Official Luthiers Forum!

The cheapo Yammy's sold at Costco get returned when they break .. then every once and a while a couple employees at the local Yamaha headquarters take them out back and jump on them .. then they toss whats left in a dumpster.

Like others have said .. people collect them now by the dozen .... and until the music boom of the 70s, there really werent alot of guitars made in comparison to todays factory output.

_________________
Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

It’s a Gibson. Paid $50 for it back in the 70’s after it already had about 10 rough years of play. The finish is now covered in hairline cracks but otherwise the guitar is still in good shape.

Joe

Yet, since time stops at the event horizon, they are always right there!

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Yep, 30 or more years ago most players had only one guitar.(at least myself, and the players I knew) I suspect that at least half of the people who own guitars now have more than one. Conbine that with the expanding population and that's a bunch of guitars. I'd have to count to determine how many guitars I own.

I've got one client who has at least a couple hundred guitars. He's got a huge room full of all kinds of guitars, as well as a big custom climate controlled cabinet with a "Brackett", a couple other customs, and a pre war D28.

_________________
I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I've destroyed a few really bad pieces of plywood over the years.

some I was able to salvage some screws from.......

I have to disagree with Chris about the older stuff being better

a lot of bottom end guitars from the 60s and 70s wouldn't even burn well.

IMHO most bottom end guitars NOW are better than similar standard guitars were then.

_________________
My soundclick xx luthier blog xx luthier soundclick

Ive read through this thread and Im surprised that no-one has mentioned the international collectors market. My friend had a second hand/consignment "Vintage Guitar" business in Victoria BC and he said that almost half of his business was from overseas collectors (mainly Japan) who would buy things unplayed, unheard.... just a pic and a description(condition) and a price.
He said that he noticed the trend starting in the early 90's and only picked up steam, he said he often felt guilty about the amount of old Gibbys and Martins he would ship off continent.... which subsequently drove prices of remaining stocks in N.A. up and this in turn encouraged people to hold on to thier older guitars as investments,,, It might not be the whole reason but Im sure it plays some part.
Cheers
Charlie

Well, that was happening in the 80's. I even sent off a couple 50's Tele's and a '58 Explorer to Japan. I was referring to ALL the guitars produced by the slew of manufacturers that have sprung up since the music business really took off after WWII.

Where are all those SG's, L6-S's, Strat copies, Cort's, cheap flattops from St. Louis Music, and so on?
Literally millions of six strings have been produced in all those years - where did they go?
Something happened to them.....

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

The term "landfill" comes to mind.

I guess maybe they DID end up in landfills after all...

If folks can throw away pianos, they can definitely throw away guitars.....


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/arts/ ... wanted=all

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

About two years ago, someone literally dumped an upright in my backyard (I live on a corner lot in East Vancouver which people frequently use for 'midnight runs' for their garbage)...
I went outside and looked for guitar suitable parts, but there were none. So I played the strings with drumsticks and mallets for a while (the keyboard was missing), reaffirming my neighbors opinion of my eccentricity, and even had a small audience from the drive thru coffee shop facing my backyard for a bit. Then I got bored and took the sledge to it (a smashing symphony I must say) and put it in the dumpster over the course of a few weeks...

newbie: "I have a squier strat that needs fretwork. Where should I take it. How much will it cost?"

smartalec1: "Just order a new neck. It will be cheaper."

smartalec2: "For a few bucks more, you can get a new Ibanez."

Strat goes under the bed, get's gifted to some cousin, or ends up in the trash after being scavenged for parts that will never be used.

Never mind that a good fret job, nut and setup on the squier would probably turn it into a very very nice guitar...far nicer than yet another cheap guitar. That's the calculus, though. Buy a cheap guitar, and then throw it away.

I just setup a Squier Jazz bass for a guy tonight. You know what, with a little bit of love that's actually a very nice bass, and it sounds great too. I wonder how many of those have ended up in the dumpster because someone didn't want to pay $25 for a quick setup?

Everything is disposable nowadays...even guitars.

You may be right.
I forwarded this story to a friend of mine who repairs vintage synths, and his response was that most new musical instruments these days truly are disposable.

Since my shop isn't in a guitar store anymore, I guess I am out of the loop.
Which is weird, because back in the day I was the "go to" guy.

I guess, we'll save what we can - right?
Right now I'm working on a LP PeeWee for one of my nephews, and then one of my nieces has some Ibanez parts someone gave her.... I'll be resurrecting it soon.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I have one I'm trying to figure out what to do with. It "survived" hurricane Katrina. Yep, got left in the house when my nephew bailed. It was a nice guitar, all curly maple. Well, I suppose nice is a subjective word, but it looked real nice.

The house survived the storm, and the guitar (inside its case) floated around in the house until the water went down. My sister got it back, and gave it to me since she had no idea what to do with it, but though I might want it because it still looked pretty good.

OK, so I was amazed. What do they finish these things with? The finish is still like new, neck appears straight, all joints seem tight. This in spite of all it went through. All the metal parts were shot, so someone took them off, along with the electric pickup and associated parts mounted in the side, leaving a hole.

It looks like with a new saddle, tuners, and strings, it would be fine. Still have to patch the hole in the side. But here is the kicker: it was made by Dean. Nothing fancy, and a little research tells me I could replce it with a brand new one for 350 bucks.

Thought of making a wall hanger out of it, just because it has an interesting history. Otherwise, what should I do with it?

_________________
Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

This man had a few of them:

http://www.fretboardjournal.com/blog/ch ... ge-guitars

Although the amount and quality may be rare, the act of folk having a collection of 4, 5 + Guitars is not. Factor in the previously mentioned worlds population growth, the relatively new emerging markets of the far east and Guitars get snapped up.
Unfortunately not enough of mine though.

I think you answered your own question.
Fix it, and see how much music is left in it.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince