Vintage Guitar Magazine listed the ten most valuable guitars earlier in 2011. They included Electric and Acoustic models using data that was accumulated from their Vintage guitar price guide.
The list only included guitars that were originally offered in manufactures product lines. So no custom made guitars that were made for special musicians or one-of-a-kind vintage guitars from George Gruhn's collection upstairs at his Nashville shop were on this list.
The 10 Most Valuable Guitars
1. The 1936-39 Martin D-45 Vintage Martin Dreadnoughts are considered the pinnacle of steel string acoustic guitars and the D-45 are noted as the top of the line. These Pre-WWII era acoustic guitars are worth between 320,000 and 400,000 dollars.
2. The 1959-’60 Gibson Les Paul Standard (300,000 -375,000) was no surprise here. According to Vintage Guitar magazine the status of the Les Paul Standard changed dramatically with the release of John Mayall’s Blues Breakers that featured Eric Clapton. This album influenced other guitarist in the 60’s to play the now iconic electric guitar which has not changed in 50 years.
3. The 1958-59 Gibson Explorer electric guitar is worth 250,000 -310,000 dollars. Little attention was paid to this modernistic electric, so a small amount of production guitars were made. This made the price of this vintage guitar to increase over time.
Gibson's Vintage Flying V & Leo Fender's Strat
4. The 1958-59 Gibson Flying V ($200,000-250,000) with only two years in production was another attempt by Gibson to make a futuristic electric guitar.
5. The 1931-36 Martin D-28 acoustic guitar ($140,000-170,000) is less important than its younger cousin, the D-45. Still, It cost 100 dollars to own one of these antique guitars during the Great Depression.
6. The 1938-1942 Gibson made the legendary Super Jumbo/SJ -200 worth 90,000 to 120,000 dollars on today's vintage guitar market. It was Gibson’s answer to the Martin D style acoustic. The Gibson jumbo acoustic guitar's sound was big cutting through other instrument playing together.It wound up in the hands of the big screen’s singing cowboy.
7. The 1957 Gibson Les Paul Model has a price tag of $86,000 to 106,000 dollars. Gibson’s original Les Paul Goldtop was refined until peaking in 1957 when it was used to launch the company’s new “humbucking” pickups.
Jimmy D'Aquisto's Vintage Archtop Makes The List
8. D’Aquisto Archtops are valued at $75,000 -100,000 dollars. Luthier James D’Aquisto mostly made guitars to order but his vintage Archtop guitar is still considered a guitar manufactured for a product line His rarest models bring premium dollars. Jimmy D'Aquisto is considered by most as one of the best guitar luthiers ever born.
9. The 1950 Fender Broadcaster, worth ($68,000- 86,000) dollars, is Fender’s original single cutaway design. It’s known today as the Fender Telecaster. Also known as the workingman’s guitar. It is considered as among the “big three” in collector electric guitars. They are the Fender Stratocaster, Fender Telecaster and the Gibson Les Paul.
The Classic Vintage Gibson Les Paul Guitar
10. The 1957- 60 Gibson Les Paul electric guitar ($66,000-81,000) was built with the Black finish and gold colored hardware. It’s the fancier version of the original Les Paul electric guitar.
This list from the folks at Vintage Guitar Magazine is a good reliable source for information on vintage guitar collecting and as a vintage guitar pricing guide. There are few guitars that make any list every year, but guitars like the Gibson Les Paul, Fender Telecaster and the Martin D-45 acoustic guitar won't hear any argument from guitar aficionados when it comes to what are the most important vintage guitars ever produced.
The D-45 can be worth 20 times the D-45 built today. A 1966 Classic Fender Stratocaster is very similar to its 66 counterpart but Telecasters made after the Fender's sale to CBS in 1966 are worth significantly less. Most guitar collectors value guitars made between 1920-1970. In the Vintage Guitar World, these are known as the Golden Years. Technical Information like this can make a vintage guitar more valuable than the next.
Jim Galloway - Professional Musician/Published Songwriter for 30 yrs. With over 200 Articles in Recording/Music Buisness/ Resources/Vintage Instruments
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