Trade prospect: Goldtop Tribute for Goldtop SE DGT?

Would you trade a '18 Tribute Goldtop for a newer PRS SE DGT Goldtop?

Fwiw, I've got a few LPs that I play so the ol Goldtop isn't getting any play time. At all.

Never owned a PRS so... Maybe now's a good time to try one?

SE is Korean?
I’m sticking with the Gibson.

It doesn‘t matter where it‘s been made… if it‘s a good guitar that‘s all what matters.

I‘d go for the DGT! It’s a great guitar if you like its specs.

Tobaccoburst83 said:

It doesn‘t matter where it‘s been made… if it‘s a good guitar that‘s all what matters.

I‘d go for the DGT! It’s a great guitar if you like its specs.

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It doesn't matter as far as working hands are concerned, materials are not the same.

SE is Indonesian and 25” scale.

Gibson is American and 24.75” scale.

They’re both nice guitars, but I wouldn’t make that trade.

Zr.King said:

SE is Indonesian and 25” scale.

Gibson is American and 24.75” scale.

They’re both nice guitars, but I wouldn’t make that trade.

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Yeah, Tribute is a fine guitar without a doubt. 2018 saw them come with no weight relief, a big plus in my book.

But unfortunately with my R8 and beloved 60s Unburst, it just will never get any time.
Too nice a guitar to be sitting in the case for last year or so.

Appreciate the feedback!

I really don't want to get into any of the country of origin, manufacturing ethics, politics and such. I respect everyone's opinion but not really pertinent in this discussion, imo.*

Only interested in whether you would, from a purely musical angle not taking into account resale and/or current trade value (since used instruments in that price range are incredibly hard to sell nowadays) or the stuff I mentioned above* trade a used tribute that I've replaced the PCB board with hand wired harness & swapped original pickups BB2&3 for a newer SE DGT?

No big deal, just having fun. Thanks again.

I wanted one of the SE DGTs until played one. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. They have fat necks, which I didn't like. It was Gold, $600 or 650...I was headed to the store with every intention to buy. Very glad I played it first.

Setting that aside, that trade is not a good deal, they're about $200 apart. Used prices, the LP is worth $800-900 the DGT is $600-700, all day every day.

Sell the Gibson and see what you really want when you've got $8-900 bucks in your wallet

Tobaccoburst83 said:

It doesn‘t matter where it‘s been made…

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It matters when it comes time to sell it.

Good guitar or not, a lot of people simply will not buy an Asian guitar.

I’ve owned a bunch of them, mostly Korean, and none of them were BAD.
But selling them is not easy.
Only way to win is to let it go for bottom dollar, and I’m not gonna voluntarily give my money away like that.

Funny how a guitar “worth” $600 won’t move until you agree to net only $400.

I still own several made in Japan - which also has a small bit of resistance from the people who don’t understand how bad-ass Japanese guitars have been in the last 40 years.

(See? I didn’t even mention China.)

Then again you buy a guitar to enjoy it, not for selling prospects.
I'm in EU so both are imports to me, but I know the US ones are more likely to have better hardware, and most likely better timber selection.

joe_cpwe said:

I wanted one of the SE DGTs until played one. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. They have fat necks, which I didn't like. It was Gold, $600 or 650...I was headed to the store with every intention to buy. Very glad I played it first.

Setting that aside, that trade is not a good deal, they're about $200 apart. Used prices, the LP is worth $800-900 the DGT is $600-700, all day every day.

Sell the Gibson and see what you really want when you've got $8-900 bucks in your wallet

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Whew, I wish! You would think, right?

$800-900 is not realistic around here. Best I've been offered is $600 and that guy pulled out or I may have sold it for that.

Yes, it's worthy of that price, possibly more but no one is buying used sub$1k in this neck of the woods. If it doesn't have binding, the market is very depressed. Not worried about $200ish difference at all, just thinking of moving the Tribute to someone who will play it and maybe finding a nice guitar that may get some play time in the deal.

PRS SE's are nice guitars. I think @joe_cpwe has a point, though. It would be nice to play it first, before you make the trade. Especially if you could A-B it with the Tribute.

I've tried various PRS SE models. They are well-made, but they don't feel or sound right to me. I once demo'd a PRS DGT Standard, an all-mahogany version of that Core guitar, and it was a wonderful playing experience. That guitar would be worth trading for, even if you had to pony up extra cash.

It is a really tough market right now to sell for cash; so if the trade is interesting to you and you feel the DGT is a guitar you’d play more, it may be worth it.

But ultimately that’s a downward value trade, and you are taking a bit of a loss between the two guitars and the best possible resale they’d command.

You said the best offer you got for the Gibson was $600. Right now you’d probably need to accept $400 or so on that DGT to get it to move, if you owned it.

So $200 is about the paper loss you’re taking if you trade, is my POV.

Because I'd totally forgotten what I paid for the Tribute, I found the receipt from GC.

Paid $830 back in March '21. Wanted a good sounding, nice looking, light weight (8.5 lbs) back up for my 60s Standard and Goldie definitely was that.

For the record and I'd hope it was obvious, I realize if I wanted to sell online (reverb, ebay) I could get a bit more dough but with shipping, dealing with some buyers regrets/scamming, although I've bought/sold 70+ guitars online I just don't want to go that route. Walking into local-ish GC with tribute and walking out 15 minutes later with a guitar I might play more. Done deal. No take backs. No BS. I'm fine with that.

I'm against sacrificing a beloved possession in the hopes that its replacement will be an improvement.

Your Tribute is a nice guitar and isn't hurting anyone. It's also from a bygone era of high value USA made guitars that do their job extremely well. There's rumors that even the Fender Performer series which is phenomenal quality and value is going to be replaced and will surely include a price hike.

If you must, just sell the Tribute and let your wallet and shopping around decide your next purchase free and clear. Good luck with whatever you decide.

pondcaster said:

Whew, I wish! You would think, right?

$800-900 is not realistic around here. Best I've been offered is $600 and that guy pulled out or I may have sold it for that.

Yes, it's worthy of that price, possibly more but no one is buying used sub$1k in this neck of the woods. If it doesn't have binding, the market is very depressed. Not worried about $200ish difference at all, just thinking of moving the Tribute to someone who will play it and maybe finding a nice guitar that may get some play time in the deal.

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Good point...it's a buyers market for sure and to be fair I haven't tried selling anything in about a year. By summer's end I'll be selling a couple Fenders and I suspect I won't get what I want.

The only non-binding Les Paul I've ever sold was a red LPJ for $650, which is what I'd paid. I'd have a hard time selling a gold LP Tribute for less than $700. Heck, you may get some takers here on this forum between 7 and 8 for it

I'd trade an Epiphone for it. Not a USA made Gibby

I’ve tried an SE DGT and it was okay. I’m not a big fan of the necks though. On a purely subjective aesthetic level, I don’t like PRS guitars as I think they try very hard to look flashy and over the top with the cheesy bird inlays and over the top finishes etc. In that sense the DGT with dot inlays and plain top is the best if the bunch. All IMHO and YMMV.

pondcaster said:

Fwiw, I've got a few LPs that I play so the ol Goldtop isn't getting any play time. At all.

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There's your answer.
It's "just" a Tribute... and the PRS is very nice.
If you don't bond with it, you can probably move it easily being it is not one of the $3000+ models.

Well, there’s something to that.
If you have other Les Pauls, then giving up the Tribute isn’t really hurting you.

If the SE Grissom is something that might scratch an itch, hell - get it.

In the long run, it might cost you a couple hundred dollars. You can handle that.