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Maybe you’ve heard, vintage gear can be really, really expensive! So is it just the hype or is it really worth the price? That depend on what you want in your guitar or amp or basses or whatever the gear is. I’ve played plenty of vintage Gibsons and Fenders, and a good pile of the 60’s and 70’s Japanese guitars. Since there are really new Teiscos and Kuwai guitars to compare, I’ll speak of the guitars I’ve done a “A B” test on. Say a 1956 Gibson Les Paul vs. a 1956 Gibson Les Paul reissue. There are some things that time can change on a guitar that manufacturing techniques can’t. For instance the wood tends to dry out as it ages. As this happens the body resonates easier when its lighter but still has the cellular structure of the wood. End of the day it means more sustain. In my opinion more sustain is better, and most people will agree with that. Pickup are a little different, as they age assuming they are wax potted the wax loosens up and one they feed back a little more, and two which is the important part they get more dynamics to your amp. Sweet!


So now we are on to the magic part of selecting a guitar…the neck. When you find a neck that feels right its such a good feeling. It moulds to your hand like it was built for you. This happen every once in a while these days because the necks are very standardized. On the vintage gear there was a lot more variety in the manufacturing. Some companies have necks that are all the same so if you find a PRS neck you like, you will always find a neck you like. If not…too bad. So for me viva la difference, but I’m not everybody. You have to make that decision yourself. I really liked a neck on a $45,000.00 Les Paul recently, while the reissues of the same year feel a little large to me, so pay attention to the right feel.


Amps are a question of two things: Speakers and Electronics. Most of the earliest amps were hand wired and they used very good components that in some cases aren’t being manufactured today. For example the Marshall Jubilee amp used the Drake transformers which today aren’t available. In an amp, the transformer makes a huge difference in tone, so make sure if you are buying a vintage amp you are getting what you are paying for. For hand wired amps, they are very easy to work on, and because of this you have to make sure the components are all original or at least period correct. Tubes aren’t as important because if you play your amp regularly, you get about a 5 year shelf life out of them. Vintage NOS (New Old Stock) tubes are an ideal change for a vintage amp, but are getting to be difficult to find. Get as good a tubes as you can. Some of the features the old amps don’t usually have are things like, high gain, 4 channels, effects loops and a couple modern features that may make you choose a newer amp versus a vintage amp.


On to speakers…Broken in speakers tend to be more responsive than new speakers. You can’t fake the playing time that goes into a speaker. Now there are some speakers that you might like over others and that’s fine, but head to head with the same model speaker, the older speaker usually wins. Make sure the speakers aren’t blown though. An old cab with new speakers sounds about the same as a brand new cab. So find the sound you are looking for and you might find it in a new cab or combo amp…Great! It’ll be a lot cheaper than a vintage tone monster. But if you find it in a vintage Fender bassman for instance be prepared to pay for it.


So happy hunting and good luck on the quest for the perfect tone! I’ve got my eye on a 1955 Gibson Les Paul jr at the moment. Unfortunately, they want $11,450.00 for it. So, at the moment I’ll stick to my 1976 Les Paul Custom and a few other choice guitars in the collection. BTW eBay is a great place to check street value on vintage gear so get an account and look at the completed listings. That shows what they actually sell for.


As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns…Hit me up!


Jeremy Gift


Free Musician