About Vintage Guitars
You would think most guitar players would want the latest and greatest new Guitar on the market. As manufacturing improves and designs are created, you would think there would be a good market for new guitars, and in some respects there may be but used vintage guitars are what most great guitar players want. We will talk about some of those reasons.
If a guitar is a quality made guitar it is like a good wine in that it gets better with age and maturity. The tone of the guitar will mellow and the wood continues to harden for many years, as long as 35-50 years.
Rarity is also another consideration in a used vintage guitar. Some manufacturers did not produce very many of a particular design during production runs. This fact instantly made certain guitars vintage. One of these manufacturer’s is Martin they were famous for very small production runs. Especially on models that were known to age well.
One of the most popular used vintage guitars is the Les Paul Gold Top. The actual finish of the guitar is what made this such a desirable vintage guitar to own. They used a bronze as part of the dye to turn the top of the guitar a golden color. This golden color has taken on a greenish tint over time.
Then there are so called “signature guitars” These usually have just a very small number manufactured, usually they will be endorsed by a famous musician which also makes them very desirable. The musician also has a hand in the overall design concept. Fender is one company that produces a large share of “signature” series guitars. Many of the signature guitars, if not considered Vintage now, will be in the future, many times just due to their rarity.
Fender guitars are generally considered vintage only if they were produced between 1950 and 1966. After 1966 the company was sold and the guitars were mass produced more for profit. Before 1966 each guitar was considered handmade with quality in mind, secondary to profit.
An interesting fact is that many used vintage guitar collectors cannot even play the guitar. They just take pride in owning these pieces of history while collecting an item that historically appreciates. In the last 5 years, vintage guitars have doubled in value. They like the fact that much of today’s music is influenced by the music created on these instruments.
If the collector is someone that does play guitar they will tell you that the playing experience is superior than to that of a new guitar. They take great pride in playing the instrument as well as taking care of this piece of history. If a used vintage guitar is restored, and many of them are, they are restored to make them look, play as sounds as close to original as possible.
If a guitar is a quality made guitar it is like a good wine in that it gets better with age and maturity. The tone of the guitar will mellow and the wood continues to harden for many years, as long as 35-50 years.
Rarity is also another consideration in a used vintage guitar. Some manufacturers did not produce very many of a particular design during production runs. This fact instantly made certain guitars vintage. One of these manufacturer’s is Martin they were famous for very small production runs. Especially on models that were known to age well.
One of the most popular used vintage guitars is the Les Paul Gold Top. The actual finish of the guitar is what made this such a desirable vintage guitar to own. They used a bronze as part of the dye to turn the top of the guitar a golden color. This golden color has taken on a greenish tint over time.
Then there are so called “signature guitars” These usually have just a very small number manufactured, usually they will be endorsed by a famous musician which also makes them very desirable. The musician also has a hand in the overall design concept. Fender is one company that produces a large share of “signature” series guitars. Many of the signature guitars, if not considered Vintage now, will be in the future, many times just due to their rarity.
Fender guitars are generally considered vintage only if they were produced between 1950 and 1966. After 1966 the company was sold and the guitars were mass produced more for profit. Before 1966 each guitar was considered handmade with quality in mind, secondary to profit.
An interesting fact is that many used vintage guitar collectors cannot even play the guitar. They just take pride in owning these pieces of history while collecting an item that historically appreciates. In the last 5 years, vintage guitars have doubled in value. They like the fact that much of today’s music is influenced by the music created on these instruments.
If the collector is someone that does play guitar they will tell you that the playing experience is superior than to that of a new guitar. They take great pride in playing the instrument as well as taking care of this piece of history. If a used vintage guitar is restored, and many of them are, they are restored to make them look, play as sounds as close to original as possible.
