Vintage Electric Guitars Rock! Is it because they’re old?
Is it just because they’re old? I mean we all know that old stuff is worth more, right? Well, that might be one superficial reason, but it’s not just the fact that they are old and worth a lot of money that makes them highly sought after. When you start to become familiar with vintage guitars you develop an respect for the craftsmanship that went into building them, then you gain an appreciation for their beauty and character. Then you start to think a little less about just how much a vintage guitar is worth.
There’s just something about holding a vintage guitar in your hands. To a person that doesn’t play guitar, it just feels like a guitar. But to a guitar player it’s something different. Have you ever held a vintage Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster or a vintage Gibson Les Paul or a Gibson SG? It’s like holding a work of art. The craftsmanship is so superb that it almost feels as if the guitar could play itself. It has a resonance to it. And I’m not talking about the sound. I’m talking about it’s life, it’s history, it’s story. All of these things make up a vintage guitar’s “character”.
I’ll give you a small example of what I’m talking about. Every scratch happened somehow. Did it happen onstage? Did it happen in a bar? A hotel room? A tour bus? Who did it? Someone famous? Was it stolen from someone famous, then recovered? You might think “that’s to deep, nobody thinks about that stuff!” But I assure you they do.
How did I come to think of such things? I’ll be glad to tell you. About 25 years ago I was in a pawn shop in Dallas, Texas and on the wall was a vintage Gibson Flying V.
It was a little nicked up here and there, and it had a few character scratches. But it felt sooo good in my hands. I can’t remember how much it was now, but I do remember that I couldn’t afford it at that time. So I ended up buying a pretty good copy of a Gibson Les Paul, made by Kay Guitars.
Then one day I was reading an article in Rolling Stone Magazine about the legendary blues artist Albert King, who’s main axe just happened to be the Gibson Flying V. The article had told about him showing up for gigs just in time to play his set and afterwords he would collect his cash in a paper bag and throw his guitar in the back seat of his old convertible Cadillac and head out to the next gig in some other town. I thought about that Flying V hanging on the wall of that pawn shop. The history of that guitar, who might have owned it, and how those nicks and scratches might have got there.
Yep, there’s a lot more to a vintage electric guitar than just it’s age.Albert King Playing His Gibson Flying V
The “Low Down” On Vintage Bass Guitar
Sometime in the 1950′s, Leo fender started mass producing the electric bass guitar that he introduced in 1951. He called it the Fender Precision Bass. 
It’s now called the “P-Bass” for short. That instrument proved to be revolutionary in the fact that now a bass instrument could be easily taken anywhere and it could also be plugged into an amplifier and the volume could be matched to the drums and guitar without a lot of feedback that would normally be caused by placing a microphone on the floor in front of a stand up acoustic bass.
In fact he stills plays one to this day.Those early basses, now considered vintage, are highly sought after guitars the world over. One reason is because the unique hollow body construction gives them the distinctive resonance of a larger stand up type bass. The “solid body” bass guitars are also coveted works of art. The hand made construction from premium woods sets them apart from their more modern counterparts, most of which are great for beginners to learn to play on, but lack the depth of tone and the personality of the vintage bass guitars.
Don’t get me wrong, there are companies out there that are producing some quality bass guitars, but just remember, you get what you pay for. Most companies make their bass guitar bodies from alder, which seems to be pretty standard. Some use premium woods like swamp ash and walnut. Some companies use cheap electronics manufactured in third world countries from inferior materials, which would be okay for beginners, but the guitars wouldn’t really be worth much when they wanted to upgrade to a better quality instrument.
As far as buying one to keep for an investment goes, you’ll want to buy a vintage model over a new one. Reason being, they’ve already proven they can hold their value because they are worth more now than when they were new and will keep increasing in value if they are kept in good shape.
And of course there’s the best reason to buy a vintage bass guitar…
Vintage Guitar Amplifier Vs. Modern Amp
When the subject of amplification comes up one question always makes it way into the conversation. “Which is better, vintage guitar amplifiers or modern guitar amps?” Whoa! Hold it right there big feller. This subject could be debated till the cows come home, as they say. The answer is actually relative to each individual guitarist as well as the genre of music they are playing. Because every guitarist has their own style and their own likes and dislikes, as far as what they hear coming from their amp, and the type of music or the actual song being played by that guitarist matters as well, because different amps lend their tonal qualities to different types of music better than others. So the answer to that question is not as cut and dry as it may seem.
There are a lot of things to consider when this question arises. First of all, what genre of music is being played? Is it rock music? If so, then what kind? 50′s, psychedelic, classic, modern or pop? Is it country music? Old country or modern? Heavy metal? Classic, hair band, modern or death metal? Blues? Robert Johnson at the crossroads style blues or Stevie Ray Vaughn, rock your socks off blues? Jazz? Contemporary? Classical? What kind of music? Are we talking about rhythm or lead guitar? What “feel” does the song call for in it’s particular genre? Is it a ballad? A rocker? An instrumental? A barndance? What???
How about the type of guitar is being used? Acoustic, electric, bass, or an acoustic/electric guitar? We are going to try to stick to talking about electric guitars here, since that’s what the jist of this blog is about. As far as electrics go, is it a vintage Fender Stratocaster, or Gibson Les Paul, or something more modern like a Paul Reed Smith, Dean or Ibanez? What type of pickups are in the guitar? Does the song call for a clean sound or a distorted sound? What guitar effects, if any, are being used? Is the amp going to be played on stage, in a studio or at home? You see what I’m talking about? There are a plethora of other questions to ask when considering the answer to that question. And yes El Guapo I know what a “plethora” is!
So the question is not a general question and since the answer depends on so many other factors, the answer should really be left up to the individual guitar player and the playing situation that they refer to specifically. Or the question should be changed to something more suitable to be asked of each individual guitarist, such as “When you play “x“, which guitar and amp combo do you prefer using to get that sound?” Something like that is easier to answer.
Now, with all that said, ”Which is better, vintage guitar amplifiers or modern guitar amps?” Geez, Here we go again! Nah, lets just answer it the way it sounds. Which has better sound quality and which is more dependable? Well…Both. And we aren’t going to compare apples to oranges either. By that I mean we aren’t going to compare a vintage Marshall amplifier to something like a new, state of the art, Peavey JSX Joe Satriani Signature amp. Not fair! Lets compare apples to apples.
One of the cleanest and warmest sounding amps I have ever owned was a Fender Vibrolux Reverb. The sound from that amp and a vintage Fender Telecaster was like warm, golden liquid tone being poured into your brain. Hey that’s a good name for my next band-Golden Liquid Tone. Don’t steal it or I’ll have to come looking for ya! Anyway that amp was put through hell and it never gave up on me. 
Now, on the other hand, Fender’s reissue of that amp, now called the Custom Vibrolux Reverb, is not really a reissue of the vintage amp, but it’s a more modernized version that’s just as tough and dependable with upgrades like: a bright channel, reverb and vibrato that functions in both channels, Tilt-Back legs and a factory warranty. It’ll set you back about $1,600. That’s about $500 more than what you can buy a vintage amp for. As far as the sound goes, with a vintage Fender Telecaster plugged into it, I think it’s just as warm and liquidy as the vintage model.
So is it better? Don’t get me wrong, I love the vintage amps from Fender, Marshall and others, and I think if I was buying an amp to hang on to for an investment or to play and record with at home, I’d definitely lean towards a vintage amp, but If I was buying a workhorse to take on the road or into a studio I’d probably buy the newer reissues of the vintage amps. Mainly because of the warranty.
And then there’s also the fact that I’d be heart broken if my vintage Vibrolux or Marshall got stolen or fell of the back of a truck.Gregor Hilden playing a 1969 Fender Telecaster through a 1968 Fender Vibrolux Reverb
Stocks and Bonds or…Vintage Electric Guitars?
So, how’s your portfolio? Did you lose money in the economic downturn? Don’t feel bad, a lot of people did. No, I’m not gonna give you financial advice on this blog, but I am going to let you know that had you invested some of your dough in vintage musical instruments, such as guitars, your investment would still be safely tucked away in your closet or under your bed increasing in value instead of being flushed down Wall Street’s drain.
I sincerely hope things are getting better for everyone financially though. But maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the term “diversify”. What about investing in vintage electric guitars? After all, the market for vintage guitars really hasn’t seemed to suffer through the downturn. As a matter of fact vintage guitar prices are as high as ever. Sure the market of buyers has thinned out a little, but the value of the investments is steadily increasing.
So, let’s explore this concept a little further, shall we? First of all, as far as investing goes, let me just say that it doesn’t matter whether you can play a guitar or not. If you can’t play then maybe this is a good time to learn. That way while your investment is growing in value, so can your appreciation of it grow as you have fun learning a new hobby, instead of staring at a piece of paper. WooHoo. If you already know how to play a guitar, then great, you now have an investment that already brings you joy and in the future your financial return will be increased as well.
Let’s clarify exactly what a vintage guitar is. Guitars that are considered vintage are models that were manufactured from the 1920′s through the 1970′s. If you want to collect acoustic guitars you can go all the way back to the mid 1800′s with companies like Martin Guitars. If you want to collect electric guitars though, the models starting in the early 1950′s through the late 1970′s from American companies like Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Epiphone and others are the ones you want to focus on. Sure you can go out and buy a new guitar for less money and hold on to it for 50 years and it may be worth something, but that is doubtful considering the old adage “they just don’t make things like they used to”.
The guitars made in the past were mostly made by hand out of exotic woods like Brazilian Rosewood, (considered an endangered species worldwide) which was and probably still is illegal to import in the United States. Most guitars today, with the exception of a few, are made by computer controlled cutters and routers, which, while being very consistent, lack the warm sound and the “personality” of the hand made vintage models, for the most part. Although there are some American manufacturers that produce quality instruments out of quality woods today, the real return on “guitars as an investment” lies with the more sought after vintage equipment.
Don’t just assume that because there were only a certain number of a certain type of guitar made that it’s automatically valuable. Sometimes rare guitars aren’t valuable. The handmade guitars prior to the 1970′s cannot be replicated. This is one thing that makes them so valuable. Not to mention the fact that music genres from country to rock and roll and beyond were forever changed by the veteran musicians that played those very instruments that you will be investing your hard earned buckaroos in. Just think, you could invest in and play guitars just like Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, or Eric Clapton.
Sounds like a lot more fun than staring at a piece of paper!Arlington Vintage Guitar Show
Acoustic Guitar…On a Vintage Electric Guitar Blog?
Yes, that’s right. I know this blog is supposed to be about vintage electric guitars, but I’m going to take a moment to write about acoustic guitars (also referred to as “flat top” guitars). Why, you ask? Simple, the number one reason is respect. I think they rightly deserve some respect by all, guitar players and non-players alike. And I’ll be glad to tell you why.
While electric guitars have only been around for about a century, acoustic guitars in some form or fashion of a stringed instrument have been around for thousands of years. Yes I said thousands. The oldest picture ever found of someone playing a stringed instrument similar to a guitar is a stone carving around 3,300 years old. Wow! I think that deserves some respect. The more modern style hollow body acoustic guitars have been around for about a thousand years.
Now, if we fast forward to more modern times we find companies like C.F. Martin & Co. that was founded in 1833, making the types of acoustic guitars that we all recognize. They are still making some fine guitars to this very day. Martin guitars have always been known for the quality and craftsmanship. From an investment standpoint, consider this; Martin’s vintage acoustic guitars sell for thousands at auction, some of which have even sold in the six figure range. Very respectful indeed!
While acoustic guitars are more suited to certain genres of music over others, another good reason to talk about them is that when writing songs or composing guitar based music, most singer-song writers and guitar composers use an acoustic guitar to figure out the basic melodies and rhythm structures. Mostly because it’s convenient. Think about it; they are portable, they don’t need amplification, they can be used for almost any genre music, and if you’re hungry and have no moolah you can just stand on a street corner and play for dough.
Acoustic guitars are great instruments to learn to play guitar with as well. You can pick a up a decent acoustic guitar for a hundred bucks or so. They require no amplification so you can learn to play without having to invest in a guitar amplifier, although you can buy pickups for acoustic guitars that allow them to be amplified. Most are easily mounted and removable. And then there are flat top guitars that come from the manufacturer with built in pickups that can be played acoustically or be plugged into an amp. They are called acoustic-electric guitars. But that is another blog post.
There is a couple of advantages to learning to play on an acoustic guitar as well. For one they require a little more effort when pressing down on the strings and this builds up finger strength and helps in forming callouses (tough, thickened pads) on the tips of your fingers, unless it’s a nylon string classical guitar, the strings on those are pretty easy to press down. You’d be amazed at just how much of a difference this makes when you pick up an electric guitar and play after you’ve been playing an acoustic for a while. Another noticeable advantage would be the clarity of the sound you get when you are practicing or composing. You can really tell if you are playing the notes correctly, pressing the strings down with an appropriate amount of pressure as not to cause a muted or buzzing sound.
Once you learn how to play then you can invest in a better quality guitar. Most of the major guitar manufacturers such as Fender, Gibson, C.F. Martin, Taylor, Alvarez and Takamine make great acoustic guitars. Most of those companies offer lesser expensive beginner models all the way up to high quality professional models, many of which have ornate adornments and inlays. There are even custom acoustic guitar manufacturers like BlueBerry Guitars that will create a carved work of art for you. Those guitars are highly collectible heirlooms to be cherished and appreciated for generations.
Acoustic guitar music spans the genres from blues to jazz, country to rock, and even heavy metal. They are widely used instruments that deserve respect and every guitarist needs at least one of them in their arsenal.
Oh yeah, when you’re hanging out on that street corner playing your little heart out, don’t forget to leave your case open and put a few coins in it so passers by will get the message and donate to your beer fund.I’m sorry! I couldn’t resist posting this video.
