SFR "Premium" purchases you found to be "worth it"

[Brian]

My Seagull S6+ works just fine for my acoustic needs.

Guitars can be almost a living and breathing...

I've heard identical new high end guitars in a shop sound much different from each other.

My Dad got my Mom a used prewar (pre-truss rod) 16" acoustic archtop from the luthier he worked for. It has a solid carved top but was built and sold as a basic, decent quality workingman's instrument. My Mom never really played it but my brothers and I did. We were hard on it (abuse). I had it refurbished after my parents passed on.
In the early 2000s I tried out a handbuilt 17" acoustic archtop at a guitar luthier show. It was very ornate and had been fashioned with a hand carved spruce top and figured maple sides and back from an antique piano soundboard and cabinet. I really wanted that guitar.

The show venue was close to home and I went home thinking I might try to work a trade with my nicest instrument. I picked up Mom's archtop, strummed one chord and found it sounded waaay better than the guitar at the show.

One thing I liked to do back in the day was to play a couple of the most expensive acoustic flattops in a shop, then go around and play the low to mid-tier solid top guitars they had. It wasn't unusual to find a modestly priced instrument that had a sound quality close to that of the most expensive guitars in the shop.

BTW I've played some nice sounding Seagulls doing that and have occasionally experienced the same thing test casting fly rods.

 

[adamcu280]

Guitars can be almost a living and breathing...

I've heard identical new high end guitars in a shop sound much different from each other.

My Dad got my Mom a used prewar (pre-truss rod) 16" acoustic archtop from the luthier he worked for. It has a solid carved top but was built and sold as a basic but decent quality workingman's instrument. My Mom never really played it but my brothers did and I were hard on it (abuse). I had it refurbished after my parents passed on.
In the early 2000s I tried out a handbuilt 17" acoustic archtop at a guitar luthier show. It was very ornate and had been fashioned with a hand carved spruce top and figured maple sides and back from an antique piano soundboard and cabinet. I really wanted that guitar.

The show venue was close to home and I went home thinking I might try to work a trade with my nicest instrument. I picked up Mom's archtop and strummed one chord and found it sounded waaay better than the guitar at the show.

One thing I liked to do back in the day was to play a couple of the most expensive acoustic flattops in a shop, then go around and played the low to mid-tier solid top guitars they had. It wasn't unusual to find a modestly priced instrument that had a sound quality close to that of the most expensive guitars in the shop.

BTW I've played some nice sounding Seagulls doing that and have occasionally experienced the same thing test casting fly rods.

I’ve done similar A-B testing with guitars and fly rods and am perfectly happy with my choices in both departments!

Acoustics are especially variable given their organic nature so it’s worth playing/testing all of them with a paper bag over the headstock.

 

[Paige]

I wish I had the passion and discipline and skills (and budget) to really enjoy a truly high quality acoustic instrument. I've played some nice stuff (Collings, pre-war Martins, and so forth) but I'm honestly more stressed out about handling them and disappointed in what I can't do with them than I am "wow, I need this!"

My Seagull S6+ works just fine for my acoustic needs.

Guitars, like fly rods, are deeply dependent on personal feel, and can vary an incredible amount! Find what you like and plays how you want it too.

I'll walk into a guitar shop and ask "do you have any race horses" if they get it, great. If not, I won't ask to many more questions and move one.

 

[adamcu280]

I will say that ~25 years ago and back when I was more into acoustic stuff than I am now there were two specific guitars that I played many times in their respective shops. A Tacoma koa parlor and a Taylor RSSM Richie Sambora. Both way out of my budget but I can still feel and hear them in my head. Maybe I like koa? Still can’t afford it…

Tokyo is my favorite place to go guitar shopping. I could spend days in Ochanomizu and Shibuya.