Vintage guitars are typically defined as the guitars made before the 1970s. They are a common topic of discussion in the guitar community: Why are they so valuable? Do they really sound better with age? Were guitars made with better quality back in the day? These are some of the questions that always come up, but there seem to be varying opinions. In this article, I want to provide a quick summary about the history of vintage guitars and also try to address some of these questions.
Quality of Wood & Age of Instrument
Guitars are made of wood, which gradually get older and change form, tone and color. This causes the sound of the guitar to change overtime too. Some people argue that the sound of the guitar changes for the better, so they argue that the older the guitar is, the better it will sound. While it has an effect, age is not necessarily the most important factor for better sound. The more important factor is the quality of the wood. If the guitar is made from a quality wood, then it really might get better overtime.
Environmental Aspects
There is an environmental aspect of vintage guitars too. Some of the best guitars were made from high quality wood that came from specific trees before the 1970s. Some of these trees are now endangered species, so production with certain kinds of trees have stopped. Since those kinds of wood are no longer available, the guitars who were made with these materials have been in huge demand.
Limited Supply
In fact, a major reason why vintage guitars are popular today is the limited supply. Electric guitars were started to be mass produced by companies like Gibson and Fender in the 20th century. Before mass production, they were made in limited quantities, typically by smaller shops or luthiers. A Les Paul from the 1950s was made in very limited quantities compared to today, which is why it might be so valuable. In this way, people like collecting rare items, in addition to the quality of the instrument tone too.
Martin, Fender, & Gibson
Martin guitars, along with Fender and Gibson are some brands that are sought after. There are Martin guitars in circulation going as far back as the 1930s. In terms of electric guitars, a lot of people argue that 1950s and 1960s guitars are some of the best that were ever made. I think this again speaks for the mass production vs smaller production point, as guitars from the 1970s or 1980s typically do not have the demand that 50s and 60s guitars have.
Financial Investment
There is also the financial investment side of vintage guitars. Vintage guitars are typically not a very volatile market and they tend to go up in value over time. Kind of like collecting artwork, some people collect vintage guitars as a financial investment. So, there is a market out there which might value guitars up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Celebrity Status
Moreover, people collect vintage guitars because they were played by famous people. A strat played by Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix, or a Les Paul played by Jimmy Page can be worth up to thousands, perhaps even millions of dollars. The celebrity image on the top of a quality guitar can really create a huge demand for what looks like a normal guitar.
Counter Movement to the Vintage Guitar Movement
There is also a counter-movement to the vintage guitar movement in the guitar community. Many people also argue that new guitars are better than vintage guitars because of their high quality electronic features, high production quality etc. That is a valid perspective of course, but the vintage guitar market is not going away anytime soon.
Market Fluctuation
An interesting aspect is that many of the vintage guitars were bought by the baby boomers when they were younger, and now as time progresses, people are selling those guitars. This means there are more and more vintage guitars from the 1950s and 1960s coming into the market, and that will keep increasing. Consequently, if the supply increases greatly, the price of the vintage guitars could be going down in the future. This is of course not guaranteed, because just like any market, the vintage guitar market also has speculators who drive up prices in certain points of time.
In this article, I provided a quick summary of the state of the vintage guitar market and it’s brief history. Vintage guitars have a unique sound and feel of their own, and we should not forget many amazing albums were made by vintage guitars. They do have a specific character and sound of their own, and it is even more exciting to experience that sound in the year of 2021.
Alper Tuzcu