Cheap Old Guitars

[originalmatthew]

I would really like to own a Martin or a Taylor or a Breedlove... but I don't have that kind of cash. What my heart pulls me toward are cheap old guitars for some reason. I have a '64 Silvertone flat top that was made the month I was born. Another '64 Stella, yeah, the one with the painted on tiger stripes, A montgomery ward branded archtop from the early 50's, and a 1957 silvertone that escaped the factory with a flamed birch top and a burst paintjob. Something about these old war-horses...I guess it might be the sense of history behind them...many famous artists played them on many records when they were starting out....or that they are a piece of americana...or maybe I just like rooting for the underdog. lol
Call me silly...

[ASC67]

You are Silly !

[jh45gun]

IF ya can post some pics of your collection it would be interesting

[dale_c]

I really like the way these older guitars look however I have yet to find one that plays the way I like. Always searching though...

Would also love to see some pics of your collection.

[jh45gun]

Originally Posted by dale_c

I really like the way these older guitars look however I have yet to find one that plays the way I like. Always searching though...

Would also love to see some pics of your collection.

I suspect that a good set up is needed for most of these old guitars to make a lot of them playable.

[sandman72202]

most of those old silvertones and the like have a unique sound to them and are very playable....

i've played and really like alot of the old yamaha's from the early 70's. these were all ply ..some with a solid top but they all were good players with really good sound if you can find one in good shape...they can be had on ebay for 100 or less minus the shipping

[rangercaster]

actually, there were some gems among the crap ... but modern import budget guitars are light years ahead ... many famous 20th Century guitarist started on a Sears guitar ... it was available, and the price was right ...

[sneakyjapan]

when I was a kid, made in Japan meant stuff that looked like it was gonna break before we got it to the car, but since I got to Japan I`ve begun thinking that maybe they exported the crap and kept the good stuff at home...

heres my 1950 Kiso-Suzuki pick guitar, got it for under $250.oo...



mid/late 1950s Yamaha Dynamic, except for a scratch on the back it`s in mint condition, even came in it`s original shipping box...$60.oo...





another Suzuki, this one from 1948, still going strong. Got it on line here for $50.oo. I have lots and lots of fabulous old MIJs, some electric some acoustic and am always looking for more though space is getting to be an issue so I must be more selective now. All guitars posted here are solid wood, those old Dynamics predated the laminated FGs and are largely overlooked by people after the red lables, exactly why is a mystery since the Dynamics were all solid and still sound fantastic but I`m grateful, I`ve got 29 now along with 14 of thir first run classicals from the early/mid `60s plus odds and ends from other makers. Some players here use steels on their Dynamics but I stick to nylons `cause I find they sound better with those.

[dqami]

Originally Posted by rangercaster

actually, there were some gems among the crap ... but modern import budget guitars are light years ahead ... many famous 20th Century guitarist started on a Sears guitar ... it was available, and the price was right ...

I agree. I started out collecting the old Kays and Harmonys but sold almost all of them. Got into 70's Japan acoustics like Yamahas and Yamakis. Still have some Yamahas which for laminates, sound better than the new solid top models they have in the FG line. I really like the Alvarez guitars as they have a great tone, easy to play, and are very affordable. I've also tried Crafters which sound pretty decent for little $. For a little more $, you can but a used Taylor 110, a Martin DX, or an Epi Masterbilt 2nd which are easy to play and have a nice sound.

[zombywoof]

I have had a serious jones for lo-fi cool and el cheapo chic guitars for alot of decades now - particularly the small body, round sound hole guitars.

My two favorites (at least for the moment).

1936 Kay Deluxe Venetian
I have had this one a long time. This is one of the last of the Kay Krafts - a fixed neck slot head.



and my latest gem - 1935 Kay Deluxe K-2.
This one has the Zorzi adjutsable neck (betcha thought Bob Taylor invented that one). A wicked slide guitar (photos courtesy of the folks I got it from)



Close up of the shim on which the guitar neck slides to adjust the angle - and no lie - this thing really works.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by rangercaster

actually, there were some gems among the crap ... but modern import budget guitars are light years ahead ... many famous 20th Century guitarist started on a Sears guitar ... it was available, and the price was right ...

The problem is most folks tend to associate Kays, Stellas and others with the low end import stuff that started flooding the market in the mid-to late '60s - guitars with tuners that kept slipping and an action so high you could place your hand between the strings and the board. I read somewhere that during the 1960s the Japanese could build a whole guitar for what it cost an American company to buy wood for the top.

But the earlier guitars, particularly those made in the late 1920s and 1930s, despite being sold on the cheap though mail order houses, were sometimes way ahead of their time in terms of design. They were cheap (often built with birch) and sounded pretty good. No, they did not sound as good as a Martin Herringbone D-28 but then again, Martins did not have the reputation of being able to hold up to life on the road which the Stellas and others did. A big consideration for an itinerant blues or folk musican.

Some of these guitars now command some serious dollars. The big box Oscar Schmidt-made Stella 12 stings from the 1930s are so sought after that they are bringing in the neighborhood of $20K.

[JohnSS]

Alvarez Yairis from the late 70's have solid tops and are fantastic values with relatively low 2nd hand prices.

[sneakyjapan]

I`ve got a few sadao yairis daying from 1961 to 1971...fabulous guitars, all solid wood and mine are made from figured mahogany, non figured mahogany, rosewood and flamed maple.

[musicalmartin]

The Harmony Sovereign and ONLY the Sovereign was rated as the next best flat top after Martin, Gibson, Epiphone,in the 60's .I still have a badly battered 1260 I bought new in 64 .Its great for Bluegrass and picking,.Made from solid wood ,mahogany etc .Considering what mine went through I am amazed it still plays .

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by musicalmartin

The Harmony Sovereign and ONLY the Sovereign was rated as the next best flat top after Martin, Gibson, Epiphone,in the 60's .I still have a badly battered 1260 I bought new in 64 .Its great for Bluegrass and picking,.Made from solid wood ,mahogany etc .Considering what mine went through I am amazed it still plays .

Rated by who? They seem to have forgotten a little company called Guild who made some of the best guitars on the face of the planet and which did not break your bank account. The reason they were so good - Guild managed to pick up most of Epiphone's New York employees who refused to make the move to Philly when the company packed up and moved the shop in the mid-1950s.

[Frontier9]

Originally Posted by sandman72202

I've played and really like alot of the old yamaha's from the early 70's. these were all ply ..some with a solid top but they all were good players with really good sound if you can find one in good shape...they can be had on ebay for 100 or less minus the shipping

Yup, and don't forget late 70's/early 80's Ibanez acoustics. They can be had for cheap and sound pretty good. Mine, a model S-300, has a nice balanced tone and is very loud. I believe it has a ply top but it sounds great. Got it for around $125 on eBay.

[zombywoof]

For me the Holy Grail of post-war el cheapo guitars is the Kay J-200 knockoff with X bracing. Rare as heck as most of these, as was common with budget guitars, were ladder braced (even the Harmony Sovereign did not get X bracing until the last few years they were made and then the bracing was outrageously bulky and heavy). But they do exist. I made the mistake of passing on one a few years back - will not make the same mistake twice.