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Home > Washburn
We Have Found 2 Products for your search of Washburn.
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Acoustic Gutars - Why Buy Vintage? by Lee Griffith
The word "vintage" refers to the wine from a particular harvest orcrop. The term has been expanded to describe various things thatare old or choice. In the world of guitars, this extension of themeaning of "vintage" is used designate an older, and usually adesirable, guitar. Most collectors and many players value guitarsfrom the mid 1920s to about 1970. Guitars that were manufacturedbefore the mid-1920s are often considered by collectors and playersto be too crude and primitive in design. There are of courseexceptions this rule, such as Martin and Washburn parlor guitarsdating back to the Civil War era. Guitars after 1970 are not highlycollectable, not only because of their youth, but because ofsub-standard manufacturing and material standards that developedduring the 70's.
Why might you desire to seek out and purchase vintage acousticguitars or other vintage stringed instruments? Well, there areactually two great reasons to buy vintage: Number one, you are acollector; and/or, number two, you are a player.
The collector of vintage guitars, like the collector of anything,is looking for examples from specific time periods--examples thatare as pristine as possible with original everything: originalfinish, bindings, inlay, tuners, fretbard, frets, bridge,bridgepins, etc.--all with the original case if possible. Somecollectors do not even play their trophies--they just exhibit them.Being a player, it seems to me that to put a fine vintage guitarinto retirement as a wall hanger is almost a sacrilege. Instrumentsare made to be PLAYED!
The player of vintage guitars is an entirely different animal. Heis not so concerned with whether everything is original.Furthermore, he might not even care if much of the finish is wornoff the guitar and it is replete with nicks and dings and evensomeone's initials carved in the top! The main reason the playerbuys vintage is because of the SOUND. Through the aging of the woodand the vibrations over many years of playing, the sound of avintage acoustic guitar opens up into something quite wonderful.Mellow, yet crisp; resonant; complex. Sometimes there is a haunting"aftertaste" of each note that really cannot be described.
Because they are collectable, vintage guitars can be quitepricey--however there are some great deals still out there, andthere are many lesser known names that are much less expensive thatthe Gibsons and Martins--yet they have the virtues of vintage! Oneof my favorite guitars is a May-Bell arch-top guitar with a roundsoundhole made by Slingerland of Chicago during the GreatDepression. My cost, including the work necessary to make thisguitar playable, was $196.00! You can see this instrument at:
http://flatpickpost.blogspot.com/2006/10 caveat for the would-be vintage guitar buyer: Unless you are aluthier, or know one who works inexpensively, don't buy instrumentsfrom an online auction. If you're knowledgeable enough to recognizewhat the worst case scenario would be and have counted the cost,fine--otherwise, buy from a reputable dealer. Buying from a localdealer is great, but vintage instrument dealers are few and farbetween. There is no reason to feel uncomfortable buying a vintageguitar from dealer who will ship if the dealer offers and stands bya satisfactory return policy. Many dealers have websites with greatphotos and most of them completely understand that upon playing theguitar you might not be satisfied and may wish to return it.
There is one more thing you might want to consider before buyingvintage. In my experience with vintage instruments, there alwaysseems to be at least one minor playing problem in even the bestrepaired and restored vintage guitar: a slight buzz here--a littlerattle there. This is why I own one guitar that I purchased new.When you buy a new guitar, you start with a perfect saddle height,perfect neck angle, perfect fingerboard, perfect frets, etc. Newguitars have their merits--but if had to make a choice betweenbuying only new or buying only vintage--I'd choose vintage handsdown!
About the Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lee Griffith is an avid acoustic guitar player and a vintage instrument enthusiast. He invites you to receive a FREE REPORT on a revolutionary acoustic guitar lesson kit, along with his weekly newsletter via email. just click on http://optin.flatpickpost.com
Check out Lee's blog, "The Flatpick Post" at http://flatpickpost.com
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