A question for folks with collector grade vintage gear...

I have a '53 National arch top that my dad bought brand new in the day but it's not a valuable guitar except to me. I play it all the time. I like old blondes.

 

I have studio gear and mics that are very desirable pieces that date back to the 30’s.

Letting them rot in a closet is the cardinal sin imo.

 

I have vintage and non-vintage guitars. I play them all. The only difference to me is that I do try harder to care for the vintage ones. Actually, I try to care for all of them, but I'm very conscious whenever I have a vintage instrument in my hands. I never take chances with them. I don't believe that an old beat up vintage guitar has more "mojo" than any other guitar, so I try to prevent premature wear, scratches, dings as much as possible, but I'm going to play my guitars. My favorite guitar is a tele that I've owned since 1983. It had just as much "mojo" and sounded and played as well then as it does now. I like to think that I sound better, but that comes down to the ear of the beholder. The finish has gradually worn off down to the fullerplast where my elbow rubs against the top surface of the lower bout. I wish it hadn't, but it doesn't make the guitar sound any better, and I guess I don't really care if it lowers the value.

I say play 'em or let 'em go. Just my 2 cents.

 

I have owned a lot of vintage guitars and basses, and played them all in every situation that came up. However, a 54 Goldtop and a 54 Esquire both got sold when it got to the point that I couldn't go get a beer on break because I had to stay by the stage to guard them. It's not me whom I don't trust.

 

Now I know where the odd trapeze tailpiece I have in a box belongs....it is just like the one on your guitar, trep53. Sharp guitar....

 

Isn't this a vintage telecaster forum?

 

“Isn’t this a vintage Telecaster forum?”

Yes, it is. However, the OP offered up a question about using collector grade instruments and amps for gigs.

 

I do apologize for my post which certainly has nothing to do with the original question.

 

Talking to just about everyone under the sun when researching my 52. Several musicians mused if the guitar didn't have any wear it probably never sounded good in the first place.

 

I have to wonder if any of the real collectors would ever be here to see the question.
I have worked with one architect here in town, who has a half dozen very early Strats (54 - 58), three late 50's Les Pauls, and a Broadcaster (1950). He doesn't even play guitar, or any instrument for that matter. When I asked if he ever visited any of the guitar forums, he said he just wasn't interested in them.
And, he let me sit down with a couple of the Strats for almost an hour. I was grateful of course, but they really didn't sound, or play, any different than any of my current models.

 

Did not read every post so this may have been covered/said already...

Seems to me those "pristine" vintage instruments are the ones that didn't sound/play very good.
Of course some get put in a closet or under a bed for 30-40-50 years for other reasons.... maybe...

...but if I come across a pristine vintage piece I'm gonna think it did not get played for a reason.
When the instrument was new, no-one knew it was gonna become valuable.

So the good ones got played and beat up.
The ones that didn't sound or play so good got sold/traded/stuck in a closet.

Ha,ha the joke is on the collectors...
those pristine instruments are the ones no-one wanted cuz they are dogs.

 

That's a crock of $&*t.
This is how people sell beat guitars for bigger dough.
The good ones got PLAYED.
Gimme a break.
People didn't gave 4, 3, or often even 2 guitars in the 50s and 60s.
When someone had a guitar, people either played it because they wanted to, or didn't because they didn't.
Nobody said, "This is not one of the great Strats, I'm going to stop playing and stick it under my bed."

 

My dad in law has had one guitar and amp his whole life. His ‘56 Tele and a deluxe.
It is somewhat worn but not beat up. He learned on his mom dobro and then at 18 after working in the mines he bought it in January of 1957. He doesn’t play much but if he did it would be that guitar.

 

This thread is vintage and still in excellent condition.
Maybe we should stop playing it?

That said, I've read plenty of posts right here where players don't want to play their brand new guitars for fear of putting a ding or scratch on them, players who put their first ding on a new guitar and want to have a worldwide discussion about it, and players who want help fixing a tiny ding in a new guitar so it will be invisible.

I don't generally post condemnations of their overly protective behavior, so I feel no need to ridicule collectors who try hard to keep rare mint vintage collectible guitars in their present condition.

Personally I feel a certain respect for the condition of mint vintage gear, and don't want to cause damage and reduce the value.
For this reason, I tend to pass such gear on to those who can afford to buy, safely store, and not use these historic relics.
I've always loved history museums and think it's worthwhile to preserve certain things.

If a vintage piece is not mint original I'd use it, unless it was just too valuable compared to the utility, in which case I really can't afford to keep money in guitars I could replace the functional value of for 1/10 the price.

 

I sold two different Gretches I had over the years that I fell out of love with. The reason being: they were too nice NOT to play, which is their main purpose in life.

 

What you need is to meet a collector that's a great player and only buys great instruments for his collection, you'd have a chance to be more impressed. Of course, collectible value is about strict authenticity, instrumental qualities are secondary. But when they're good they're amazing.

 

Yes I do. I’ve done gigs with my Burst and play my old 50s 6120 (that looks brand new) all the time.

 

I've played some pristine vintage guitars that were absolutely fabulous and I've tried some very well played ones that were absolute rubbish

 

I’ve still not played the new stuff that sounds as good/better as my old stuff.

I’m in the minority, though because everyone else on the interwebz seems to have done so.

 

The most valuable instruments I know are mandolins. I know them as I know a bit about them and understand the making of etc a bit, unlike say violins. The most expensive vintage mandolins are the Gibson Lloyd loar f-5 from 1923 and 1924. These go for around 175000usd (depending Ina few factors - who owned it, condition, repairs etc.).

Chris Thile, possibly the greatest living mandolinist has two. The first thing he did with both of them was change the fingerboard because he says the neck is out of tune above the octave because the frets are wrong. I can’t get independent verification of this, but I’m not arguing with it.

This sprang to mind when I was reading about playability. The old telecasters Intonated badly too. Hmmm