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 Three guitars from the 1960s, from left to right: Hagstrom F-800 eight-string bass, Vox Cheetah semi acoustic guitar with built in effects, Gibson EB3 bass
There is something special about musical instruments of a certain age. Guitars built from the mid 1950s until the late 1970s are generally held in high esteem; techniques and materials, particularly pre-1970 were vastly superior to today's 'mass-produced' standards. People often say wood is wood, but this is simply not the case. Centuries old trees that were regularly harvested for guitar manufacture in the 1950s are now protected, and it is these old trees with close grains and unbeatable tonal qualities that make the very best guitars. With rainforests rapidly diminishing their protection can only be a good thing. But it does mean that good quality older guitars, perhaps with a few modern upgrades can make some of the very best instruments available. Whatsmore, much of the painstaking attention to detail lavished upon fine old jazz guitars by special order/custom departments and aimed at serious guitarists has been replaced by the continual churning out of 'limited editions', aimed at serious collectors. Whether these rare, but ultimately not-so-special guitars will be quite so desireable in 30 years time remains to be seen.
The musical revolutions occuring during the period in question created the first well-known guitar heroes, and gave their guitars iconic status. It is no surprise that the right guitar can immediately conjure a specific period in time, both with looks and sound. And modern day guitarists who want to capture an essence of that period will naturally tend towards these guitars. Nothing says 1950s quite like a Gretsch. Nothing says 1960s quite like a Vox teardrop or Phantom.
Numerous classic guitars made by the likes of Gibson, Epiphone, Fender, and Guild are worth thousands, sometimes tens of thousands; a little expensive for the average player, and often these are the preserve of investors and collectors. Early versions of the Gibson Les Paul, SG and Flying V guitars, or the Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster. But there are still very many affordable, great sounding, and exciting to play vintage guitars that offer something simply not available in a new guitar. A well-built vintage instrument, although expensive can actually be superb value for money in comparison to some of the new guitars available at that price.
But older guitars are not always better than new guitars; they can have unreliable parts, or be difficult to maintain. A lot of these are upgraded to make great players grade instruments. Keeping the essence of the original vintage guitar, but adding a little of today's reliability. A great example is the 1960s Gibson Melody Maker; an all-mahogany set neck guitar with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and beautiful nitrocellulose finish. Well-built by Gibson, in their Kalamazoo factory, but with very basic pickups, tuning keys and electronics. Upgraded examples are everywhere, and are exceptional value as players grade instruments. Then again some guitars, especially early Japanese and European models aimed at the student guitarists of the early 1960s are completely unplayable. Even the cheapest modern day guitars put these to shame. Before buying any vintage guitar it is a good idea to know exactly what you are buying!
This site aims to be a reference point for guitar players and guitar collectors. There's information, history, photographs and sound clips of many famous, and not so famous guitars and basses by makes such as Danelectro, Epiphone, Fender, Gibson, Guild, Gretsch, Hagstrom, Harmony, Hofner, Rickenbacker and Vox. There is a section on effects pedals too! Check out the classic guitar advertisements, guitar catalogs, or listen to vintage guitars being played. If you get stuck, try the sitemap or post a message in the forum
Guitars bought! Do you have a vintage instrument for sale. I am looking for good condition guitars and basses circa 1950-1980 by Gibson, Guild, Hagstrom, Hofner, Vox and others. Let me know what you have available
You can find content on this site sorted by manufacturer, or by using the menu to the left. See also the sitemap, or search.
Latest Site Updates
Have a look at some of the more recent additions to this site below.
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1963 Vox Shadow
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 The Vox Shadow was produced in the very early 1960s as a result of JMIs endorsement by UK band the Shadows. Guitarist Hank Marvin was one of the most respected players in the country, playing one of the earliest Japanese guitars, the Guyatone (sometimes branded Antoria) LG50, and later a Fiesta red Fender Stratocaster. This early example of the Shadow is effectively a copy of the forementioned LG50; despite being pretty basic, this model must have caused a lot of interest in the days before US guitars were routinely imported into the UK. Shortly afterwards the Shadow was redesigned along the lines of Hanks new Stratocaster; compare this Vox to a later 1963 Strat-styled Vox Shadow.
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1972 Gibson showcase brochures
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 In 1972 Gibson produced a series of 'Guitar of the Month' brochures, each dedicated to one of their high end models, the Les Paul Recording guitar, L5-CES, ES-175D, Super 400-CES, ES-355TD-SV and
Byrdland. Each brochure was a single sheet folded into four panels, with details of the instruments themselves, their features, musical purpose, and a little history behind the development of each guitar. Only the Les Paul Recording was a new model; the others were all well established in the Gibson line. Follow the link to see scans and further information on these leaflets and other Gibson guitar catalogues from the CMI and Norlin periods.
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1961 Vox Stroller
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 The earliest versions of the Vox Stroller were actually copies of an early Japanese electric guitar, the Guyatone (also sold under the brand Antoria) LG50. These Strollers, although short-lived did undergo a few changes before taking on the more familiar Strat influenced style of many mid-sixties UK-built Vox guitars. The biggest difference between early and late LG50-style Strollers (and the two pickup version, the Shadow) was the larger pickup, a shade longer, but noticeably wider used in the very first Vox guitars. Compare this early Vox to a 1963 Stroller with the later V1 pickup. For more information about Vox guitar pickups in general, see the Vox guitar pickups page.
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How to sell a vintage guitar online
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 In the current financial climate, selling an old guitar; perhaps one that's been hanging around in a cupboard, unplayed and unloved, might seem like a good idea. But with some guitars seemingly worth nothing, and others worth tens of thousands, it can be very hard for the average person to know what to do. So how do you know whether that old guitar has any value? And what's the best way to sell it? We answer some of these questions in a three-part series How to sell a vintage guitar online. Part 1: Identifying the guitar is very important; you need to know what you are selling, and this article gives some tips especially if the instrument has few markings. Part 2, Finding out what your guitar is worth gives some ideas on approximate valuation, whilst part 3, Advertising your guitar for sale deals with good practise in creating a listing. The best time to sell your guitar is not when you are forced into it, but we hope this series will help you realise your guitars value, whilst making sure the guitar goes to a home where it is genuinely appreciated.
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VintageGuitar Blog, Nov 2012: Classic basses, vintage amps
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 All fans of late 1970s Gibson guitars know about the RD Artist series of active electric guitars; a joint enterprise between two Norlin-owned companies: Gibson, and synthesizer-manufacturer Moog. But this collaboration went further than guitars; designers from the two companies also produced a superb range of solid state amplifiers, the LAB series, consisting of five guitar amplifiers, three bass amplifiers, and one keyboard amplifier. Well-respected, but today, largely ignored. This post looks at the RD Artist and the 100w LABseries L2 bass amp working together. What a combination.
But we also step back 5 years earlier, to a then-new British bass amplifier, the all-valve WEM Dominator bass MK1. Another 15 inch speaker, but this time just 15 watts. Full of dirty valve snarl, this could not be more different from the RD/LABseries L2 combination that would follow a few short years later.
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