I'm constantly searching Craigslist for guitars. There has been one otherwise very nice Jaguar, at a nice price, but with a rather large chip by the input jack that has been advertised for months. I delete as soon as I can hit the delete button w/o even being aware I do it. I have bought many guitars that can be brought back to 9.5+ condition, but pass on a 'car wreck'. Many on this forum talk about admiring and wondering how in it's history this happened and admire owning it, but not me. I realize how anal I am, but I only like well cared for instruments.

I am fairly meticulous with my guitars and I can understand your aversion to owning an instrument somebody else dinged up. I prefer the battle scars on my instruments to be inflicted by me. However I would make an exception if it was an instrument played by a guitarist I knew and knew the history of the instrument. A truly vintage collectable instrument with real wear from decades of use does have a certain appeal but in many cases a good deal of repair or replacement is done to make the instrument playable, and it may detract from it's collectable value. Then again what good is an instrument that can't be played? That's a "Catch 22" if there ever was one.

I just got a guitar for $79.00 that looked like it was thrown down a flight of stairs... It's got chips on the head stock and body, there's a crack in the neck pocket. ...but it's one of the best sounding, best playing guitars I've ever touched! A real head scratcher.

I evaluate primarily basses but the same should be applicable to guitars. The vintage ones that look 9.5 are either NOT original or play/sound worse than most. A real expert can tell the doctored ones. Usually when you come across one that has normal to extensive play wear for the vintage it is a better playing and sounding instrument.

Beware of "Closet Classic" type condition in real vintage instruments. There's a pickle in the apple barrel somewhere usually with them. Never buy any "original-vintage" Fender instrument blind. Always get an expert to evaluate them if you are not an expert yourself or when shopping out of your specific expertise. For example I know P-Basses quite well, but if buying a vintage USA Fender Strat I'd get an independent second opinion.

There's a nice looking Mexican Strat hanging in the Used section at the local GC. Nice looking - except for a big old chunk of wood and finish missing beside the neck pocket - looks like someone unscrewed the neck, but gave it a good sideways pull instead of rocking it out. I see this dang guitar every time I go in and I see that $279 price tag... then I pull it down and go, crap, not you again! They keep moving it around, trying to fool me and it's always hung so as to hide the damage, of course.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963