Guitar identification
For example, a volute or scroll at the back of a Gibson headstock usually indicates that the instrument was built between 19 (although some appeared as early as 1969).Īnother thing that the trained eye will immediately be able to pick up on is whether an instrument was built in the U.S. Sometimes you can narrow down even further the time period in which your guitar was built because of a certain distinguishing feature. These are all differences that would be difficult for the uneducated eye to notice, yet they drastically affect the guitar’s sound and value.Īt the very least, these books will identify the time period during which the guitar in question was produced, basic information that will, for example, keep you from paying a premium for a "1960s Martin HD-28" (you’ll know that this model wasn’t introduced until 1976). Yet another double-X bracing pattern was used during the ’70s, and then a more Martin-like scalloped X-bracing was adopted when the model was reintroduced in the late ’80s. It was changed to maple back and sides (except for a few rosewood examples) and a double-X bracing pattern in the ’50s. When did the company start building guitars? Where were the guitars manufactured? Did the company move in the course of its existence, and did it move its production overseas? Did the model in question change drastically during the years of production? For example, Gibson’s J-200 started out with rosewood back and sides and fairly standard X-bracing in the late 1930s. In recent years, more and more books providing information on the major guitar manufacturers have become available, and they’re a great place to start. If you want to educate yourself to identify guitars, the first step is to become familiar with the histories of some of the larger companies. But if you randomly drop by a store that you’ve never been to before and ask for this kind of help, they might not take the time to look carefully at what you’ve got. The shop employee may be glad to look up the approximate value of your ax in a book and give you an opinion about what it’s worth. While most shops charge a fee for an official appraisal, it may take an experienced retailer only a second to realize that your old Epiphone is actually a Nova 390, produced from 1976 to 1980 in the company’s short-lived Japanese factory. While it may be tempting to call every store in the area in order to save a few dollars when you’re shopping for something, developing a loyalty to one or two shops pays off when you need service that goes beyond a simple purchase.
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It’s so important to establish a working relationship with these folks.
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One of the most valuable and often overlooked resources to help you identify and appraise guitars is your local used instrument dealer. You’ll also need to know exactly what your guitar is worth for insurance purposes. Prices for certain vintage models vary by thousands of dollars depending on whether it’s a 1963, for example, or a 1964. The most important one is probably pricing the instrument appropriately when you’re looking to sell it. There are many reasons for determining the precise age of your used guitar.