Friday, January 30, 2009
Its time to start recycling....great guitars!
You may think dear readers that a huge 9.6% slump in Japanese factory output announced today would have little or no effect on the world of guitar. But think again that factory output includes the factories that make many of the guitars imported from the Far East, South Korea and China are showing similar if not quite so bad figures. This means only one thing, global trade is starting to dry up as the recession/depression bites. I am not saying it will be as bad as the 1950's with trade barriers and high import duties, but neither will there be a free flow of goods between nations. At the moment this is due to supply chain corrections where dealers don't order from distributors and so on back to the factory gate. So get used to looking at pretty much the same stock on dealers walls until this recession sorts itself. Until then I foresee much of the trade as being in second hand guitars, swaps and trade ins....second hand goods always sell well in times of recession as people "cut their cloth". I foresee guitars coming out of private collections and from under people's beds. What will be interesting is what prices they realise when they do actually appear.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Top Five Guitars We Like This Week
1. PRS Prism Al Di Meola
2. Hutchins Brian Jones "Vox" Teardrop
3. Gibson Les Paul 295 Goldtop 'Its a Gibson, its like an ES 295, its a Les Paul, what's not to like?'
4. Fender Road Worn Mexican Relics "How Cool....?"
5. Michael Messer Blues Resonator "How Cheap....?"
Until next time fret heads!
2. Hutchins Brian Jones "Vox" Teardrop
3. Gibson Les Paul 295 Goldtop 'Its a Gibson, its like an ES 295, its a Les Paul, what's not to like?'
4. Fender Road Worn Mexican Relics "How Cool....?"
5. Michael Messer Blues Resonator "How Cheap....?"
Until next time fret heads!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Credit "Crunch" or Just "Distortion"
Well its hard to turn on the T.V. or Radio without some "expert" or "politician" banging on about the "credit crunch" and ensuing recession. Its worth having a look at what's happening in the guitar market. At the vintage and top end stuff still seems to be moving around between dealers but the retail sector has gone flat...it's that old consumer confidence thing again.
On the whole things look upbeat as long you aren't carrying lots of stock, stuck with lots of middle market Japanese and Korean stuff or have a huge overdraft with Mr. "Banker".
The top end of the market seems to be remaining buoyant but is definitely changing. I had a customer last month reject a guitar because it wasn't in good enough condition. This has important implications for both vintage and "relic" reissue guitars. The guitars that seem to be moving now have to be very high quality and near mint condition. This may be a consequence of the recession when things "smarten" up a bit anyway. There is also a "flight to quality": effect in uncertain times.
Those who have money will always have money and there is also the "Banking Disaster Buy a Stratocaster" effect. I know myself that I should have sold more shares and bought guitars I liked for me instead of playing safe. The ones I did sell shares to buy have gone up in value; the shares I kept back for a "Rainy Day" sadly are trading at around 20% of their boomtime value...go figure sports fans!
The tightening of consumer purse strings in the middle market is having an effect and the Sound Control meltdown is I fear the first of many middle market players who will get badly burnt over the next three years. I had expected the cull at EMI now that they have gone private equity to have an effect on high end and vintage sales. This does not seem to be the case as with bands making less on recorded music the live circuit suddenly looks more attractive and bands need gear to tour!
The key to survival for guitar dealers will be specialism rather than trying to be "generalists". Either stock the very best or stock interesting specialist guitars... avoid anything that requires finance and if you have cash in pocket spend it well and spend it wisely... go for the one off piece rather than the mass produced middle market guitar.
I recently advised a friends son to buy a late 1980's Les Paul Standard with an uncertain "mongrel" pedigree. £50 of bits off Ebay and he has a guitar that is unlike anything else anyone plays at college and it looks awesome if well gigged. It cost £700 out of the local paper and leaves anything new at that price point to shame.
The gap between near mint and secondary level guitars is widening, and there are some bargains to be had in the "messed about with" category, they will be the guitars to stick hold of until all this credit nonsense is over. I can see this gap widening until there are only project guitars that need TLC and the rest of the vintage market will be defined by mint condition stuff. Prices will also shift around but wont hit the peaks of 2006 for some time.
On the whole things look upbeat as long you aren't carrying lots of stock, stuck with lots of middle market Japanese and Korean stuff or have a huge overdraft with Mr. "Banker".
The top end of the market seems to be remaining buoyant but is definitely changing. I had a customer last month reject a guitar because it wasn't in good enough condition. This has important implications for both vintage and "relic" reissue guitars. The guitars that seem to be moving now have to be very high quality and near mint condition. This may be a consequence of the recession when things "smarten" up a bit anyway. There is also a "flight to quality": effect in uncertain times.
Those who have money will always have money and there is also the "Banking Disaster Buy a Stratocaster" effect. I know myself that I should have sold more shares and bought guitars I liked for me instead of playing safe. The ones I did sell shares to buy have gone up in value; the shares I kept back for a "Rainy Day" sadly are trading at around 20% of their boomtime value...go figure sports fans!
The tightening of consumer purse strings in the middle market is having an effect and the Sound Control meltdown is I fear the first of many middle market players who will get badly burnt over the next three years. I had expected the cull at EMI now that they have gone private equity to have an effect on high end and vintage sales. This does not seem to be the case as with bands making less on recorded music the live circuit suddenly looks more attractive and bands need gear to tour!
The key to survival for guitar dealers will be specialism rather than trying to be "generalists". Either stock the very best or stock interesting specialist guitars... avoid anything that requires finance and if you have cash in pocket spend it well and spend it wisely... go for the one off piece rather than the mass produced middle market guitar.
I recently advised a friends son to buy a late 1980's Les Paul Standard with an uncertain "mongrel" pedigree. £50 of bits off Ebay and he has a guitar that is unlike anything else anyone plays at college and it looks awesome if well gigged. It cost £700 out of the local paper and leaves anything new at that price point to shame.
The gap between near mint and secondary level guitars is widening, and there are some bargains to be had in the "messed about with" category, they will be the guitars to stick hold of until all this credit nonsense is over. I can see this gap widening until there are only project guitars that need TLC and the rest of the vintage market will be defined by mint condition stuff. Prices will also shift around but wont hit the peaks of 2006 for some time.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Buying Hint October 2008
Jazz Guitars are cheap and always have been for the amount of workmanship that goes into them!
Most people are put off by the bigger body and tendency towards feedback, but if you don't only play Norwegian Death Metal, they can be a highly satisfying place to put any spare guitar cash you might have at the moment. Can I suggest the Gibson ES5 Reissue, no not the Switchmaster, the "other one"! The three control one.
Not only is it not strictly a "Jazz Guitar" as such, but rather an archtop, also it has a certain 1950's Rockabilly charm with the three P90's. Whilst never going to be worth as much as the Switchmaster version in either vintage 1950's or reissue versions, what you are getting is a Custom and Historic Guitar that is no longer made by Gibson, has bags of cool and sounds great through small valve amps. It has 3 count em THREE! P90's and that's never bad, plus a master tone control and gold hardware; plus you get to dance with the "big fat woman" when you hug that huge body against you.
On the money front values have hardened a little recently. I picked mine up in 2004 for £1750 and I have seen them (still) selling on Ebay and in the back of Guitar Magazines for £2300-£2500. So someone must be buying them, perhaps its all the Gretsch fans who are less than happy with what has been done to their favourite brand of guitars! Until next time fretters frailers and pickers!
Most people are put off by the bigger body and tendency towards feedback, but if you don't only play Norwegian Death Metal, they can be a highly satisfying place to put any spare guitar cash you might have at the moment. Can I suggest the Gibson ES5 Reissue, no not the Switchmaster, the "other one"! The three control one.
Not only is it not strictly a "Jazz Guitar" as such, but rather an archtop, also it has a certain 1950's Rockabilly charm with the three P90's. Whilst never going to be worth as much as the Switchmaster version in either vintage 1950's or reissue versions, what you are getting is a Custom and Historic Guitar that is no longer made by Gibson, has bags of cool and sounds great through small valve amps. It has 3 count em THREE! P90's and that's never bad, plus a master tone control and gold hardware; plus you get to dance with the "big fat woman" when you hug that huge body against you.
On the money front values have hardened a little recently. I picked mine up in 2004 for £1750 and I have seen them (still) selling on Ebay and in the back of Guitar Magazines for £2300-£2500. So someone must be buying them, perhaps its all the Gretsch fans who are less than happy with what has been done to their favourite brand of guitars! Until next time fretters frailers and pickers!
It just kept on going!
Now then (now then) twang kings and queens I just have to get myself one of these! Is there such a thing as a classic "student" or budget guitar? When we see the term "student guitar" what do we see. A made in Indonesia budget instrument made from poor quality plywood or retro "cool daddy" classics such as "book em" Dano's, Fender Duo Sonics and Music Masters.
Most budget guitars were cheap entry level instruments for players who wanted to get on the guitar ladder but weren't able to pay for the bells and whistles that the higher end models had. I personally think Fender got it wrong with their student short scale series for shorter statured strummers such as the Musicmaster and Duo Sonic. Better than that with their law of unintended design consequences, the Wizards of Kalamazoo produced Ladees and Gennulmen I give you the Gibson Les Paul Junior!
Lets not forget dear readers however, that that the Gibson Les Paul Junior was the bottom of the range Les Paul Model in the 1950's. But what a bottom of the range, unfussy design, all Mahogany body single P90, wrapover bridge...pure awesome simplicity. I have coveted one of these from a distance for some time, it being the "one that got away" in my guitar trading life but that's another story! Gibson's No Frills approach however, resulted in a cool as you like instrument that was as awesome and as much fun as a stripped down hot rod racer.
Those thoughts popped into my head the other day when a friend rang me to look over a guitar he had recently bought cheap in a trade in. He was ready to sell and I might like it, or so he said on the phone! When I got round there later in the day, not only had he changed his mind but had the hugest grin on his face! This he said was the most fun he's had with his clothes on since Blackburn Rovers won the Premiership.
He had a Tokai replica of a Les Paul Junior in a very close approximation of TV yellow and he thought had had the pickup changed. Then he plugged it in to a Fender Twin and all hell broke loose! The punky racket that poured from the speaker was pure bliss to my ears used to listening to expensive hi fi at home and in the car. It took me back 25 years to sweaty gigs in cellars in Manchester. It was the Buzzcocks, The Clash and every other stunning punk noise outfit in a £10 gigbag! He paid £250 for this instrument of pleasure. Neither of us know what the pickup in it is...it might be original or a cheap replacement but it's a monster. Turn up the one volume control and hear it start to resonate and pop and give off that lovely sub feedback shimmer, before you accidently touch the strings and time stands on its head you know like in the De Lorean in Back to The Future. Keep turning the control up to 10 and just thrash it! Add in a body of some sort of mahogany or mahogany lite and a bone nut and away you go punk rock riffola or champagne tone for the price of coca cola! What is there NOT to enjoy here?
Pistols riffs, Clash chord chugging, even that one from Blur that goes "wooooo hoooo"! It coped with them all and still came back for more. Every home should have one! I am now counting what is left of my dwindling share portfolio and wondering should I buy myself a slice of six string happiness before the world goes to hell in a financial handcart! A Gibson reissue would do, and if the gods of lottery island shine on Mrs Modern Guitars an original '59 would be very high on the list alongside a house in the country and a renovated Mark II Jaguar (car not guitar, dear readers!) But nothing I think would come close to this beast from the East, chugging away it just literally kept on keeping on dudes! So my quest for a kerry green reissue Gibson Firebird is temporarily at least, very much on hold!
Tune in next time String Shaking Sisters and Cool Rocking Daddies for the next instalment of Moderne Geetar Heaven!
Most budget guitars were cheap entry level instruments for players who wanted to get on the guitar ladder but weren't able to pay for the bells and whistles that the higher end models had. I personally think Fender got it wrong with their student short scale series for shorter statured strummers such as the Musicmaster and Duo Sonic. Better than that with their law of unintended design consequences, the Wizards of Kalamazoo produced Ladees and Gennulmen I give you the Gibson Les Paul Junior!
Lets not forget dear readers however, that that the Gibson Les Paul Junior was the bottom of the range Les Paul Model in the 1950's. But what a bottom of the range, unfussy design, all Mahogany body single P90, wrapover bridge...pure awesome simplicity. I have coveted one of these from a distance for some time, it being the "one that got away" in my guitar trading life but that's another story! Gibson's No Frills approach however, resulted in a cool as you like instrument that was as awesome and as much fun as a stripped down hot rod racer.Those thoughts popped into my head the other day when a friend rang me to look over a guitar he had recently bought cheap in a trade in. He was ready to sell and I might like it, or so he said on the phone! When I got round there later in the day, not only had he changed his mind but had the hugest grin on his face! This he said was the most fun he's had with his clothes on since Blackburn Rovers won the Premiership.
He had a Tokai replica of a Les Paul Junior in a very close approximation of TV yellow and he thought had had the pickup changed. Then he plugged it in to a Fender Twin and all hell broke loose! The punky racket that poured from the speaker was pure bliss to my ears used to listening to expensive hi fi at home and in the car. It took me back 25 years to sweaty gigs in cellars in Manchester. It was the Buzzcocks, The Clash and every other stunning punk noise outfit in a £10 gigbag! He paid £250 for this instrument of pleasure. Neither of us know what the pickup in it is...it might be original or a cheap replacement but it's a monster. Turn up the one volume control and hear it start to resonate and pop and give off that lovely sub feedback shimmer, before you accidently touch the strings and time stands on its head you know like in the De Lorean in Back to The Future. Keep turning the control up to 10 and just thrash it! Add in a body of some sort of mahogany or mahogany lite and a bone nut and away you go punk rock riffola or champagne tone for the price of coca cola! What is there NOT to enjoy here?
Pistols riffs, Clash chord chugging, even that one from Blur that goes "wooooo hoooo"! It coped with them all and still came back for more. Every home should have one! I am now counting what is left of my dwindling share portfolio and wondering should I buy myself a slice of six string happiness before the world goes to hell in a financial handcart! A Gibson reissue would do, and if the gods of lottery island shine on Mrs Modern Guitars an original '59 would be very high on the list alongside a house in the country and a renovated Mark II Jaguar (car not guitar, dear readers!) But nothing I think would come close to this beast from the East, chugging away it just literally kept on keeping on dudes! So my quest for a kerry green reissue Gibson Firebird is temporarily at least, very much on hold!
Tune in next time String Shaking Sisters and Cool Rocking Daddies for the next instalment of Moderne Geetar Heaven!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
What's "Instant Karma" Gonna Get You?
Take the average guitar person round any guitar store or guitar show and chances are what they will see is a lot of guitars with some blokes (and they invariably are largely male) stood behind them. In reality what we have there is a market and a behind the scenes largely undercover market at that.
What most people will not realise is that the high end of guitar dealing is like a combination of a poker game and a giant game of chess with guitars moved around like poker chips or chess pieces. Take my mate John (not his real name) who deals a certain type of guitars. Whilst John is likely to have guitars from all periods in stock, what you are likely to find at his house (if you even get invited) is some lovely turn of the century handmade European guitars. John deals almost exclusively with and within the trade and I only met him through a deal I did for him on some rare German bone tuning pegs I had acquired in the bottom of a box of junk. John only buys with an eye on the eventual buyer and his address book is bulging with names of dealers across Europe. He will buy guitars which appeal specifically to buyers in certain markets and I have known him to travel the length of the U.K. for a rare Italian "parlour" guitar just because he knew he had a buyer in (obviously) Italy. John rarely sets foot in guitar shops and only occasionally do I see him at guitar shows. He keeps himself to himself and is always discrete in his dealings, never boasts or brags about his victories, and takes any setbacks quietly on the chin.
In a world of the impatient and hasty, John is a gent of the first order, he will wait on buying guitars sometimes for months and has the patience that I personally lack (I recently blew a deal on a 1972 Martin because with hindsight I was too hasty). John buys on merit and his knowledge of what is a fairly minute sector of the total guitar market is second to none, but here dear readers is the moral of this piece. John never buys on price...he never tries to get a guitar as cheaply as possible. When I once asked him about this, his cryptic reply was "Karma young man...Karma".
Over coffee at his house, he told me the tale of going to buy an early Gibson archtop when a young dealer, and deciding to settle at the price in the newspaper advertisement, £275 in those days I kid you not! Having met the seller, an elderly widowed gentleman who had once owned a music shop and played in Dance bands in the 1930's. John was treated to afternoon tea and the deal was done in a civilised way with no haggling. On leaving the old bloke told John that he needed a tuning peg for a Maccaferri type "Django" guitar. John left his card and sent him the tuner a few days later.
John never heard from the old boy again until he received a phone call 18 months later from his daughter to let John know that the old lad has passed away and that he wanted her to sell his "guitars" to John as he seemed like an honest bloke. John went round to the house and in the upstairs bedroom was stacked around 30 or so cases which contained early Gibsons, Epiphones, a Selmer Maccaferri and some nice early Hofners amongst others all priced up at what John now refers to with a wink as "the right price" for that time. John paid again in full, never haggling and left happy his car stacked to the roof with some lovely collectable and saleable guitars. So its a clear choice dear reader.... a quick and easy buck today or establish a relationship with both buyer and seller as see what transpires. As John says.... Karma! and not necessarily the "instant" kind!
What most people will not realise is that the high end of guitar dealing is like a combination of a poker game and a giant game of chess with guitars moved around like poker chips or chess pieces. Take my mate John (not his real name) who deals a certain type of guitars. Whilst John is likely to have guitars from all periods in stock, what you are likely to find at his house (if you even get invited) is some lovely turn of the century handmade European guitars. John deals almost exclusively with and within the trade and I only met him through a deal I did for him on some rare German bone tuning pegs I had acquired in the bottom of a box of junk. John only buys with an eye on the eventual buyer and his address book is bulging with names of dealers across Europe. He will buy guitars which appeal specifically to buyers in certain markets and I have known him to travel the length of the U.K. for a rare Italian "parlour" guitar just because he knew he had a buyer in (obviously) Italy. John rarely sets foot in guitar shops and only occasionally do I see him at guitar shows. He keeps himself to himself and is always discrete in his dealings, never boasts or brags about his victories, and takes any setbacks quietly on the chin.
In a world of the impatient and hasty, John is a gent of the first order, he will wait on buying guitars sometimes for months and has the patience that I personally lack (I recently blew a deal on a 1972 Martin because with hindsight I was too hasty). John buys on merit and his knowledge of what is a fairly minute sector of the total guitar market is second to none, but here dear readers is the moral of this piece. John never buys on price...he never tries to get a guitar as cheaply as possible. When I once asked him about this, his cryptic reply was "Karma young man...Karma".
Over coffee at his house, he told me the tale of going to buy an early Gibson archtop when a young dealer, and deciding to settle at the price in the newspaper advertisement, £275 in those days I kid you not! Having met the seller, an elderly widowed gentleman who had once owned a music shop and played in Dance bands in the 1930's. John was treated to afternoon tea and the deal was done in a civilised way with no haggling. On leaving the old bloke told John that he needed a tuning peg for a Maccaferri type "Django" guitar. John left his card and sent him the tuner a few days later.
John never heard from the old boy again until he received a phone call 18 months later from his daughter to let John know that the old lad has passed away and that he wanted her to sell his "guitars" to John as he seemed like an honest bloke. John went round to the house and in the upstairs bedroom was stacked around 30 or so cases which contained early Gibsons, Epiphones, a Selmer Maccaferri and some nice early Hofners amongst others all priced up at what John now refers to with a wink as "the right price" for that time. John paid again in full, never haggling and left happy his car stacked to the roof with some lovely collectable and saleable guitars. So its a clear choice dear reader.... a quick and easy buck today or establish a relationship with both buyer and seller as see what transpires. As John says.... Karma! and not necessarily the "instant" kind!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Top Five Guitars We Like This Week
1. The Mark Simon Terraplane (Looks like a bin lid! Fabulous!) http://www.marksimonguitars.com
2. 1964 Red Fender Jazzmaster ( At Newcastle Show! Nice!)
3. Michael Kelly Valour ( Dig those celtic rune control knobs!) http://www.michaelkellyguitars.co.uk
4. Eastwood Saturn 63 (C'mon Bill Nelson plays one!) http://www.eastwoodguitars.com
5. Dean Michael Schenker Performer MSP (wwwwwhat!)
Until next time fretheads!
2. 1964 Red Fender Jazzmaster ( At Newcastle Show! Nice!)
3. Michael Kelly Valour ( Dig those celtic rune control knobs!) http://www.michaelkellyguitars.co.uk
4. Eastwood Saturn 63 (C'mon Bill Nelson plays one!) http://www.eastwoodguitars.com
5. Dean Michael Schenker Performer MSP (wwwwwhat!)
Until next time fretheads!
Newcastle: A Canny Guitar Show
Thanks to all concerned with the Newcastle Guitar Show this last weekend. What a great show, and loads of enthusiastic guitar obsessed fretheads attended. Loads of chat with some very friendly folks from the north east, guitar fans all. I sold a nice Gibson SG Standard and there was a lot of interest in books, pedals etc. Great to catch up with stall holders and contacts especially Hayden from Matamp, Geoff from JJ Guitars and Andrew Rothwell of Rothwell Audio who is a great character and a comic genius, sometimes without knowing it, well he makes me laugh anyway! There was a friendly Geordie welcome at the Federation brewery and some nice stuff on display from all the stall holders. Oh and Big Jim Sullivan was there playing a blinder!
All in all a cracking show!
See you next year!
All in all a cracking show!
See you next year!
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