$250 for a strat back in the 50s. An American Standard is about $999 today. Would you say, it was much more affordable to purchase an American Standard Strat today than back in the 50s? How many hours does the average Joe have to work to purchase a new strat in the 50s compared to today?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

I'm not a statistician, but I think it's much more affordable today at $999. Based on wages, $250 was a lot of money in the 50's.

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'10 American Deluxe HSS Sunset Metallic
'10 JA-90 Thinline Telecaster
'15 Music Man JP-15 Blueberry Burst
'07 Les Paul Standard Faded LCPG #82
'14 Carvin ST300
'12 Carvin CS424S
'66 Guild Starfire IV w/Bigsby
'14 Warmouth Partscaster Daphne Blue

Yea, and the price increase from $250 to $999 is not that bad. So would you say $250 for a strat in the 50s would be equivalent to someone purchasing a custom shop strat for $3000 today?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

Yep, around $2k.

If you Google "cpi calculator" or "consumer price index calculator" you'll find lots of sites where you enter the dollar amount and the starting year and then it calculates the equivalent today.

We're living in one of the golden ages of guitar. If you calulate the price of an old Kay or Harmony the same holds true -- even the student guitars cost a lot more back then. People back then would be stunned that we can buy playable decent sounding Squiers for less than two days work at minimum wage.

Yep around two grand today. They didn't really go up that much if you factor in inflation. My 72 was $300 with a hard shell case.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Back in 83', my parent's purchased my first Fender Strat for $375 new. So $125 difference from 50s to early 80s is pretty amazing. I still have that Dan Smith strat after all these years.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

In late 1992, I bought a new '63 reissue Vibroverb for $500. The list cost was $900, but I had a great business relationship with this particular store (the lamentably defunct Jam Music and Sound in Arlington, Texas), so I got a steal.

There's no Fender reissues selling that cheap nowadays, but there's still great deals to be had on amps, too. The basic Vox AC15 is a really good amp for very little money, and I think the Egnator Rebels and Tweakers are excellent amps for the price...

This is the best "bang for your buck" era for guitars and gear in a long time.

Harmonicas are frickin' outrageous in price, though...used to, I could get 2/$30 or 3/$43...now, I'm fortunate to barter the price down below $30 for a Marine Band or a Lee Oskar.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

my dad bought me a used strat in 1964. i think he paid about 200.00 for it. he worked 2 jobs, and i still thank him all the time for buying it for me.

unfortunately, i sold it in 1975 so i could buy a les paul custom

here i am today, back playing a strat. i guess you can go home again

How much were other brands? Epi, Gibson, or Tele's ect...

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My ability to spell is in direct proportion to the amount of coffee I've had.

This is an example why I hate selling my stuff as I would be ins such regrets selling that 64 strat after all these years. I wonder where that 64' strat is now?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam