Cheapest way into a vintage offset?

[mcatano]

Another option is to look for vintage parts rather than a complete guitar; with some luck, patience, and $3K you could probably end up with a vintage refin body, a decent 60s neck, and your choice of everything else. If you're a player not a collector (and I don't think you're going to be getting into collector grade pre-cbs JMs for $3K anymore...), parts-built guitars are a nice way to get a bit of vintage feel but also not worry about swapping pickups or messing around with the electronics, etc. I have a great player that's a mix of pat-pend parts, a 65 burst body, and a 1980 JM neck. I probably spent $1000 altogether on it but I've been collecting those parts and moving them around other builds for 20yrs. (Note: I'm still looking for a 65 dot/binding small headstock neck if anyone's holding...)

As much as it's possible to get a below-market price here and there through friends/bandmates/etc, just doing the rounds and making friends with people that work at good shops, going to the occasional guitar show, all of that is a good way to keep an ear to the ground and hustle for parts. You just kind of have to enjoy the process and not be in a rush. It's the same as anything else, right? Fast, cheap, good—pick two.

[Pacafeliz]

...cheapest? Well them old Teisco and Kay and such.
Easily under 100 and many if not most of them sound pretty damn good!

[SignoftheDragon]

Oh my god that’s so many words. Apologies everyone

I laughed out loud when I finished your post and saw this next. I, for one, accept your apology.

[GreenKnee]

Patience and moving quickly is key, as mentioned before. I scored a '62 Jaguar (old refin but everything else original) for £2700 last summer. It did need a refret, but now it's a spectacular guitar

[graceless]

Tangentially, the delusional prices of refinned offsets - who the the actual hell is paying $6-$9k for a refin '60s jazzmaster? I see them moving all the time on reverb, most recently a '64 with a seafoam finish going for something like $7k. Crikey.

[HedonismBot]

It's annoying as a buyer/consumer, but consider this..

Back in the day, before the internet provided the outlet and opportunity for every person with an old guitar to get almost top dealer retail prices themselves, vintage guitar dealers were the middleman. They relied on people walking in with gear to sell, or consigning estates, or even buying gear at shows to stock at the store.

Now, to find stock and continue operating, dealers have to compete directly with consumers on the open market. If the upside of places like Reverb, eBay and FB/CL is providing consumers with a direct access to buy and sell, the downside is that dealers have to play in the same field.

One could argue there is less need for vintage guitar dealers these days, but I think they still serve an important purpose as a credible gear source for people who do not know all the minutiae of vintage guitars. Especially at the higher end of the price spectrum.

Good point but, unfortunately, this doesn't mean much to guys like me. I can only rely on my own research on the internet / asking any knowledgeable people that I might know when I'm looking for a particular guitar because I can't afford paying vintage boutique prices. All I can do is learn as much as I can about the specs, stamps, etc., and start brushing the listings hoping to find a good deal.

[Highnumbers]

Yeah, I don't think that's even being debated, HedonismBot.

Reading everything you can online (and I highly recommend actual all the print books possible, not everything is online), knowing exactly what you're looking at, asking questions and simply being quick and ready when something pops up is the best tactic to buy something for less than retail prices.

My comment above was in response to the fact that there is less competitive advantage for dealers than ever before, so they are quick, knowledgeable and well-funded. If you want to buy something at less-than-retail prices, you need to be sharp and quick to take action. Best of luck with the hunt.

[HedonismBot]

Yeah, I don't think that's even being debated, HedonismBot.

Reading everything you can online (and I highly recommend actual all the print books possible, not everything is online), knowing exactly what you're looking at, asking questions and simply being quick and ready when something pops up is the best tactic to buy something for less than retail prices.

My comment above was in response to the fact that there is less competitive advantage for dealers than ever before, so they are quick, knowledgeable and well-funded. If you want to buy something at less-than-retail prices, you need to be sharp and quick to take action. Best of luck with the hunt.

Yeah, I'm not disagreeing with you at all. This comment was a response to the last paragraph of your post, I guess I should have only quoted that part to avoid any confusion. Thanks, good luck to you too!

[s_mcsleazy]

oh if you don't mind it not being pre-80. i'd go with vista jagmasters

[Mechanical Birds]

It's annoying as a buyer/consumer, but consider this..

Back in the day, before the internet provided the outlet and opportunity for every person with an old guitar to get almost top dealer retail prices themselves, vintage guitar dealers were the middleman. They relied on people walking in with gear to sell, or consigning estates, or even buying gear at shows to stock at the store.

Now, to find stock and continue operating, dealers have to compete directly with consumers on the open market. If the upside of places like Reverb, eBay and FB/CL is providing consumers with a direct access to buy and sell, the downside is that dealers have to play in the same field.

One could argue there is less need for vintage guitar dealers these days, but I think they still serve an important purpose as a credible gear source for people who do not know all the minutiae of vintage guitars. Especially at the higher end of the price spectrum.

Good point but, unfortunately, this doesn't mean much to guys like me. I can only rely on my own research on the internet / asking any knowledgeable people that I might know when I'm looking for a particular guitar because I can't afford paying vintage boutique prices. All I can do is learn as much as I can about the specs, stamps, etc., and start brushing the listings hoping to find a good deal.

Also typical used or vintage shop prices are batshit and not beholden to any real market forces from
What I see. Seriously just go look at the mmguitar bar site at literally anything they sell

[Highnumbers]

I wouldn’t use MM Guitar Bar to represent “typical” used and vintage guitar store prices.

As for normal retail prices, we may not like them but that’s the reality we’re in. Gear sells at dealers every day and often near asking prices.

[s_mcsleazy]

ive seen mm guitar bar ask near top dollar but i still think norman's rare guitars might have them beat.

[adamrobertt]

Check out any NY based boutique/vintage shop if you want to see some insane prices. MM's Guitar Bar seems tame by comparison imo. Anyway, I decided not to buy a vintage guitar right now. I guess I'm over it for the moment. Maybe one day I'll be able to truly afford one, rather than trying to force it to happen when I don't really have the resources. I had originally been planning to sell some stuff to make it work, but it was still a stretch.

Anyway, I ended up buying a cool non-vintage offset on Reverb, I'll make a post when I get it because it's sort of unique.

[Mechanical Birds]

Full disclosure Mike Adams is an awesome and altruistic guy and working in the shop would basically be my dream job. I admittedly don’t browse through really any used/vintage sites other than the random guitar center search term checklist so I have no point of reference and thus my criticism might be unfair.

I guess that would affect the validity of the cartoon Wolf Eyes face I made upon seeing how they price inventory but it definitely happens every time I decide to check their site out

[bterry]

Full disclosure Mike Adams is an awesome and altruistic guy and working in the shop would basically be my dream job. I admittedly don’t browse through really any used/vintage sites other than the random guitar center search term checklist so I have no point of reference and thus my criticism might be unfair.

I guess that would affect the validity of the cartoon Wolf Eyes face I made upon seeing how they price inventory but it definitely happens every time I decide to check their site out

The way they price and describe/sell their inventory is ridiculous and you are far from the first person to have noticed it, I wouldn’t feel bad about it