$3000 to spend for an electric guitar

Hi,

I'll be in the states in a couple of weeks.. I pretty much decided to get myself a guitar over there..
I need a guitar that has a "value", and that value should stay at that level or even increase in the following 10 years..
I'd also need something with a fixed bridge.. I have enough guitars with floyd rose-trems.. so a "rhythm"-guitar is more or less what I am looking for.
So although the Ibanez Guitars are very cheap to get there, it's not necessarily fitting in any of my claims.
I thought about following instruments (not decided on the finishes yet..)
Gibson Les Paul (custom/vos/..)
PRS (custom/24/..)
maybe, but surely not for my $3000 limit, a Fender Strat.. (I believe the 3 singlecoils are a bit "underpowered", so Fender would be my last choice)
I tried to find some prices on i.e. Pensa/Suhr guitars but couldn't find any..
so, the question(s):
a.) which of the above guitars, maybe specific models, would be the closest to what I want/need. which other guitars/brands should I look at ?

b.) which online stores are good to look for prices ? (so long I've looked at sweetwater, musiciansfriend, guitarcenter, music123, audiomidi)

c.) which store especially in the Salt Lake City area should I visit ? website ?

d.) OT: Besides musical instruments,.. when it comes to electronics,mp3 player,whatever.. besides Radio Shack, which online store should I visit ?

e.) Is there a search engine that lists low prices on whatever I search for ? We have something like this in germany, I would asume that there's also an equivalent in the US..

f.) what about Pawn shops ? good idea to try ? I believe it's not as easy to get some "vintage" stuff there as it used to be..

g.) how about the pricings.. if I decided on an instrument, do you think it's possible to "deal" with the seller ? Is it a common practice, or are those prices always fixed ?

thx
Frank

hey,..
I owned a '71 fender strat once.. sold it for a grand and saw it on ebay years later for 5k.. that hurts.. I don't want to open old wounds..
I am staying in the Salt Lake City area.. so if anyone has a hint to where to go..

IMO the best value in a fine *factory custom* made in USA guitar is anything Rickenbacker.
not sure if I understand you there.. anything BUT Rickenbacker or anything FROM Rickenbacker..
Rickenbacker is not the style of guitar I am looking at though..

Hello,

$3000 limit

A $3,000 guitar is a very, very pretty $1,500 guitar.

b.) which online stores are good to look for prices ? (so long I've looked at sweetwater, musiciansfriend, guitarcenter, music123, audiomidi)

I've bought hi-end stuff (including instruments) from all but GC and Audiomidi) with no repercussions.

e.) Is there a search engine that lists low prices on whatever I search for ? We have something like this in germany, I would asume that there's also an equivalent in the US..

There's pricewatch and quite a few others. I'd be careful buying consumer electronics while visiting unless you get a product with an international warranty.

what about Pawn shops

It is a myth that pawn shops are where you can "stumble" upon a one-in-a-lifetime item.

g.) how about the pricings.. if I decided on an instrument, do you think it's possible to "deal" with the seller ? Is it a common practice, or are those prices always fixed ?

Retail pricing is not generally negotiable. I don't recommend this form of commerce when you are travelling unless you are fully familiar with the price of that item class.

I would highly recommend that you visit Carvin (www.carvinguitars.com) and take a look at their products. I have a Carvin 5-String bass (purchased on E-bay) and I have played a number of their guitars. Their instruments are drop-dead gorgeous. Everything is a-la-carte, you pick the wood, the finish, the pick-up config (you can get both single coils and humbuckers on the same instrument), the bridge, tailpiece, neck inlay, you name it. And even if you pile the stuff on you will probably only get to around $2,000.00. Then instead of buying one from Carvin, do what I did and go on E-bay and find a similar instrument for 1/2 the price. My bass would sell new for around $1,500. I paid $800. I would consider this option. I have no business relationship with Carvin.

GK

If I had that budget to play around with...

PRS would be on my list. You should be able to find a nice new Mc Carthy or Custom 22 for that price as long as you don't get a 10 top (and maybe you'd get lucky). You should definitely be able to find an old one.
Suhr- they're beautiful instruments
Hamer- USA Hamers are amazing guitars; I've never played a bad one
Tom Anderson
Gibson- Les Pauls have been coming down in price
Fender- Custom Shop's not the only option here. Go out and play all the Strats and Teles you can find; Fender's building (and has been for the last few years) the best instruments they ever have.

ew

ORIGINAL: Frank Haas

Hi,

I'll be in the states in a couple of weeks.. I pretty much decided to get myself a guitar over there..
I need a guitar that has a "value", and that value should stay at that level or even increase in the following 10 years..
I'd also need something with a fixed bridge.. I have enough guitars with floyd rose-trems.. so a "rhythm"-guitar is more or less what I am looking for.
So although the Ibanez Guitars are very cheap to get there, it's not necessarily fitting in any of my claims.
I thought about following instruments (not decided on the finishes yet..)
Gibson Les Paul (custom/vos/..)
PRS (custom/24/..)
maybe, but surely not for my $3000 limit, a Fender Strat.. (I believe the 3 singlecoils are a bit "underpowered", so Fender would be my last choice)
I tried to find some prices on i.e. Pensa/Suhr guitars but couldn't find any..
so, the question(s):
a.) which of the above guitars, maybe specific models, would be the closest to what I want/need. which other guitars/brands should I look at ?

b.) which online stores are good to look for prices ? (so long I've looked at sweetwater, musiciansfriend, guitarcenter, music123, audiomidi)

c.) which store especially in the Salt Lake City area should I visit ? website ?

d.) OT: Besides musical instruments,.. when it comes to electronics,mp3 player,whatever.. besides Radio Shack, which online store should I visit ?

e.) Is there a search engine that lists low prices on whatever I search for ? We have something like this in germany, I would asume that there's also an equivalent in the US..

f.) what about Pawn shops ? good idea to try ? I believe it's not as easy to get some "vintage" stuff there as it used to be..

g.) how about the pricings.. if I decided on an instrument, do you think it's possible to "deal" with the seller ? Is it a common practice, or are those prices always fixed ?

thx
Frank

a.) I hate to say it, but the guitar I play the least is my LP Standard Premium. Gorgeous, and it's sounds great. I just don't like playing it. Some of the Ernie Ball's are beautifully made and great sounding. they're also in your price range.

b.) A friend of mine's site is: http://guitarsetc.net. He carries PRS, Suhr and Gibson. If you consider Ernie Ball/MM, check http://drumcityguitarland.com. Most manufacturers have policies about the prices they will let their retailers advertise. You will generally see them almost all the same.

c.) No idea, but Denver is one state over. If you head that will, let me know. I'll hook you up.

d.) newegg.com

e.) Google's Shopping feature does what you are asking.

f.) +1 with everyone else. they now all seem to want one arm, one leg and a kidney for a used Mexican Strat.

g.) Guitar Center supposedly has put an end to in-store negotiations, unless you can find a better price. They will then beat it.

Good luck, and I hope you have a great trip. If you decide to come through Colorado to go guitar shopping, drop me an email.

A couple more options that I'd forgotten *blush*

Don Grosh
http://www.groshguitars.com/

Zion
http://www.zionguitars.com/

I've played a couple Zions; they're outstanding. And, the one Grosh I've played was one of the two or three best guitars I've ever played.

ew

It's kind of impossible to give you a recommendation on what kind to get, because it's completely a matter of personal needs/taste.

Personally, if I was determined to spend $3000 for a guitar, the only one I would consider is a Les Paul Custom, or maybe a top-end ES-335.

That said, I got a Strat last year for $1300 that is one of the best guitars I've ever owned-- an American Deluxe with an ash body and rosewood fretboard. Locking tuners, noiseless pickups (some may or may not like those, but they're great for recording), S-1 switching, mother of pearl inlays and an extremely beautiful, flawless cherry sunburst finish. As said above, Fender is on top of its game right now. I didn't even know they were capable of making something of that quality until I got this one, so you shouldn't rule it out.

As for prices, music retail in the US has become very competitive. If you go to the websites for Musician's Friend, Guitar Center (which owns MF), Sweetwater, Sam Ash, etc. you'll see that their prices are identical across the board for 99% of items. If you go to independent stores it's possible you can find lower prices, but they could just as easily be higher. The customer service benefit of a good independent dealer will be meaningless to you, so you're just looking for price. If you find a better deal most stores will match it, but that's the extent of "haggling" you can expect.

The most important thing when buying any guitar IMO is to go around to as many places as possible and play as many as possible. I will not buy a guitar I haven't personally had in my hands and played. There is too much variation from one to the next. So if you have the time when you're in SLC, I would go on the web and find every guitar dealer in the area, and go to as many as you can trying out what they have and comparing the prices. It's worth it to get exactly what you want at the best price.

+1

I'm a bassist but know two good old guitarists that have always used Gibsons and changed to Parker Fly's. One had been using the same '56 Les Paul for 35+ yrs. Fiddling around with a Fly, I was very impressed with the weightlessness and action. Well worth checking out.

Frank,

Fender have been producing the American Deluxe series of Strats with samarium magnets and S-1 switching which gives them quite a bit of extra punch and tonal flexibility.

I bought one a couple of years ago (exactly the same model as AJ_0000 I've just noticed) and it's complemented my 335 and Les Paul really well. I hope you're taking into account the fact that you may get stung for VAT and import duty on your return. If you don't want the risk then Thomann have them for about 1200 euros here ...
http://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_american_dlx_strat_ash_rw_acb.htm

I have to admit that my main reason for wanting a Strat was to attempt Dave Gilmour impersonations and it hasn't disappointed on that front.

I forgot to mention. There is a guitar center in SLC.

http://local.yahoo.com/info-19928701-guitar-center-salt-lake-city

I've heard good and bad things, but they usually have a big selection on hand.

I played 13 or 14 PRS guitars before I found the 'one', go and play all the PRS guitars you can find, I'm confident you can find one you love, likely with enough left to get a nice ATA flight case.

Regards

i would suggest a SUHR.

If you've got $3000 to spend you should check out Ed Romans store. He's got many value oriented gutars.
I was over there yesterday and was completely blown away.
http://www.edroman.com/

SLC isn't really the place to shop for an electric guitar. Intermountain Banjo & Guitar is a great place to shop for an acoustic, though. Highly recommended... it's over by the University of Utah campus.

ok,.. today I made my choice..
went to GC in SLC..
as I recently bought the uad-2 duo flexi, I didn't want to spend too much on other stuff.. so as they didn't have the SR506 Bass, nor the EV RE-20, I had to look for a guitar (I kind of dropped the thought)..
anyway..
I tried some fenders and except for the SRV modell I didn't feel to comfortable with the necks..
I didn't try any Gibsons.. although the new Slash-modell (Gold-Top) was tempting.. but I wasn't looking for a signature guitar..
so after looking at some other guitars.. I saw two PRS at a really good price..
The one felt very comfortable from the start.. it had a natural sustain that I never heard before.. (I'd say it already felt like love at 1st sight)
I tried the other PRS which had a nicer color (red), and a toggle switch.. but just didn't feel as good...
well..
I now own a PRS Custom 22 with 2 Dragon II pickups.. 10 Top,.. a brown finish.. and bird-inlays..
I believe it was a good choice.. it's still like I wash my hands before I touch the instrument..lol.. I hope it will be a reliable companion for the next years..