Gear from 1983 thats worth buying?

[Esquire Jones]

I remember seeing the venerable Hondo and Dean axes frequently back in the day.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

The amps to go with these guitars?
( just remembering names/ GP magazine ads)

Sundown
Crate
Gorilla
Spectra
Dean Markley
Randall
Mesa/Boogie
Legend
Yamaha ( what I had, G50-112)

 

[Engine Swap]

NAMM show 1983 overview

http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/namm-report/6134[

 

[Jakedog]

I wouldn’t mind having one of those Aria basses Cliff Burton was playing in the early 80’s.

 

[loopfinding]

I had a Poly-Six, which cost me $3688 in today's dollars. I gave it away 6 years ago.

i have a beat up polysix that i bought for 500 in today's dollars, haha. they are great. not sure which one i like better though, the mono is a little more tweakable but poly is obviously better for chord work. i like junos too, but i'd take either korg over them.

 

[doghouseman]

That really was the age of 'coffee table' finishes.

"The Paul"... I think that is walnut. My buddy had one. Still has it.

 

[Guitarteach]

Get an ‘83 Marshall JCM800

 

[brenn]

I always wanted a Telecaster from 1966. Specifically with a MAR 66 neck date. Can't afford it and wouldn't spend the money for it if I could, but it would be cool.

 

[421JAM]

I don’t know about 1983, but I LOVED my ‘81 LP Standard, so don’t be scared away from’80s Gibsons.

Since you mention 1983…I recently bought a Guitar Player magazine from May ‘83, and I’ve noticed a lack of Gibson advertisements., which seems a little odd.

 

[bottlenecker]

1983 makes me think of japanese squiers and ibanez roadstars. If you were only born two years later, it could be an '85 Fender Katana.

 

[Skully]

i have a beat up polysix that i bought for 500 in today's dollars, haha. they are great. not sure which one i like better though, the mono is a little more tweakable but poly is obviously better for chord work. i like junos too, but i'd take either korg over them.

Man, I wouldn't want to be dealing with vintage keyboards with aged PCB boards and primitive computer tech!

 

[Cheap Trills]

Don't believe the hype, Fender made some decent guitars in the early 80s.

 

[fifty merc]

I will have to read this thread... being this is my birth year. I have read about the Japanese fenders from around this time, even the MIJ Squiers being good. Don't know for a fact. I just know I won't like the radius on the necks unless they made one with something like 10" minimum at the nut, which I think they're all less?

+1 on the JCM800s.

 

[boxocrap]

Another thread got me to thinking, and
I’ve been looking at getting a birth year guitar, and thankfully for my budget, I don’t hail from the fifties or early sixties. However, 1983 seems like a pretty dud year for a Fender guitar, which is what I was originally looking for. Are they really that bad? Consequently, are the Gibson Notion years equally terrible? Should I be looking at old Ibanez guitars or effects boxes instead? Any insights or suggestions are appreciated!

I’ve been looking at getting a birth year guitar..that would be a broadcaster for me

 

[smoothrecluse]

Thank you everybody for the replies so far!

I did find this in my searches…

https://ibanez.fandom.com/wiki/1983_Series_catalog

 

[eclecticsynergy]

For 1983? Buy MIJ. Some of the MIJ versions of American guitars were as good as what Fender and Gibson were making at the time. Tokai, Burny, Greco, Navigator.

Some very nice Strat, Tele, and Les Paul types. Prices have gone up substantially in recent years but they still come in lower than their US counterparts, and the build quality is excellent.

I'm talking the top tier lines here; be aware that in that era most Japanese builders offered mid- and low-priced versions too. Nowadays a lot of the MIJ guitars listed on eBay are these lesser-quality ones, so keep that in mind and search for the high quality series.

 

[drri]

The Japanese reached their pinnacle of guitar manufacturing excellence around that time. Tokai, Matsumoku, Yamaha, Greco, Burny….incredible quality, and top-notch electronics.

I was in the same boat as the OP for a 82' that wasn't trash.... A buddy of mine picked up a 82' MIJ 62 RI tele and not only was it an 82 it was also my birth month! I made him promised to call me when he sold it, he has an eye for picking good guitars online... He called me the minute he got it in cause the neck was to thin.... It cost me 1k and didn't have any pups or controls..... Gladly paid him the 1k back, ordered some Fralin's and a pre-wired set up.... Now I have a birth year that's freaking amazing!! Always loved MIJ guitars, and while a bit on the heavier side, it's got something, some kind of warmth to it and easily adapted to all the music I play!

OP, if you are ok with MIJ guitars, look into one of those reissues from that year... amazing!

 

[GreatDaneRock]

Musical tanks from the 80s:

 

[Stubee]

I’m not into the birth year guitar, just doesn’t matter to me but I also don’t care a whit about my own birth year. Probably a good thing as decent 1950 guitars ain’t cheap! I’ve got a ‘52 J-45 that’s close enough, but I own it because I like early ‘50s Gibsons.

To the OP: to me a birth year guitar shouldn’t be any plain old axe produced that year but one that really grabs you and represents something of quality and meaning from that year. Examples include the Martin HD-28 and perhaps HD-35 that were introduced a few years earlier. They represented some of Martin’s first attempts to resurrect some “golden era” features with scalloped bracing etc. There may be other models, too and there’s always the D-28 “150th Anniversary Model” but that’s truly just a D-28 with different label and a better warranty IIRC. I’m a Gibson flattop guy but wouldn’t seek any 1983 model, just not their best year.

I know nothing of Gibson electrics but Fender was doing some new things in 1983 and the AVRI series was a serious attempt to recapture some old magic. You might read pros and cons on the early ones but a 1983 AVRI Strat or Tele is a good guitar—I’ve owned an ‘83 AV62RI Strat for many years—that has some historical meaning and if you buy right it’ll at least hold its value.

Have fun and take your time looking!!

 

[Guitarteach]

For 1983? Buy MIJ. Some of the MIJ versions of American guitars were as good as what Fender and Gibson were making at the time. Tokai, Burny, Greco, Navigator.

Some very nice Strat, Tele, and Les Paul types. Prices have gone up substantially in recent years but they still come in lower than their US counterparts, and the build quality is excellent.

I'm talking the top tier lines here; be aware that in that era most Japanese builders offered mid- and low-priced versions too. Nowadays a lot of the MIJ guitars listed on eBay are these lesser-quality ones, so keep that in mind and search for the high quality series.

true.. I have an 80’s MIJ Master Series. Cool guitar.. a Les Paul with all its issues fixed.