Gear as an investment. Notice any trends? Have a prediction?

[fucdemas]

So I'm looking around my meager home studio today. Eyeing the 30 or so guitar pedals i never use, the dozen or so $200 guitars i never use, the 8 or so low level mics i never use and i'm thinking.... none of this stuff will ever really appreciate. i have $20k or so invested in this life and my returns, while they ain't bad, are not what they should be compared to other with similarly priced investments.

my next thought was, "why not get rid of all the crap you don't use and buy gear that will actually appreciate over time". be a grown up and have a real investment.

this leads me to the TOMB.

i'm wondering what trends ya'll have noticed in the years you've been watching ebay sales?

what brands are picking up steam?

has anything bottomed out?

what type of gear always and will do well?

it seems to me your crazy rare blue chip vintage brands will always do well. anything without digital anything will be cool (exceptions for beloved reverbs and delays?)

(i'd love an actual list of these brands BTW)

are there any up and comers that show promise?

[chris harris]

It's one thing to make smart gear purchases. Get things that have a decent resale value, so that when and if you upgrade, you aren't just putting plastic in a landfill. But, it seems kind of tacky to hit up a bunch of people who buy this stuff TO USE, to pick their brains about which gear you might be able to help drive up the price of.

Buy gear that you need. When you're researching gear THAT YOU NEED, then take note of which brands/models have the most legit resale value.

How much USE did you get out of the mid-level gear that you own? That's a big factor in determining it's worth. It's not all about resale.

There are plenty of sleazy people out there looking to make a buck on any and every trend in existence. Hit them up for advice on how to buy low and sell high in the vintage gear market. But, if you're just looking for useful gear that you won't take a bath on if you outgrow it or move on to other pursuits, then perhaps it would help us to know what kind of gear that you need. Your post, as it reads, makes it sound like you're just looking to cash in on trendy gear. I'd be surprised if you find a lot of people around here willing to help you out with that, when most of us are looking for good deals on gear that we actually NEED and will USE, rather than flip.

[The Scum]

In general (and in areas far removed from strictly audio), gear is capital - the means of production. While it is expensive, it's real value is in it's utility - how it gets used to do something of value.

When businesses buy capital, they try to buy capital such that their production output will be increased, and that increase in production capacity will offset the expense of the capital...often depriciated and amortized over a 5-year period. Any book on business economics will contain some of these strategies and formulas.

If you really want to "be grown up and have a real investment," look into real estate or securities.

[fucdemas]

i do not plan to purchase any items to flip.

i'm looking to get some high end gear that will function as an investment as well as a tool.

i'm looking for couple of really good mics
a really good compressor/limiter
a really good pre amp

i've researched and done my homework on what say a sta-level vs an 1176 sounds like. to be honest. what i get does not matter to me. i'll get sounds i like out of either. so i figured why not make my decision based on which one is a better investment.

thus my post.

is it tacky to want to gain more knowledge into the what hi-end pro-audio market is doing? possibly. however spending my life's savings for art supplies with out questioning which ones will support more art is kind of dumb.


i am all on board with the "utility creates worth" mindset and i always take that into account when i do make a purchase.

It's one thing to make smart gear purchases. Get things that have a decent resale value, so that when and if you upgrade, you aren't just putting plastic in a landfill. But, it seems kind of tacky to hit up a bunch of people who buy this stuff TO USE, to pick their brains about which gear you might be able to help drive up the price of.

Buy gear that you need. When you're researching gear THAT YOU NEED, then take note of which brands/models have the most legit resale value.

How much USE did you get out of the mid-level gear that you own? That's a big factor in determining it's worth. It's not all about resale.

There are plenty of sleazy people out there looking to make a buck on any and every trend in existence. Hit them up for advice on how to buy low and sell high in the vintage gear market. But, if you're just looking for useful gear that you won't take a bath on if you outgrow it or move on to other pursuits, then perhaps it would help us to know what kind of gear that you need. Your post, as it reads, makes it sound like you're just looking to cash in on trendy gear. I'd be surprised if you find a lot of people around here willing to help you out with that, when most of us are looking for good deals on gear that we actually NEED and will USE, rather than flip.

[standup]

FWIW, my approach would be to sell the dozen $200 guitars and buy one or two $900 guitars that work with your style of playing.

Sell the cheap equipment at the going rate, and when you sell $2000 worth, buy a used 1176, which will sound good when you use it and sell for about what you paid for it when you need to jettison.

You could gamble on hockey-stick-peghead metal guitar appreciation or buy up tons of ADATs to anticipate the rise in value, but that could (or could not) lead to nothing.

Buy good gear that fits your style of playing/production, don't buy cheap crap, use the gear while it's useful and sell it when it's not.

That's my take, anyway.

[Nick Sevilla]

Telefunken U47,use and NOT modified by BLUE.

Telefunken ELAM251E, used.

Teletronix LA2A, new or used.

A Fender Telecaster, american made.

A Fender Stratocaster, american made.

Studer A827 2" tape machine. Get the last model made, which self calibrates.

Fender Precision Bass, with OLD strings. Never ever change the strings. Or Die.

That should get you started.

Cheers

[WHooper]

Telefunken U47,use and NOT modified by BLUE.

Fender Precision Bass, with OLD strings. Never ever change the strings. Or Die.


Cheers

I not only change my Rotosounds every 2 or 3 months but I also clean them quite regularly.

Care for a thunderdome duel?

[Nick Sevilla]

Telefunken U47,use and NOT modified by BLUE.
Fender Precision Bass, with OLD strings. Never ever change the strings. Or Die.

Cheers

I not only change my Rotosounds every 2 or 3 months but I also clean them quite regularly.

Care for a thunderdome duel?

A True Reggae player will never change the strings on his bass.

Now, you can always have a second bass that sounds new all the time. It just won't get played on Reggae songs.

Cheers

[Sean Sullivan]

I'm a little perplexed by this question, but it might be because I just woke up. But, if you are looking for gear that is useful but also maintains it's value, I'd say try to find a Wurlitzer 200A or a Fender Rhodes Stage 73. They've got up a ton in value.

If it needs to be something new, Purple Audio MC77's seem to have great resale value...sounds good too.

While something like a Lexicon PCM42 or 224XL might be great, they're going to break or need repair eventually and no one seems to want to work on them.

[Jim Williams]

If you like to gamble, go to Vegas. You will have better odds there than in reselling audio gear for profit.

[losthighway]

Ok, I'll bite. This question doesn't really offend me. I think what's more curious to speculate about is not what will appreciate in value that has already shown that tendency for decades but something very contemporary that could one day be sought after. In other words, yes Neumann, Telefunken, classic Fender, Gibson, Martin will appreciate because it already has.

I'm thinking of some of the really great boutique type companies distributed by someone like Mercenary. It would require them discontinuing a great line/model. I don't maybe Bock, Great River, AEA, Chandler Limited, Crane Song, Drawmer that kind of thing. It would be a pretty silly gamble though, because it would take decades to find out, and there are probably already far to many of the popular models out there for scarcity to take hold.

[norsehorse]

There's no way to really know.

At one point, people were basically tossing Fairchilds because they were that common and they weren't really wanted.

Still, the economies of scale have changed the market. Imagine the number of ART VLAs out there in the world is significantly larger than the number of Fairchild 670s there ever were. So, one could imagine that it would take a longer period of time for them to become rare. However, the economies of scale also work in favor of the gear. Sure, there are more units in the market, but there are also more buyers, so perhaps it won't take as long for something to become valuable?

Also, there is no shame in asking your question. It's something people ask every day in many ways. Some people do it for a living.

I wouldn't recommend doing it with audio gear, because I would venture to guess it will take at least a career length of things to go up in value, probably more like two, IF they go up in value at all.

[WHooper]

Telefunken U47,use and NOT modified by BLUE.
Fender Precision Bass, with OLD strings. Never ever change the strings. Or Die.

Cheers

I not only change my Rotosounds every 2 or 3 months but I also clean them quite regularly.

Care for a thunderdome duel?

A True Reggae player will never change the strings on his bass.

Now, you can always have a second bass that sounds new all the time. It just won't get played on Reggae songs.

Cheers

two words: the Ox.

[Nick Sevilla]

two words: the Ox.

A further two words : The Fish.

[dsw]

How to tell if a piece of gear will go up in value.

How old is it? How big are the knobs?

Old stuff with big knobs will always go up in value.

*heads off to pawn shop shop*