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When is a guitar vintage? And when does the value increase?

A

Axxis

Mar 8, 2011
40
0
Oslo, Norway
#1
Hello.
I know that guitars and basses from the 70's and 60's and so on are vintage, and has increased A LOT in value!

When does a bass become vintage, for example a Fender Jazz Bass MIA Standard, and will a 2008 model increase it's value in the future?

Why does a vintage guitar increase in value? Because of the nitro-paint? or?

(Sorry if the questions has be asked before, but I had a hard time finding it with the search function)
 
#4
Not all vintage guitars increase in value, some do some don't. There are a lot of factors involved including supply and demand, use by well known players, popular trends, etc. If more people want a certain year or model instrument the price will likely rise, if no one wants that year and model the price will fall.

As to what constitutes "vintage" I really don't know. I woke one day to find I owned some "vintage" basses, that's how I found out. :)
 
#5
I just asked a similar question in my "I'm Torn" post. I think the overall FUTURE value of current models (1980 and beyond) will be severely lessened because of over abundance. I think certain models will at least maintain their current value. A lot has been sacrificed in quality to keep up with Guitar Center and Sam Ash demand.
 
#6
Alan Ace Cooper said:
I just asked a similar question in my "I'm Torn" post. I think the overall FUTURE value of current models (1980 and beyond) will be severely lessened because of over abundance. I think certain models will at least maintain their current value. A lot has been sacrificed in quality to keep up with Guitar Center and Sam Ash demand.
Click to expand...

I personally don't think any instrument made after 1969, with a few exceptions, will increase in value at anywhere near the rate of those before 1969. The 70's were a horror for US guitar and bass manufacturing. Things started to improve in the mid to late 80's.

Roger
 
#8
Sadowsky said:
I personally don't think any instrument made after 1969, with a few exceptions, will increase in value at anywhere near the rate of those before 1969. The 70's were a horror for US guitar and bass manufacturing. Things started to improve in the mid to late 80's.

Roger
Click to expand...
I'd also add that some entry level stuff these days is of very good build & finish quality and the playability can be pretty good.
 
#9
Sadowsky said:
I personally don't think any instrument made after 1969, with a few exceptions, will increase in value at anywhere near the rate of those before 1969. The 70's were a horror for US guitar and bass manufacturing. Things started to improve in the mid to late 80's.

Roger
Click to expand...

Roger, I've read about this several times before, and don't understand what happened. Could you give some insight into this phenomenon? I understand the pre/post CBS era Fender argument, but what was it about that era that affected most major manufacturers and their products at that time?
 
#10
BassDaddy77 said:
Roger, I've read about this several times before, and don't understand what happened. Could you give some insight into this phenomenon? I understand the pre/post CBS era Fender argument, but what was it about that era that affected most major manufacturers and their products at that time?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I can explain it either. It holds true for Fender, Gibson and Martin. Because of the poor quality, that was what gave myself and my colleagues (Suhr, Anderson, Spector, Tobias, Taylor etc.) the opportunity to establish ourselves.

R
 
#11
Instruments were not the only American made products to suffer post '69.

American motorcycles and automobiles also suffered during this era.

Thankfully, as Roger pointed out things started to improve in the mid to late '80s.

Currently I feel that these same American built products are second to none in quality on the world's market.

I've recently pondered whether the popularity of recreational drugs in the '70s by assemply line and factory employees may have contributed to problem.

At 51 I'm of an age to remember that decade of decadence.
 
#12
Unfortunatley, its all about brand name. I have a beautiful 1983 Ibanez RS920 for sale,
Birdseye top, nice binding, humbucker PUP with coil taps, and I can't get 400$ for it. Its, in my opinion, far superior to any fender or Gibson from that era. But...its only an "Ibanez"
Quality tone and playability have no relation to vintage collectability.
having said this...I still love old Fenders and just paid 1200$ for a total basket case '66 P.
Go figure.
 
#13
TN WOODMAN said:
I've recently pondered whether the popularity of recreational drugs in the '70s by assemply line and factory employees may have contributed to problem.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't blame it on the American worker. I would blame it on corporate greed and the fact that they lost sight of a guitar as an object of craftsmanship rather than "units, containers and sku's". As much as people on this forum deride them, the biggest factor in improving production was CNC technology.

Think I'll go smoke a joint now!

R
 
#15
capnjim said:
Unfortunatley, its all about brand name. I have a beautiful 1983 Ibanez RS920 for sale,
Birdseye top, nice binding, humbucker PUP with coil taps, and I can't get 400$ for it. Its, in my opinion, far superior to any fender or Gibson from that era. But...its only an "Ibanez"
Quality tone and playability have no relation to vintage collectability.
having said this...I still love old Fenders and just paid 1200$ for a total basket case '66 P.
Go figure.
Click to expand...

This is truth. You can look at vintage archtop guitars, and the prices vary more by brand than by condition. I picked up an early 80s Squier Bullet guitar recently, and the neck is on par with just about any other guitar out there. But, it's a Squier so the guitar has minimal resale value and will never be worth a whole lot.
 
#17
A lot of it is the stigma that the old guitars from the 60's n 70's were actually good. In truth most were junk. Back then almost every music shop had an in store luither who worked on them all right of the box. The best store had the best repair guys and the best selling guitars. Most of the horror stories you hear about bad necks, necks going bad, etc were from that era. You had to go through maybe 5-10 guitars back then to get a good one (gibson / fender) but when you did find one it was magic.
 
#19
Vintage is 25 years; things appreciate in value when demand is greater than the supply.

No demand you lose money, does not matter how rare or old it is if no body wants it.

A good example of non-vintage basses going way up in price was Rickenbacker limited edition 4003 Tuxedo, Red Star, CS & Black Star basses. Not considered vintage, but command hefty price tags.

Vintage Carvins do usually do not command high prices- why?
Because people do not value them the same.
 
#20
grendle said:
A lot of it is the stigma that the old guitars from the 60's n 70's were actually good. In truth most were junk. Back then almost every music shop had an in store luither who worked on them all right of the box. The best store had the best repair guys and the best selling guitars. Most of the horror stories you hear about bad necks, necks going bad, etc were from that era. You had to go through maybe 5-10 guitars back then to get a good one (gibson / fender) but when you did find one it was magic.
Click to expand...


My father said the same thing to me about back in the 60s and 70s. He said unless it was a major brand name, you're buying garbage. We're spoiled. We get to choose between SX, Fender, Squier, Ibanez, G&L, Spector, Sadowsky, etc. etc.

I really doubt a 2008 Fender American Standard is ever going to be the same price as a 1966 Fender P Bass.
 

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