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Collectors.
Buying by taste is a different exercise from buying to play. The questions change from how does it feel to what exactly is this, and what has been changed on it.
Originality is the whole game
On a collectible instrument, value tracks how much of the original object survives. A changed
pickup, a refinished body, a swapped tuner, the wrong case — each one moves the price, and on the
most collected models a single non-original screw is enough to be worth mentioning in a listing.
01 Neck and body stamps — the date codes that decide whether two halves belong together 02 Pot codes — the week a control was made; a hard check on a claimed year 03 Finish checking — lacquer cracks with age. A refinished body does not have it, or has it under the paint 04 Case candy — tags, receipts, the original case. Provenance you cannot recreate later
Player-grade is the affordable door
An instrument with a changed pickup or a repaired neck is worth a fraction of an all-original one and
plays the same or better. If you are buying to use rather than to hold, this is where the value is. The
premium on perfection is paid by people who are not going to play it.
Made in 1970 or earlier
Style O — National Reso-Phonic 1928 OM-28 / OM-21 — C.F. Martin & Co. 1929 D-18 — C.F. Martin & Co. 1931 D-28 — C.F. Martin & Co. 1931 D-45 — C.F. Martin & Co. 1933/1968 SJ-200 — Gibson 1937 J-45 — Gibson 1942 Bigsby B5/B7/B50 — Bigsby 1948 Telecaster — Fender 1950 Jet — Gretsch 1950s F-47 / F-50 — Guild Guitars 1950s Precision Bass — Fender 1951 Les Paul Standard — Gibson 1952 Duo Jet — Gretsch 1953 Stratocaster — Fender 1954 Les Paul Custom — Gibson 1954 Les Paul Junior — Gibson 1954 White Falcon — Gretsch 1954 Les Paul Special — Gibson 1955 G6120 Nashville / Chet Atkins — Gretsch 1955 White Penguin — Gretsch 1955 Black Magick 1695T / 25-watt reissue — Supro 1955/2016 Duo-Sonic — Fender 1956 Violin Bass (500/1) — Höfner 1956 '56 Baritone — Danelectro 1956/1990s Country Gentleman — Gretsch 1957 Jazzmaster — Fender 1958 ES-335 — Gibson 1958 Explorer — Gibson 1958 Flying V — Gibson 1958 325 — Rickenbacker 1958 330 — Rickenbacker 1958 AC15 — Vox 1958 Gretsch Filter'Tron (original) — Gretsch 1958 Mosrite Ventures Model — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) 1958/1963 360 / 360/12 — Rickenbacker 1958/1964 ES-330 — Gibson 1959 ES-355 — Gibson 1959 Melody Maker — Gibson 1959 '59 Bassman LTD — Fender Amplifiers 1959 AC30 — Vox 1959 Dot — Epiphone 1959 (as ES-335) '59 M NOS+ (Double Cut) — Danelectro 1959/1990s Jazz Bass — Fender 1960 Hummingbird — Gibson 1960 Starfire (I–VI) — Guild Guitars 1960 D-40 / D-55 — Guild Guitars 1960s F-512 — Guild Guitars 1960s M-20 / M-25 — Guild Guitars 1960s/2021 Hummingbird / Dove / J-45 EC — Epiphone 1960s+ Casino — Epiphone 1961 SG Standard — Gibson 1961 Fender 6G15 outboard reverb — Fender 1961 4001 / 4003 Bass — Rickenbacker 1961/1979 Riviera — Epiphone 1962 Jaguar — Fender 1962 Dove — Gibson 1962 Silvertone 1449/1457 amp-in-case — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) 1962 Vox guitars (Mark III "Teardrop") — Vox 1962 2221 Regular Slinky Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings (.010-.046) — Ernie Ball 1962 Defunct and historic makers
Brands that stopped, and Japanese instruments from the period when copies got good. Both are where
the surprises are, and both need the checks above more than a known model does.
Burns London (Bison, Marvin) — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) Eko 290 / Camaro — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) Harmony H44 / Jupiter — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) Kay K-161 Thin Twin — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) Mosrite Ventures Model — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) 1958/1963 Regal resonators — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) Silvertone 1449/1457 amp-in-case — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) 1962 Silvertone 1484 Twin Twelve — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) Stella (by Harmony) — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) Supro Dual-Tone / Valco — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) Teisco del Rey / Spectrum series — Historic & Defunct Brands (Kay, Silvertone, Teisco, Mosrite, Burns, Harmony, Supro, Eko, Airline) Bacchus Handmade Japan / Woodline — Japanese Classics (Tokai, Greco, Burny, Fernandes, Bacchus, Momose, K. Yairi) Burny RLG — Japanese Classics (Tokai, Greco, Burny, Fernandes, Bacchus, Momose, K. Yairi) 1970s Fernandes Sustainer models — Japanese Classics (Tokai, Greco, Burny, Fernandes, Bacchus, Momose, K. Yairi) Greco EG / EGF — Japanese Classics (Tokai, Greco, Burny, Fernandes, Bacchus, Momose, K. Yairi) 1970s K. Yairi — Japanese Classics (Tokai, Greco, Burny, Fernandes, Bacchus, Momose, K. Yairi) Momose — Japanese Classics (Tokai, Greco, Burny, Fernandes, Bacchus, Momose, K. Yairi) Tokai Love Rock (LS/LES) — Japanese Classics (Tokai, Greco, Burny, Fernandes, Bacchus, Momose, K. Yairi) 1977 Tokai Springy Sound / Breezy Sound / Goldstar Sound — Japanese Classics (Tokai, Greco, Burny, Fernandes, Bacchus, Momose, K. Yairi) 1977 By decade · All makers · Construction
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