it for. I have no plans to sell mine - which is both signed by all The Shadows and a very special number - but if someone wanted it, and could muster enough cash to persuade me to part with it - and it would be an awful lot of cash - wouldn't I be daft not to take it?

p.s. I've had Clapton Strats and didn't like them at all... thin frets, vintage radius board, insipid pickups and blocked trem? No thanks... So I bought a Mexican Deluxe Player Strat, put the Jeff Beck noiseless pickups on it, and the Clapton mid boost and... it's a gem! Turned down to 6 on volume it sounds just like Hank, with neck and bridge on together it sounds like a Tele, and with varying amounts of mid boost with treble turned down it will give any Gibson (and I have several) a real run for its money. Oh, and... 12 inch radius board, C neck and jumbo frets for easy bending... and do I sound like Clapton? Hell no... I sound like ME 'cos in this case, that's what I want!!

[leddo]

Well if owners put a £3000 guitar on the market at £6000 then that looks like an attempt at price inflation to me. A couple of points on guitar necks, the Clapton guitar has a 9.5 radius and V profile, not the vintage 7.25 which I believe came as standard on the CRS 59 Oasis batch. If i recall, Hank actually had the neck on his replaced or changed because he prefers the 9.5 radius, which came as standard on his CS signature models. So, Hank, Clapton and me all like the 9.5 inch radius neck. Pity I don't sound like them. Or have their dosh.