how's the vintage guitar market these days....?

[stickyfiddle]

I can well imagine the bottom will fall out of the vintage market in 10 years when the baby boomers (my parents' generation) start dying. It's the guys who were in their teens/early 20's in the 70's when everyone was playing bursts and old strats that are now 60-odd and spending their money on those bursts & strats. When numbers of those guys start dropping it'll become more of a buyers' market than it is now.

Unless the Chinese decide old guitars are "the thing to have" like they have with fine wine, in which case all bets are off.

[bobsbobbackwards]

I think there's still some value in some Archtop's and less popular models.
You can get a really nice 60's Casino for less than 2k and a 'players' ES330 for around the price of a Custom Shop one.
Given the choice I'd go for the vintage one, assuming it played okay and had no major issues, that way you don't bin £500 - £750 as soon as you get it. That's of course assuming the Custom Shop one is new and you're paying standard street price.

This looks nice, a 1961 ES-125 Archtop,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1961-Gibso...30862464868%26

Or this ES330

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-VINTA...=item1c2fc94b1

[Skipped]

In the classifieds right now there is a lovely '65 small pickguard SG Special for £2300. The Historic Reissue of the same guitar costs about £2k. So.....a replica of an old Guitar - made by Gibson - costs almost as much as the real thing. That doesn't make sense. If you told me that the original guitar costs 10 x the price of the re-issue - Now that would make sense.

Plenty of wonderful vintage guitars for sale in the states for reasonable money.
This one is £3833 ($6000).



Or......... you could pay £3k for a Historic replica of the same guitar!

[Twinfan]

I'll take the new one every time, thanks! I can mod it to my heart's content, and I would think there's a higher probability of it being a good 'un.

[richardhomer]

The really desirable stuff (original and genuine pre-CBS Strats and 50s Les Pauls) will no doubt be holding up well. Late 70s Fenders now seem to sell (quite rightly) for much lower prices than they used to. Someone on here is selling a few Gibson semis at VERY sensible prices. My view is that if you want an older guitar to play, rather than collect, now is probably a good time to buy. I bought a '64 ES335 10 year ago for about what you would pay for a Gibson Historic now. To me, a genuine old guitar for not much more than a reissue makes sense. That said, I played several of Fender's new Vintage Series today - they're fantastic guitars... Though a 'real' one would be 10 times the price...

[Rox]

The biggest price rises must be in the MIJ area - they've trebled in price easily over the last 5-6 years.

[MrFoxen]

General feel in the local shop is that the high price stuff isn't moving, the stuff that was good but cheap is going up and moving well, as people want stuff, but are cheaping out on it. Names still sell if you aim lowish. Kind of stuff at the 'right' price doesn't move, stuff bit cheap does, and gets stashed until things make the right price again, so prices aren't dropping, sales are just slowing.

My area is also ran vintage amps, and they are on the up, but known names seem to be going to Europe and the east. Old valves are going mental to the far east, various places.