I wonder what the destruction rate of vintage Fender and Gibsons is. If they get transported they probably occasionaly get destroyed, and if they are handled and used they probably fall prey to accidents. I wonder if they loose like 1 a year or something, not that it matters but I wonder.

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Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder. George Washington
No picture = No equipment
Fender CD-60
Squier Deluxe Stratocaster
Squier VM Tele Thinline

I have seen a '63 strat in a local shop recently, it was nicely aged and had a moderate to heavy wear marks- but it was re-finished black (poorly), missing knobs, the logo had rubbed off over time and in bad need of new frets. In it's present state, it wouldnt be worth squat. In its playable state, it wouldnt be worth wasting time on. But for some reason, it is worth a few grand. Why, I wouldnt know. An indonesian squier would play far better IMO.

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To put vintage guitars and things in perspective,has anyone looked at the Dupont Registry or Hemmings Motor News recently? There are routinely cars there that cost about $6,000 in 1968-69 like the Dodge Charger Daytona that can fetch upwards of $400,000 and the are Ferraris that cost around $ 5,000 in 1963 like the 250 GTO that are now in the millions.The value increase of guitars seems like a bargain next to cars.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

My Stagg Telecopy, with headstock rasped into the Fender Telecaster shape, has at least tripled in value since i got it for nothing last year.

But I do play it: it's not just a showpiece in a glass case- honest!

Well, the value of something is determined by how much somebody is willing to pay for it. Luckily for the vintage guitar markets, there is a lot of rich people who don't mind paying thousands upon thousands for a piece of old wood. Personally I wouldn't pay $100 for a "vintage" instrument that has the playability of a Wal-Mart guitar and has been beaten to hell, I don't care if it breathes or has vintage "character."

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

wow and im setting here thinking of all the stuff i dont play. you folks would flip. i seriously cant see how this post has made it 3 pages.
as for collectors not playing their gear, who cares? its not mine or your business. they can do with it what they want.
its their money, their guitars/amps. some folks collect just because of the history behind the guitars that played the music they love.
some collect because they are a player and find the older guitars amazing.
some collect because of the investment factor.
personally i couldnt care less what anybody does or doesnt play.
makes no difference to me honestly. either wont change my life in any way.
a guitar no matter what yr or condition is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. if you wont pay the $8,000 or $15,000
price tag because you dont think its worth it or cant afford it,
there is somebody out there that can and will.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

So first it's history and now it's supply and demand.

For the working musician, I think that demand is slim to nil.



Hmmmm ... *scratches chin*



Do a little research and you'll see what's going on.

http://plasticsnews.com/headlines2.html?id=17556
http://www.insiderreports.com/storypage ... D=20029557
http://www.economist.com/node/8515811
http://www.economywatch.com/economy-bus ... 07-07.html

Other countries cannot give us as much cheap labor as China has in the past. The population and workforce isn't there.

So, yes, I'm sure. It's not going to be overnight, but it will be in our future.



Bingo. Give the man a beer.



Maybe so, but I don't think you could give Forrest's hat away, so he loses in this round.



Prices for those cars make sense. Take a 440 'Cuda, for example. It can fetch a nice sum of money at an auction block. Why? Because they're rare. Chrysler Corp. didn't sell a lot of their first round of pony cars (Challenger and 'Cuda) and especially not the 440. It wasn't that they were limited edition models or anything like that, though. Buyers overlooked them in favor of Mustangs, Firebirds, and Camaros, the more trusted nameplates in that segment.

But just because specific cars of that era go for that much doesn't automatically mean the rest of them follow suit for no reason. I have a 1972 Cutlass Supreme. I gave $3,000 for it from a guy in TN. It's since been 95 percent restored and only values at $15 to $20k. That's still cheaper than a 2011 Buick Regal, which has a base price of $26,000. When it comes to classic cars, there has to be something special about them to command those sky-high prices.

With a vintage brand-name guitar it only has to be old to command some horribly stupid figure of cash. The guitar that Blertles mentions in his post should be worth less than an Affinity Squier Strat. You should be able to buy it with whatever you have in your backpocket. When a guitar in that condition is commanding some asinine price, that's when common sense should kick in and tell you, "Wait a second ... this is getting out of hand."

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

Like I said in an earlier post there were quite a few dogs made in the 50s and 60s also.I don't believe for one minute that premium prices should be charged for instruments just because their old and ones that have been refinished or mutilated should go in the bargain bin.Having said that though I reiterate if I could get a '65 Strat that sounded good and was in very good to excellent condition for only 10 grand I'd jump at the chance because '65 Strats(good ones)in great condition routinely go for anything from $15,000-$30,000 depending on rarity of colour.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

um...... i wouldnt say that nevin.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Sure there maybe rare guitars but i think that it's not that big of deal.

I like new guitars myself because i get to put the wear in them and make them mine.

Sure i like to play my friends guitars or some in a shop but honestly who cares? It's just a guitar why should the rarety make it any better than another?

Some people collect guitars and don't play them...that's a crime. Reminds me of the debate about KWS playing the Hendrix strat....WHO CARES? at least it's being played. The magic of that axe died with its owner.

Think of all of the Brand New Strats Clapton has tore it up on the last few years on tour. Are they any less special than the ones he played in the 80's? absolutely not i say because he made them special for the brief time he played them.

So in conclusion. Who cares about vintage?

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2007 Fender MIM Strat Midnight Wine
1965 Univox HR-2 "Lawsuit" ES-335 Knockoff
Ovation Celebrity Shallow Bowl

Let's say you found a '71 Hemi Cuda 'Vert in a barn and could buy it for $450.

Do you know how many of those cars were made? Only 500. No one bought them and the survival rate of those cars is very low to boot.

One went to auction not that long ago and brought $1,000,000.

That car could be an absolute dog and you'd make your money back on it restoring it. Every last red cent and then some.

How about that for rarity and value? You'd run into a '59 Les Paul before you'd run into that car.

Now that I've thrown that bit of info out there first, I wasn't arguing that a good playing '58 to '60 Les Paul isn't worth anything if it's in good working order, plays very well, and is in good shape.

However, if the guitar had deteriorated to the point that a brand new Epiphone Special II model would be the better playing instrument, it isn't worth anyone's time or money. It shouldn't bring what a very nice example should bring simply because it's an old Les Paul.



The same is true for that Plymouth mentioned.



What is your definition of a "high price"? I know where there's a battered to hell '56 LP Jr. for $4,500. It looked like crap, but it still did play very nice; it's a player's guitar not a showpiece item and really shouldn't be commanding such a price. That costs more than my '98 Camaro did back in the winter of this year.

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

Agreed. This guy gets it.

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

"it"? lets try "them" and yes they are safe guarded as best as i can afford.
some folks dont want parts of their collection to be known.
pretty smart seeing how easy it is to get folks personal info these days off the web. thieves come in all shapes and sizes these days, and their tools
arent lock picks and flashlights any more.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Good lord, don't cry about it.

Seriously, just give me one good reason why a '59 Les Paul that looks like this ...



Or this ...



... Should be worth $250,000 dollars? Because it's a '59 Les Paul? Where's the sense in that logic?

I guess this Enzo should be worth $750,000 because even though you can't drive it, it's still an Enzo.

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

yeah because all those "projections" surely couldn't be wrong. Not going to go back and forth with you. you have all the answers anyways, take care.

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Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!