December 4, 2008
Over the past 20 years, baby boomers and aging rockers have driven the popularity (and prices) of vintage guitar collecting. With millions of guitars produced between the 1920s and 1960s (the sweet spot for most collectors), there's plenty to choose from.
The market breaks down to vintage arch-top and flat-top acoustic guitars, and vintage flat-top or solid-body electric guitars. Vintage Martin guitars include their well-known flatop pre-war acoustics, which came in a variety of body sizes. Typically, prewar acoustic guitars are harder to find than postwar versions.
Vintage Gibson guitars include the company's famous arch-tops (e.g. Gibson L5s and Super 400s), semi-hollows (e.g. Gibson ES 335s, ES 345s and ES 355s) and solid-body electrics (e.g. Gibson Les Pauls, Firebirds and Flying V’s). But arguably the biggest collectible group is vintage Fender guitars, including the iconic Stratocaster and Telecaster electrics. Pre-1965 Fender vintage guitars (CBS acquired Fender in '65) are the most sought-after.
Other key categories include vintage Rickenbacker guitars, vintage Gretsch guitars, and vintage instruments from Epiphone, National, and Dobro. There's also a wide variety of collectible vintage guitar amplifiers, vintage bass guitars, and vintage mandolins.
In general, today's collectors tend to value vintage acoustic guitars based on craftsmanship and sound quality, vintage electric guitars on rarity, and both on playability. By the mid-1960s, guitar production quantities skyrocketed (due for example to the Beatles' popularity), and by the 1970s, production standards declined (as did the availability of premium materials like Brazilian rosewood).
I grew up in upstate New York in Rochester, and started playing guitar when I was about 10 years old. We had … [more]
This great reference site features detailed sections for vintage guitar makers including Gibson, Fender, Martin, Gr… [more]
If you're into Gibson's Les Paul models, or even curious, this is your site. Chock full of useful reference data, p… [more]
Want to see all the old brochures and ads for your favorite vintage axe? Check out this great site, which showcases… [more]
If vintage guitars could talk... they'd be digging this site. With its many themed collections and exhibitions, it'… [more]
Got a site to suggest? Let us know.
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Gulf Daily News, Bahrain -
"Vintage guitars have appreciated on average by around 31.6pc for the past 17 years and by taking a position in the fund investors can not only look to good ...
The Free Lance-Star, VA -
BY 'DOC' HENLEY SMYTHE On the heels of the recent presidential election, voters are hoping that change will be good for the nation's capital. ...
Lindsay Daily Post, Canada -
Vintage guitars, recording equipment and jewellery were among the items taken in a break and enter on Kirkfield Road in the former Eldon Township Nov. 25. ...
KXXV News Channel 25, TX -
The owner of B & K, Scott McCommas said the pawn shop bought the vintage guitar from Brazil for $150, much lower than it's value. ...
Los Angeles Times, CA -
By Tiffany Hsu > > > Nick Carr likes his music gear to be old school, which explains why he was groping in a box for a vintage guitar effects pedal during a ...
Huffington Post, NY -
... too, in their culturally programmed yearning for whatever gave them the best buzz -- whether it was a bigger TV, a few more vintage guitars, ...
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX -
Or, Halperin said, consign a million dollars of coins, vintage guitars or, perhaps soon, collectible vehicles. Ivy, who’s CEO, shrugged off the nonsale of ...
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, MS -
Main Street Vintage Guitars won for the best historic rehabilitation project. Ladybug's won for the best facade rehabilitation. The roof at Park Heights won ...
Times-Mail (subscription), IN -
Non-fiction: “With Strings Attached: the Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars” by Jonathan Kellerman, “Time Almanac 2009,” “American Prince” by Tony Curtis, ...
DesMoinesRegister.com, IA -
In 2008, Plain White T's released "Big Bad World," using only gear made before 1970, including vintage guitars, old Vox amps and Leslie speakers. ...
