Here lately I find myself arguing with people over the term "Vintage" mostly people with a guitar for sale with a jacked up price claiming its vintage. I just want to know what your opinion is and what age you consider something "Vintage" and not just "OLD" .

personally I feel 35 to 40 years or older is easily acceptable, and pushing it maybe at 30 years.

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Three weeks

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No no and no

smarty pants

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Vintage is a vague term, I think of it as nothing more than a sales pitch.

A 30 year old Fender guitar would put it in the CBS era, that could certainly be considered Vintage, as could anything pre CBS.

I think of the term "vintage" more in "what era" than age.

I believe the term "classic" and "antique" are more specific to years. I believe classic is 20+ years and antique is 25+ years.

The general consensus among shops dealing in vintage instruments is 25 years. So next year a 88 Strat will become vintage.

Personally I think it's all a load of tosh. I've no love for CBS guitars and wouldn't pay the price of a Japanese reissue for one. Yet others buy them for staggering prices. So really vintage is just a word and value is dependent on what someone will buy for. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't pay more than £4k for a 54-58 strat. Though I've never had the chance to buy one at any price, I've played em and they just ain't worth the prices we see em sell for to me.
Todays guitars are superior, mostly.

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No no and no

I wouldn't consider anything newer than 1980 to be vintage and maybe newer than 1975 because after that year we were well into the CBS and Norlin years and Quality Control was sporadic to say the least.

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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.

After 1968 we were into the CBS and Norlin years.

I believe CBS bought Fender in '65 and Norlin bought Gibson in '69.

I think it depends on the manufacturer, too.

I don't know if a 30+ year old guitar is truly vintage, but since the earliest G&L guitars were produced in 1980, and they were the first of that manufacturer, that might qualify as "vintage"...

Likewise for the earliest Music Man guitars--the first ones were made in 1974 or so...so I'm not sure if that's "vintage" either, but it is at least "noteworthy"...

So I've really added nothing to this discussion.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



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

I think that is a reason that its so subjective I guess. allot of people would consider a 1988 Gibson a vintage but probably not have the same opinion of an Ibanez. that's why I would like to put a standard age with it.

a guy trying to claim a beat up 97 american standard is vintage so he can mark it up to $1100 is ridiculous to me...... if there is an age standard, this wont happen as often. hopefully anyways

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"says the kitty with a machine gun.

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I voted for 40 years....the older you get,the more it seems a period of only 25 years ain't long at all.

imo, there's got to be some quality attached to the term. You pay a good buck for a vintage wine, not just because it has some years on the bottle, but because it was good wine made by people who cared about the quality of the product.
If I found a bottle of Boone's Farm or Annie Greensprings bottled in the 70's... yeah it's old, but it's not vintage.

I have a Penco knock-off of a Gibson SG. The company was in business from '74 - '78 when they got sued by Fender and Gibson. Problem was they were doing such a good job with their knock-offs Fender and Gibson got PO'd because they were such good guitars at a fraction of the price. It's old, and it's well made, still plays like a champ, all original pickups and switches and everything still works... vintage? by all means, not because it's old, but because it's well made and has stood the test of time to prove it. (and it's not for sale).

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Please pass the popcorn.

I think we can work with these parts of the definition to get to a general conclusion.

2. Characterized by excellence, maturity, and enduring appeal; classic.
b. Of the most distinctive:

So I'm vintage just like my Dual Showman but I look better.

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...I for one, sure would appreciate the return of intelligent conversation, spirit of assistance and the simple yet effective ignoring of those who can't seem to hang with that...
Best regards,
rob

I voted for over 50. That makes me vintage too.

More and more I am witnessing a colloquial definition of the word, "vintage". Apparently, many are attaching this moniker to an instrument of their parents' generation, made when their parents were in their prime. This ideology doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me as it is certainly sliding scale, yet it exists. We might have to consult "Infallible Web Dogma" minions for a definitive answer on this one.

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You dig?

A 1945 piece of crap guitar is just that a piece of crap. And I don't think crap can be vintage.