Vintage Guitars As an Investment
Vintage guitars are a great investment for a few reasons. First, they are beautiful and command a room where they are displayed. Second, vintage guitars don’t depreciate or lose value with time. On the contrary, these babies appreciate and gain value as they age, especially if they are kept up nicely. Third, they have superior tonality and action when played due to the quality workmanship that went into their construction.
the most popular is the Les Paul by Gibson. the older ones were made of superior materials like mahogany and oak. Some even had gold frets and mother of pearl inlays on the fret board.
Fender also has a stranglehold on a couple of highly sought after guitars, especially the Stratocaster, the Telecaster and the Thunderbird.
Among the reigning Kings of vintage guitars are those made by the CF Martin company. Many Martin’s are still in use at nearly 100 years old!
Guild is another vintage guitar that is vastly overlooked these days. Guild was only in operation for about 25 years and was bought by Fender in the 1990’s. Some of the older Guild guitars are extremely rare and sought after as they exhibited the same quality as the Martin instruments of the same time period.
Every one of these guitar manufacturers has made an exceptional line of guitars. When bought as an investment, the vintage ones hold the possibility of giving a fantastic ROI (return on investment).
Vintage Guitar Collectors Can Still Find Deals
Vintage Guitars
The simple thing to remember in vintage guitar collecting is American guitars. If you stay American-made, you’ll have the best chance of an instrument that will appreciate in value.
Look for American made guitars that collectors are currently ignoring. Soon enough, these will be at the top of the food chain. Well, think “student” models. Some models are already desirable like Fender Mustangs and Gibson Melody Makers, for example; other models haven’t gained notice yet, but they will!
For instance, Fender Bullets, made in the early 1980’s, are student model guitars, but are American made and use parts found in Telecasters of the same period (pickups, etc). Note, we’re not talking the Squire Bullet Stratocaster-type model, but the American-made Fender model (looks like a Telecaster).
There’s not a lot of action with Gibson’s Kalamazoo line, yet. These student models are similar in quality to the Melody Makers and Fender Mustangs.
Stick with Fender and Gibson, stick with American made, and keep your eyes on lesser-known student models … and you’ll find deals that will likely join other lines in appreciating over the coming years.