vintage guitar-info

[bond]

I was thinking about getting a vintage guitar and then remembered the one my family had in the beatles crazed 60s that was left in the basement too long and warped like a cheap piece of wood that it may have been. Any way my question is i am finding lots of vintage guitars on the web to choose from but dont know enough about them or what to look for that would make or break doing a deal.Can any one recommend a suitable entry level in vintage that might be a good place to start for a beginner?
I am partial to hollow body electric or an acoustic that can go electric. I really like the Jazz guitars and how their set up.
thanks

 

[BigFitz]

I guess it depends on how much you plan to spend and how vintage you want to go. I would say that you really wouldn't have to worry about getting your money back on a vintage guitar as long as you buy right and don't buy something that has problems that aren't obvious. So, if you spent a couple thousand (and actually probably a lot more than that)on a Epiphone,Gibson or Gretsch, you would likely get your money back.

 

[bond]

I Understand what your saying, I should have stated my budget is very low,I just want a decent sounding not too banged up one for No more than 500.

 

[Patrick Hall]

You're going to have a really hard time finding a decent vintage guitar in playable shape for that much money, I'm afraid. Your best bet will probably be ebay, unless you know where "the" spot for guitar collectors is in your area. My recommendation is to get very clear on what kind of guitar you want. To echo what BigFitz said, it sounds to me like you are looking for something like a Gibson ES or arch-top. Maybe a Gretsch would be worth trying out as well. Epiphone has become a bargain Gibson brand, so perhaps some of their vintage models could be had for a reasonable price. Anyway, once you're clear on the model you are looking for, you can start looking for good deals. If I were you, once I had my ideal model in mind, I would do some research to figure out what the LEAST desirable vintages are for that model. For example, most collectors steer clear of Fenders made in the 70's and 80's, because there was a notorious drop in quality related to new ownership. Each brand has some similar interval of quirkiness which means guitars from that era can be picked up for cheaper.

Hope this helps!
-PMH

 

[bond]

Very helpful, Thank you Patrick appreciate the advice. Lots on ebay prices are all over but it seems that for around 3-500 there are some decent ones to be had in various brands like Kay and Harmony, from around the 50s-60s and from their u tube links they seem to sound pretty good too.
The gretsch and gibson i just thought would be out of my price range but definitely have the sound i like.

 

[Cyou43]

Check out shopgoodwill.com for guitars like this:
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=11034319

 

[Mocheman]

I've been playing guitar for 30 yrs. and in that time I've played all sorts of new and vintage guitars and this is the advice I would give to you as a beginner. Since you want to actually play the guitar I would stay away from any vintage instruments especially at the price range that you have set for yourself. I have yet to find a vintage guitar under $500 that wasn't dried out, warped or cracked with much repair needed for it to become playable. Those kind of problems can be very discouraging to a seasoned player let alone a beginner. The worst thing you can do it frustrate yourself when you first start to play. Guitar is not easy to begin with so why compound it with a crappy instrument.

All is not lost though as there are many fine newer guitars that are vintage looking and are highly playable. Here are a few I would recommend taking a look at. Some are out of your price range new but can be had for much cheaper used.

Ibanez Artcore Series(these are very popular with budget minded jazz players)
http://www.ibanez.com/HollowBodyGuitars/home

Gretsch Electromatic Series
http://www.gretschguitars.com/products/index.php?series=Electromatic+Collection&section=guitars&pg=2

Epiphone Archtops (many are copies of much more expensive Gibson classic archtops)
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Archtop.aspx

Godin 5th Ave Series
http://www.godinguitars.com/godin5thaveseriesp.htm

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions feel free to message me. Good luck!

 

[Edward]

I've been playing guitar for 30 yrs. and in that time I've played all sorts of new and vintage guitars and this is the advice I would give to you as a beginner. Since you want to actually play the guitar I would stay away from any vintage instruments especially at the price range that you have set for yourself. I have yet to find a vintage guitar under $500 that wasn't dried out, warped or cracked with much repair needed for it to become playable. Those kind of problems can be very discouraging to a seasoned player let alone a beginner. The worst thing you can do it frustrate yourself when you first start to play. Guitar is not easy to begin with so why compound it with a crappy instrument.

All is not lost though as there are many fine newer guitars that are vintage looking and are highly playable. Here are a few I would recommend taking a look at. Some are out of your price range new but can be had for much cheaper used.

Ibanez Artcore Series(these are very popular with budget minded jazz players)
http://www.ibanez.com/HollowBodyGuitars/home

Gretsch Electromatic Series
http://www.gretschguitars.com/products/index.php?series=Electromatic+Collection§ion=guitars&pg=2

Epiphone Archtops (many are copies of much more expensive Gibson classic archtops)
http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Archtop.aspx

Godin 5th Ave Series
http://www.godinguitars.com/godin5thaveseriesp.htm

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions feel free to message me. Good luck!

This, absolutely. If you are determined it must be vintage, the only other thing I would suggest is do a lot of research and look into the early Eighties Japanese knock-offs of the big american brands, as a lot of those are becoming increasingly collectable (especially as the American stuff soars out of reach for most of us). In terms of "investment".... Well, I'd never buy a guitar as an investment, myself. With anything that might get more valuable, it is always a risk of sorts; with anything established there is unlikely to be any steep rise (and there might be a fall - guitars go in and out of fashion too).

Purely in terms of an instrument, to be honest the whole "vintage" thing is massively over-hyped. Back in the mid Seventies when CBS (who bought out Fender in 1965, selling in 1985) and Norlin (who owned Gibson in the Seventies) were less than full attentive to their QA, people started buying older, second hand instruments a they were cheap and better made. Thus the Pre-CBS etc myth was born. In reality, back in those early days they turned out their fair share of dogs too - not to mention specs were far less consistent. I hate to rain on anyone's parade, but really - don't get sucked in by the vintage snake-oil when it comes to electric guitars. Especially not when given how unrelentingly conservative the electric guitar-buying market is (there really are few hobby groups as utterly luddite when it comes to anything resembling innovation) the options for new, affordable, vintage-style guitars are legion.

 

[Richard Warren]

The best vintage (over 50 years old) style guitar is actually the same as just about the best guitar for the money anyway: the standard strat

 

[Patrick Hall]

This, absolutely. If you are determined it must be vintage, the only other thing I would suggest is do a lot of research and look into the early Eighties Japanese knock-offs of the big american brands, as a lot of those are becoming increasingly collectable (especially as the American stuff soars out of reach for most of us).

Where are all these Gibsons and Fenders going anyway? Is it Japan, the same black hole where all the belted back suits are ending up? Just looking at the price tags of some of the stock at the best guitar shop for vintage here in Houston gives me the vapors. The advice to find a servicable modern model is very sound. My quiver includes a modern American standard Telly and a modern Martin D-18vs - both sound beautiful to my ears. And both, as Edward mentions, honor the luddite guitar market by being painstakingly faithful to "vintage" specs in their ways.

 

[nice hat dude!]

Picked up a 1979 Guild G37 Blonde a year ago which had a professional setup done on it,new bone nut, bridge
and an electric non sound hole pickup installed,got it of a band guy cause he doesn't like Guilds...go figure
anyway I paid $800.00 canadian for it awesome guitar.If you could spend a little more you'd find you would
have more options and as previously noted the better the guitar the easier it is to play.If i could afford one I,d
have a vintage Gibson Hummingbird here also

 

[nice hat dude!]

Hope this works here is a picture of my Guild G37 Bld, she's kind of a plain looking
girl but she can sure sing

 

[nice hat dude!]

For the fellow wanting to spend $500.00 here's what that'll get you at least where I live in Canada,she's a lot prettier than the Guild but doesn't sing as good.It's a J&D Brothers made in China

 

[nice hat dude!]

Here's the pretty part

 

[bburtner@moran]

If you are only playing jazz,you might look into a Heritage,great instruments made by former Gibson employee`s,I had there equivelent to the Gibson L5/spruce top (carved& flame maple carved back & sides).