Comments on: Joey Leone Says: Vintage Guitars vs. Reissue Guitars

By: Joe Heald

Joe Heald — Sun, 26 May 2019 09:33:19 +0000

Expensive/”name brand” guitars are a case of “The Emperors new clothes”.

I am that little boy.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:55:21 +0000

I love to read about the reasons why vintage is better than new. I’ve heard most of the reasons, but one that didn’t come up here (yet) is:

Vintage guitars cost more … therefore, they MUST sound better.

It would be hard for any vintage guitar collector to pay lots of money for something and admit that it wouldn’t sound as good as something from Guitar Center.

By: Cameron Schmitz

Cameron Schmitz — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:37:57 +0000

Great article and topic which is always pertinent to collectors, players and investors. My question is, this article is dated ’06 = pre-crash of economy and many art-related markets. So is the statement that one should expect 5-10% increase on vintage Gibsons and Fenders accurate in today’s marketplace? Would like to hear more on this plus was there any effect on the values after the horrible losses suffered in the great’10 Nashville flood? (Gruen’s salvaged, others not so much)?

By: FredW

FredW — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:08:01 +0000

I think you need the ears of a bat to tell the difference in most cases!

A quick twiddle of the knobs on your amp will make a far bigger difference to your sound than wood that is 20 years older.

By: Andre

Andre — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:18:36 +0000

its also a question of the finish, polyurethane over nitro cellulose. There are some top end guitars which if finsihed in poly are just dead – and dont allow the wood to breath. Yes there are some people out there like Rocketfire who’s electronics and also guitars are amazing – having that vintage feel but in a new guitar – guess that’s why fender have approached them to stop making their relics.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:31:02 +0000

Great take on Vintage vs. re-issue. I agree on the Gibsons, and the wierd thing is a 63 Gibson SG Jr. had the same quality as an L% from that era. The whole thing works on Gibsons. That being said I had an original 60 burst and my re-issue LP sounds better – go figure. On Gretsches though the old ones of a good caliber ( 6120’s ) definitely sound much better than the re-issues. The New Ricks sound and play better than the old ricks IMHO and I too play new fenders. I went thru 4 vintage strats before getting a Eric Johnson strat that killed them all, and yet my old no-caster was the best tele guitar ever. Never have found modern tele’s to beat blackguards 53 and back. Sold all the guitars to buy a ranch BTW. Now looking forward to your take on amps !

By: Joe E.

Joe E. — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:12:54 +0000

One HUGE difference on new vs old Fenders is the necks. New Fenders, including reissues, have much thicker necks. It’s especially noticeable on reissue Jaguars and Mustangs — the older ones had slimmer necks — great for people with small hands. I don’t understand why the reissues skipped past this very important detail — do they think people have bigger hands now? My main guitar is a ’63 Jag — I never had any desire to own one after playing the reissues — it wasn’t until I played a friend’s vintage Jag that I decided to hunt one down.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:53:56 +0000

If you have a Fender, or any other guitar, and want a buzz-free action, getting it Plekked will do the job.

Amazingly well, too.

By: Daniel C.

Daniel C. — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:59:26 +0000

I found a very awesome review of a Gibson Les Paul 1958 standard in which he was able to compare it against other Gibson reviews and other historics. As well he put up a video letting you hear this for yourself. I think that there is a huge difference in the warmth and attack between historic and vintage but both would look good on my wall in my opinion. http://www.officialguitarbuyersguide.com/index.php?pr=Original_1958_Gibson_Les_Paul_Standard