vintage guitars

There are many myths about vintage guitars. Not all of them sound great and some can be challenging to play by present-day standards. But the best old guitars have a voice and sonority that is very hard to replicate in a new guitar. Earlier this year, Guitarist visited Martin’s factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania – itself home to many outstanding vintage acoustic guitars. But on the way home we called in at an extraordinary guitar store, Vintage Instruments, in Philadelphia. Inside they had row upon row of old acoustics, including D-45s and other much-vaunted models. But it was a pre-war Gibson L-00 that most surprised us. It was pretty small and rather worn, yet the voice that came out of it was warm, airy and expansive. It had character and maturity and surprising depth. That was the sound of time, the sound of slow processes – like the gradual drying out of timbers and a lifetime of playing – that are not easy to reproduce in a new guitar. That, at the end of the day, is the essence of why vintage guitars are worth playing and owning – and the fact they aren’t consistent could be viewed as a good thing if you have any love of hunting down the perfect example of a certain model to suit your playing and tastes. And, as Dan Orkin of Reverb.com points out in his analysis of the vintage market on page 4, prices have come down from the delirious heights of a few years ago. They can also be quite competitive with the prices of new production-line models, as long as you’re prepared to try guitars that fall outside the Holy Grail territory of 60s Strats or 50s Les Pauls and the like – or are happy to accept refinished or carefully repaired oldies. To that end we’ve tried to show a broad range of what could qualify as a great vintage buy – from pristine classics to pre-loved ‘player’s’ guitars that deliver maximum tone for your hard-earned cash. Enjoy.