How do I go about finding a good deal on a Vintage Strat?

[davidos]

I know the market has come down so it may be a good time to buy... Where do I look? GC, etc. are grossly overpriced... Thanks for any advice.

[T-Bodz Terry B.]

Good topic! I too am in the market to make a Vintage purchase...
Looking forward to the responses

[Falstaff48]

In the late 70's to the mid 90's I collected guitars. I looked everywhere. Pawn shops used to be good, but now you need to be careful. Are you looking for an investment piece or a daily player?
Educate yourself first on the features and variations of features on the models your looking for. Set a max you will pay and a condition level you would accept. But be ready to walk away from the deal if need be. But these suggestions only apply if your looking for an investment guitar.
If your just looking for a player, you may accept and expect a more roadworn guitar than an investor would. If its a player, you dont really worry if the nut or tuners are original, if its been refretted or refinished.
While I dont collect aggresively anymore, these days its still hard to pass up a yard sale or a thrift shop without seeing if they have anything. Craigslist is also a good source at times. But it will be harder now to find a bargain. Too many people think any old guitar is "valuable" and want too much for any old pos. But be patient and you may find what your looking for.

After thought: Sometimes your family can be hiding an old treasure. I once got an early 60's Gibson SJ from an old uncle who had it in his house for years. It had belonged to his son who left it there and had no interest anymore.

[sevycat]

You would be very lucky to find a vintage strat at a good price these days. I don't think that the folks who have then are all that willing to part with them for less then a nice profit.

It would be about twenty years ago that I did purchase some vintage fender guitars, all of which were sold ten years back. Good Luck in your quest.

[Strat-Talk]

There is a basic problem with your question:

Vintage Strat =/= Good Deal

Your Unkle can die and leave you one. But good deals are not had.

Your very best bet is going to one of the really large Guitar Shows. The Dallas Show or the Arlington Show. Sometimes there's a large Southern California show and sometimes there's not. Dallas is in March or April, but that's your best bet.

Even then it's going to be expensive. There's no two ways about it.

I bought mine in 2000 at the Dallas Guitar Show. I bought it from a booth there -- Willies American Guitars (they are a big Minnesota guitar store). I brought CASH. The '65 Strat I bought was listed at $5,400 but I negotiated it down some. Paid cash and walked out the door. It seemed crazy. But now it seems so cheap.

I had arranged to meet a friend from St. Louis at the show that was well versed in vintage Strats. He and I searched separately the first day and both settled on the Willies guitar. Willie let me take it apart there. So, we both checked it over real good. I've never regretted it one bit.

I had saved for years, and sold 3 guitars and 4 amps to come up with the money.

Here's a photo of me taken with my new Strat at the show in March, 2000 (10 years younger and 30 lbs lighter, too).

[still_fiddlin]

Originally Posted by Strat-Talk

There is a basic problem with your question:

Vintage Strat =/= Good Deal

....

Excellent!

Buy a vintage anything because you want one, and pay what you and the seller agree on. If you are looking for a "deal," you better be a "dealer" who knows what they are doing.

If, what I think you are asking, is, where can I find distressed sellers who have vintage Strats, well, good luck. There's not many, but they're most likely going to be on eBay, or *maybe* have their gear on consignment at a shop. Call Elderly, Gruhn, and anyone else, and find out what they have, the [asking] prices, and where there may be some negotiating room (they'll probably say everything's negotiable), and, especially, any recent price drops on consignment items.

You have to understand if you get a vintage guitar for less this year than it might have sold for last year, that's because that's a market change, and it doesn't mean you're getting a deal. It may cost you less, but that's all.

Not saying there's no undiscovered gems under someone's bed out there, but that's a different dream.

[kimbo1957]

You'll be very lucky finding a good deal on any 'good' vintage guitar.

The three guitars I have left in my collection are all 100% perfectly original and hence they are all up for top money.

The rest have all sold for top money because they were all 100% original, and these will too.

No doubt about it, a 100% original guitar is a superb investment and will always continue to be, despite what the economy does.

You may find a deal on something that's had things changed on it, but never on the good stuff.

[T-Bodz Terry B.]

Originally Posted by Strat-Talk

There is a basic problem with your question:

Vintage Strat =/= Good Deal

Your Unkle can die and leave you one. But good deals are not had.

Your very best bet is going to one of the really large Guitar Shows. The Dallas Show or the Arlington Show. Sometimes there's a large Southern California show and sometimes there's not. Dallas is in March or April, but that's your best bet.

Even then it's going to be expensive. There's no two ways about it.

I bought mine in 2000 at the Dallas Guitar Show. I bought it from a booth there -- Willies American Guitars (they are a big Minnesota guitar store). I brought CASH. The '65 Strat I bought was listed at $5,400 but I negotiated it down some. Paid cash and walked out the door. It seemed crazy. But now it seems so cheap.

I had arranged to meet a friend from St. Louis at the show that was well versed in vintage Strats. He and I searched separately the first day and both settled on the Willies guitar. Willie let me take it apart there. So, we both checked it over real good. I've never regretted it one bit.

I had saved for years, and sold 3 guitars and 4 amps to come up with the money.

Here's a photo of me taken with my new Strat at the show in March, 2000 (10 years younger and 30 lbs lighter, too).

Wow! That does seem amazingly reasonable
at todays prices for a Strat of that age. Very nice!

[Dice]

There are some deals out there on vintage Fenders... but not Strats! I picked up a '65 Jaguar last year on eBay for $1500 - it was listed under acoustic guitars. I'm also wanting to pick up a 60-65 beater Strat, but I've accepted the fact that it isn't going to happen for less than $10k or so. My dilemma now is whether or not to sell a bunch of my old guitars while the market is soft and to buy a Strat while the market is soft... or to just wait it out and pay more later. I'm planning on the later, but that doesn't keep me from scouring the internet and local shops for a "good deal" on an old Strat.

[Scoey]

I dunno about 'deals' but there are still 'finds'. I found my '57 from a local newspaper ad. The guy wanted $1600.00 for a fair condition strat. His ex was getting whatever he collected on it.

I rocked around thinking it would be a MIM or a fake and was gobsmacked cause I knew I was looking at a well pre CBS ax.

I asked why so cheap and he said he bought it for $2000.00 (30 years ago) and his ex had damaged it in a fight and now the courts had awarded the money from it to her so the asking price was what it was.

So a mate bought it for me cause, I was broke, and I have had it restored.

[guitarman]

Most guitar shows are overpriced , as dealers go there to make money...your best bet, talk guitar to everyone you meet, I do and do a great business in the consignment area, you can score at a show if you talk to the people bring guitars for sale, but remember everyone wants the full boat and forgets that you have to leave room for the next guy if you really want to sell.If you are just looking for a great guitar . you really don't have to but vintage , I have a luthier that does custom builds for less than custom shop guitars sell for and he has been building and repairing for over 40 years, his wisdom to me" wood is for aesthetics and weight- the tone is in the electronics and your fingers"

[casualofender]

I was looking for a guitar to give to a niece who didn't even play...
I started asking at every yard sale I saw, one girl said she had an old guitar she didn't want any more, bought it for $40, great playing Harmony Strat style in desert sand.
Not a vintage Strat, but someone out there has a classic they'll sell cheap.

I've put new knobs on it and I'm keeping it till I find a worthy recipient.

[jimmiraz]

I'd think the best bet is yard / garage sales.
A lot of people out there just don't know what they got.
Any dealer like whats already been mentioned knows what they got and will be looking for top buck.
In their eyes if you wont pay the price someone else will.
And that's so true!

[zombiebear]

Originally Posted by casualofender

I was looking for a guitar to give to a niece who didn't even play...
I started asking at every yard sale I saw, one girl said she had an old guitar she didn't want any more, bought it for $40, great playing Harmony Strat style in desert sand.
Not a vintage Strat, but someone out there has a classic they'll sell cheap.

I've put new knobs on it and I'm keeping it till I find a worthy recipient.

They are amazing guitars, i got mine for free back in 01.
After a show, we had a party, well.
here is the outcome -.-

[Razorc195]

I Feel Your Pain. vintage anything is tough on a buddgy. One trick I learned early on is to read up on the little atributes of the vintage strats. Things like markings inside the cavities, nail holes, wire grooves in the pickup pockets, woods used, onepiece/twopiece bodys, most people dont know that the bodys are different shapes on the older strats, the body scoop on the back is deeper on older strats, neck markings and shapes, and body weights for older strats...thing like that. Where I'm going is that you can find parts to older guitars out there that you can use to build your self a vintage strat or at least one that has a little character. The Strat you see pictured in my icon is just such an amimal. Its a collection of parts from vintage castoffs....The body is a Fender US manufactured 62 RI that was made in 1982 I found on ebay from a guy who stood behind its authenticity(I had it checked out), it only weighs 3.1 lbs, ( it did cost but was not unreasonable) the neck is a 57 V-neck with larger fretts(.8 lbs), I had it refrettd and the bone nut redone, and the neck is real stright. The pickups are PreCBS Red Bobbins and the pots are modern(hard to find ones that are not corroded), The tremlo bridge and block is period metal, the saddles are from the 50's, the tuners are vintage Kluson, pick guard, pu covers and knobs are old and naturally aged mint/offwhite. the switch is the older ball type...., I splurged on a older worn tweed case just for kicks too.

So bassically its a older guitar that is real light(7.6 lbs), fits my hand and plays like butter... I'm not a collector, I get a bigger bang out of playing it than looking at it.... it has scratches and a chip or two, and makes me happy.... Oh yeah the neck plate is one I found that has a number around the time of the boddy age for a 62 USA RI. So given that its nearly impossible to tell it apart from a real USA 62RI except for the neck, ( Fender did offer special order 62RI's with the maple V neck), you really cant tell its a partscaster... Mater of fact a player/collector aquatinace of mine who you'd recoginze his name, but I'm not tacky enough to mention here, could not tell the difference and likes it so much he steals it from me when comes around to jam with us... which is a kinda neat compliment when you think about it really.

While vintage is cool, I just can't see turning loose of tens of thousands of dollars for one on the market, unless you want an investment. In that case, yes, by all means, spend the money, and enjoy. By the way, you have to be real careful. I've run into lots of forgers out there. And its real hard to tell the difference these days. Woods and weight are the really only way to be sure, when you don't know the people your buying from.....I personally would not buy a vintage pre CBS Fender, or other for that matter, from anyone I did not personally know, or that they got it from an estate sale, relative, who they know were the only owners or at least has it for 30 years, before this collectability thing got so out of hand.....

Basically start with the basics, body and neck. dont get in a hurry and accumulate what you want, and before you know it you'll have something that you'll want to keep for ever and locked up when your not playing it....

Hope that helps.

Respectfully

Razor.

[freeflymike]

Well I've bought a few vintage strats. Some recently some years ago.

If you want to put the money into a vintage instrument then I would go to a reputable dealer. Unless you can tell the difference yourself, which is pretty specialized knowledge.

The thing I never thought of before I bought my first vintage strat was that instead of and sitting a playing guitar, you end up sitting and strumming on a vintage rarity worth the price of a new car. That matters if, for instance, you have people over and someones kid thinks it would be fun to run around the house playing rock star. Just letting a friend play it who has a tendency to be clumsy can be stressful. ANd what do you actually do if he should ding it?

I think its worth noting that there are some really brilliant relic guitars out there. I've played a bunch and some of them play better than many vintage instruments in my opinion.

Then you can let your buddy hammer out sunshine of your love as hard as he wants.

The real issue regarding vintage, in my view, is what you can afford, and what the market will do.

If you figure that out let me know first! lol

[sthebluesman]

I too got the vintage bug about 2-1/2 years ago during the peak and just before the Great Recession (the story of my life; buy high, sell low). I met a dealer through eBay. I had purchased some vintage amps from him. He had a booth at the Dallas guitar show for years. We started talking guitars. He had just purchase a mint 1957 Strat for I think $15K+ range. This I assumed was a dealer price because they were going for $25K-45K on the internet.

He needed to sell a few guitars so I bought a 1964 Black Strat and a 1962 Candy Apple Red Strat from him for $9,500 & $10,000 respectively. At the time, I considered this a good deal. The reason these guitars were less is because they both had a few issues. Neither one had the original finish. The black one had been spray painted over the original Lake Placid Blue and the CAR was speculated as a factory re-fin somewhere in 1966. It is a very cool CAR finish (see pics).

My point is, if you want to get a vintage instrument to gig with for a decent price, go for a refin. It drops the price substantially and it really does not affect the tone if it is a good old nitro job.

If you a going to gig with it, don't buy it if you are going to worry about it. I did at first but now I am just playing. As far as tone goes, they are probably a little overrated. There are many newer guitars out there that sound just as good. The older instruments are a little mellower from aging. Most of the pros I have played with are using newer guitars. The tone really comes from their touch, attack and their amps/effects.

[Wideglide]

I'm going to do serious yardsale'ing this summer. You never know when some old widow will finally get rid of "that old guitar of Elmers", without a clue of its' worth.... Hey, a guy can dream, can't he???

[Shaggy]

If you have the money, fly over to london, there is a road full of guitar shops (unfortuently ruined by a drum shop, a amp shop and a jobcenter plus.) called denmark street. they have about three second hand shops, a vintage shop, with last tiem i saw a nice little antigua tele a sg bass and numerous fenders. there is also about 5 new guitar shops specialising each in something diffrent, its not a long street, but it defiantly is a good full day out :P. the second hand shops by the way have 80's pedals in so they have some good stock! just look it up on google and plan a trip guys!!!!!!

[bettsaj]

I'd like to chime in here for a bit, and say one thing. BE CAREFULL!!!

I'm no guitar expert, but I do have a hell of a lot of respect for my guitar tech, Dave Edwards.

Dave has a collection of some 80 guitars, 3/4 of them are pre-65 model Gibsons and Fenders. I won't bore you but he has at least by my last count 12 Pre 65 Les pauls, and at least 5 Pre CBS strats dating back to 1958. He knows what he's talking about and will NOT get ripped off. He buys guitars as an investment and to play. They are his pension for when he retires.

About 5 years ago he was advised that in the north of England there was a Guitar shop that was selling a 1965 Gibson 335 in Cherry Red. Apparently it was being advertised as TOTALLY ORIGINAL. He called the shop and sure enough they told him all about over the phone. It came with the original Gibson case, and was currently being kept in a locked glass cabinet on the wall in the shop, it was up for sale for £15,000. He then agreed that he would get the money out of the bank and travel the 4 hours or so upto the North (Can't remember where it was... May have been Newcastle).

When he got there he entered the shop and approached the assistant who immediatly asked if he needed any help. He said he was there to look at the 335. The assistant took him over to the cabinet and offered to remove it from the cabinet but Dave said "No..... leave it there for a bit... I'd just like to look at it for a while".

From looking at it Dave had concluded that it had had a refret at some time, the bridge wasn't original, the tuners weren't original. He told the assistant what he'd found and the assistant denied everything. He got the case and sure enough inside the case in the compartment was 3 or 4 original tuners. Also in the case was a repair bill from the previous owner for a repair that had been carried out on the back of the guitar. It would appear that someone had tried using it as a cricket bat and cracked the back of the body so a new piece of wood had been grafted in.

The moral of this story is do your home work, know what you're looking for and know what to look for when you find it. As it happens he turned that guitar down and only 3 weeks later parted with £12,000 for a PROPER ALL ORIGINAL 1965 335 in Tobacco Sunburst.

[boof]

"good deals" for strats to play would be refinished strats. the don't hold the same value as ones with the original finish.

if price isnt the issue and you are willing to buy overseas there are a decent number of pre 65s
here
50S-70S????????????VINTAGE GUITAR | H...itars-????????

and here
http://www.strato-crazy.com/StockListPreCBSNew.htm

Boof

[wht1]

As most have said, forget about a bargain if the guitar is all original. I've bought refin's and there is no doubt that the price is way less and they probably sound just as good, but there is something magical about those old original finishes. One other solution is to look for a pre-cbs strat that had a humbucker put in the bridge position (a common mod in the 70s and 80s). Hopefully the owner kept the original pickguard and bridge pup. If these are put back on, you end up with an original finish strat, but with a little bit of wood missing under the pickguard (that nobody can see). That small route doesn't effect the tone, but it drops the price for sure. That's one way to save about $5,000. Of course, that route will keep it from appreciating the way an all original strat would.

[Dice]

Originally Posted by wht1

As most have said, forget about a bargain if the guitar is all original. I've bought refin's and there is no doubt that the price is way less and they probably sound just as good, but there is something magical about those old original finishes. One other solution is to look for a pre-cbs strat that had a humbucker put in the bridge position (a common mod in the 70s and 80s). Hopefully the owner kept the original pickguard and bridge pup. If these are put back on, you end up with an original finish strat, but with a little bit of wood missing under the pickguard (that nobody can see). That small route doesn't effect the tone, but it drops the price for sure. That's one way to save about $5,000. Of course, that route will keep it from appreciating the way an all original strat would.

That is IMO the "best" devaluing modification to hunt down. My '65 Jag is the same way - original guard was removed, the body was poorly routed for humbuckers - the original guard was later put over the now "invisible" routes, and no one is the wiser. That original finish is half of the magic - I agree completely.