Saturday, August 30, 2008

September edition of Vinatge guitar news and views.

The September issue of “Vintage Guitar News and Views”


Going back forwards


Well, with the cost of everything going up, just how far up is the high going to be ? No one knows this answer, but I feel that everything is just hideously expensive. I mean 18 K for a car? 250 K for a home? Shoes, shirts, 30 to 50 bucks a pop, This is ludicrous, and vintage guitars ?sheeze, gimme a break, I mean the average you and I can’t afford sweet old vintage gear ,that’s just a fact, So ,is all this out of kilter ? All askew? There will always be people willing to pay more and more for collectibles and that forces the average guy or girl out of the price game, other than a lucky break here and there stumbling on a sweet guitar at a reasonable price. I mean I do understand that 1962 (picked at random) is gone and will never come again and even though a guitar can be made today exactly like that sweet old girl, the same weight, color, feel, tone, It could be vastly inferior or vastly superior to the original or the original itself could be crap, but, there lies the crux. “The original 1962.” Original 1962 guitars are only made in 1962, never before, never again!

So if everyone wants a 1962 era guitar and only so many were originally made, we then enter the world of supply and demand, which in turn factors the pricing index’s, which fuels the ever increasing in prices for a limited supply of goods with over market saturation of demand regardless of whether ¾ of the consumers wanting the item can even afford it. The desire is there and that in turn adds more fuel to the fire. So Greg, what’s you’re point? I don’t really know, except that price fluctuations will always occur within a market and that prices will always rise on the long run as long as there is a limited supply of goods , especially one that is sought after , often duplicated, can even be replicated , but never fully actually authenticated as a time period correct piece. Even if every detail is correct, but the actual manufacturing date is in the past, never to be revisited again, and I guess that is where the mystique of it all lies, today is gone, never to return and somehow tomorrow just isn’t the same. Well that is until the day after tomorrow. So today’s bargains may just very well be tomorrows collectibles that we can afford to buy. Just some food for thought and something for you to digest. As always this is just my news and views, so may all your days be memorable, all your friends be true and all your riffs be killer, Till next month, Greg at Greg’s guitars .Greg's guitars

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Greg's guitars featured vintage guitar pages

" Relic Guitars " and the Vince Cunetto,Fender Custom shop ,Relic Stratocaster Limited edition guitar.
As I stated in a previous article " Everything old is new again" and the relic guitars certainly fill this bill. What is a relic guitar ? Why the interest in them ? What in my opinion are the best relic guitars on the market ?
Well, A relic guitar is usually a newer model guitar that has been aged or distressed in such a fashion as to make it appear to be old and well played (some better than others). I think the interest and most will agree was stirred up by a gentleman by the name of Vince Cunetto. Vince was contracted by the Fender Custom Shop to age and distress some of their custom guitars for a period of approximately 6 years, and with all due respect to the following and current batches of relic guitars ,These are in my opinion the most tasteful and well done "relics" to ever hit the guitar market.
The Cunetto relics were the most authentic looking and best playing relics I have ever seen, with that said let us look at one of the rarest "Cunetto relics" that exist. The Diamond Dealer exclusive, limited run (200) 1956 / 1996 50th Anniversary Stratocaster.This guitar is number 76 of those 200 that were ever produced.

All Cunetto relic guitars share the same features that can help you as a buyer distinguish it from any other guitar on the market. These are as follows. The Fender custom shop logo is "impressed "into the rear of the headstock ,not a sticker. Under the pickguard is a 3 digit paint code, again impressed into the wood and another impressed custom shop logo. Every Cunetto relic also has black (shielding paint) routes for all the pups and electronics and all come with a certificate from the Custom shop that is dated on the upper right hand side of the cert as opposed to the center of it.

With the highly featured select necks from Fenders Custom Shop,most all have a 9.5 radius on them.Vince Cunetto set out to create one of a kind authentic relics that looked and played as though you really had a period correct vintage guitar.

Cunetto also aged all the hardware to perfection and created checking,scrapes and bruises that in most enthusiast circles have failed to be matched by anyone else since (my opinion also) .

So if you happen to be lucky enough to own a Cunetto reliced guitar ,Keep her, they continue to escalate in value over time, and if you are privileged enough to have the Diamond dealer exclusive run relic with both cases and case candy as well as the certificate ,you are lucky indeed.This fine guitar can be seen at www.gregsguitar.net and yes she is for sale.