Mustang madness

[BatUtilityBelt]

Not new, I've had it for 5 years. This is my MIJ Mustang I bought used for $599. I like it so much I have no intention of selling it.

It amazes me that I keep seeing the same guitar (in a few different colors but all MIJ with the same pickups + hardware) for $1800 to $2600 used. It's not just private sellers either, stores are trying to get that much too.

Have people just gone nuts?

[uwmcscott]

It amazes me that I keep seeing the same guitar (in a few different colors but all MIJ with the same pickups + hardware) for $1800 to $2600 used. It's not just private sellers either, stores are trying to get that much too.

Have people just gone nuts?

Everything costs more now, no surprises there - it's pretty simple economics 101 supply/demand at work.

People start threads here almost every single day about how much prices are going up, not sure what is so surprising about it.

[BatUtilityBelt]

It amazes me that I keep seeing the same guitar (in a few different colors but all MIJ with the same pickups + hardware) for $1800 to $2600 used. It's not just private sellers either, stores are trying to get that much too.

Have people just gone nuts?

Everything costs more now, no surprises there - it's pretty simple economics 101 supply/demand at work.

People start threads here almost every single day about how much prices are going up, not sure what is so surprising about it.

What is surprising is to see it routinely 300% more.

[uwmcscott]

What is surprising is to see it routinely 300% more.

So sell yours It's only "Worth" a certain amount if you actually do so. Otherwise It's just a number, and if other people feel it's worth it to buy one for that price then that's their decision.

[honyock]

That's why I sold my 60s Tribute SG Jr. And 70s Tribute SG Deluxe last year, the price I paid for NOS from Sam Ash and CME even with inflation was a joke vs. the going rates. It was better to sell them before people came to their senses and stopped paying 2x or more over retail used prices.

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[BatUtilityBelt]

What is surprising is to see it routinely 300% more.

So sell yours It's only "Worth" a certain amount if you actually do so. Otherwise It's just a number, and if other people feel it's worth it to buy one for that price then that's their decision.

Like I said, I don't want to sell it. I like the guitar and I don't need the money. But what this trend does do to my habits is make me think I might be done buying. I have plenty of guitars, so I am lucky that way, but I think the direction it is going is absolutely crazy and I feel bad for people just starting out. I'll add that I don't know people are actually paying those prices, but that's probably a different thread.

Now my Tribute Firebird I don't like as much. I might sell it for WAY more than I paid.

[uwmcscott]

I have plenty of guitars, so I am lucky that way, but I think the direction it is going is absolutely crazy and I feel bad for people just starting out. I'll add that I don't know people are actually paying those prices, but that's probably a different thread.

I personally think the guitar industry is probably at that tipping point - you see a lot of things sitting on reverb/ebay/CL for quite a bit longer than they have been in recent months, and lots of "price reduced" listings. And yes, very few items sell for the asking price. I sell on reverb mostly and never expect to get my full asking price, although that did actually happen a few months back to my surprise.

Regarding the new people getting in now - while some stuff may seem overpriced, there are more good quality entry level guitars available out there than there ever have been IMHO. Kurt still has a crapload of SX guitars under $200 and pretty much always has, save for a short time of the super/covid/supply/toilet paper debacle. Look at places like Monoprice and Firefly/Grote/Amazon that all have really good, playable insruments well within the reach of any first time buyer. Squire and Epihpone too.

[BatUtilityBelt]

Regarding the new people getting in now - while some stuff may seem overpriced, there are more good quality entry level guitars available out there than there ever have been IMHO. Kurt still has a crapload of SX guitars under $200 and pretty much always has, save for a short time of the super/covid/supply/toilet paper debacle. Look at places like Monoprice and Firefly/Grote/Amazon that all have really good, playable insruments well within the reach of any first time buyer. Squire and Epihpone too.

Fair point. I'd advise any lefty starting out to go ahead and grab a gold top AD-3200MCC for $600 without thinking twice, but they won't find them in the stores or in the advertising they get hit with. The $200 SX models are hit and miss for a beginner who doesn't know how to do a setup or minor fretwork.

[tobijohn]

I really likeboth that and the one in your avatar. A decent real Mustang and Jaguar are two of the few items still left on my bucket list (along with a few other brands). But yes, after becoming used to pre-Covid pricing, it's extremely difficult to pay up these days, in fact I just can't do it. Fortunately, there hasn't been any lefty stuff on the used market the past year or so that triggered any FOMO emotions. A couple Fireflys and a handful of mostly b-stock Harley Bentons have been enough to satiate my personal GAS gods...

[BatUtilityBelt]

I really likeboth that and the one in your avatar. A decent real Mustang and Jaguar are two of the few items still left on my bucket list (along with a few other brands). But yes, after becoming used to pre-Covid pricing, it's extremely difficult to pay up these days, in fact I just can't do it. Fortunately, there hasn't been any lefty stuff on the used market the past year or so that triggered any FOMO emotions. A couple Fireflys and a handful of mostly b-stock Harley Bentons have been enough to satiate my personal GAS gods...

I was surprised how much I really liked the Mustang right off the bat. For what it's worth, Eastwood's Warren Ellis 6 almost matches the Mustang fun of a Fender. Both are a lot of guitar for their sizes! I also have no Jaguar yet, just a few Jazzmaster copies I like. The Mustang showed me to not fear a short scale, so a Jaguar is also on my list to get, hopefully humbucker based, possibly the Cobain NOS (non-relic).

[tobijohn]

I was surprised how much I really liked the Mustang right off the bat. For what it's worth, Eastwood's Warren Ellis 6 almost matches the Mustang fun of a Fender. Both are a lot of guitar for their sizes! I also have no Jaguar yet, just a few Jazzmaster copies I like. The Mustang showed me to not fear a short scale, so a Jaguar is also on my list to get, hopefully humbucker based, possibly the Cobain NOS (non-relic).

I've got the HB copy (MS-60) which has a 25' scale and @Buddha Pickups wound me a set of pickups for it but it had to take a number and get into the upgrade line. There's a SX SJM I picked up a little while ago that he made a set of P90s with Jazzmaster specs and components for that's also in the line...

[tobijohn]

That's why I sold my 60s Tribute SG Jr. And 70s Tribute SG Deluxe last year, the price I paid for NOS from Sam Ash and CME even with inflation was a joke vs. the going rates. It was better to sell them before people came to their senses and stopped paying 2x or more over retail used prices.

If you don't mind me asking, what did you get for the SG Jr? I think I'm the only one of us left who still has his from that CME sale (I'm fairly sure @Brendan sold his a while back as well).

I have no intention of selling any of my Agiles but lately it's occurred to me that I might want to take advantage of these prices by letting go some of the pricier and popular ones that I have and that would not be difficult to replace once everyone regained their sanity...

[honyock]

That's why I sold my 60s Tribute SG Jr. And 70s Tribute SG Deluxe last year, the price I paid for NOS from Sam Ash and CME even with inflation was a joke vs. the going rates. It was better to sell them before people came to their senses and stopped paying 2x or more over retail used prices.

If you don't mind me asking, what did you get for the SG Jr? I think I'm the only one of us left who still has his from that CME sale (I'm fairly sure @Brendan sold his a while back as well).

I have no intention of selling any of my Agiles but lately it's occurred to me that I might want to take advantage of these prices by letting go some of the pricier and popular ones that I have and that would not be difficult to replace once everyone regained their sanity...

About $700, though I did include a nice flight case I scored at $50 at Guitar Center that I built into the shipping price.

I replaced it with a Harley Benton LPB DC-60 and I am not sad about it...

[tobijohn]

About $700, though I did include a nice flight case I scored at $50 at Guitar Center that I built into the shipping price.

I replaced it with a Harley Benton LPB DC-60 and I am not sad about it...

Well that worked out well, IIRC we paid a little over $400 for those, didn't we? I replaced the stock black pickguard on mine with a torty one.

I'll be picking up one of those LPB DC-60s too, just waiting for another b-stock I like to pair it with. No more flat rate but shipping for two guitars is only marginally more than it is for one...

[Mossman]

MustangSmall.jpg
Not new, I've had it for 5 years. This is my MIJ Mustang I bought used for $599. I like it so much I have no intention of selling it.

It amazes me that I keep seeing the same guitar (in a few different colors but all MIJ with the same pickups + hardware) for $1800 to $2600 used. It's not just private sellers either, stores are trying to get that much too.

Have people just gone nuts?

I have soft spot in my heart for the Mustang that goes back to my teenage years. I formed my first band when I was a sophomore in high school, and I managed to get them to let us practice in the main lecture hall after school. We were completely unsupervised, so I got to dig through some storage rooms where they kept a lot of old music gear. I was hoping to find a better bass amp than the one I had, but I came upon an old Fender Mustang, and I thought it was the coolest weird guitar that I'd ever seen. I didn't play guitar at that time, but I thought; if I were to get a guitar, I'd want to get a Mustang. To be honest, I liked it mostly because it wasn't a Strat, or a Tele (I hated Teles back then), and it didn't look like anything that was commonly seen in the '80s. I didn't know what it sounded like, and I didn't know anybody who played one (Grunge was about 7 years off yet). I didn't know how old it was, or if they were even still being made. I just liked it because it was different.

In hindsight, I probably could have jacked that guitar pretty easily and no one would have been the wiser. This stuff had been disused and forgotten for years (I found the guitar buried under a pile of junk!), but the thought never really occurred to me... I guess I'm not much of a thief. But I never forgot about that guitar. I used to draw it on my notebook covers and what-not.

Well, I guess I eventually did forget about it, because to this day, I've still never played one... I think the fact that it's a short-scale guitar (once I knew what that meant), may have had something to do with it.

[honyock]

About $700, though I did include a nice flight case I scored at $50 at Guitar Center that I built into the shipping price.

I replaced it with a Harley Benton LPB DC-60 and I am not sad about it...

Well that worked out well, IIRC we paid a little over $400 for those, didn't we? I replaced the stock black pickguard on mine with a torty one.

I'll be picking up one of those LPB DC-60s too, just waiting for another b-stock I like to pair it with. No more flat rate but shipping for two guitars is only marginally more than it is for one...

I paid a little less since mine was an open box, but perfect condition.

[tobijohn]

I paid a little less since mine was an open box, but perfect condition.

Do you recall what the shipping was on just that one?

[honyock]

I paid a little less since mine was an open box, but perfect condition.

Do you recall what the shipping was on just that one?

The Gibby I sold (it was free shipping from CME and before the Wayfair law went into effect) or the HB I bought?

I paid full price for the DC60 since I was impatient there have been $180 b-stocks for quite a few weeks now, but I bundled it with a Fusion T that was only $298 so it was like free shipping (or that's what I tell myself to feel better at night). It cost $61 (last 3 orders it has ranged $60-64) for 2 guitars. Was going to an HB35+, but that moves into a different bracket for shipping and was like $90 or $100 same as the Chickenbacher bass that I was eyeing.

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[nomadh]

That's why I sold my 60s Tribute SG Jr. And 70s Tribute SG Deluxe last year, the price I paid for NOS from Sam Ash and CME even with inflation was a joke vs. the going rates. It was better to sell them before people came to their senses and stopped paying 2x or more over retail used prices.

If you don't mind me asking, what did you get for the SG Jr? I think I'm the only one of us left who still has his from that CME sale (I'm fairly sure @Brendan sold his a while back as well).

I have no intention of selling any of my Agiles but lately it's occurred to me that I might want to take advantage of these prices by letting go some of the pricier and popular ones that I have and that would not be difficult to replace once everyone regained their sanity...

Are you really going to bet on anything getting more sane or anything getting better? You are quite the optimist
I've been looking at a hint of that for 30 years now. Actually its been 3 generations as I used to talk to my grandparents alot.

[tobijohn]

Are you really going to bet on anything getting more sane or anything getting better? You are quite the optimist
I've been looking at a hint of that for 30 years now. Actually its been 3 generations as I used to talk to my grandparents alot.

I'm just talking about the used guitar market, Western civilization veered off into the weeds quite a while ago and I don't see it getting back on track anytime soon...

[msc_]

I have a Fender Pawn Shop Mustang Special. I just checked the prices and they are $1500 for a good example. Many of my guitars seem to be going for crazy prices, but I think I'm going to hold on to them. Some of the guitars that I thought would be more expensive due to rarity have only increased modestly, but some of the higher production volume guitars have gone crazy. I'm glad I'm done with buying guitars and feel justified in making some of my purchases when I did.

[helsinkirocks]

MustangSmall.jpg
Not new, I've had it for 5 years. This is my MIJ Mustang I bought used for $599. I like it so much I have no intention of selling it.

It amazes me that I keep seeing the same guitar (in a few different colors but all MIJ with the same pickups + hardware) for $1800 to $2600 used. It's not just private sellers either, stores are trying to get that much too.

Have people just gone nuts?

Is that the Cobain one? I have one also. Those have really jumped in value lately, especially lefty.

[BatUtilityBelt]

Is that the Cobain one? I have one also. Those have really jumped in value lately, especially lefty.

Yes! Our Mustangs are twins. Although I like Nirvana, I don't tend to appreciate signature guitars, but that Mustang is awesome. I am curious since you have both - do you think the Jaguar is as great as the Mustang?

[helsinkirocks]

Sorry for the late reply!
I'm inconsistent with checking in here!

I quite like both, I think the Mustang is a more versatile guitar overall, with generally more refined sound and a better clean sound. The Jaguar though is balls to the walls rock. The pickups are way hotter, but I think the Jaguar overall plays better, but that could be because my jaguar is the "road worn" one, so it already has a good broken in feel.

I like them both quite a lot, the Jaguar was my main gigging guitar for a while. I don't know if I could pick a clear favorite.

[Partscaster]

Western civilization veered off into the weeds quite a while ago

About when the Neanderthals realized how shitty a cousin we are, too.