I have a 1956 or 1957 Fender Stratocaster guitar in the original tweed case. It is in excellant condition. I also have the tweed amp. I know it is pretty valuable. What is the best way to determine the value and how would you go about getting the best price for it. Any help would be appreciated.

Yeah, we answer such questions much better when we get pics ...

_________________
Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

I'd spend a few quid getting it authenticated and valued at a vintage instrument dealers.

They charge around £30 a time here. Get a few of them for a accurate representation of the instruments worth.

I'd sell by auction, every time we've seen folks here being too quick to sell vintage instruments, they've had a bad deal.

Anyone remember the south African guy who got £16/17K for his vintage strat that the shop sold for £30K odd

_________________
No no and no

You can contact Gruhn guitars as he is at the top of the mountain in the vintage world. I also believe he does online appraisels.

This is the ticket, right here. George and his team are the authority on American vintage guitar values. You can get a written appraisal from photos or take the guitar to Nashville for an in-person job.

Yeah. THe "dealer" told him it was a refinish and rough, then turned around and sold it as a rare custom colour ... not very honest, eh?

The case alone can be worth upwards of $4K.

_________________
Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

How did you aquire it?....pics would be great to verify the "excellent condition" as stated.

As others have indicated, George is the man :

http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/george-gruhn

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

If your Strat is in mint or near mint condition and a sunburst it could be worth up to $33,000 with bakelite knobs and $32,000 with plastic knobs,depending on condition the case could be worth around $5-6,000 if mint.If the guitar is a 56 it could be worth even more depending on body wood and again condition.An ash-bodied sunburst with tremolo could be up to $38,000 and $33,000 for alder.Blonde Strats are 56-57 up to $55,000
Mary Kaye Strats of that vintage are the most valuable maxxing out at $72,000.These prices are for vibrato equiped guitars,hardtails are worth about 10-15% less.You didn't specify the model of amp but an amp from that era could be anywhere from $1,500-10,000+.I also recommend George Gruhn for appraisals,he'll need plenty of pix of the whole guitar including the neck pocket,the interior electronics,the neck butt,serial number and any date codes printed on the pots etc.I hope this was of some help.Don't fall for any shysters as there are thousands of them waiting to fleece someone with such a valuable guitar and amp ,deal only with a reputable auction house such as Sotheby's etc. or auction it on ebay only after you get a proper estimate.Let us Know the amp model and post pix please,good luck.

_________________
'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.

pics, pics and pics....

cheers

OK folks. I went and got the guitar and amp and took some pictures. Have uploaded them to my computer, but can't figure out how to insert them here. Any suggestions.[/url]

Couldn't figure out how to uploads pics to this website. Here is a link to a photobucket album with the pics. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

http://s1016.photobucket.com/albums/af2 ... ar%20pics/

You just copy and paste the IMG links like this -









Both guitar and amp are in GREAT condition!!!

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Wow! That looks amazing! Yeah, I'd be getting some appraisals asap!

(Love the cig burn on the amp's tweed.)

_________________
Then again, what do I know ... I've only been playin' for 6 months ... !

Its the real deal. My dad bought it new back in the 50's. He was a songwriter and played with a group of guys.

Can I have it?

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!