WHAT IS VINTAGE?

We all know what we mean when we say, ‘vintage guitar’… Don’t we?!

“The word ‘vintage’ isn’t a very accurate term as far as guitars go,” concedes veteran guitar trader Richard Henry. “When I was just getting into guitars in my early teens, they were just used guitars. I started off playing a ’64 [Fender] Mustang – Olympic White with a tortoiseshell ’guard – and I thought it was cool. My first serious guitar was a ’78 Les Paul Custom. Today, it’s over 40 years old and could be considered ‘vintage’ but when I got it, it was eight years old!”

“There was always a rule of thumb that early 70s and prior was ‘vintage’ as far as guitars go,” recalls Luke Hobbs of Gardiner Houlgate auction house. “But now, people are calling 80s guitars ‘vintage’. It’s almost the ‘new vintage’ era. 80s Japanese-made Fenders have shot up in value. I’ve seen the prices virtually double in the past 10 years. Even the 90s Japanese Fenders have gone up significantly in price because people see the quality in them as instruments. The Jags and Jazzmasters from the 80s and 90s have come on leaps and bounds. People are asking for £1,000 plus for them now. I think if you want an obtainable longterm investment, 80s Japanese-made Fenders are a good way to go.”

“It’s weird to say it because it doesn’t feel like it’s really ‘vintage’ but 90s Mexican Fenders are kind of getting that way,” says Matt Gleeson of Monty’s Guitars. “The woods are really good and you can get them for sod-all money, plus getting aftermarket parts for them is really easy. Whereas the same can’t always be said for a 70s guitar.”