![]() It offers little or no information on smaller makers, budget instrument makers, and recent entries into the guitar market.Although designed to give approximate values for vintage instruments, the Vintage Guitar Price Guide is also quite useful in identifying instruments. Organized into brands, general information, serial numbers, specific features, and model designations, the book identifies most major-brand guitars of the past and offers meticulous descriptions and a wealth of helpful photos. Written by George Gruhn (of Gruhn Guitars in Nashville) and Walter Carter, the guide is a must-have for identifying older American-made guitars. If you tried to apply this formula to a serial number on an older Gibson, or even a newer vintage reissue (which sometimes use 'vintage' serial numbers) you’d be making a big mistake.REFERENCE BOOKSSo, how does one go about accurately identifying a used instrument? Probably the publication most often referred to is Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars. The first and fifth digits indicated the year of production (8XXX2XXX meant it was built in 1982). For example, a volute or scroll at the back of a Gibson headstock usually indicates that the instrument was built between 19 (although some appeared as early as 1969).Another thing that the trained eye will immediately be able to pick up on is whether an instrument was built in the U.S. Sometimes you can narrow down even further the time period in which your guitar was built because of a certain distinguishing feature. These are all differences that would be difficult for the uneducated eye to notice, yet they drastically affect the guitar’s sound and value.At the very least, these books will identify the time period during which the guitar in question was produced, basic information that will, for example, keep you from paying a premium for a '1960s Martin HD-28' (you’ll know that this model wasn’t introduced until 1976). Yet another double-X bracing pattern was used during the ’70s, and then a more Martin-like scalloped X-bracing was adopted when the model was reintroduced in the late ’80s. It was changed to maple back and sides (except for a few rosewood examples) and a double-X bracing pattern in the ’50s. Starfield - Unofficial Starfield Guitar Siteįor example, Gibson’s J-200 started out with rosewood back and sides and fairly standard X-bracing in the late 1930s. ![]() Ovation - Ovation Fan Club, Ovation Tribute Page Music Man - Unofficial Music Man Guitar Page Kramer - Kramer Krazy, Kramermaniaxe, Vintage Kramer Ibanez - Ibanez Vintage Page, Vintage Ibanez Museum, Ibanez Vintage, Hofner - Guitar HQ, Hofner Club Guitars, Vintage Hofner, Hofner Hounds Harmony - Broadway Music Co., Unofficial Harmony Page, Harmony Thumbs, Hillman Guitars Hagstrom - Hagstrom USA, Hagstrom Canada, Hagstrom UK
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