do we think prices will come back down to some semblance of reality?

[Powdered Toast Man]

Given the amount of fairly 'rare' stuff I went through last year (namely the Squier Venus, Greco LP Deluxe, Mosrite, SC-3, and Gibson Spirit II)... and seeing how prices are going, it's looking unlikely that I'll ever get the chance to pick up those models again (thankfully a friend has the Mosrite/Greco/SC-3 and a colleague the Spirit II). And fat chance of ever owning a Musicmaster again now they're like £1k plus for a bloody student model.

Honestly though, the only things I'm after are an AV65 JM, and a G&L ASAT from the 80's (or a Broadcaster like the Darth Vader on here). I've given up on ever owning a vintage Jag. I'm quite happy with my junky vintage stuff- the Leads, Sparkle Bastard & Greco P-Bass.

I just don't know who the fuck in their right mind would pay these prices? Johnny's CAR Jag here was almost in the realm of reality had I not splurged an AV65, and even that would have been a stretch. I'm seeing a lot of Jags in particular hang around forever at ridiculous prices on Reverb.

In all honesty, I don't think vintage guitars of a certain price are worth it anymore, but then neither are the Custom Shops IMO. The best guitars I've ever played have generally all been AV-series Fenders or high-end Japanese Tokai's (some lovely Gibson stuff from the Memphis factory too). Anything over £3.5k and it'd have to have some real provenance for me.

I personally think some prices will come down a tad, only because the cost of living is going up and some people might be feeling the pinch and need to move stuff on. But that'll probably be like higher end used MIM stuff and some USA stuff- the everyman kinda level of gear. But whether it'll be enough to bring overall prices down, god knows.

The vintage market prices are never coming back down to what they were not even that long ago. Offsets were kind of the red headed step children of the vintage market and you could still score mid-60's Jags and JM's for fairly reasonable prices. But then over the past couple of years the collectors got wind of them and then you had the super collectors going around and vacuuming them all off the market so prices went haywire. And that's that.

And then the prices for 1970's Fenders... 5, 6, 10, 12 GRAND?
W.
T.
F.

As for some other used prices, I cannot fathom what the hell anyone is thinking paying the current prices for a used pre-2012 AVRI. Are they good guitars? Yes. Are they worth more than a brand new AO? Absolutely not. I'm even seeing some of them asking used Custom Shop level prices. Who the hell is buying these?

[seenoevil II]

Yeah I'm so torn between wanting to say screw all that noise and not buy anything at all.

But at the same, they'll never be any cheaper ever again. If I wait, they'll just get even more expensive.

Good excuse to get into building, I guess. I'm not saying boutique builders over charge, but the cost of building versus buying is getting pretty tight. The real expense is having a shop.

[JamesSGBrown]

And fat chance of ever owning a Musicmaster again now they're like £1k plus for a bloody student model.

This just popped up in my feed, funnily enough...

https://www.bangguitars.co.uk/product/f ... -1965-usa/

£1595 for a '65 MM

In fairness, the way things are headed, now is probably better than later.

I missed out out a Daphne Blue (I thinkg?) one on the Fretboard for a grand about a month ago. Gutting.

My stripped, modded (bridge pickup added) one went for £995 (I'm guessing it went for an offer) about 7 months ago on Reverb. I offered to buy it back but not for that price- you could wriggle the neck around FFS! FWIW I sold it for £700-£750 in 2017 after I lost my job, so I was pretty gutted about having to get rid of it and hoping it'd come full circle, but not for that price.

EDIT: Even that AV65 JM they have is pretty dear. If I wasn't about to move house I might have made them an offer but still... I think £1500 should be TOPS besides like the Inca Silver/Firemist Gold models, but I guess it just isn't anymore! Maybe I just want something for nothing, ha.

[s_mcsleazy]

i know a dude who bought a stripped 70's musicmaster for £900. granted, he told me it's not gonna be for sale...... which is a shame because it's screaming for a wrhb in the neck.

does make me wonder what happened to the dude who has 2 early 60's musicmasters (one was refined in a kinda orange-y colour and one was this weird blue) that both had humbuckers in the neck. i played a gig with them in clydebank in 2008 or 2009 and it sounded amazing.

[JamesSGBrown]

i know a dude who bought a stripped 70's musicmaster for £900. granted, he told me it's not gonna be for sale...... which is a shame because it's screaming for a wrhb in the neck.

Does it have 2 single coils in and white Mustang switches? If so it's my old one.

EDIT: This one: https://reverb.com/uk/item/38364428-fen ... _sold=true

[s_mcsleazy]

i know a dude who bought a stripped 70's musicmaster for £900. granted, he told me it's not gonna be for sale...... which is a shame because it's screaming for a wrhb in the neck.

Does it have 2 single coils in and white Mustang switches? If so it's my old one.

EDIT: This one: https://reverb.com/uk/item/38364428-fen ... _sold=true

nah, all black.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

Just remembered that I had a hankering for a Johnny Marr Jag recently, which I seem to remember being about £1000-1200 new when they first came out what seems like the blink of an eye ago, and being staggered by even the second-hand prices. Obviously they're highly-spec'd guitars, but how does one double in price in only a decade or so?

[JamesSGBrown]

Just remembered that I had a hankering for a Johnny Marr Jag recently, which I seem to remember being about £1000-1200 new when they first came out what seems like the blink of an eye ago, and being staggered by even the second-hand prices. Obviously they're highly-spec'd guitars, but how does one double in price in only a decade or so?

They were never that cheap new. They were like £1.6k

[cestlamort]

Just remembered that I had a hankering for a Johnny Marr Jag recently, which I seem to remember being about £1000-1200 new when they first came out what seems like the blink of an eye ago, and being staggered by even the second-hand prices. Obviously they're highly-spec'd guitars, but how does one double in price in only a decade or so?

They were never that cheap new. They were like £1.6k

I think they were in line with the other US models when first introduced (I remember wanting one and later the green one, and deciding that it ultimately wasn't worth it to me to buy a new guitar when a used Rickenbacker was about $1000. Whoops.)

I just did a search for the prices and the Marr was announced in January 2012... Happy 10th anniversary, Johnny Marr Jaguar!

With the current shortages (all new AO jazzmasters and Marr jags are out of stock), the used asking prices are basically the same as new prices. That may change in a few weeks / months / whatever when more stock arrives. But (as mentioned above) the prices all went up yesterday by $100 for these models (which is only a 5% increase! ouch – things have gotten expensive!), so expect used prices to follow suit.

[wooderson]

Asking prices aren't necessarily selling prices. The reasonable ones disappear off of Reverb, the $3k Johnny Marr sits there. The $2-3k CBS Mustangs don't seem to be flying off the shelf but collectors are content to just let them sit forever if they don't need the money.

It will be interesting to see what the new IRS reporting requirements do to US online sales. I imagine a good chunk of sellers will fall off Reverb/EBay and even forums rather than make their taxes more complicated (you won't pay more in taxes but you'll have to file with a schedule C and all that jazz).

[Francer]

Tell me about it. I had my eyes on a ‘72 Jazzmaster that was owned by Hendrix. Since lockdown the price has skyrocketed. Ridiculous.

Eh? Hendrix died in 1970!

[DeathJag]

Tell me about it. I had my eyes on a ‘72 Jazzmaster that was owned by Hendrix. Since lockdown the price has skyrocketed. Ridiculous.

Eh? Hendrix died in 1970!

He’s talking about Bob Hendrix, the dentist!

[tamerofbantha]

whoever the fuck is listing vintage Jaguars on reverb for more than 10k USD needs to have their faces forcibly set on fire

[Turtletown]

I feel like the whole state of the guitar market right now is absurd. I bought a 2012 Classic Player Jaguar HH last year for about one grand. Now, some of them are going for $1300+ from what I've seen. I don't know who is more absurd when it comes to purchasing things between car enthusiasts or musicians but by god, I'm surprised this entire forum isn't also a debt help group.

[Telliot]

As a buyer, I think the prices are absurd, but no different than the cost of used/classic cars or housing.

I've wanted an early '70s Porsche 911 since I was a kid, and the prices have gone through the roof, making it an unattainable dream for me. Similarly, the housing market is another area where you can see this sort of thing happen in real time. Keep in mind the price of everything has gone up: wood, metal, microchips, etc are all harder to get and therefore command a higher premium. Hell, even shipping is more expensive! It's just another example of how Covid and climate change have changed the world.

As others have said, this might create a boon for new builders (although most new builders tend to price their guitars ~$3k or higher), or more obscure/entry level vintage gear, or maybe it will become cool to play the Squier over the Fender, Epi over the Gibson, etc. The rich won't feel these effects, but will be happy to profit from it or hang it on their wall like a painting, leaving the rest of us to reconsider what's 'cool' within our budget. I know this is common knowledge here, but it's worth reiterating: Jazzmasters and Jaguars were readily available and cheap in the '80s because they were considered to be the most 'un-cool' guitars by the greater guitar playing community at the time. Struggling up and coming artists embraced them and their quirky charms, and 50 years after their inception they've become 'cool' because those early adopters made them that way. So now they're expensive and sought after by people who would have turned their nose up to them even 10 years ago.

As a seller, I can't fault anyone for taking advantage of the market conditions. I was lucky to get a have a chance to buy my 1966 JM here on OSG almost 9 years ago. If I were to sell it for what I bought it for or think is reasonable, most likely it would get snatched up and re-sold immediately for an inflated price - and probably sell! It's just how things go, I guess. Similarly to the housing market, if I were to sell my JM for what the going rates are, I probably couldn't afford to buy another one of a similar year.