![]() ![]() Take, for instance, the Kalamazoo line of student instruments from Gibson. ![]() Kalamazoo KG-1 and KG-2 in the Mustang-style body design from mid-1960s. While the value of a vintage Les Paul or Strat has been well established, lesser known brands of vintage guitars afford the collector on a budget the opportunity to learn about, find, purchase, and enjoy vintage guitars. And while the 2004 sale at auction of Eric Clapton’s famed Stratocaster, dubbed “Blackie,” for nearly $1 million made headlines, thousands of collectible instruments can be found at much more affordable prices. No matter which group you may lean toward, the vintage guitar market has grown dramatically as baby boomers have aged and many have disposable income for such purchases. For this group, lesser-known brands such as Danelectro, Burns, Gretsch, Harmony Guitars, and Mosrite may be attractive brands to seek out. Their primary goal is not to flip the instruments. They play and display the instruments regularly, and use them to make music and enhance their lives. The second group is comprised of those that genuinely love the instruments they collect. They look for bargains, especially among well-known brands (Gibson Guitars, Fender, Martin) that have enough of a cachet to be collectible, and try to flip those guitars quickly, turning a profit in the process. The first group is made up of those who speculate in the market. When I speak with colleagues who buy and sell vintage guitars, the devotees of this artful pastime are basically split into two camps. Talk to any serious vintage guitar junkie and they probably have a similar story to tell. Wow, if I had bought that garage sale axe and held on to it, I could have made a tidy profit. I didn’t get the Junior.įast forward to today: I popped onto eBay and found a similar guitar with a starting bid set at $2,500. Since there wasn’t a price on it, I asked the owners, an older couple, and they said, “We’d like to get $150 for it.” At that point in my life, that was half of my monthly rent… and I owned five guitars, a mandolin, a PA system, a van, and I was building a recording studio. Peering into the case, I saw a late 1950s single pickup Les Paul Junior from Gibson Guitars in good condition. Many years ago I stopped at a garage sale in an affluent suburb of San Francisco and spotted a cheap cardboard guitar case off to the side of the driveway. A Gibson 1958 Les Paul Junior, just like the one that got away. From garage sale finds to serious collections, vintage guitars like Danelectro, Gibson, Silvertone, and Harmony are still a hot commodity. ![]()
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