Posts Tagged ‘Acoustic Guitars’

Many of the visitors to my website ask about vintage guitar values. Do you have a guitar about which you would like to have information? Do you have a question about Fender guitar value, Gibson guitar value, or maybe the value of a Martin guitar? Even if you don’t know what kind of guitar you have, a little research will help you to find the value of your guitar.

What makes a guitar valuable?

Several factors figure into the value of a guitar. In general, the guitar must be one which is sought after by collectors and musicians. The demand for a guitar is determined in general by quality, beauty, and playability. This demand must outweigh the available supply.Age is an important factor in the value of a guitar, but a guitar is not necessarily more valuable just because it is older. It must have been made with a high standard of quality in the first place. An old mediocre quality guitar is just that–an old mediocre guitar! The actual year that a guitar was made may not be as important as the PERIOD in which it was made.

For example, electric guitars which are most valuable today include Fender Telecasters made before 1954, Fender Stratocasters made between 1954 and 1959, and Gibson Les Pauls made between 1958 and 1960. Acoustic guitars of the greatest value include Pre-World War II Martins and Gibsons.This is not to say that other guitars are not valuable. Many vintage guitars will bring a good price. The trick is to know approximately how much YOUR guitar is worth.

How Do I Determine the Value of My Guitar?

In order for you or anyone else to determine the value of your guitar, you must have certain information available. Ideally, you would know the brand, model, and serial number. The brand and model, however, can often be determined through the serial number. Then you must determine the condition of your guitar–prices differ greatly according to condition. Here are some guidelines: (these guidelines are from the “Blue Book of Acoustic and Electric Guitars”)

100% – New – New with all factory materials, including warranty card, owner’s manual, case, and other items that were originally included by the manufacturer. On currently manufactured instruments, the 100% price refers to an instrument not previously sold at retail. Even if a new instrument has been played only twice and traded in a week later, it no longer qualifies at 100%.

Excellent – this Excellent condition range is represented by both High Excellent and Low Excellent condition. High Excellent refers to an instrument that is very clean, looks almost new (perhaps a few light scratches/dings only), and has hardly been used. Low Excellent refers to a guitar that has been played/used, and has accumulated some minor wear in the form of light scratches, dings, small chips, etc. The older an instrument, the less likely it will be in High Excellent condition Even Low Excellent is seldom encountered on instruments over 50 years old, since most acoustic instruments were originally purchased to be played

Average – The Average guitar condition factor indicates an acoustic guitar that has been in a player’s hands and has worn due to player use (hopefully, no abuse). High Average condition instruments have normal dents, small chips, and light dings on the body, and/or scratches on the top and back. However, there should be no problems unless indicated separately. Low Average condition instruments may reflect major finish problems, replacement parts, previous repairs (especially on older instruments), alterations, and neck/fret wear is typically visible.

Once you have this information at hand, you can attempt to find the value of the guitar by consulting various sources on the internet or you can have it appraised by an expert. Researching the value of your guitar on the internet may be free. The downside is that this research requires a big expenditure of time and a wide knowledge of guitar pricing resources. If you have your guitar appraised, remember that the appraiser may also be a dealer who is, after all, wanting to make a profit by reselling the guitar. For this reason, the appraisal MAY be biased.

Because so many of my website visitors have inquired about the value of their guitars, I have begun to offer a GENERAL guitar evaluation service. This service is FREE. If you are interested, please visit:

Vintage Guitar Values at the May Music Studio Website.

The list for popular types of guitars can be endless. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and types. There are acoustic ones, electric acoustic ones, semi hollow ones, electric ones, twelve string ones, four string bass types, five string bass guitars, and so on.

Acoustic guitars

It is independent of any external device to be heard. It is more sober than other instruments commonly found in bands and orchestras. To play within such groups the sound is often externally amplified. Acoustic guitars, which are available today, feature a variety of pickups. This enables the player to increase and adjust the raw guitar sound.

Prominent subcategories within the acoustic guitar group are the following:

Classical and flamenco ones; steel string kinds that comprise the folk or flat top guitar; arch top guitar and the twelve string guitars. There are unamplified kinds also in the acoustic group.

Such types are designed to play in various registers. The tuning of the acoustic bass guitar is similar to that of the electric bass guitar.

Classical guitars
These are normally strung with nylon strings, to be played in a seated pose and are used to play a variety of musical styles together with classical music. The classical type is designed in such a way that it allows the execution of solo polyphonic arrangements of music

Portuguese guitar
The Portuguese type is a 12 string one used in Portugal for the customary Fado songs.

Archtop guitars
Steel string instruments feature a violin inspired f hole design where the top (and often the back) of the instrument are engraved in a curved rather than a flat shape.

Flat top (steel string) guitars
Here the body dimension is typically considerably larger than the classical type and it has a narrower, resistant neck and stronger structural design

Resonator, resophonic or Dobro guitars
The hum of the resonator guitar is created by a metal resonator fitted in the middle of the top.

Tenor guitars
Some classical guitarists call the Niibori prime model a Tenor Guitar on the grounds that it sits in pitch between the alto and the bass.

Harp guitars
This consists of a usual model, with additional harp strings strung on top of the six normal strings. The instrument is generally acoustic and the harp strings are adjusted to lower notes than the guitar strings, for an added bass range.

Acoustic bass guitars
This type has steel strings or guts strings in it and often has the same tuning as an electric bass guitar.

12 string guitars
Instead of having only six strings, the 12 string guitar has six courses made up of two strings each, like a mandolin or f lute.

Electric guitars
Electric guitars are the types, which have solid, semi hollow, or hollow bodies, and generate minute sound without amplification. The electromagnetic vibrations of the strings are converted into electrical signals, which are supplied to an amplifier via a cable or radio transmitter. Sound outputted is regularly modified by other electronic instruments or the natural distortion of valves (vacuum tubes) in the amplifier.

As far as instruments go, the bass guitar is one of the newest on the scene. It’s a completely original component of today’s bands and modern music and has not even been in existence for a century. Don’t let the name “bass guitar” fool you either, the bass guitar is not actually derived from the guitar.

While electric guitars were developed from acoustic guitars, bass guitars were developed from the double bass instrument. They were originally known (and are still sometimes called) electrical bass instruments or the electric bass.

The original double bass, or simply the bass, are the massive, classical instruments that have been around for several hundred years. They are played with the instrument resting on the ground, using a bow across the strings.

The bass guitar is of course held with a strap on a musician’s body and is played using one’s fingers. As opposed to the back and forth of the bow on its predecessor and the strumming with a pick of an electrical guitar, the bass guitar is typically played with either plucking or slapping movements of the fingers.

It is tuned to sound the same as an original bass with of course the added benefit of being able to be amplified. In the early part of the 20th century, as music was getting louder, the bass was being drowned out and was unable to be heard. And so the quest for an electrical bass began.

Leo Fender and the Creation of the Bass Guitar

Leo Fender was an amazing man, a visionary and is one of the single most influential people in modern music history. All of these things and many more is Leo Fender. However, one thing he is not is the inventor of the bass guitar.

In 1935, it was Paul Tutmarc who developed the first incarnation of the electric bass. It was to be played horizontally and held like a guitar and could be plugged in for amplification. However, his instrument never truly caught on. It was in 1951 that the bass began earning its spot in modern music.

Leo Fender created his Fender Precision Bass, which was mass produced and skyrocketed in popularity. Gibson followed shortly there after and the bass guitar became an important component of jazz ensembles and today, nearly all musical styles and bands.

Just as with the electric guitar, Leo Fender capitalized on previous inventions, tweaked them to his own specifications and mass produced them to extreme success. While he should be remembered fondly for his contributions, let’s not forget the original inventor of the electric bass, Paul Tutmarc.

Guitars have become important parts of every song today; be it rock or pop, guitars find their use everywhere. Since the early twentieth century, the guitar has been an important musical instrument that has fascinated everyone. Who doesn’t want to be the next “Jimmy Hendrix” or “Carlos Santana”?

The guitar is an amazing instrument; it looks good, sounds great and reflects style which is difficult to ignore. No wonder then that guitarists have massive female fan following! Guitars can be of two types: Spanish and Hawaiian. Whereas the Spanish guitar is the new-age guitar, the Hawaiian guitar is a classical guitar.

The Spanish guitar can again be classified into two types: acoustic and electric. Rosewood is generally used along with maple to make acoustic guitars. However, an electric guitar is a mix of solid wooden body, six-strings and an electric circuit. Ask any rock guitarist and he will tell you how important the electric guitar is in the field of “progressive rock” or “death metal”.

Electric guitars basically amplify sound through amplifiers. Popular rock songs often employ “distortion effects” from electric guitars for a fun and funky sound. Those effects are made using pick-ups and “guitar pedals.” Guitar pedals are also known as multi-processors and allow musicians to experiment with a variety of different sound types.

Guitar pedals open up a whole new set of possibilities for guitarists to add that extra ‘zing’ to their guitar playing. Thanks to modern technology, guitar pedals are now available with a number of high-end features. The best part about a guitar pedal is that it has a number of features stored in a small body. Multi-processor pedals are in great demand today.

If you are a guitarist and you want to develop your technique and style, then you definitely need a guitar pedal. Amateur guitarists should opt for basic guitar pedals. However, for the ‘pros’, there are innumerable guitar pedals available which will leave you asking for more.

An online guitar store will offer a selection of good quality pedals at excellent prices. At any of the online guitar stores, you can choose from a variety of electric guitars, guitar pedals and other gear. By browsing an online guitar center, you can find great deals on a guitar and any extras you might need.