Is it worth it? Sell everything for 1 Vintage Guitar

[GuitarMan686]

Hello all. It’s been many years since I have been able to really play guitar but recently getting back in the hobby. I own about 10-12 guitars including early 2000s Les Paul, 1985 Charvel, 1987 Jackson, 1991 Ibanez Frank Gambale. Early 70’s Sg III. I have some other mid level and basic guitars as well and some bass projects (BC rich innovator and Gene Simmons punisher). I have always had the idea of owning a golden era vintage guitar. I’m thinking 50’s gold top or Les Paul custom, Pre CBS strat or tele. If I sell everything I have I might have enough to get something in that vicinity. Do you think it would really be worth it? I have never really played any vintage instruments from that era and don’t really have much knowledge about their values. Just an idea I have always thought of. 

[henrim]

I don’t think there’s anyone but you who can tell whether it makes sense or not. If it’s your dream and that’s what you want then go for it. Does a vintage guitar make you a better player? No. Is it so much better instrument than what you already have? Highly unlikely.

On the contrary. With a high value vintage instrument you need pay more attention to how you keep it in good shape. It may not be the first choice for daily playing.

Just my two cents, if even that valuable.
 

[Professor Woozle]

These days, the classics are bloody expensive - I saw an advert for a music instrument auction in the paper recently where the star lot was a pre-CBS strat, estimate of £10-15, 000 GBP. When a 58-60 Les Paul comes up for sale, I've seen estimates of five times that and given that Gibson lost their ledgers during the move from Kalamazoo, it's hard to guarantee you're getting a genuine one unless it's got good provenancing evidence. Personally, I'd want to play a vintage classic before buying it to see whether the reality is as good as the dream.

As Henrim says, follow your dream if that's really what you want but given this site is dedicated to building instruments, there's always the option of building yourself an exact replica - a friend of mine has designs on building himself an exact copy of a '58 LP, or getting someone to do it for him, with handmade pickups to match original PAFs as closely as possible. I've long wanted an 8-string Rick which are pretty much unobtainable in the UK, so I've been gathering together timber and hardware to make my own and if I don't muck it up, it'll be to a higher spec than a factory Rick!
 

[Professor Woozle]

Just gone looking and the Strat I mentioned above didn't sell, guess it didn't make the reserve - https://auctions.tennants.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-73---fender-stratocaster-guitar-serial-no-l11885-1963/?lot=2455556&so=0&st=&sto=0&au=14118&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=1&pp=96&pn=1&g=1

[LostTheTone]

I think this really breaks down into two distinct questions - 1) Would a single vintage guitar be a better financial investment than a wall of regular guitars? and 2) Would a single vintage guitar be better for someone who plays a lot of guitar?. 

On the first one, it is certainly possible that a single vintage guitar could end up making better financial sense. There are plenty of high end collectables which do retain their value over time, or even accumulate value, depending on how collectable they are. Stradivarius violins are an obvious parallel, but also classic cars and rare firearms and so on all have similar profiles. If something is "a classic" when you buy it, it will probably still be if/when you sell it. 

On the second one though, absolutely not. The only way that a vintage guitar retains its value is, basically, by never leaving its case. It may have perfect tone, it may have the most beautiful finish, it may have been personally licked by Jimmy Page, but if you bonk the headstock against a wall you can almost hear your wallet screaming in pain. No matter how careful you are, you are still putting more mileage on the clock. 

And that's the real problem - These things cost so much that you (or me anyway) can't justify spending that kind of money unless you know you will get it back later. But the only way to make sure you keep the value is to not play it.

If you are thinking to sell a bunch of collectable guitars and get one uber-collectable guitar, while also having your daily beater guitars to actually play - Yeah, that could make sense. But liquidating everything just to have one uber-collectable guitar? Nah, you'll end up buying more guitars because you don't want to play the one really expensive one.