Buying instruments in Nashville

Billy Murdoch · Post by **Billy Murdoch** » 7 Aug 2007 12:29 am

Hi All.

Is it true?
I have heard many stories(unfounded)about people visiting Nashville and getting a Real good buy at Pawn shops for six stringers like Fender Teles,Gretsches and the like.
Can anyone give a good example?
Best regards
Billy

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 7 Aug 2007 12:59 am

It used to be like that in Vegas also. People who come to town with dreams of hitting it big, then they lose everything.
They still go to pawn shops, but now the pawn shops are all on line and know what everything is worth.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 7 Aug 2007 2:33 am

About the only Pawn Shop in Nashville that I've found that has anything "decent" is Friedman's in Madison.

I usually go through them when I hit Nashville and most only have "junk". There may be an occasion when one has something worthwhile or fixable. Someone told me the "good" stuff was sold off before it ever hit the showroom. May be that Friedman's buys a lot of that from the other Pawn Shops?

Bob Knight · Post by **Bob Knight** » 7 Aug 2007 2:43 am

Guys,
A "deal" in a Pawn Shop is rare, and mostly by accident anymore. The majority of the shops that deal in quality gear, have a "first call list" consisting of local dealers and "gear jockeys". The public rarely ever sees the good stuff.

Bob

Michael Douchette · Post by **Michael Douchette** » 7 Aug 2007 2:55 am

That used to be that case. It's really, really rare now. Couple years ago Leo Jackson found a Taylor hanging on the wall at one in Goodlettsville with a $200 tag on it. Yes, he snapped it up. Most dealers know better than that, though. The internet has put eyes under everybody's bed these days.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 7 Aug 2007 5:38 am

Mikey, where does Friedman's get their stuff? It can't all be from pawn at their shop.

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 7 Aug 2007 6:51 am

I bought a '73 Martin D28 with a hard case in a pawn shop in Grand Prairie, Texas in 1985, for $85.00. It had just come out of pawn and the guy running the shop knew nothing about it. I've never found another deal like this. I have found some pretty good deals on other types of musical gear, power amps, in-ear monitors etc. I very seldom go into Pawn shops anymore, because about all they have is overpriced junk, and its a waste of time. Most of my buying is done online now.

And now the "Rest Of The Story". The guitar had a small crack on the upper bout, and the action was a little high, but the finish was in great shape, almost no scratches or scuffing. I sold it to a guitar dealer a few months later for $500. He and I were both happy.

Dennis Coelho · Post by **Dennis Coelho** » 7 Aug 2007 10:10 am

I haven't seen any good pawnshop deals since the late '60's (when I found a few) but I guess it depends on what you are looking for.

A luthier/ symphony musician friend of mine heard of a cello by major contemporary maker, an instrument that had cost $20,000 new, which had been pawned in a shop in one of the college towns down in Colorado. Whoever had pawned it was not keeping track of the redemption date, and my friend got the cello for $1800 when it came out of pawn.

Dennis

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 7 Aug 2007 10:33 am

I recently saw a really nice Jackson guitar (6 string, not steel) in a local pawn shop for only $125, but I didn't buy it because I already have too many guitars.

We've talked about the high quality of many of the the new Asian imports, but these guitars have almost no resale value. You can get a great guitar today without spending a lot of money, but when you try to sell it, you're not going to get very much for it.

Jim Eaton · Post by **Jim Eaton** » 7 Aug 2007 1:41 pm

Not a Pawn Shop deal, but I bought a 00-18c Martin that is only about 20 serial numbers away from "trigger" (Willie's martin) at a yard sale for the grand total of $5.00. I talked him down from $7.50 because 3 of the white plastic "rollers" of the machine heads were cracked and broken. The local music store let me dig through the junk box and I found 3 exact replacements that they gave me for free! I did splurge and got the deluxe cardboard case with the fuzzy liner for $10.00.
JE:-)>

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 7 Aug 2007 2:00 pm

Most Pawn Shop owners know exactly what they are getting and how much they should pay for it and how much they can sell it for. Most, not all though...

there are some rare occasions..

As I travel NC and SC I stop in many towns/cities and do the pawn thing, many times just to browse..

Last year I found my Session 400 for $198..

Before that I bought two Peavey amps for $100, A Backstage Plus and an early Bandit 65. Both were working and as filthy as can be but after a bath and cleaning all the connectors they both worked great. The Backstage is in my Music room and the Bandit I sold not all that long ago.

Another excellent deal before that was maybe around 97 or 98..down around Darlington SC, I was browsing a shop on the way home and noticed a Fender Jazz Bass headstock which didn't fit the $225 price. After a very slow closer look I came to the conclusion that it was about a mid 70's Sunburst Jbass with a $225 price. Yes, I bought it. It was a cool little bass and I kept it for about 3 years, it was a 77 when all was said and done. This is one I sold and should have kept.

Now on the other side, A shop in Charlotte had a Session 500, asking price $499. this was just last year. The guy told me it was a keyboard amp, I told him what it was and he told me that I was wrong and that an expert told him it was a keyboard amp.

I told him ok, it's good to know an expert !

Pawn deals are out there but few and far between.

i hope you all find a deal...

tp

Scott Shipley · Post by **Scott Shipley** » 7 Aug 2007 3:11 pm

Ebay has changed everything. And not always for the good. If we know a guitar is worth x ammount of dollars, just because nobody in ebayland is looking for said guitar and therefore they don't bid on it, it doesn't mean it's worth any less, just means you can't get what it's worth for it. This can work to your advantage though if you are a mongrel hunter.
It's not impossible, but rare to find an uneducated pawn broker these days. Course, knowin their "secret" pricing code helps a bit.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 7 Aug 2007 4:57 pm

Hmmm? Location Location Location..I still find deals up here,far from Nashville though.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 7 Aug 2007 6:19 pm

Billy Murdoch wrote:I have heard many stories(unfounded)about people visiting Nashville and getting a Real good buy at Pawn shops for six stringers like Fender Teles,Gretsches and the like.

The "unfounded" part...I'll go along with. Bargains still exist, but you find them by chance (about once every 10 years).

Gary Harris · Post by **Gary Harris** » 9 Aug 2007 9:14 am

I bought a Tweed Fender amp (used) at the old Hank Snow Music Store about 1969 for $50.00. I took it to a music store about five years ago and asked them to re-cover the amp because of the cigarett burns. This guy told me that it was a collectors item and that if it was re-covered it would ruin the worth of the amp. My wonderful neighbor who had boasted in the past about buying musical items and re-selling same asked me one day, "Have you still got that old Fender amp, my son would like to borrow it." Yes, I still had that "old" fender amp but "no" he could not borrow it. Had I not known the value of the amp I would have probably sold it to him for about what I paid for it. I sold it to my son for $800. who knew the true value of the amp.

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