Bob's Vintage Guitars

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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 »

Solid-Bodied Gretsch Corvette Guitar Review

Written by vintage on January 8, 2010 – 5:50 am -

by Allen Chiles The Solid-bodied Corvette (not to be confused with the Corvette hollow-body arch-top electric, produced from 1955-1959) was Gretsch’s answer to the Les Paul Jr. by Gibson. Introduced in 1961, the Corvette Solid-body was a small, light-weight, comfortable electric guitar that was just right for the budding musician. This killer guitar, with a solid mahogany body, solid mahogany set neck, and a rosewood fret board with pearl dots, originally came with a single HI-Lo ‘Tron pickup. The earliest examples had a trapeze tailpiece. By 1963, the Corvette was sporting a Burns’ flat-arm vibrato tailpiece. (Yes! That Burns! Good old Jim Burns from England), and came with a choice of either one or two of those Hi-Lo ‘Tron pickups.... more


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Posted in Gretsch, Vintage Electric Guitars | No Comments »

Gretsch 6134 White Penguin Solid Body Guitar

Written by vintage on August 22, 2009 – 1:26 am -

Gretsch 6134 White Penguin Solid Body Guitar Collectibility Rating: Single cutaway models: A, Double cutaway models: A-. Essentially a white, fancy DuoJet. Solid body 13 1/4 inches wide, maple top, two pickups. 1954 White Penguin Introduction specs: • Single Cutaway, body finished in white. • Two DeArmond single coil pickups. • "Cadillac G" tailpiece. • Three knobs on lower bout, one on cutaway, 1 switch on upper bout. • Melita bridge (gold). • Clear acyrlic pickguard with engraved penguin, back painted in gold. • Pearl block inlays with engraved birds. • 24 3/4" scale, vertical Gretsch peghead. • Gold sparkle binding. • Gold plated parts. 1957 White Penguin specs: • "Humptop" inlays replace blocks. 1958 White Penguin... more


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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 »