Anybody know anything about guitars?

[Ns1]

If so why? If NOT, why are vintage guitars so expensive?

 

[IamElectro]

Possibly..Older acoustic instruments tend to sound better with time, but then that would depend on the maker and quality of the build. Older guitars can cost more because of several reasons. The history of that model and who used it, the number of units produced that year compared to how many are thought to be left.

My old roommate was a guitar freak he saved for 2 years to by a 20yr old Martin guitar for like $5k, and it did have a wonderful sound to it.

 

[Ns1]

sorry i should probably clarify, this is a Fender Strat I'm talking about.

 

[imported_Strang]

It would depend on the guitar. 1986 isn't really vintage for a strat -- the glory years would be 50s-60s-early 70s. Typically, vintage stuff is desirable b/c of the wood/materials used, the pickups being of a certain quality or just being properly broken in.

I wouldn't consider most 80s guitars from major brands to be vintage or preferable to any other years due to the mass production/lower quality of build and materials (although there are definitely exceptions) -- the unfortunate part is that in the 90s/00s it's gotten worse in some cases.

 

[Ns1]

Originally posted by: Strangone
It would depend on the guitar. 1986 isn't really vintage for a strat -- the glory years would be 50s-60s-early 70s. Typically, vintage stuff is desirable b/c of the wood/materials used, the pickups being of a certain quality or just being properly broken in.

I wouldn't consider most 80s guitars from major brands to be vintage or preferable to any other years due to the mass production/lower quality of build and materials (although there are definitely exceptions) -- the unfortunate part is that in the 90s/00s it's gotten worse in some cases.

i see. thanks

 

[Rastus]

Good guitars, like everything else are hard to find. Even an brand new top of the line guitar might not have the tone you desire, or is popular. For instance, Stevie Ray Vaughan defined a sound and the guitars he got it from appreciated in price from that point on.

 

[thomsbrain]

yeah, strangone is right. an 80's guitar isn't vintage. in fact, i'd bet that a 2004 strat will be signifigantly better than an 80's strat. the worst years for strats were the mid-late 70's. you can tell these guitars because they have an oversized headstock and 3 bolts holding the neck on the body instead of the usual 4. there wasn't anything wrong with the headstock, but the 3 bolt neck was less stable and durable and the general quality and workmanship was crappy during this period. but the 50's/60's/early 70's were wonderful. they were hand-built with care and precision. they play true and sweet. also some people believe that the finishes from this period made the wood resonate in a way that sounded better. i think the finishes were bad for the enviroment or something, so they switched to something else.

 

[Ns1]

Yeah but 50/60s/early70's strat's are like 5k-25k, just a wee bit out of (any normal person's) price range lol


Butyeah, thanks for the replies guys