When is it considered vintage?

I have a '88 Fender HM Strat - MIA or MIJ (or both possibly). I'm wondering if it can it be considered a vintage instrument?

When are the terms "Vintage" and "Retro" applied? Examples and explanations welcome.

Well....a car in good condition becomes a classic after 25 years. Retro is styled like a vintage piece but made more recently perhaps with modern improvements (a PT Cruiser is a retro car).

Vintage means a lot of things to different people. When I think of vintage in terms of guitars, I think of an enduring design that is still desirable by folks today (real Strats, Les Pauls, Dreadnoughts, Telecasters, 335s, etc.). My old old Kent Les Paul clone with the bolt on neck from 1980 may be 27+ years old in my mom's attic, but I would not consider it vintage (simply because it's not desirable).

On the other hand, older acoustic guitars....even off brands have a special quality to them. A friend of mine has a cheap 30+ year old Yamaha Nylon string that has an amazing sound to it. He bought it for $50. It's vintage in my book.

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I think you're right. Like cars, "vintage" guitars are good-quality instruments that hit a certain age. (25? 30? That may be debatable.)

In addition, vintage guitars must have some kind of emotional appeal to prospective buyers -- the perfect example is the rise in market prices of 70s 3-bolt neck Strats, which are generally considered poor cousins of 50s and 60s Fenders. Now you have people who grew up in the 70s that have the money to invest in the guitars of their formative years; demand is up, and as a result you better be ready to spend $5 grand if you want one.

For more information on this subject go to http://www.gruhn.com/ click on the "Newsletter" icon, then select newsletter No. 22, January 2005. Which vintage instruments offer the best utilitarian value? This is a very informative piece on vintage guitars.

By the way, I recently bought a 1984 Kramer Focus 2000 with an original Floyd Rose and a Seymour Duncan trembucker in the bridge pickup position. Why did I buy it? Partially because I admittedly went through the hair metal craze of the 80s, so I've always wanted a pointy-headstock guitar. Partially because I was being speculative -- if 70s guitars are increasing quickly in value, who says that 80s guitars won't do the same?

But what's most important to me is that the guitar plays really well and sounds great. I'll be happy owning it for a long time, even if it turns out not to be a good investment.

Back to the original question: is a 1988 Strat a vintage guitar? Probably not. But one day it probably will be...

Somewhere I have a "vintage" Charvel with EMGs and a black Floyd Rose. It has the famous grim reaper style head shock....and a mirrored pick guard. Nothing says 80's like a mirrored pick guard!

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A little something like this?

Attached Images

DSC04513.jpg (34.7 KB, 26 views)

wow.... that's a blast from the past. Looks made for dive bombing!

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Gotta love that Focus. Clean looking too! Hang on to your Strat. The 70's Strats are starting to climb in price. Had some vintage gear over the years, but who knew the vintage craze was going to go insane like it is.

It is a really clean guitar -- and it sounds incredibly good clean, which was a pleasant surprise. I thought it would only be useful through a distortion pedal.

When the price far exceeds the practicality .

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"When the price far exceeds the practicality."

Are you sure about that?

I bought a 1966 Epiphone Broadway (the one in my avatar) for $200. Did so about two years ago. Yes, I bought it from someone who did not know the true value of the guitar. But does that make the guitar anything less than vintage? I'd say not. It looks great, plays beautifully and sounds like a cannon, plugged our unplugged.

Now, am I saying that it's reasonable to pay $250K for a 50s Les Paul? No, I am not. I think it's a bit insane to pay that much for a guitar. (But you know what? If I could afford to do so, I probably would )

But I would disagree that the definition of "vintage" depends solely upon the price tag of a guitar. In fact, I might argue that VINTAGE is in the eyes, ears and fingers of the beholder...not in his or her wallet.