Played a '52 Esquire yesterday.

[Telenator]

I am not a big fan of vintage guitars. I think most of them are firewood, but I had the pleasure of playing a rare exception yesterday.
It was a refinished '52 that played great and sounded terrific. More pinch harmonic spots than I have ever experienced on any guitar.

I have always loved the free breathing feel of an Esquire and this one was among the liveliest guitars I have ever played.

Such a wonderful experience!

 

[Dostradamas]

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

Most are " firewood " ??? A bold assumption...

 

[Telenator]

Most are " firewood " ??? A bold assumption...

When you've played as many as I have, all over the country, it becomes clear that "the good ones" are few and far between, locked up in someone's collection.
Modern guitars are just consistently better. I had the money and was on a search for my vintage guitar for several years and eventually gave up because nothing sounded better or played better than my new Suhr. Game over.

 

[2HBStrat]

When you've played as many as I have, all over the country, it becomes clear that "the good ones" are few and far between, locked up in someone's collection.
Modern guitars are just consistently better. I had the money and was on a search for my vintage guitar for several years and eventually gave up because nothing sounded better or played better than my new Suhr. Game over.

I agree. I think today's current model guitars are more consistently better than most so-called vintage guitars.

 

[Tom Grattan]

I think most current guitars are consistently the same. The tooling has had a tremendous impact on manufacturing and the refinement on high end guitars is very high quality. So, you buy a $$$ guitar new and it's a really, really nice player. However, there were guitars that were made in the early days that were fantastic players. They were really hands on and because of the variance in quality control, tooling, pup winding, finish materials, wood etc. some were better than others and some way better that what is available now. IMO there's too many gee gaws, too slick finishes and I have no interest in new guitars being beat up to "look" old. Assuming that the "good old guitars" aren't being played is just that, an assumption. I've got a 58 Tele that I got in the early 70's and it is the BUSINESS. I take it out when I play. When I got this Tele I got another 58 Tele 3 months earlier. It had been stripped, the pups were finished and was in sad shape. I sent it out, did a refinish, pickups rewound. When I got it back it was 'meh'. I sold it to the other guitar player in the band. The 58 I kept was and is the best Tele I've ever player or heard. Unfortunately the prices have made "vintage" out of sight. But that means that a new, Suhr or the like cost $3000 and up.

Rock On

 

[badscrew_projects]

I’m searching for one like that, that would be vintage, good and (cue sad trombone) in my budget. This means I’ll never find one.

 

[LOSTVENTURE]

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've always had access to a friend's 53 Tele and his 55 Esquire. No "fire wood" there. And, personally, I think the neck on that 55 should be the benchmark for vintage Fender neck profiles.

 

[LOSTVENTURE]

When you've played as many as I have, all over the country, it becomes clear that "the good ones" are few and far between, locked up in someone's collection.
Modern guitars are just consistently better. I had the money and was on a search for my vintage guitar for several years and eventually gave up because nothing sounded better or played better than my new Suhr. Game over.

And, let's not forget that it's been treatment, or mis-treatment of those older guitars that has led to the the current condition that we find them in.
Worst case was when I found a guy playing a guitar that consisted of the body of a 58 Les Paul (neck sawed off), and replaced with the neck from a 52 Telecaster. Ouch !!!

 

[Bobchill]

Hello guys, what Telenator says is no news to me.
If we are talking about authentic original vintage instruments produced in the "golden age" by Fender or Gibson or any other great brand, every single guitar I tried, sounded terrific, with very rare exceptions. I'm either the luckiest person on earth or those guitars were consistently great; which would explain their universal market value. Also, those guitars sounded great in the old recordings of the guitar heroes we all love; when those instruments were relatively new, that's why they are still reissued after 70 years.
On the other hand I'm very happy because after many years, I recently found and bought a new guitar that can ALMOST keep up with its original vintage counterpart.

 

[Telenator]

The current Fender MIM line is better than anything I could buy from Fender in the 70's. Sad but true...

 

[Tom Grattan]

I guess that's one advantage of being old.

 

[Bobchill]

The current Fender MIM line is better than anything I could buy from Fender in the 70's. Sad but true...

In fact the 1970's cannot be considered in the "golden age" of guitar making... even though the pickups from the early 1970's were still great and in my opinion far superior to today's standard.

 

[Tom Grattan]

Fender had to dig themselves out of a hole in the late 70's and most of the 80's. In the 80's Fender subbed out to Japanese makers which were better than USA Fenders by a long shot. The 80's was a dismal time for Fender.

 

[Telenator]

Fender had to dig themselves out of a hole in the late 70's and most of the 80's. In the 80's Fender subbed out to Japanese makers which were better than USA Fenders by a long shot. The 80's was a dismal time for Fender.

I have never played a an MIJ Fender that I liked. They looked really good, but just didn't play or sound right to me.

 

[Swirling Snow]

The current Fender MIM line is better than anything I could buy from Fender in the 70's. Sad but true...

CBS was the music industry, so buying as guitar company seemed like rather timid diversification...



...on one axis. From another view, they forgot they knew nothing about manufacturing! ("What? You can't stamp out guitars like they were vinyl records?")

Film stars, TV hosts, pop singers... but no Leo Fender among them.

 

[pbenn]

Just read "The Birth of Loud" by Ian Port.

Has relevance to this thread.

 

[msalama]

from Fender in the 70's

Some Customs and Deluxes are good regardless, at least if you avoid the latter part of the decade. I've got a couple myself and they're all solid guitars with tight neck pockets and accurate machining all around, so what I'm saying is that while CBS did fare badly indeed, it still wasn't all bad. YMMV of course with all that thick poly etcetera, but luckily, none of that has ever bothered me so I'm rocking these rawk machines with gusto!

What the buggers are though, is WEIGHTY. But as a 70's kid I've let myself be told this is good for sustain, so what we've got here is just da majical CBS t0anwUdz mojo doing its thang

 

[netgear69]

I have not played vintage guitars but what i do know Fender guitars are a very basic design the design has not changed
so if you was for example to buy a vintage 1950's telecaster and put it up against a modern reissue same specs what will be the difference the pickups maybe ? the wood and metal parts is the same construction if both are setup correct the argument that vintage guitars are firewood is not accurate in my opinion and that is just my opinion each to their own
I would use that same reason not to buy a 150k guitar over something a fraction of the price because basically this type of guitar has not changed

 

[Telenator]

I have not played vintage guitars but what i do know Fender guitars are a very basic design the design has not changed
so if you was for example to buy a vintage 1950's telecaster and put it up against a modern reissue same specs what will be the difference the pickups maybe ? the wood and metal parts is the same construction if both are setup correct the argument that vintage guitars are firewood is not accurate in my opinion and that is just my opinion each to their own
I would use that same reason not to buy a 150k guitar over something a fraction of the price because basically this type of guitar has not changed

The fact that you have not played vintage guitars makes your comments somewhat dubious here. I do understand your reasoning though.
My case is stated based on playing hundreds of vintage guitars with all their quirks from strings falling off the edge of the necks to finishes that have gotten so sticky you could use them as fly paper.
In this case, actual experience has brought me to the understanding I stated earlier. Most of them are firewood as compared to modern guitars.