GuitArcher

Couple of things I've noticed lately: The Canadian dollar going down is driving used prices up.  $1200 average for Fender American Standard?  Insane. Bar level wattage isn't cool.  I'm still seeing Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12s for less than Blues Juniors.  Maybe folks are waking up to the realization that 40 tube watts is a bit of overkill for the basement. The neck IS the guitar.  Don't take an American Standard (for example), put a Squier neck on, and expect to sell it for 80% of the Standard.  It's now a Squier.  Deal with it. Here's what caught my eye recently. PRS CE22 - $1400 Originally, the posted listed this as a Standard, and was asking $1800.  Whoops. The giveaway here is the bolt-in maple neck as opposed to the set-neck of the Standard. someone must have sent him a friendly (or otherwise) note about correctly identifying the product you're trying to sell. Now, at $1200 this would be a steal based on color and conditi...

Here's a roundup from about 2 years ago that for some reason went unpublished.  What interests me the most is the SGJ, which go for much more than $400 currently. Fender Esquire GT w/EMG 81 ($450) I'm not including this because I think the price is particularly good (it isn't).  Still, this (along with the Esquire Celtic) were very cool Korean variants with a single volume/humbucker set necks with unique finishes (the GT had the Shelby Cobra finish, the Esquire some inlay that the Lilith Fair crowd goes for).  Made in Korea - not that it matters.  People ascribe too much value on place of manufacture rather than the quality of the instrument itself. I don't feel one way or the other about the EMG 81 - they're good pickups, but they're a one trick pony... They're really good at that one trick, but still.  That finish is killer though, with the matching headstock, and $100 less would be a steal.  I'm watching this one carefully. Digression:...

Life gets busy sometimes, and with Christmas right around the corner, it's not likely to get any calmer.  Even so, this can be a great time to keep a sharp eye out for great gear.  Folks need money for gifts, extra cash to augment their Christmas money (mostly the kids), or are desperate to pay off the credit card bills (which is why you should be sharp towards the end of January too, when Christmas bills come due. If it comes off as a bit Grinchy, that's because it probably is.  Still, I'm not sure why the Christmas spirit means I have to care about other people's consumer debt ratio... Line 6 DT25 - $700 $700 for a Line 6 you ask?  Well, clearly you don't know about the DT25.  This is free of the digital bells and whistles, and is one of the products born of the alliance with Bogner.  My personal experience is limited with these, but friends tell me they are absolutely outstanding amps in terms of flexibility and authenticity of sound. This exa...

Here are the interesting pieces I've come across on Kijiji in the past week. If this list is any indication, I'm due for a Gibson soon. More guitars after the jump. Gibson SGJ - $450 A good, simple guitar.  Satin finish, 2014 Anniversary inlay at the 12th fret, and a real garage rocker vibe. Totally cool, except for the price.  $450 is insane.  I saw this EXACT SAME GUITAR at Best Buy (ugh) for $349.99.  Despite my distaste for Best Buy, I picked it up and it seemed fine, so I'm not sure why this sell thinks they can get $50 more than retail.   Fender FSR Stratocaster - $1100 This is a cool Strat.  Mahogany body with a black headstock?  Looks like Fender is trying to ape someone else's look.  Gee I wonder.  Though the seller didn't mention it, I'm fairly certain this guitar has a compound radius as well - the fret board gets flatter the farther up you go.  One more reason this isn't your best friend's Strat.  With the C...

Last week, I received a trade offer on my Contemporary Stratocaster, but not before I had to answer a few questions. First, I was asked where I'd put the value of the Strat.  I replied it was tough to say, and that the best bet was to make the offer - the worst I could say was no.  Besides, you never negotiate against yourself. He responded that he wasn't sure my guitar was worth what his was, so he'd think about it and get back to me.  Fine by me, but you could have thought about it without getting me involved. Two days later, "Trader Joe" offers his Epiphone "Elite" SG in a straight up trade. Sigh. Elitist Attitudes My opinion of Epiphone has been slowly shifting since my acquisition of that Les Paul awhile back, but I'm still not what you'd call a fan overall.  Still, I'm trying to temper my bias, so I wasn't ready to dismiss this offer right away.  Both guitars are in the "more than $500, less than $1K...

Sorry for the long time between posts... I've had three guitars posted on Kijiji for a few weeks.  I'm not necessarily keen on selling all of them, but I always keep a few irons in the fire, as you never know what is going to come up.  Sometimes a great trade offer, sometimes you find that person who absolutely must have what you're selling ($$$), and sometimes you get to deal with a bunch of ass-hats. Thankfully, I was spared the ass-hat parade this week. Patience Pays Off? After dealing with the aforementioned parade in weeks past, I was just about ready to give up on selling the Squier Standard Stratocaster for now.  I've had some EMGs and a wireless connection kit sitting in my toolbox waiting to get used, and the All-Black-Strat seemed to be the right candidate for the temporary sound lift. This, but with EMGs.  RAWK. Patience paid off though, and I've got a buyer at asking price.  He emailed last night and tried to haggle on pri...

I doubt that Kijiji will ever run out of people trying to rip other people off. In fairness, I don't think many of these folks are actively trying to screw the next guy.  They just don't understand the value of what they have.  Knocking $20 off the new price isn't going to move your item, and while I suppose there's nothing saying that you can't waste your own time, I think we'd all be better off if folks understood value. These ones have left me shaking my head this week Blacktop Stratocaster (Upgraded) - $550 I have a Blacktop Stratocaster I've modified myself, and while mine is pretty much priceless, this is more than a bit silly.  The "upgrades" here are locking tuners and aftermarket knobs. Whoa there Nelly.  Slow down.  You're blowing my mind. $550 is absolutely insane for this guitar - and yet 24 hours later I can't find the listing.  Either I'm an idiot, or I'm severely underestimating the number of them out t...

You can't swing a cat without hitting something that is "limited edition" these days. Manufacturers are sticking the "limited edition" stickers on everything, from cars to coke (automobiles to Zima?), in the hopes that we'll convince ourselves that we're just as special as the 500 other schlubs down the street. Guitar makers aren't any different. Fender wants to believe that every guitar or amp is the naturally blonde Japanese unicorn - a rare prize reserved for those of discriminating taste, now available for slightly more than the standard model (which is a regular Japanese unicorn , in case you're wondering how the metaphor works). Epiphone is into redheads. Suffice to say, "Limited Edition" production guitars should be taken with a grain of salt. Limited edition salt obviously.  Regular salt is for losers. Hold the salt here though.  This one is actually pretty cool. Gibson SG Limited Edition (1996) ...