Purchasing the Right Guitar

Old as they say is always gold! Does the word old and vintage fascinate you? Are you keen to know more about vintage musical instruments? Then check out as we tell you some great points!

Vintage has a natural association with both quality and cost. However, every vintage product has its own stump and those who collect anything of a vintage nature understand these aspects very well. This is why price is often only a consideration second to the quality, features and authenticity of the piece in question. Furniture and automobiles are both very popular vintage collectors items, but pre-CBS and CBS Fender guitars are some of the fastest-appreciating and most sought-after of them all.

Fender is a brand name that has always been associated with the high quality guitars, and the instrument of choice by many pop and rock master. However, one specialty with the Fender guitar is that there is one distinct quality in each of their productions. Over the previous twenty years they have expanded to selling guitars under a number of different brands and different prices: American Fenders in the $1000+ price range to suit professionals, Mexican Fenders in the $600 price-range for less-wealthy professionals and Squire guitars (built in Japan, Indonesia and China) for the $150, beginner bracket. Thanks to this diversity in their offerings, Fender has plenty of fans ranging from amateurs to experts.

Each year Fender also releases a number of Custom Shop and Limited Edition models, always at very high prices and destined to become future collectors items. If the economic downturn hasn�t stung your wallet and you are considering a guitar as your next investment, it would be wise to avoid these models. Although an attractive investment prospect, these guitars will need to be stored for many years (twenty or more) before they start to truly appreciate in value at the rate that pre-CBS and CBS vintage Fender guitars already do.

Like any vintage product, vintage guitars too, have another criterion to be filled apart from quality and price. So, a guitar must be there for more than 25 years to be considered vintage. However, there is a twist in this particular aspect with guitars: when you mention a vintage guitar, music lovers and guitarists alike immediately know that you are talking about Leo Fender�s 1950s and 1960s guitars: the Broadcaster and (later) the Telecaster, the Jazzmaster and Musicmaster, and the infamous Stratocaster. Along with the guitars being produced from Gibson during the post-war 1950s period, these vintage guitars revolutionized the sound of music for every generation since.

Although buying a vintage instrument is a daunting task, it need not be a difficult choice to make. With rarity bringing higher prices, the most sought-after are from lower production years, older models (in particular the pre-CBS period which covers the 1950s and early 1960s), and originality. Don�t be fooled into believing that a more obscure model such as the pre-CBS Jazzmaster or Jaguar will command as much money in the long run as the more popular Telecaster and Stratocaster. In truth, the reason that the more unusual vintage Fender models are rarer is because they weren�t as popular at the time, and remain less popular to this day.

However, if your pockets aren�t deep enough to buy an original, or you just want the looks without the inherent price tag and headache, go straight to the Relic Guitar Studio. This is one unique shop where you will find replica vintage guitar. At the same time, you will find a large collection of the pre-CBS instruments. Here, you will find the authentic wearing of the guitars that are aged. Originally established to replace parts with a boutique quality segments, the site has become one of the leading sites of vintage and aged guitars in the UK.

Simon Dunn is author of this article on Relic Guitars. Find more information about Pre-CBS Vintage Guitars here.