pfapin05":35bhv46g said:
Problem is he said it was a 10 top, but there is no 10 in the back of the headstock... so is $1450 still a good investment idea or would I take a beating in resale... or even be able to break even?
I wouldn't say that any standard production run guitar (i.e. non-vintage or non-limited run, etc) is ever a good investment. Especially now - the market is just too fickle, and the future economic situation is too unpredictable. Having said that, you'd still probably be able to get your money out of it. Most guitarists look at the top and judge it, instead of relying on the label of 10-top. Also, natural tops aren't everywhere, so if you find somebody that likes them, you should be able to get your money back, imo. Much more important to resale is that it has bird inlays instead of moons, and that it's in great cosmetic condition.
I didn't look at the ad, but I wouldn't buy a guitar from anyone who claimed a 10-top when it wasn't clearly painted (or stamped, in the case of RW necks) on the back of the headstock. The seller is either knowingly lying to you, or he doesn't know what he's talking about. Either way, it would make me worry way too much to trust him.
The bottom line is that if it doesn't say 10-top on the back of the headstock, it's not a 10-top. Period. There are a few PRS guitars out there where the top was initially considered a 10-top, before cutting and staining, and they wrote "10-top" inside the neck pickup cavity. But at PRS, several people have to look at the top after the guitar is completely finished and agree that it's a 10 top. If not, it doesn't make the cut, and no "10" goes on the back of the headstock.
