Vintage Fender guitars and amps have been a hot market since the 80's. Before that, you could buy old Strats in pawnshops for $200 (I have), old amps in pawn shops (I traded a Peavy Musician for a blond Fender Bassman in a pawnshop in the 80's), and music stores always had a few old Fenders laying around. When the vintage market took off, everyone who had an old Fender anything was getting top dollar for it. Now with 2010 coming up, don't you think the vintage market has done all it can do? I mean how many more "closet classics" are really still out there? I think everyone is just selling and re-selling the same vintage guitars and amps over and over again. The ones that are affordable to the average joes are the ones that have been modded to the point of losing any real value they may of had. And the pristine ones are in the hands of celebrity artists that keep them put away or the collector that doesn't play, but likes them for the investment or the looks of it. Is the market for vintage Fender gear going to end up like the Beanie Baby craze or the cabbage Patch dolls?

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

I had this discussion just the other day w/ my tech. He thinks there are still a ton of them sitting in closets and under beds. He said several times a month he'll get somebody new bringing one in. In the past three weeks he had a customer bring in a 1964 Bass VI (original owner) and a pre-CBS Jazzmaster. (Dad's going in the nursing home and this guitar was in the closet.)

Just last week at the Mom & Pop I hang out in, a customer brought in a mint, and I mean mint, 1965 Mustang. This is the nicest 44 year old guitar I have ever seen. It had two tiny dings on the entire guitar. It had the most perfect checkering on the white paint that I've ever seen. The bridge was rusty and he brought it in to have their tech clean it up as he had decided to sell it. This was an older guy who was probably the original owner. I'm waiting for him to put a price on it - hopefully I can snag it. They had a red re-issue Mustang in the shop identical to mine, and placing those two guitars, old and new, next to each other was pure mojo.

I think as the economy continues to take a dump on the average Joe, some of these guitars will continue to drift out in the public as their owners are forced to sell them just to pay the grocery bill. Thank goodness vintage prices aren't where they were (vastly overinflated), but as they've come back down towards earth, I actually have hope that I can afford to add a few vintage pieces, like the Mustang above, to my collection.

I'll never be able to afford a pre-CBS Strat, but original Mustangs, Jazzy's, Jag's, MusicMasters and DuoSonics are still affordable. They may not have the same appeal as a Strat, but they are still Fender guitars made by the same craftsmen and women using the same materials at the same shop.

I think the market is adjusting to a more realistic atmosphere. I know that value-wise, I'd rather buy an original Jaguar for $6 grand then a new $6 grand Custom Shop Strat. A year from now the Jag will still be worth $6 grand. The CS Strat will depreciate just like a new car driving off the dealer lot.

JMHO

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Old age and treachery will win every time over youth and enthusiasm.

"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer

[img][img]http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/paulgb/vintage006.jpg[/img]I was going through a music shop on the east side of Tucson ,came across these .[/img]

[img][img]http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/paulgb/vintage008.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][img]http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/paulgb/vintage005.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][img]http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/paulgb/vintage007.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][img]http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/paulgb/vintage004.jpg[/img][/img]

Looks like a old monster. It's ready to make a earthquake...

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Fender Highway 1 Strat
Marshall MG 50 DFX
Crybaby 535Q
Behringer Blues Overdrive
MXR Distortion III
Danelectro Flanger
Behringer Delay
EHX Small Stone
Boss Chromatic Tuner

I have never read so many articles and interviews pertaining to vintage guitars and collecting as I have this year. It really is a whole other world and to be honest very interesting,

To recap somethings I picked up it is amazing that when the vintage boom took off how so many very wealthy people just started buying up everything vintage where it got to a point most of the cream of the crop guitars were not even in the hands of musicians except the very elite. They also would leave I guess you would say there broker the power to buy something and would check in frequently to see how prices were going.

One top dealer said this year was the worst for owners as some mega priced axes took heavy hits which started once the real estate market started dropping. They also said this was the best buyers market in the last 25 years which they saw as a plus as it allowed more players to grab a vintage ax.

The guitars hit the hardest were the most expensive and that guitars in the 3 to 5 grand range held on strong. John Gruhn who is one of the premier dealers has gone to using the term collectible guitars over vintage. He pointed out just like someone all ready posted that old does not always mean valuable.

They expect the market to even out once the economy changes, but think the days of $500,000 burst are probably gone and that there will soon be a demand for late 70s and 80s guitars but it is not going to be anything like those 50s and 60s guitars.

Well that is fine with me as any guitar I own if it even jumped up 3 grand in price one day would make me happy as I never picked up a guitar thinking what it might be worth until this year.lol But I still will only buy a guitar that I have to enjoy playing.