gregs vintage guitars - Recently Updated Pages

Home

gregsvintageguitars — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:19:17 CDT

gregsguitars click here to be taken to real guitar webpage ,this is a free one..

many of my guitars for sale .vintage as well as players affordable grade guitars can be seen on www.gregsguitars.net vintage guitars

vintage bass guitars links at greg's guitars and www.gregsguitars.net

collectible guitar sales

gregsvintageguitars — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:23:10 CDT

http://www.gregsguitars.net

many of my guitars for sale .vintage as well as players affordable grade guitars can be seen on www.gregsguitars.net

vintage guitars

gregsvintageguitars — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:07:25 CST

links here

Feruary Edition of the Vintage Guitar News and Views

gregsvintageguitars — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:05:17 CST

guitar links

How much is my guitar worth? Seems like a pretty cut and dry question doesn't it ? Well a lot of factors can contribute to the final answer. How much is it in relationship to the present market is one answer. How much do you expect to get for her is another. How much will a buyer ( dealer) pay is quite another answer. Is she straight and clean? Have any parts ever been changed? Is it refinished? If parts were changed do you still have the original parts? Were the changes done professionally? Hang tags? receipts? case candy? All these items come into play with that one simple question.
Can you and will you send pictures of all the appropriate parts and different views if needed? This may require you to take apart to some extent your guitar , are you comfortable doing this? Sure you can look at one of the auction sites to get a general feel for prices ,and if that is all you want then that would be my suggestion. If you do rely on one of these( shudder ) sites for this information then why even bother calling for quotes? Are you selling your guitar or amp or do you want to know if you paid a fair price for it when you made the purchase?
If you are selling the item then know that most purveyors of fine fretted instruments will not nor can not pay top dollar for your item. Certain overhead has to be met to remain in the arena here ,so please do not take offense if you are offered less than you saw on that auction site( which we tend to completely ignore).Now as far as the condition is concerned,pictured are nice but never tell the whole story, any changes,let me repeat myself, any changes whatsoever will impact the price of an instrument even if these changes made the guitar or bass or amp a better piece of equipment,especially in the collectors circles.
Speaking of circles, there are some basic price structure circles to know about.#1- collectors quality,only the best examples of the most desirable pieces fit into this category and prices are on the steeper side. #2- collector / players grade, The item still retains most of the original parts.#3- players grade ,most parts still there but may have wear or finish issues.#4-players,Some parts changed ,and finish redone or lots of wear.#5- beaters , almost none of the guitar or amp is as it left the factory when new .and within these groups are even further sub groups all with pricing criteria and fluctuations.
So if you call someone for that elusive but attainable answer to you question, know that you should know most of the answers to the questions that you will be asked also. Have detailed pictures ready to send via email and be honest, Let the guy on the other end of the phone know why you are interested in knowing the price, let us know if your selling,shopping, or need an evaluation rather than a quick answer. If you do want an in depth evaluation you may be asked to pay for one, Yes time is money and nothing worthwhile is ever free, so be prepared to pony up, so to speak.I Recommend that you purchase a price guide on line or at a book store , these are helpful but not the rule in establishing a fundamental price , but again if your guitar is worth 1000.00 dollars , no one will pay that ,because they in turn have to sell it to make a profit ,so they can not pay what they have to sell for.Like everything , their are fluctuations,standards and exceptions to every rule. Like always this is just my news and view. I hope it has been somewhat helpful.So until next month, may all your days be memorable, all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer, Greg at Greg's guitar.

January Edition of Vintage Guitar News and Views

gregsvintageguitars — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:06:51 CST

The January Edition of Vintage Guitar News and Views

" Terms of Endearment"

From time to time in explaining the condition ,shape or originality of a vintage guitar

or piece of vintage gear,I get the response " what does that mean?" Nothing wrong with that question , not everyone is savvy to all the terms used in the vintage guitar arena,so here are a few terms of endearment that you should get to know.
-Clean:Where as the finish is in great shape from any major nicks or mars ,rips or tears.
-Straight:All the solder joints,tuners,keys,knobs,switches,frets,finish,color,and pickups as well as the pick guard are all original and intact,usually with the original case or cover if it is an amp.
-O.H.S.C.: Original Hard Shell Case as came from the factory.
-Period correct: The guitar or amp is original to a certain year or model and some parts may have been replaced with correct parts from another guitar or amp.
-Period correct case:May not be the original case as from the factory but is a correct case for the vintage piece.
-Refret or refretted: the original frets have been replaced with either period correct frets or frets that the previous owner may have wanted as far as size is concerned,if they were same sized frets as the original they would be ? period correct, see how it all comes full circle?
-Refin or refinished:This refers to the original finish having been at some point either repainted or recovered due to fade or a particular owners preference,i.e. a sunburst stripped off a guitar and a Fiesta red finish reapplied .
-Players grade or players guitar: Usually a vintage guitar ,but not necessarily, that has had some changes that may or may not be period correct it still retains some respectability of originality to it but not everything is original.The body and neck may be all that's left of the original guitar or bass and everything else has through the years been replaced for one reason or another, not a bad thing ,old wood is where the tone is, but not as desirable as an all original straight piece of vintage gear.
-Route or routes: not something everyone wants to hear, but during the life of a vintage guitar somewhere someone has replaced a single coil pickup with a humbucker and had to enlarge the cavity that is in the body to accommodate the larger pickup(s),This does effect the price of a vintage guitar ,but you have to be the judge on how bad you want it, and if the route is a professional or hack job and if the route has or has not been professionally refilled and rerouted back to original specs.
-Second or Factory second:For a while some guitar manufactures let people buy guitars that were deemed as inferior at some phase of the construction process, most blemishes or rejections are impossible to find some are obvious, the Factory would stamp a 2 somewhere ,usually under the serial number or on the back of the headstock to indicate this, according to some experts this does not really effect the price when dealing with highly desirable vintage gear as long as it is straight ,clean and original.
Tweed: The name given by collectors to the striped yellow and brown covering on amps and cases usually from the 40's and 50's.
-Tolex The rouged brown,white,black covering on most amps and cases since the early 60's ,other colors do exist.
-Pups: The pickups in a guitar or bass guitar.
-Pots: The word usually said in place of the potometers, the controls for volume,tone,gain,bass,treble,etc.etc.
-Caps: Again a word used in place of capacitor ,these are the small electronic devices usually wired into a circuit to either combine some aspects of the build ,since you can not really wire each and every piece internally together ,some caps also bleed of unwanted noises, or treble or bass frequency's as determined by the builder, it is not uncommon to see the caps replaced in a amp.as these do deteriorate over time.
-Buckle rash: Usually the backside of the guitars body is covered in small or large areas of finish deterioration ,mars,scratches and finish removal due to usage.
-Ding: a small impression (sometimes not so small) that is pressed into the wood and finish but that does not go through to or expose any of the body wood or break the finish.
-Dink: An impression or mar that shows wood through the finish.
-Swirls: Usually light circular scratches that occur on the finish due to polishing the guitar over the period of it's life.
-Checking:Where the clear coat finish has actual lines throughout the surface of the guitar or bass,not a bad thing, not something that goes into the wood itself ,it is an aging and temperature change condition that almost all guitars will have on them at some point in their life.
-Neckset: Almost all acoustic guitars will at some point in their lifespan need to have the neck removed and a portion of wood shaved off to correct for time and pressure taking its toll on the wood itself and properly realign the neck angle with the body for continued playability.If done properly it is usually of no concern if not,it is usually a noticeable ugly mess and may not be able to be corrected.
-Recone: When an original speaker coil drops or wears out the speaker is usually reconed, this does hamper the original tone as to how the amp will sound , usually they never sound as good as the original, but things happen and with amps it really is no big deal,it just depends on how original an amp you desire.
Now these are just a few of the terms most widely used or that you may hear when a item is being described to you or on a website,So now that you understand some of them you will be better able to make a determination of the price that is being asked,always ask for clear precise pictures or clarification of anything that may cause concern and remember that some changes orreplacement parts are not a bad thing , some things just wear out. As always this is just my news and views, So until next month ,may all your days be memorable,all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer,Greg at Greg's guitars. days be memorable,all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer,Greg at Greg's guitars.

December edition of Vintage Guitar News and Views.

gregsvintageguitars — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:05:06 CST

Keeping your guitars clean,yule be glad you did.

vintage guitars
bass guitars
guitar links

For this months edition of Vintage guitar news and views we turn our attention to the maintenance and upkeep of our guitars ,both our playing guitars and our investments , which in my opinion they all are . Winter time is upon us ,dreary days and cloudy skies ,all but most of our outdoor jam sessions have ceased to exist, the perfect time for tuning up our guitars as well as general upkeep and cleaning, the following is standard but sometime items we either forget or put off to do, so get a space cleared out and enjoy a day with all your guitars, yule be glad ya did.The first thing I do is oil all my latches on my guitar cases and inspect the handles for signs of weakness or need of repair, I take my guitar out and place her on a nice padded work station while I clean the outside of each case with a 20 per cent mix of warm water and mean green cleaner , I use a stiff brush and dip it into my cleaner and give the outside of my cases a good cleaning , followed by a good wipe dry with a clean towel. Now while I sit my case open to dry either in my heated guitar room or place them in the sun if it shining to air dry while I move on to my guitars.
I loosen and remove the strings from my personnel players guitars and usually have no string on my guitars I offer to clients until I ship them. I inspect the frets and dress them as needed, as well as polish my frets. I clean and lubricate the Brazilian rosewood as well as other rosewood fretboards using a damp lint free cloth and buff the dry with another lntfree cloth.I will then follow with a small amount of unboiled linseed oil to lubricate my fretboard or if you prefer some other oil , then feel free to use that, I just like the linseed oil myself. I allow a little time for this to dry before I buff the fretboard dry being sure not to leave any oil or residue on my fret boards. This step does not need to be taken with maple fret boards as that are usually sealed .
Next I remove the truss rod cover if applicable and drop a little 3 in 1 oil on the threads of the rod and wipe up any excess, I then check the neck for any adjustments I may want to make and restring my guitars to tune.
As for the electronics I will add a lubricant pot cleaner to the inside of each pot very sparingly as well as the selector switch insuring to turn them back and forth to spread the cleaner around and again wipe up any excess that may be there. I then button them back up and go onto general body cleaning and polishing.
For this step I use a silicon free cleaner formulated for guitars ,available at places like Stew-mac and other websites that specialize in guitar parts and luther supplies. gently wiping the cleaners off I then follow up with swirl and scratch remover , followed by a good silicon free guitar wax , I buff to a good gloss the entire guitar as well as the back of the necks , followed by a product such as fast fret on the strings .
I then go back to the case and either use a shop vac or a carpet cleaner and follow with a shop vac to clean the interiors of my cases. Insuring that the case interior is completely dry I detune and place my electric guitar back inside, I should note that I do each step on each electric guitar or bass guitar before moving to the next step ,that way I do not have to be going back and forth through each step ,but rather have a assembly line system in which each guitar or bass gets the same treatment before moving on.
This is pretty much the same steps I do for my acoustic guitars as well, with the addition to checking the tops ,bottoms and sides for any evidence of lack of humidity , I will place a homemade humidity device in each acoustic at the beginning of the heating season and recheck every 2 or so months until the weather permits I no longer have to use the heater ,Heaters rob moisture out of our acoustic guitars and can cause significant damage if left unchecked for to long a period. My humidifier is basically a household sponge that I have soaked and wrung out all the excess water that it absorbed, place it in a small biggie that I have perforated and place that inside a larger biggie that is perforated also, drape it between the strings and let it suspend inside the sound hole of my acoustic guitar. It works great and costs a lot less than store bought humidifiers.
Now as for amps, I variac them up every now and then to keep them loose and in working order, I keep them covered and condition the outside tolex with your basic armor all, I might add that I do not hurry in any of these steps, I look forward to spending the quality time with my girls and they to benefit from the time well spent. I hope the holidays are enjoyed by all and as us all this is just my news and views ,so until next month may all your days be memorable, may all your friends stay true and may all your riffs be killer , Greg.

November Edition of Vintage Guitar News and Views

gregsvintageguitars — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:11:46 CDT

November edition of Vintage Guitar News and Views .
"Giving thanks for groovy guitars"
This article explores Vintage Ibanez guitars,Well one in particular anyway and what she boasts as far as appointments and playability ,plus a little interesting vintage guitar history. Ibanez got her humble starts by a company going by the name of " Hoshino" ,in the early 40's producing a spanish styled acoustic guitar that was named Ibanez. By the 1970's Ibanez ( which Hoshino had purchased the rights to)was known (good or bad) as the lawsuit guitars, for their blatant copies of more renowned guitars being produced ,Although most were cheaper imitations and copies ,the fact does remain that many Ibanez "lawsuit" era guitars were of comparable if not superior quality to the guitars the were produced to mimic. I will let you be the judge of that point. Now what we have here is a wonderful example of what Ibanez was creating in the early to mid 1960's. I have found an older picture of this very guitar on a German Ibanez website , and also a picture of the one and only Jimi Hendrix playing a very similar model ( upside down of course) in a sunburst color scheme as opposed to the white beauty we see pictured here.Knowing that every guitarist must start somewhere on the guitar food chain , and by no way implying that this guitar was ever owned or played by Jimi, the body shape and era that it was built is reasonable enough to inject that this was the type or at least close enough to the type that Sir Jimi cranked many a tune to the amazement of both audience and fellow band members alike. After playing her for quite a while now and coming to the conclusion that even though she is never going to be worth what the same era ,Fender or Martin, or Gibson guitar is worth ,I have decided that she is unique enough,plays good enough and has many nicely though out features that she is a keeper, and I can fully understand why Jimi played one similar to this mode. She just has such wonderful dynamic harmonic explosions tucked away in her, the neck is to die for and well since she is a little on the small body size , she is light enough to play for days. Her is the run down on some of her features..1 piece ash body with the pickups mounted directly on top of the body ( directly coupling for superior resonance) , the pickups themselves are unique in the fact that under the metal covers are 5,yes 5 huge round alnico I magnets that are so large as to only 1/3 of each magnet couples between each individual adjustable pole screw,that alone accounts for ( in my book anyway) for her tremendous tonal qualities. She is routed for the pots and wiring only beneath her 1 piece plastic pick guard located below the pickups. Another interesting and in my opinion superior design is the way her controls are laid out, no 3 or 5 way selector switch to bump and fiddle with while playing ,no sir ,this girl boasts one master volume control for both the front (neck) and rear (bridge ) pickup, this enables the player to dial in an indefinite array of tonal possibilities. As for a tone /treble control she has just the one master control for this ,which I like as it certainly adds to ease in playability and control of my sound.I do not see as to why the electric guitar manufacturers today don't do this as a standard feature.,The neck as I have stated is to die for, 1 solid piece of Mahogany ,perfectly sculpted for a fir like a glove to your fretting hand, and smooth as oriental silk, non bound (thank goodness) with a zero fret ( lord does she stay in tune) and a beautiful 3/8 of an inch thick slab of Brazilian Rosewood for a fretboard with a 10 radius, I love it and am seriously considering making an exact copy to place on a Tele.The only weakness and the only thing I have ever considered changing ( i wrestle with ) is the bridge setup. Now I am no fan of the cheap thumbscrew rosewood adjustable bridge on ANY guitar . let alone an electric, but, this one does stay where it is supposed to and does have compensation for proper intonation, but I would like to try a bigsy or Gibson style bridge and tailpiece but shudder at changing her from her original state, ah decisions decisions...She is one of the most in tune guitars I have and many friends alike agree all the way up and down the fretboard ,which makes my even happier that I acquired her.The headstock has an arrowhead shape with a single all encompassing string tree bar, metal Ibanez logo and ,(ugh) open back tuners, another point I have considered replacing, but hey like they say,"if it ain't broke ,don't fix it" Dynamically harmonic,sweetly sustaining,and extremely light in weight,yes this old girl ia as unique as it gets in the world of guitars. Who knows ,maybe the exact features that Jimi liked about his own 60 era Ibanez, before his change to an easier accessible American guitar? I hope you enjoy looking and remember to take the time to enjoy the obscure guitar for what they are and you as I may be delightfully surprised in what we find. As always this is just my News and Views. So may all your days be memorable, all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer.Greg's Guitars

gregsvintageguitars link pages

gregsvintageguitars — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:12:41 CDT

Many of my guitars are found on www.gregsguitars.net and also on www.gbase.com under a dealer search of gregs's guitars in atlanta zip code 30134 ,please check out my fine vintage ,investment grade,quality collectible and players guitars here and my other sites. More information on these and other vintage guitars for sale is located at www.gregsguitars.net. or you may contact me at # 770-337-9679 ,Thank you from Greg at Greg's guitars.see more of gregs fine guitars here

http://www.gregsguitars.net links

May edition of Vintage guitars News and Views by Gregsguitars.net

gregsvintageguitars — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:09:40 CDT

Vintage guitars

vintage guitar news and views

gregsvintageguitars — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:08:50 CDT

May edition of Vintage guitar featured gear page by Greg's guitars.net

Written by greg1 on document.write(localTime('May 3, 2008 20:02 GMT'))May-3-08 4:02pm/3/2008 20:02 GMT

Featured Vintage Guitar, May ,2008 Edition by Greg's guitars.
This first article on featured vintage guitars is on the 1983 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul recently acquired by Chris up in Michigan. Enjoy this wonderful 1983 Custom shop Les Paul. Article contains excerpts from Mr.Mike Slubowski from one of his Les Paul articles. Mr.Slubowski states " The years 1982 and 1983 were tremendous experimental years for Gibson, with many Pre-reissue and custom shop as well as one off guitars coming out of the Gibson plants in Kalamazoo as well as Nashville." This 1983 custom shop Les Paul plays like a Les Paul Custom,looks like a '59 Standard and has dot inlays on the fretboard like the soon to be released (1984 ) Studio versions. Experimentation at its finest wouldn't you say ? In 1983 a limited run of Bright Cherry 'bursts were made mainly for the Japanese market,this guitar is designated by the paint code as a "Vintage Cherry Sunburst" and coded in the pickup cavities appropriately. She also sports a wide binding in the lower bout cut away and has small black dot markers along her neck. Along with the paint code she also has in her pup cavities the signature of the Gibson builder and guitar tech that worked on her as well as a order # or 2nd serial # designation as well as the initials R.G.R. She also sports the vintage Gibson deluxe tuners, vintage styled control knobs nickel hardware and a " Nashville " bridge all from the Custom shop at Gibson. Her logo has the open"b" and the open "o" as well as the dot above the "i" that touches the capital G in Gibson. The top is not a flamed top or a highly figured one but rather a perfectly book matched slightly figured and grained carved maple top. Her back and sides are mahogany as well as her neck. What ever the designation for her is ,she is a wonderfull looking and great playing and sounding Les Paul and I am sure the new owner is not only pleased , but beside himself with his recent acquisition .Thanks from Greg @ Greg's guitars.http://gregsvintageguitars.wetpaint.com/page/vintage+guitar+news+and+views

October edition of Vintage GuitarNews and Views.

gregsvintageguitars — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:05:58 CDT

The October edition of Vintage Guitar News and Views. Vintage guitars

After settling on a budget, here are a few Tricks to help you when Treating yourself to that new guitar purchase. guitar. I really can not stress enough the importance of this first tip, play with your hands and ears, not your eyes. A pretty guitar that does not sound good or does not feel comfortable will not be played as much as a guitar that say may not look as great but has the tonal qualities and feel you really desire, so take the time necessary to choose your guitar,you will be glad you did . In purchasing a guitar there are specific questions one should ask the seller to insure that the guitar you are hoping to purchase is free from any defects and is in proper working condition if it is an electric guitar. Also you should be asking questions as an inspection process for the seller, who may not have working knowledge of guitars. This is both helpful to the seller of an item and to you as a purchaser. The first question as a buyer that you should ask in purchasing an acoustic guitar is the neck straight; this can be determined by the seller by placing the body of the guitar on the floor and holding the headstock and sighting down the neck. This will show any bows or twists in the neck. A bow if not to pronounced is acceptable as to you or a luither adjusting the truss rod to compensate for either a back bow or a front bow. An additional picture could be requested to determine how severe the bow is. The second question should be ,is there any damage to the guitar. Then if no damage is inspected ask if ANY repairs have ever been made to the guitar, repairs can bea neck set, a refret,a new bridge, new nut or a new saddle, some of these repairs are not harmful to the guitar, but some can detract from the value especially if it is a vintage guitar, In which you want almost no work at all in the way of either repairs or work done to the instrument. A visual inspection for repairs can be accomplished on an acoustic guitar by the seller by loosening the strings and taking a small extendable mirror and a small flashlight and looking inside the cavity of the guitar for ANY extra bracing, any extra small cleats of wood along seams, broken braces, extra wood around the underside of the sound hole,and any cracks that may not show through the top of the finish on the outer side of the guitar. Always ask for extra pictures on any thing you want to see or on any questionable repair work. A goodseller will; be happy to do this , if your questions are not answered or if you cant get the answers you want then the guitar in question might not be the one you want. I hope you find these guitar buying tips helpful while on your quest for tone. See all my articles at www.gregsguitars.netMay all your days be memorable, all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer, Greg.

september edition of vintage guitar news and views

gregsvintageguitars — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:09:18 CDT

The September issue of “Vintage Guitar News and Views” Gregsguitars.net

Going back forwards

Well, with the cost of everything going up, just how far up is the high going to be ? No one knows this answer, but I feel that everything is just hideously expensive. I mean 18 K for a car? 250 K for a home? Shoes, shirts, 30 to 50 bucks a pop, This is ludicrous, and vintage guitars ?sheeze, gimme a break, I mean the average you and I can’t afford sweet old vintage gear ,that’s just a fact, So ,is all this out of kilter ? All askew? There will always be people willing to pay more and more for collectibles and that forces the average guy or girl out of the price game, other than a lucky break here and there stumbling on a sweet guitar at a reasonable price. I mean I do understand that 1962 (picked at random) is gone and will never come again and even though a guitar can be made today exactly like that sweet old girl, the same weight, color, feel, tone, It could be vastly inferior or vastly superior to the original or the original itself could be crap, but, there lies the crux. “The original 1962.” Original 1962 guitars are only made in 1962, never before, never again!

So if everyone wants a 1962 era guitar and only so many were originally made, we then enter the world of supply and demand, which in turn factors the pricing index’s, which fuels the ever increasing in prices for a limited supply of goods with over market saturation of demand regardless of whether ¾ of the consumers wanting the item can even afford it. The desire is there and that in turn adds more fuel to the fire. So Greg, what’s you’re point? I don’t really know, except that price fluctuations will always occur within a market and that prices will always rise on the long run as long as there is a limited supply of goods , especially one that is sought after , often duplicated, can even be replicated , but never fully actually authenticated as a time period correct piece. Even if every detail is correct, but the actual manufacturing date is in the past, never to be revisited again, and I guess that is where the mystique of it all lies, today is gone, never to return and somehow tomorrow just isn’t the same. Well that is until the day after tomorrow. So today’s bargains may just very well be tomorrows collectibles that we can afford to buy. Just some food for thought and something for you to digest. As always this is just my news and views, so may all your days be memorable, all your friends be true and all your riffs be killer, Till next month, see more guitars

August edition if gregs guitars vintage guitar news and views

gregsvintageguitars — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:18:25 CDT

The August edition of Greg’s guitars “Vintage guitar news and views”

Thinking Out of the box

With the fall of yet another American iconic company being bought up by a worldwide multinational giant, is anything ever going to be the same? How can I relate this to the past, present and future of the guitar industry? Well let me see. Company “A” starts production, builds some great guitars, innovates the industry and sells out 7 or 8 years down the road to a larger corporation “company B”. Company B makes some changes to the product, most which are almost irreverserable , then bleeds the original company for all they are worth until they too finally succumb and are forced to sell . For all realistic purposes company “A” is gone and so is the original product, never to be again except in a nostalgic nod and wink to the past in a somewhat pale attempt to recapture the glory of days long gone by. This scenario is for the most part repeated over and over through the years until only 2 to 3 large corporations now control the manufacture, marketing, sales and distribution ,as well as hype of almost all the guitars sold today. Sound far fetched? Look again. With this scenario in place , the bottom line becomes …. Well, the bottom line. Their will be a few aha moments and a select few great products come back out to market, and even some “niche” builders will fill the void where once a great product once stood.

As the large conglomerates prey upon our nostalgia and production overrides innovations everyone and everything slows to a simmering suffrage. So where does it all lead and Greg what is your point? Certainly the big boys will continue to crank out and reap the lions share of rewards due mainly to the brainwashing of us as consumers, think about it, we play certain styled guitars because that is our perceived “norm”, you could build the most fantastic guitar ever and if it doesn’t “fit” well, it will not sell. Period. Which is where I now lead us, I have been lucky enough to play and get turned onto some really cool guitars. These are not made by any of the big boys, not expensive, but rather inexpensive (cost only) Very well built attention to every detail and yes they all share the same mold that we have been taught are the right shape. Yet they feel different, they feel…. Better, they seem to be even made better with better attention to detail and finished product that once graced the land in the beginning, yet they cost a fraction of the comparable models that should be the best.

I believe in change, change they say is good, certainly manufacturing has changed ,yet the big boys, the heavy hitters rely on making us think inside the box of constraint, where the unattainable past is the present and the present isn’t anywhere near as good as the past that they want us to buy into……. The bottom line is still the bottom line. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some and will continue to be great products being pumped out for all to be had of that I am sure. But, well, I just wish we as a group would look outside the box, the small builders the lesser known guys and maybe just maybe some change could do us good, maybe ,like our micro brewery buddies they to have learned something from the past and are just waiting for the rest of us to catch on….. But hey tha like always is just my news and views. May all your days be memorable, all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer, till next month Thanks for reading Greg’s guitars “Vintage guitar news and views.”

May edition of Vintage Guitar"news and Views' By Gregs guitars.

gregsvintageguitars — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:49:16 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

vintage guitar news and views by gregs guitars

gregsvintageguitars — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:57:18 CDT

Well the old adage that "everything old is new again "can certainly be said regarding the guitar market. How this relates to popular trends is evident in the resurrection of N.O.S and reissue guitars that have flooded the market. Not that reissue guitars are anything new mind you,Fender reissued 60's styled guitars as early as the mid 80's with reasonable success. But the surge has hit an all time high mainly due (I believe anyway) to the fact that a lot of working,gigging and weekend warriors are afraid to take their prized vintage gear out on the road. Even though the guitarist arsenal hasn't changed ,the way one perceives his or her equipment certainly has. So,many musicians (working ones anyways)are turning to "reissues" or "relic" guitars as a viable alternative to risking damage or loss to their vintage gear while on the road or performing. So what constitutes a good deal on one of these types of guitars ? Well like everything ,you have to shop around and be willing to invest some time visiting dealer web sites such as www.gregsguitars.net or others and looking over the attributes of certain models within your defined budget. Forum rooms are another good source to gather insight to other players' ratings, likes and dislikes on certain models. Then you have to decide, "How much do I want to pay?" Is the certificate ,case candy and other non players attributes worth the extra cash that some dealers charge for such items? Is it something you want to increase the guitars resale value? Well... The certificate and case candy do add some value for you at resale some point down the line,but as a player first ,they really do not make the guitar sound better or play better now do they? But they should be considered if your sole purpose is to collect guitars and not play them.The extra cost(s) should be factored into your final evaluation of any deal regardless ,but as a player whether they (the certificates)are there or not should not be a deal breaker by any means. So my best advice that I can give you? Look for guitars that are early custom shop,or custom shop built before the paper rage took hold and the cookie cutters came out. A custom run of a particular guitar ,custom colors,or a reissue that had only a certain number of guitars built and are numbered to reflect that (like a Cunetto diamond dealer relic Stratocaster that was limited in it's run)or even better ,if your lucky enough to run down that old guitar that still retains all the original parts but has at some point been "refinned" (shudder, shudder) these guitars are still somewhat affordable and have that "old tone wood" that we all desire.But hey, like always this is just my opinion. Greg at Greg's guitars.