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.

Arlington Vintage Guitar Show