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Tips on Collecting Hall of Fame Vintage Guitars

Written by vintage on June 12, 2010 – 4:58 pm -

Ever thought that a guitar might be a more reliable investment than the stock market? Vintage guitars are becoming a hot item in the collectibles market, and there are few icons more recognizable to Americans than a rock star and his guitar. While a few months' savings might have bought a guitar in the 1960s, some of those instruments are selling for big bucks today. Recently, George Harrison's guitar sold for a little under six hundred thousand dollars, for instance. Eric Clapton's favorite Stratocaster from the 1970s, Blackie, sold for nearly a million. While celebrity collectibles have been a good investment for years, guitars themselves have largely been overlooked. However, the guitar was perfected between the 1930s and the 1960s, depending... more


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Posted in ES, Fender Bass, Gibson, Gretsch, Les Paul, Martin, Rickenbacker, Stratocster, Telecaster, Vintage Acoustic Guitars, Vintage Bass Guitars, Vintage Electric Guitars, Vintage Guitars | No Comments »

Vintage Rock ‘n’ Roll guitars offer 500% appreciation

Written by vintage on March 23, 2010 – 4:55 am -

These items cherished by rock gods of past decades are big business If I asked you to guess an investment that can give you 500% appreciation of six months, what would it be? I'll bet that guitars wouldn't be your first response. In the forty years since Jimi Hendrix played his white Fender Stratocaster before a 500,000 people at Woodstock, guitars are now firmly established as collectible items. Such legendary events have led thousands of enthusiasts to seek out vintage Fender Stratocasters from the 1970s. A late '60s Strat', then worth a couple of hundred dollars, can today sell for as much as $30,000. Other items, like a '60s Gibson Les Paul Jr., can appreciate by an incredible 500% after six months of ownership. And the best news is,... more


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

Factors That Influence the Value of a Collectible Instrument

Written by vintage on February 1, 2010 – 12:53 am -

by George Gruhn As both a dealer and appraiser of vintage fretted instruments I am faced with the daily necessity of placing dollar values on instruments. Any appraisal or price determination is to a certain degree the subjective judgment of the particular dealer or appraiser involved, however, the figures that I or any other dealer or appraiser place on instruments are firmly based on our knowledge and experience of the market involving supply, demand, and prior precedent for instruments of this type. While there is no one simple formula that a dealer or appraiser uses for evaluations, the following factors are critically important: 1. Maker Instruments made by famous luthiers or manufacturers are far more sought after than those by lesser... more


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Posted in Guitar News, Vintage Acoustic Guitars, Vintage Bass Guitars, Vintage Electric Guitars | No Comments »

Marin Hendrix fan plans tribute with 3,000 guitar players

Written by vintage on September 1, 2009 – 3:48 am -

Paul Liberatore Forty years ago, rock guitar legend Jimi Hendrix made history with his anguished rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock. Now a Marin County Hendrix scholar is attempting to make another kind of history by assembling the world's largest guitar ensemble for a tribute to the late guitarist in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Steve Roby, a San Rafael resident who teaches a Jimi Hendrix course at College of Marin, is trying to gather 3,000 guitar players together to play "Purple Haze" on Oct. 25 at West Fest, a Woodstock 40th anniversary tribute concert in the park's Speedway Meadows, where Hendrix played a free concert in 1967. Roby, author of "Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix," hopes to break the Guinness... more


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Posted in Fender, Guitar Events, Guitar News, Stratocster, Vintage Electric Guitars | No Comments »

Legendary Guitars

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

Top 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 - KEITH... more


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

Starting your vintage guitar collection

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

Lou 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 ever plugged a... 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 -

Sidney & 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 with other... 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 »

Guitar Center announces ‘King of The Blues’ Contest

Written by vintage on July 17, 2009 – 1:40 am -

Guitar Center has announced the return of King of the Blues, the nationwide search for the next great undiscovered blues guitar player. With sign-ups launching July 1, Guitar Center's King of the Blues will feature competitions in over 200 Guitar Center locations across the country, culminating with the Grand Finals in Los Angeles this November. In addition to showcasing the top-five finalists, the King of the Blues Grand Finals will also feature performances by renowned blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, who has been awarded "Best Blues Guitarist" by Guitar Player Magazine for the past three years, and Grammy Award-winner Pete Anderson. Introduced in 2006, Guitar Center's King of the Blues is designed to offer similar life-changing opportunities... more


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Posted in Guitar Events, Guitar News | 1 Comment »

Lovely axes to grind at Montreal Guitar Show

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

By 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 unexpected... 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 »

Determining the Production Year of a Vintage Stratocaster

Written by vintage on June 27, 2009 – 5:20 pm -

Determining the production year of a potentially vintage instrument requires more than basing your opinion on just one piece of information. In the case of the Fender Stratocaster, what can make determining the guitar's probable year of manufacture difficult is simply the fact that the instrument bolts together, so that over the years, the original body, neck, pickguard assembly, and pickups could have been replaced or be missing. I'm going to start the discussion of the identification process by briefly breaking down production eras by neck and fingerboard information. In 1954, the introductory year of the Stratocaster, the instrument featured a one piece maple neck that included the fretboard, and it would retain that design until early 1959... more


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Posted in Fender, Vintage Electric Guitars | No Comments »