so i have a 1979 silver anniversary strat w/original case, floyd rose trem, and was wondering what it's worth since it's not listed anywhere on the site. no desire to sell whatsoever, i love this guitar. but i'm curious since it's immaculate and i want to insure it at the proper value.

christiane

Since it's been bastardized with the installation of a Floyd Rose trem, any intrinsic value to a collector has likely evaporated. Expect no more than $2000 from this instrument -- prolly closer to $1750. Insure it accordingly.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

bastardized? it came that way from the store. (seriously) nothing has been changed or modified.. is floyd rose bad? i have a kaeler (spelled right) on my other guitar, but didn't change anything on the strat b/c it would devalue it. i'll double check on the trem.

It may have "come that way from the store" but it did not leave Fullerton in such a manner.

All 25th Anniversary Stratocasters were equipped with the vintage-style trem bridge, with 2-7/32" string spacing. I once owned one.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

+ 1 Retroverbial

Floyd Rose is a mod to this guitar and it is too bad. I don't know how much you can have for this guitar but not much for a Fender collector.

+1

Kramer was the first to distribute the Floyd Rose trem back in the early 80's. Fender would use it on strats much later.

Everything everyone said is true about the Floyd Rose bridge. The Strats from the '70s used a 6 point a 1 piece bridge and saddles made of pot metal.

I too have a modified '79 Strat and I didn't pay that much for it ($730). Keep in mind that mine was 1 not an Anniversary model, and 2 has more modifications than your. I'm gathering that yours is wortha bit more than mine.

mine has Van Zant pickups, an aftermarket pickguard, is stripped to the bare wood and has a special pickup bi-pass curcuit.

I'm guessing that if you were to sell it you wouldn't get what it was worth before the mod, but you would get somewhere close to that, maybe $1700?

The Floyd Rose kills whatever value this guitar would have, not to be the cynic here but as a collectors item, an anniversary or any commemorative Strat has to be in original configuration, that means No Mods....All original hardware including original case provenance and all.

You will be wasting money insuring this guitar since it is no longer worth what it would be unmolested. Sorry but any one wanting these as collectors will not pay much and would be crazy to do so.

Just my 02 cents but I see too much of this myth that so many people fall into thinking their guitar is a valuable investment. They are not unless they are extremely limited editions and/or they are pristine vintage models. The reality of the market from the buyers point of view will dissapoint you severely if you believe you have something that it is not.

Have it appraised if you wish but be ready for severe disappointment as far as value .
Certainly not $1,700.00 perhaps about a $1000.00 but that would be the average.
Main reason is that a Floyd rose setup is irreversible due to the routing and mounting points.
So the Silver Anniversary which recalls 25 years would have to look like a mid- late 50's Strat.
No Floyd on the specs then...

OP could you post some pics so we could see if perhaps there may be a chance of returning it to as close as what it came out of Fullerton as...
Then you may have a chance to get something back...

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+100 , 53magnatone

I have to add that in this current economic climate, collectors, vintage shops are very well informed as to what the market value for a guitar is. Their practice is to buy low and resell at a viable profit. This does not include the seller in the equation...( reality )
There isn't the buyer willing to pay any amount for a guitar knowing that they can flip it for a quick profit. So the myth that I will resell for a profit is just that.
That scenario is gone...extinct....I just sold a 2001 CS 56 NOS Strat as well as a 1995 Larrivee Grand concert 10 acoustic. I broke even but it took a lot of negotiating and these two guitars were pristine.
I can walk into Empire guitars and the only guitars in the several thousand dollar range are the vintage models and of the dozens of guitars there, there is less than ten in the $15,000 + range.

So Iv'e said it elsewhere, if you wish to invest money, musical instruments are a very poor return on investment, more often than not they are a severe loss from the initial purchase price.
Guitars are just that, buy one because it is an instrument you can use, it's attributes appeal to you but every time we buy a guitar, we take a big hit on the resale value. These are instruments and should be considered as such, not investment vehicles.....
Reality Bites but paying a lot of money for something that is hyped is just a clever way of separating a fool from their dollars.
I've been there so I'm not immune, I just will not look at a guitar as an investment.
Only as an instrument that I like and am willing to pay a certain amount because...

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