I would buy vintage because I feel the guitars were made better back then since more attention was paid to quality control. Again this is just my opinion.

I am looking to buy either a vintage Guild T-100 or Starfire and I know for certain those particular guitars were made better back in the Hoboken and Westerly days than they were when reissued Post_Fender.

_________________
Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

I buy vintage when the quality is better and the price is cheaper. A while back I bought a 1963 Klemt Echolette; it would be no exaggeration to say that they just don't build 'em like that anymore. To me, a hand-wired tube-driven tape echo that's still going strong after nearly fifty years is a thing of great beauty. There are a couple of options available if you want to buy a new tube tape echo unit, but the cheapest of those is still much more than twice what I paid for the Echolette. Considering these things were never cheap (about half the price of a Volkswagen Beetle in their day), I feel like I scored a bargain.

I found a '70s Shin-Ei AF17 graphic equaliser recently at a price cheap enough to take it just because it looked cool (about $35)... mint condition and — surprise! (well, I was) — it makes everything sound great. I like the fact that it would be possible to move the sliders easily with a foot, though I can understand that a smaller EQ would have its benefits. A couple of days ago I found a Jen Mister Crybaby Super wah (still not sure if it's late '60s or early '70s) for around $50... can't pass up a legendary wah like that for so much less than the price of an inferior new model, especially as I don't have one at the moment. I'd be paying top dollar for equivalent quality these days.

I don't buy into it, I've tried vintage gear and it is no better than what is made now. Different maybe, but no better and some of it actually felt worse.

I think it is all hype. I make my sound on my guitars, I don't want someone else's tone, I'm not paying a shitload of money for something just because it's old.

_________________

hopefully my 09 usa strat will appreciate in value over the years because fender is currently 'on point.' i'll pick up a gretsch power jet before i buy a les paul.

_________________
Guitars: American Standard Strat, American Vintage 52 Tele, Gretsch Power Jet

Amps: Frontman 212R, Hot Rod DeVille 212 w/ Vintage 30's, AC30 w/ Greenbacks

Pedals: Boss Tuner, XOTiC AC-Booster, MXR Phase 90, Line 6 DL4

So let me get this straight... All vintage gear is the same? You make your, "sound," on guitars... Don't want someone else's tone... Is "tone" not directly linked to "sound"?

You seem to have a strong opinion but use no examples. I'll put my vintage gibby up against an 08,09,10, hell 2011! I'll tell you right now a mofo who's never picked up a geet before could smoke that taste challenge! The guitars from the present actually feel way worse, in terms of pauls that is. I can dig what you say on certain things but drop some examples.

I'd never pay the ridiculous prices that vintage gear is going for, but when a bargain comes up, I buy it. I got a 1964 Gibson LG0 for $100. Old gear has soo much Mojo.
-John

Old wood is better, older amps (not all) are built better. and the new rules on endangered species is going to hinder the vintage market , so You better buy now.

_________________
The Vintage Guitar News and Views my monthly blog articles.

When it comes to amps I agree that there's is a marked difference in quality between the old hand wired amps and today's PCB mass produced amps. That is largely due to the quality of the components in the build. However when it comes to guitars I cannot agree that the old guitars were better quality. Hand built amps using predetermined specs and parts from a specific design and numerical values is one thing. Hand building guitars is another matter entirely. There's a lot more room for builder's discretion. Variances in neck profiles, neck tapers, neck pockets, depth of belly cuts and arm reliefs, body thickness and so on were all ultimately determined by the eye and feel of the individual builder. There's also a ton of room for inconsistencies in wood selection finish thickness. That doesn't even begin to address coil counts and bobbin hieghts in the pickups. Pickups were the source of even more incosistency. A huge component in the definition of the word "quality" is wrapped up in consistency. That is one thing that simply was not present in the same level as it is today. Then, far more than now, you had to really pay attention to what you were buying and try every guitar in the store to get the best one because not all were Mojo Monsters. Some were piles of crap.

_________________

Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

The only time I buy vintage is if the item is in good shape and has some kind of tone I haven't found in anything else. Tone can improve some with aging but not enough (in my opinion) to pay a collector price if you can still get the same item new.

For example, I recently bought an old Guild (Westerly and well pre-Fender) where you'd be hard pressed to find a current counterpart. It was priced fairly, not at some over the top wealthy collector level and it is meant to be played.

Last year, I got a vintage Fender Bassman 135 tube head that needed only minor work. Again, the price was fair and much less than if I bought a modern all tube head in that power range. I was going for the natural tone in that case as well and hadn't found any modern all tube bass amps that sounded about the same and were also affordable.

But I never buy vintage just for the sake of it or when I can get something made now that's just as good or better. And while I have a modest little collection, I don't collect just to show or gather dust. If I find that I'm no longer into a particular guitar, I sell it so someone else can enjoy it.

It's not all hype,I've owned and played great vintage stuff(when it was fairly new) and some mediocre stuff as far as guitars go....some of it is better,some not.Same for amps.
You can't put all of it in the same category because it's vintage,the real problem is that the prices are so high you can't go out and buy lots of vintage guitars to get "the one".
I would rather buy recent model Strats and have several to play,instead of one "holy grail guitar" that sits in a vault and is never touched.

You can buy into "player" blackface amps cheaper than their PCB re-issue counterparts. Gee, which way to go? No brainer huh... IMO................. Mike

_________________
The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Lots of vintage pricing comes from collectors driving prices up. Old amps are definately "cool" and they tend to be overbuilt. Things tended to be built to more robust specs "back in the day". Now it's all about minimum tolerances and what's the least that can be used to achieve the end result. On the upside some of the boutique builders are putting out stuff that sounds phenomenal. One of my favorites is Victoria amp company. Talk about T-O-N-E, wow.

Guitar or amp, old and scarce means it's gonna cost ya. Does it actually sound THAT much better that it justifies the additional cash outlay? That's up to the buyer. An item is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay. Personally I think most "vintage" buyers are a bit nuts. Seriously, it's just an old guitar.

New and hand wired/hand built means it's gonna cost ya. But it has a high cool factor, tends to last, does sound better than the mass market/made with less costly components stuff.

Made in China means it won't cost ya too much, but it probably won't last either. Many of them sound and play pretty good and they are there so that kids can start playing. Future classics? Probably not, but you never know.

Modelling amps suck! Go tube with some stomp boxes between you and the amp and create YOUR OWN sound. Don't settle for what the computer programmer says should be your tone.

_________________
"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

My point isn't that there is anything wrong with old gear, but just that I'm not after a vintage sound or a vintage feel. So even if I picked up a 54 Strat and I want it to be a worker for me, not just a collector's piece, it isn't going to be hot enough for me, I'm going to want to replace the pups and have it refretted immediately, making it moot to even have it.

Or if I get a 64 Jag, I'm gonna rip off the pickguard, route the body and put in dragsters and maybe even pick up an aftermarket neck that has a more modern profile I like.

_________________

Personally, I like a guitar that's been worn in and worn out. The tone and feel is lightyears better to me versus a brand new guitar fresh out of the box.

The word "vintage" is not mutual or exclusive to that concept. However, the instruments I've owned that offered me that comfort and tone were at least 20+ years old. Still fairly new by vintage standards, though.

In all honesty, the vintage guitar market is no different than the housing market, etc., etc., and something will eventually come along that will make the bottom fall out and make these instruments reasonable to buy again. It may not be for quite some time, but I'm almost certain of it, in spite of pending bans on exotic lumber and the recent Nashville flood that destroyed a lot of vintage gear.

_________________
2006 Fender AVRI 70s Stratocaster: Natural Ash | Sovtek MIG 60 & A No Name Cabinet | Pedals & Junk

I buy guitars based on feel and sound, no matter what.

Be it a brand new fresh out of the shipping box Nashville tele, or a 40+ year old Strat that countless people have played, if I pick it up, and it feels and sounds right, (and I can afford it) it'll be mine.

Nash Guitars makes some nice "new" guitars with the "road-worn" look to it, that are a bit pricey, but everyone I've talked to that owns one says you can play 3 or 4, and you'll grab one that just screams "YOU HAVE TO BUY ME" because it'll feel right.

I've felt the same way about all of my guitar purchases, and luckily, I haven't picked up a vintage guitar that I just had to have, because as strong as those feeling have been with my other guitars, I would easily sell my vehicles or my girlfriend to be able to take that vintage piece of equipment home.

_________________
Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet - Maj. Gen. James Mattis, USMC