So I get this press release from Guitar Center that says they collaborated with Eric Clapton to come up with a 5-guitar series in partnership with Fender, Martin and Gibson called the “The Crossroads Guitar Collection” commemorating the Crossroads music festival. The Strat is a reproduction of “Brownie,” the Les Paul that of “Lucy,” and three Martin acoustics.
I thought to myself, “Pretty cool stuff…” until I saw the price tag of “Brownie” which is $14,999.
I know, it’s that whole issue of owning a piece of history bit with an exacting reproduction of a an iconic guitar, etc., etc., etc.. But that’s the issue for me: It’s a reproduction of a piece of history. Things like this are like those late-night commercials you see from the American Coin Company or some coin collectors outfit hawking authentic Buffalo nickels. “And you can have one of these rare pieces of blues history for only fourteen-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-nine dollars. Visa, MasterCard, and American Express all welcome. Don’t wait! Only a few will be made available, so don’t miss YOUR chance!”
“Lucy” is the same price. The Martin 000-45 Brazilian though takes the cake at $49,999.
Look, if you’re a collector and have that kind of money to invest in one of these guitars, more power to you! Maybe I’m being naive like Tom Hanks in the movie, “Big,” but I don’t get it! 🙂
Guitar Gear 
You’d have to be nuts. Or have too much money.
No, I’m really not sure that I get it either. What is the point of this? When Goya and Picasso were painting they did not set out to produce collectibles. You analogy with the rare coins is very accurate one, not least because these coins were never intended to be used as legal tender, therefore their utility is lost. Same with these guitars. The question of course is just how good are these guitars? Have they been made to be played or just stuck in a case somewhere in a fake museum for the rich. Surely to have any genuine collectible value it has to have a history, to have appeared in the hands of a great guitar player or at a significant historical musical event. Surely value and collectibility more importantly can not result in this way. Maybe I’m wrong, can’t afford one of these and wouldn’t buy one even if I could. What do I know anyway?
I get why they’re so expensive: some expert craftsman has to manual replicate every little bit of wear and tear on this guitar, so that it ends up as a duplicate of the real thing. But then that’s what makes it so hard to justify in the first place: it’s just a convincing fake that everyone knows is fake. Ugh!
And that’s my issue with all the relic guitars. They’re brand new guitars with a borrowed history. It was interesting to read Clapton’s account on obtaining Brownie. He was actually looking for a really worn guitar because he likened it to a restaurant. If a lot of people went to it, then it must be good. So he was looking for a well-used guitar that lots of people had played because there was a history there – you could feel the history. I suppose people who like the relics like that worn feel, but that was done by a machiine. Knowing that, I’d never buy one. I want to make my own history.
For that kind of money you could buy a real vintage guitar (maybe not an Eric Clapton guitar) and start your own vintage collection that would appreciate in value over time.
Yup.
I love Lucy, but I ain’t gonna pay no fifteen thou for her . . .
More crap for the rich I hate it Most of the good Strats are in huge safes in japan