I recently saw an add for a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard priced at £329,065.10. (I wonder where the 10 pence came from??) It was of course battered and belonged to some guitarist who apparently played with Paul Mcartney and Etta James. (I've never heard of him) Now who on earth buys instruments like this? Is it rock stars adding to their collections? Bankers buying it as an investment? It's certainly not your average musician. All of this pales into insignificance when you realise that the highest price ever paid for a vintage guitar is 3.9 Million Dollars for a Black Fender Stratocaster owned by David Gilmour, the guitarist with the Pink Floyd. It was bought by the owner of an American football team. It was actually at a charity auction and the money went to an environmental group, so it could be said that while it was bought by someone with too much money as some kind of status symbol, at least the money went to a good cause.
Personally, I have no interest in vintage guitars, previously owned by someone else. (Which is probably a good job since I can't afford them!!) I really can't see the point of buying an instrument that has been handled by god knows who, god knows where. I want a guitar that I have used, I have played and is part of my musical history, not anybody else's. I also believe that it's a complete myth that these old electric guitars sound better and play better. Now a vintage acoustic may (and I mean may) have some interesting acoustic properties that have improved over the years, though I'm a bit skeptical about that as well. But vintage electrics usually need a lot of work and of course if they are basically rebuilt they lose that vintage status.
As I indicated this is not a problem I will encounter anyway because these instruments are priced way beyond my income. There is also the point that while guitar shapes have remained the same for years and that Fender Telecasters, Fender Stratocasters, Gibson Les Pauls and Gibson 335's are still very popular, things like pickups, tuners and how woods used are constructed have all moved on. And it's certainly true that at the cheaper end of the market, 'starter' or 'beginner' models have improved significantly. There is also the myth that somehow these vintage guitars have history that goes with them. They were played by somebody famous or used on such and such famous album. For me they only carry the history of sweat, stale beer and god knows what else. If you think somehow that this history will rub off on your playing then think again. The only reason that guitars sound good is who is playing them. Everything else is a fantasy.
However, I suspect that none of this will go away. There will be lots of cooing and bragging about the ownership of vintage guitars. Just the same as with vintage anything. Personally I think that what is really important is the music that these instruments helped (marginally) to create. And we should treasure the musicians who made that music, rather some lump of wood and metal that they used.
