hi , some of you may remember i got a 57 -50 Hofner president a while ago , it needed the neck reset and apart from that it's not bad for a 50 od year old guitar , however i never use it , and now to my question , i've been offered a mint 2004 USA strat , 3tsb with rosewood board , i'm very tempted , at least it would get used , probably a lot for the rory gallagher tribute band i'm getting up and running , just wondering what you guys think , cheers
Alan

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If you never use the Hofner, but would use the Strat, then go for it.

Unless you're laying down guitars for future realisation investment purposes, or running a museum, an unused instrument is an object that achieves nothing. I doubt that a Hofner will offer a huge investment return in any case. it might become rare, but that doesn't necessarily mean valuable.

Bought down it's basics, that good Strat will out perform that somewhat delicate Hofner every day of the week, and need much less care and consideration.

Just my 2c worth, and I have to acknowledge being a pragmatist of course. But if it was me, I'd have already made the deal..

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

hi Adey , thanks for the reply mate and just what i'm thinking , it also seems like a fair deal to me , and yes the strat (even though i have 3 ) would get used , cheers
Alan

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Hi Alan,I believe that dollar for dollar-or in your case,pound for pound-the Hofner would have more value than the Strat and even though you don't play it tha other guy would be walking away with a great bargain.
BTW: I don't have my price guide handy but I'll look up the true book values in the morning but my gut feeling tells me the Hofner has the edge on value.

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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.

Good thoughts Alan. The band is cool and whatever you do with your Hofner will be cool as well.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

I'm sure the Hofner is more valuable but in a very limited market. You'd really have to search out this market and then to try to get someone within it to ante-up where in this economy, it would be a long time coming unless you get incredibly lucky. Or to put it another way, to get more money for the Hofner than a mint US Strat, it would be a lot of research and a hard sell. Is it worth the time and trouble? Based on your statements, I'd trade it for the Strat in a heartbeat and never look back.

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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You dig?

I'm kind of between adey and gs......

If you don't use it then trade it..........

BUT.....being the typical, grippy, Scotsman I am I would maybe hold out a bit....see what else comes up. I think gs may be right, the other guy may come off better in the deal........see if you can get something else out of it(I know being the Rory fan the 3tsb will be appealing but I would try and up the ante..... )

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speak slowly I'm a drummer too!!

And I proudly lack a stick or a kazoo up my arse...........

i dont know anything about your hofner guitar, but it sounds to me like something a bit rare. you will always and forever be able to get a strat in every flavour you can possibly imagine, so i wouldnt get rid of the hofner unless i was totally convinced i was getting the best deal possible. as you said, its not like you particuarly need another strat right now.......

As per my PM mate, speak with Bill before you make a decision.

Don,t screw yourself. Find out what the guitars worth first.

I just looked up the values in the Vintage Guitar Guide and it gives the value of a 1959-62 50 Series Hofner as between $1,400 and $1,900 whereas the highest value for a 2000-07 MIA Strat would be $800.I knew the Hofner would have a higher value but I never thought that it would be that much higher-more than double the value.

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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.

See, this is the great paradox. Clearly, the Hofner 'on paper' is worth a whole lot more than the subject Strat. Yet, finding a someone person who is willing to pay that kind of money for the Hofner is a totally different story. I've been seeing over the last few decades that Blue Book value and the reality of what people are actually willing to pay for a given piece are drifting ever further apart.

Again, this is merely IMO...

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You dig?

An even further issue is the difference in values across the Atlantic......I've seen 2nd hand MIA Strats about this age for £800 and I've seen Hofners of ALan's one's age for about the same..............especially in Scotland as, for some reason, guitars go up in value the further North you go..... ...basically you don't want to buy a guitar from anywhere near me!!!!!!

I say, see if the guy is willing to throw a sweetener....maybe a couple of hundred quid or eomething...........go on ALan.........aim high.........might even get enough to put another Rory album cover on some other appendage......

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speak slowly I'm a drummer too!!

And I proudly lack a stick or a kazoo up my arse...........

I say keep the Hofner if it's in a playable condition. After all if you've already got 3 strats what use would another one be?

But all that being said if you really feel like you'll never use the guitar (the Hofner) then find out what it's worth as you don't want to be giving it away when it's worth a lot more than trading it for one strat.

If it's not worth a lot, and you'll never use it, then i'd trade it for the strat.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

hi guys and thanks for the replies , looking at prices on ebay over the last few months , they are mostly wanting £500 -550 and some of them are a lot better looking than this one,
Snowy , i'll drop in and see bill tomorow on the road home , see what he says.
And as for the price of a usa std strat around here is around £550 -750
Papawookie , check out glasgow gumtree mate , plenty of bargains compared to up your way , cheers
Alan

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