Rare Guitar, or Rare Opportunity?

Last night, I came across an Eric Johnson Rosewood Stratocaster.

The worst part?  It's well within driving distance. The "also worst" part?  It's listed at a price that just might get me to move on it, but it got me thinking about what constitutes a rare guitar, vs a rare used guitar buying opportunity.

Eric Johnson's gift to the world was his signature guitars, not his music.

Rare Guitars

If I had a nickel for every time a person listed a guitar as a "rare guitar" on the secondary market, I'd probably be out buying the above pictured guitar right now instead of sitting here writing this.  Most of the time, we're talking about a half decent guitar, made slightly more unique by a change in the standard finish/hardware/pickups/etc.

Need an example?  My friend's Gibson SG Special I wrote about last year immediately comes to mind. Sure, the guitar is special in that the number produced in that particular variation was lower than the standard versions, but make no mistake, 90% of the time you are still dealing with a mass produced instrument.  There are probably at least 500 more like it out there (and likely many more).

So what actually qualifies as a "rare guitar"?  Well, the answer should be pretty obvious.  Eric Clapton's "blackie" comes to mind.  There is exactly one of them.  THAT, my friends, is a rare guitar.  You can come up with your own examples I'm sure.

Are there shades of grey?  Certainly.  Mid-Sixties Stratocasters aren't exactly falling out of the sky, and while their prices certainly are the leading indicator of their scarcity, price alone doesn't paint the picture.  Put it this way - In the last 18 months I've come across 3 burst mid-sixties Strats in all original condition.  

Are they still rare?  Of course;  They don't make mid-60s Strats anymore, on account of it not being the mid-60s anymore.  There is a finite amount.

So is it scarce? Some other synonym I can't think of?

You get the point.

Rare Opportunities

That brings me back to today.  I absolutely love my Eric Johnson Stratocaster, despite some of the warts associated with mid-20th century design conventions.  Seeing the above pictured guitar pop up, at a price point comparable to what I paid for my maple board version, has me in a cold sweat.

I love the fact that the neck is bound.  I love the color (not a big fan of the "Tropical Turquoise").  I almost love the price...

Let's be honest.  This isn't selling for $800.  It's closer to double that, and while that doesn't break the bank, I do have some notion of self control.  As I write this, I'm looking at a wall of guitars (10 of varying quality) and trying to decide which ones I could sell to get me to the magic "break-even" number on this guitar.

First out of the gate would be the Les Paul Studio, followed by the Epiphone Les Paul, and likely the Squier 51. That would get me close, but selling three guitars for reasonable prices is not like flipping a light.  I've taken risks before, but this is a bit bigger.

Also to be considered is the fact that I'm looking at ridding myself of 3 guitars for one exceptional one.  I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'm immediately reminded that I didn't include the Squier Jaguar  - probably because I could see myself missing that one.

Tying this all back to the initial point - this guitar isn't a rare guitar, but IT IS a rare opportunity.  This isn't a run of the mill MIM Stratocaster in Black for $350.  This is a guitar that appeals to a very particular taste, and one that isn't likely to be listed again for a very long time.  So what I'm presented with is a rare opportunity.

Now I have to decide if I'm going to jump at it...