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Vintage Guitar Market Out Performs Wall Street

Written by vintage on October 16, 2009 – 4:35 pm -

ShareIn April of 2007 the Vintage Guitar market saw gains in value of over 50%. Yes this was a bumper year with gains above the norm, but gains in value have been happening for the last 30 years and have never gone backwards. Vintage Guitar magazine the market bible on all things Vintage Guitar, developed the "The 42-Guitar Index" in 1991. It tracks the ongoing values of excellent condition original pre-1970 Gibson, Fender and Martin guitars. Pre 70's because those instruments are the most valuable, however guitars from after 1970 are starting to rise steadily. The average value of an instrument in their index for 2007 is a very healthy $19,706, and that represents a staggering 438% increase since 1991. This equates to an average of... more


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Posted in ES, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Guitar News, Les Paul, SG, Stratocster, Vintage Electric Guitars, Vintage Guitars | No Comments »

Gibson Les Paul Junior

Written by vintage on September 23, 2009 – 7:46 pm -

ShareThe Les Paul Junior is a cheaper version of Gibson’s iconic Les Paul. It was introduced in 1954 at a budget price of less than $50. Like other Les Paul models the Junior is made of mahogany and has a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard. These are the only materials used for the construction of the guitars, unlike the other Les Paul models, also available in maple. It was designed as an entry-level model for younger players who couldn’t afford a Les Paul but still wanted a high quality Gibson model. The original versions had single cutaway bodies, but there was a double cutaway version available from 1958. The body is the same shape as the Les Paul, but with different finishes, including TV Yellow and cherry red. The Gibson... more


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Posted in Gibson, Les Paul, Vintage Electric Guitars, Vintage Guitars | No Comments »

Gibson Les Paul: A Financial Investment?

Written by vintage on August 25, 2009 – 3:41 am -

ShareBy Jonathan Starkey Washington Post Staff Writer Gil Hembree was 20 years old and working the counter at Kitt's Music on G Street NW when he spotted a 1962 Gibson catalogue featuring the music-making duo of Les Paul and Mary Ford. It wasn't the couple that caught his attention but rather the guitar slung over Paul's shoulder: an original-style, single-cutaway Gibson Les Paul model with a gold finish. That was 1966. Soon after, Hembree saw an Evening Star classified ad for a 1952 Gibson Goldtop Les Paul. He paid $100 to a country-music fan in the Maryland suburbs. Hembree later sold it to a musician for $400, booking a profit he used to help cover tuition at American University, where he studied accounting. "He had no idea, and... more


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Legendary Guitars

Written by vintage on August 16, 2009 – 8:12 pm -

ShareTop 10 Legendary Guitars By Devin Pratt NO.10 - B.B. KING'S "LUCILLE" One night in the 1950s, B.B. King was playing a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. In those days it wasn’t uncommon to light a barrel of kerosene to keep the building warm. Unfortunately, that night a fight broke out between some rowdy locals and the barrel of kerosene was knocked over, causing a massive fire. Once safely outside, B.B. realized that he had left his cherished guitar in the dance hall. He quickly ran into the blaze and grabbed his Gibson before the roof collapsed. Later, it was revealed that the men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. From that moment on B.B. christened all of his guitars “Lucille” to remind him never to fight over a woman. NO.9... more


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Posted in Fender, Gibson, Guitar News, Stratocster, Vintage Electric Guitars, Vintage Guitars | 1 Comment »

Les Paul has died at 94

Written by vintage on August 14, 2009 – 1:16 am -

ShareInventor changed course of music with electric guitar, multitrack recording NEW YORK - Les Paul, who invented the solid-body electric guitar later wielded by a legion of rock ’n’ roll greats, died Thursday of complications from pneumonia. He was 94. According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side. As an inventor, Paul also helped bring about the rise of rock ’n’ roll with multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the tracks in the finished recording. The use of electric guitar gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1940s, and then exploded with the advent of... more


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Starting your vintage guitar collection

Written by vintage on July 26, 2009 – 9:03 am -

ShareLou Carlozo It may sound like rock-opera fiction, but it happens: Weekend Warrior hits garage sale and buys dusty old Fender guitar for $50 (or, cleans attic and finds the Gibson he bought in high school for $100). He visits a guitar shop in "Antiques Road Show" fashion -- and discovers the "beat-up axe" is a vintage collectible, worth $10,000. Or $20,000. Or $100,000. The vintage guitar market has declined like other investments in this recession. But if you have cash to seed a small collection, why not start a fun hobby that's financially savvy? After all, when your 401K takes a beating, you're broke. When your vintage guitar takes a beating, it may continue to appreciate anyway, just because it looks so cool. Besides, who... more


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Posted in Epiphone, Fender, Fender Bass, Gibson, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild, Ibanez, Martin, Stratocster, Vintage Acoustic Guitars, Vintage Bass Guitars, Vintage Electric Guitars, Vintage Guitars | No Comments »

The Who rock memorabilia show opens today

Written by vintage on July 17, 2009 – 8:23 pm -

ShareSidney & Berne Davis Center displays John Entwistle bass guitar, spider necklace BY CHARLES RUNNELLS • CRUNNELLS@NEWS-PRESS.COM • JULY 17, 2009 Everywhere John Entwistle went, his one-of-a-kind bass guitar and "Boris the Spider" necklace usually went with him. Now The Who bassist has gone where his belongings can't travel — he died of a heart attack in 2002 — and his beloved Buzzard bass and Boris necklace remain behind. They're more than just mere belongings, though. They're artifacts from the golden age of rock 'n' roll. "He changed the face of music," said friend Steve Luongo, who drummed in The John Entwistle Band. Those same artifacts are on display this weekend at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center — along... more


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Posted in Epiphone, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild, Guitar Events, Guitar News, Stratocster, Vintage Bass Guitars, Vintage Electric Guitars, Vintage Guitars | 1 Comment »

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard VOS on iconic guitars list

Written by vintage on July 5, 2009 – 1:50 am -

ShareThe 1959 Les Paul Standard Vintage Original Spec (VOS) has been listed as one of the top five guitars currently available from Gibson Custom. Ted Drozdowski of the Gibson website placed the instrument in the iconic guitars list claiming that the large number of legendary musicians to have played the original model helped make it "the epitome of the solid body guitar for fans and players alike". Among the famous guitarists to have played the instrument over the years are Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck and Duane Allman. Joining the 1959 Les Paul on the list were the BB King Lucille, the SG Standard Reissue VOS, the Mick Jones Les Paul Custom and the Johnny A with Bigsby Tremolo. Mr Drozdowski claimed that the instruments... more


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Posted in Gibson, Vintage Electric Guitars, Vintage Guitars | No Comments »

Lovely axes to grind at Montreal Guitar Show

Written by vintage on June 30, 2009 – 4:41 am -

ShareBy Bernard Perusse, The Gazette June 29, 2009 Rediscovering his inner Hendrix inspired Jazz Festival marketing vice-president Jacques-Andre Dupont to launch musical instrument shows and a blues camp. If Jacques-André Dupont hadn’t had one of those benign midlife crises, it’s entirely possible that a depressed 15-year-old kid wouldn’t be healed by playing the blues this summer. If Dupont hadn’t rediscovered his inner Hendrix, guitar fanatics from all over the world might not have a place in Montreal to gather every year and talk guitar geek. Most important, if a meeting with Montreal International Jazz Fest sponsors hadn’t been cancelled at the last minute, he might never have walked into Steve’s Music Store in Toronto. That... more


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Posted in Epiphone, Fender, Fender Bass, Gibson, Gibson, Gretsch, Guild, Ibanez, Martin, Stratocster, Vintage Acoustic Guitars, Vintage Amplifiers, Vintage Bass Guitars, Vintage Electric Guitars, Vintage Guitars | No Comments »

GIBSON CUSTOM 1958 LES PAUL STANDARD VINTAGE ORIGINAL SPEC SERIES

Written by vintage on June 5, 2009 – 1:18 pm -

ShareThere are some guitars that stand out from the bunch, and Gibson Custom worked out a way to produce just that kind of instrument. 1958 Les Paul Standard Vintage Original Spec Series is truly an amazing guitar that performs well and sounds terrific. You may safely head over to online music store and grab yourself one of these without ever trying it, if you believe your fellow musicians who gave this instrument highest grades. 1958 Les Paul Standard Vintage Original Spec Series really deserves those, and will surely make you a happy guitar player! 1958 Les Paul Standard Vintage Original Spec Series features: Mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard pickups: BurstBucker Gibson Custom took time and with it's accumulated experience made... more


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