|
 Rick
Hogue writes the Modern Collectable Column for Musicians Hotline Magazine.
He welcomes questions about Modern Collectable Guitars and can be reached
via email at gpguitars@gmail.com.
Rick is the owner of Garrett Park Guitars in Annapolis, MD (www.gpguitars.com
410-571-9660). Rick has been in the guitar business since 1981 and has
traded in vintage guitars, amplifiers was one of the first to buy and
sell vintage effects. Rick and Garrett Park Guitars specialize in Modern
Collectable Guitars from Fender, PRS, Gibson and others. Notable clients
include Jay Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Chris Duarte, Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, David Gilmore, Robben Ford, Tom Kiefer of Cinderella, Vernon
Reid, Marshall Crenshaw, Vernon Reid,Bootsy Collins. Bruce
Cockburn, Steve Earle, and Joe Satriani.
What Makes Them Go Up?
This month I'd like to explore the various factors that influence what
guitars become collectable. Of course, playability and sound quality would
certainly be the most important factors. Generally speaking, a guitar
is deemed collectable because it's also considered worthwhile as a musical
instrument.
The question of who plays a particular model of guitar is the factor
that usually the next most important factor. Guitars that are used by
a recording artist are collected as a tribute and to emulate that particular
artist. The Martin 000-28 and 42 models used by Eric Clapton are prime
examples of this dynamic. Another is the late-1960s Fender Stratocaster
with the maple-capped fingerboard. There is also the Gretsch 6120 used
by Eddie Cochran and later Brain Setzer with the Stray Cats (and the Brian
Setzer Orchestra, if you're so inclined). One of the most valuable of
all guitars is the '58-'60 Gibson Les Paul Standard, which was made popular
through the influential work of the legendary guitarist Mike Bloomfield,
and later Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Duane Allman. For
many the image of Carlos Santana with a PRS began the fascination and
curiosity for that guitar, though it wasn't until 11 years after PRS launched
that a Santana model was released.
Many other artists have influenced guitar sales and acquisitions, but
there are other factors too. Ibanez made a line of replica guitars that
were very nearly exact copies several popular Gibson models. Gibson, in
due course, sued to protect its trademarks and eventually prevailed in
causing Ibanez to pull these guitars from the market. A lawsuit is now
being waged between Gibson and PRS over the PRS Single Cut model. Gibson
asserts that the SC infringes on the Les Paul trademark. PRS was forced
to cease and desist the production of Single Cut guitars, and overnight
they began to be snapped up by collectors who were speculating that Gibson
would again prevail in upholding its trademarks.
Many guitar collectors favor instruments with odd colors and/or special
features. The reason that any one color of feature should eventually be
considered "odd," "special" or in some other way rare
is that manufacturers often eliminate options in order to streamline production,
thus enhancing productivity and profitability. Colors, special options
and even entire lines of models can be eliminated in the process. Many
people are quick to seek out these guitars as collectibles, being willing
to speculate on their investment potential. The Fender Marauder and Swinger
are good examples; certainly rare, but not the best guitars Fender ever
made. Another would be the tweed Fender amps of the 1950s and '60s, as
well as the brown and single 15" Vibroverbs of 1963 and '64. These
amps sounded great, but they were also no longer available new. Gibson
produced Les Pauls in the 1980s in sparkle finishes. Those guitars were
only in production for a few years, and soon they were being snapped up.
Fender followed suit with its "bowling ball" finishes. Each
one of these was different, and though they were a tad heavy (think bowling
ball), collectors added them to their portfolios.
Other factors cause certain models to go out of vogue with collectors.
A classic example of this is the re-release of the Fender Blues DeVille
models in tweed. These amps were originally made in the early 1990s but
were eventually dropped. This year, however, FMIC came out with the same
models, and almost overnight the demand for the old ones dropped. PRS
offered a McCarty model with a mahogany body, rosewood neck and P-90s.
It could cut through the mix like a switchblade, and though few were made
these became sought after when PRS stopped making them. The original guitars
were very collectable, and some sold for as much as 30% more than they
had as new guitars. The party came to a halt, though, when after just
a few years PRS came out with a reissue.
This month's hottest modern collectibles are the mid-80s PRS Customs
and Signatures the Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster and the Fender 50th
Anniversary Masterbuilt 1954 Stratocasters (notably by John English and
Chris Fleming). Gibson's Duane Allman and Jimmy Page Les Pauls remain
hot, as do the new Taylor T5 models. EVH models are always popular, too.
Gibson has released an Eric Clapton ES-335 that, in my humble opinion
at least, is way overpriced. This is just a few of the guitars that are
heating up, but there are tons of other cool guitars out there to collect.
Enjoy!
Until next time, Take care and God Bless.
Rick Hogue
Garrett Park Guitars
410-571-9660
www.gpguitars.com
gpguitars@gmail.com
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The Modern Collector
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JAugust/Sep 2005
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by Rick Hogue of Garrett Park Guitars
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Rick Hogue writes the Modern Collectable Column for Musicians Hotline
Magazine. He welcomes questions about Modern Collectable Guitars and can
be reached via email at gpguitars@gmail.com.
Rick is the owner of Garrett Park Guitars in Annapolis, MD (www.gpguitars.com
410-571-9660). Rick has been in the guitar business since 1981 and has
traded in vintage guitars, amplifiers was one of the first to buy and
sell vintage effects. Rick and Garrett Park Guitars specialize in Modern
Collectable Guitars from Fender, PRS, Gibson and others. Notable clients
include Jay Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Chris Duarte, Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, David Gilmore, Robben Ford, Tom Kiefer of Cinderella, Vernon
Reid, Marshall Crenshaw, Vernon Reid, Bootsy Collins. Bruce Cockburn,
Steve Earle, and Joe Satriani.
Surfing the Trends of Collectable Guitars
 It's
summer and it's hot, lots of people are away on vacation and this is the
time for family fun and maybe a little guitar thrown in for good measure.
So while you are surfing the waves at the beach we are surfing the trends
of collectable guitars. So what is hot in the world of guitar collecting?
Well, high profile vintage Fenders and Gibson's sure are, these seem to
go up by the hour and there are no signs that they will cool off. As always
get a clean example, pay more for it if you have to for these are the
ones that out perform the market.
Of other interest are the Gibson R9's from 2003 that feature Brazilian
Rosewood fingerboards. Gibson pulled out all the stops on these 59 reissues,
using Sprague black beauty caps and CTS pots. These features along with
the correct aged inlays and the use of Brazilian rosewood made these the
most accurate of all the Gibson 1959 Reissues. These guitars have spiked
in price and are a good bet to become more collectable and valuable as
time goes on. The reasons for this are that Gibson has vowed to never
use Brazilian Rosewood on these again. Consumers are also handicapped
by Gibson's new Internet policy, which prohibits new R9s from being displayed
on most dealer websites. So even if you wanted a new R9 (that has been
downgraded) you cannot simply log on to a favorite guitar merchant and
view them as you could so freely in the past. This fact as well as the
fact that new R9s are not showing up nearly as often and are frankly not
as exciting as guitars made in the past have sent players and collectors
looking for the used ones of the recent past. The 2003 59 Reissue tops
the list of all those, and
will continue to be strong unless Gibson decides to reverse some of its
policies. One note, not all 2003
Les Paul's had Brazilian Rosewood boards so if in doubt check out www.gibsoncusom.com
and check the Forum for Brazilian Rosewood. Also Brazilian was used on
all the 2003 Les Paul reissues thus making the R7 Goldtop's a really good
buy.
This month we feature one of the most collectable guitars of the Modern
era, and to many the appreciation of this model lies within its rarity
and not its beauty. Bonni Lloyd was a friend of Paul Smith's from the
old days in Annapolis, Md. She came to work for Paul where their professional
association lasted many years. Bonni held many positions at PRS including
Artist Relations and in the early days making the guitars too! Bonni made
friends easily and formed some of the lasting relationships that PRS enjoys
to this day. So when time came for her to  choose
an employee model Bonni asked that her guitar be painted to match her
Chuck Taylor Converse tennis shoes, which were Pepto Bismol Pink. A color
was made to match these and used on a Custom 24 in quilt that was for
all practical purposes a Signature model, though it did not have a series
number. PRS used the BP color through the '80s and into the early '90s
before it was discontinued.
Oddly the reason for the utter hysteria over the color is the fact that
it is so rare in the world of PRS guitars and not for its beauty. The
color is such that you either love it or hate it right away, there is
very little middle ground. BP was used on the CE's models up to the top
of the line Signature models. This month we feature a 1992 PRS Custom
in Bonni Pink. The guitar is a one owner piece, which came from under
the bed. '92 is very late in the game for a Bonni Pink, and with the exception
of some private stock guitars that were built recently this may have been
one of the last to feature this color. This example was purchased by a
son for his father to learn to play on, but it appears that never came
to pass as it has every tag and piece of paperwork in the case and is
in mint pristine condition. It now rests in a large collection of PRS
guitars.
Thanks and God Bless,
Rick Hogue
Garrett Park Guitars
410-571-9660
www.gpguitars.com
gpguitars@gmail.com
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The Modern Collector |
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July / August 2005
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by Rick Hogue of Garrett Park Guitars
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 Rick
Hogue writes the Modern Collectable Column for Musicians Hotline Magazine.
He welcomes questions about Modern Collectable Guitars and can be reached
via email atgpguitars@gmail.com.
Rick is the owner of Garrett Park Guitars in Annapolis, MD (www.gpguitars.com 410-571-9660). Rick has been in the guitar business since 1981 and has
traded in vintage guitars, amplifiers was one of the first to buy and
sell vintage effects. Rick and Garrett Park Guitars specialize in Modern
Collectable Guitars from Fender, PRS, Gibson and others. Notable clients
include Jay Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Chris Duarte, Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, David Gilmore, Robben Ford, Tom Kiefer of Cinderella, Vernon
Reid, Marshall Crenshaw, Vernon Reid, Bootsy Collins. Bruce Cockburn,
Steve Earle, and Joe Satriani.
A Keyboard Player for the Ages
OK so this article is about Collecting Guitars, and that's all well and
good. In the past 30 days or so I have been extremely fortunate and had
the chance to see some amazing entertainment. Johnny A stopped by our
shop just before sound check at the Rams Head Tavern here in Annapolis.
Few guitarists are as entertaining as Johnny. I have known John for 20
years and am delighted to see him get his due. His style is unique and
pushes the limits of instrumental music from genre to genre, combining
diverse selections from Jimi Hendrix to Johnny Rivers. Johnny plays his
own Gibson Johnny A model with passion. These are some of the hottest
new guitars in the market and are as beautiful to behold as they are to
play. If you have a chance to play one of these, grab it. If you have
a chance to see Johnny do not miss that either.
Three days after Johnny rolled through town Annapolis hosted the Fifth
Annual Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival. This event is put on by Annapolitan
Dan Hooker who gives every dime of the events profit away to local charity.
The event is held right at Sandy Point State Park on the shores of the
Chesapeake Bay, and the venue is extraordinary. This year the weather
was nearly perfect and the music was as hot as the temperature. I had
a chance to catch Canned Heat and to put it mildly I was blown away. Dallas
Hodge played an old Goldtop Les Paul with P-90s through a Blues Deville
and it sounded unreal. I knew Canned Heat from Woodstock and of course
the hits like "Goin up the Country" but I was amazed at the
blues stuff they did. A great band with unbelievable tone and all the
mojo you could ask for.
Al Dimeola came to town just last week and put me on the guest list at
the Rams Head. I have known Al for a few years since we sold a few of
his early PRS guitars for him. He stopped by in the afternoon to catch
up and I ventured over to the early show soon thereafter with my friend
and fellow concert regular Lewis Heany. Al has assembled an amazing lineup
of musicians with a decided Latin flavor. Al was playing a PRS Modern
Eagle with an outstanding flamed maple top finished in grey black with
a white back. When Al took the stage I heard him tell the band that this
was to be an Electric set, and true to his word he kept the PRS strapped
on all through the show. I was seated next to a contingent from PRS guitars,
including master builder Joe Knaggs. Seeing Al D in Pauls hometown playing
a PRS. It don't get much better than that. But get better is exactly what
happened, Al was in extraordinary form with his band and he told me the
next day that this was the first time out with these guys. I can only
imagine what they will sound like when they have had a few months together.
The room was full of guitar players and we were not disappointed, Al played
some Licks that are clearly off the charts. He plays with true passion
but his timing and presentation go beyond mere guitar prowess. Al arranges
all the tunes he does and not only is his music a lesson in guitar, it
is also a joyful celebration of life and music.
Many of my friends attended Bonaroo in Tennessee last weekend and I was
sorry that I could not have gone. I spoke with several who were at the
show and it sounded like an amazing WHO's WHO in rock and roll.
For several months I have been hearing the ads for a concert to be held
in Bowie, Maryland at the Bay Sox Stadium featuring Willie Nelson and
Bob Dylan. These two have toured together in the past and I had never
had a chance to see them. Willie and Bob are getting up there in the years
and I figured I had to see this one. As there might not be too many more
chances. Wille is in his 70s and Bob in his 60s.
June 14th was one of the hottest days in Maryland this year, the temp
got well into the 90s and by the time I arrived to meet friends at the
Stadium I was soaked with sweat. My friend Alan and I fought our way through
the crowd so that we could be directly in front of the stage. It was worth
the wait. Willie Nelson roared through a greatest hits set. That was purely
masterful. His band consists of two of his sons, one full time on electric
guitar and the other on drums, and as they play you can see the adoration
in Willie's face for his boys.
The real treat of the night for me was the set by Bob Dylan, I have seen
Bob on many occasions with an array of talented musicians. To me, Bob
represents many of the reasons that I became interested in music in the
first place and indeed it was Jimi's rendition of "All Along the
Watchtower" that inspired me to play guitar in the first place. I
met Dylan a few years ago when my friend Cesar Diaz was playing guitar
for Bob. It was strange that upon our meeting I offered to shake his hand
and said "It's nice to meet you", and I was surprised that he
did not shake my hand and instead told Cesar, "tell him its nice
to meet him too". He then walked away. Later in reading Bobs book,
Chronicles I, I learned that Bob never wanted to be a icon figure and
that he considered himself a musician. He also said that he was uncomfortable
with all the adoration and had learned to insulate himself from the fans.
Truth be told I now understand how the rise to fame changes people and
how some really do not want these trappings of popularity. They simply
want to be left alone to play music.
Bob has always played guitar every time I have seen him, and to have
known those who played with him was to have observed the difficulty following
Bob through a 50 year catalog of songs. Simply put, Bob seldom plays a
tune the same way twice. He has a sense of freedom with his songs that
are a challenge to his band members. His endings can come abruptly and
he fashions different versions from scratch. To the listener these changes
are usually undetectable however there were times when It seemed that
things could have been tighter.
On this occasion things were very different as Bob has now gone to playing
keyboards all evening. His role has now moved him to the side and somewhat
away from the frontman role that I have seen over and over. His playing
was simply superb and the renditions of Highway 61, Stuck in Mobile and
others were as good as I have ever heard.
To many seeing Bob is like going to the mountain, his music touches a
chord in us that is not touched by other musicians. I liken it to listen
to a gospel choir, where the harmonies blend and the music rolls along
under its own power. Bob played keyboards, but it was Bob the musician,
the poet, the reluctant Icon and all that he is that I saw that night.
Thanks and God Bless,
Rick Hogue
Garrett Park Guitars
410-571-9660
www.gpguitars.com
gpguitars@gmail.com
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The Modern Collector
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June/July 2005
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by Rick Hogue of Garrett Park Guitars
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Rick
Hogue writes the Modern Collectable Column for Musicians Hotline Magazine.
He welcomes questions about Modern Collectable Guitars and can be reached
via email at gpguitars@gmail.com.
Rick is the owner of Garrett Park Guitars in Annapolis, MD (www.gpguitars.com 410-571-9660). Rick has been in the guitar business since 1981 and has
traded in vintage guitars, amplifiers was one of the first to buy and
sell vintage effects. Rick and Garrett Park Guitars specialize in Modern
Collectable Guitars from Fender, PRS, Gibson and others. Notable clients
include Jay Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Chris Duarte, Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, David Gilmore, Robben Ford, Tom Kiefer of Cinderella, Vernon
Reid, Marshall Crenshaw, Vernon Reid, Bootsy Collins. Bruce Cockburn,
Steve Earle, and Joe Satriani.
So What's Next?
People are simply astounded at the soaring values of the vintage
market and many wonder who will be able to afford these guitars in the
future. Indeed some of the values of these guitars have doubled in the
past eighteen months and there does not seem to be any end in sight. People
are now snapping up Melody Makers, Les Paul Juniors, Specials, Mustangs
and others all with the anticipation of a large increase over the next
few years. What we are also seeing is a relaxation of the tendency to
avoid guitars that had problems like changed parts, refinish jobs and
structural repairs.
These guitars are also being grabbed up, albeit at a lesser price point,
but purchased none the less. Many feel that if they wait these guitars
will pass them by and will no longer be available. Others are solely interested
in the tone of the old woods and willing to compromise to get that.
I get calls all the time from people who are asking, "what guitars
are the next collectors items?" Not having a crystal ball I usually
don't have a real solid answer for that question. Many of these calls
are from folks who are considering a certain purchase and are simply seeking
validation. Still others are looking for an appraisal on selling or buying.
I frequently turn the question around and ask what their favorites are
and why.
In the last several years we have seen a dramatic increase in guitars
from the smaller builders, and some of these are worth consideration.
A lot of today's boutique builders worked for larger companies and after
establishing themselves as masters moved on to build their own guitars.
Some of the more noteworthy are John Suhr, Tom Anderson, John Carruthers,
Vince Cunetto, and Gene Baker. Many of these builders guitars have been
in the market place for a long time now and have begun to become collectable
in their own right. The early Fender relic Stratocasters and Telecasters
aged by Vince Cunetto are Perfect examples of this trend. Early Tom Anderson
guitars have a dedicated following due to the fine build quality and player
friendly features. Tom Anderson guitars exhibit some of the finest fretwork
in the business. Gene Baker's guitars have soared And the increased uncertainty
of further models has forced prices higher and higher.
Builders like David Thomas McNaught have already demonstrated the excellence
of his handmade guitars, and early DTM's have steadily inched up in value.
The Dave's (Dave McNaught and Dave Manzel) are an amazing team who truly
build each guitar entirely by hand. They even make their own truss rods
and inlays. Few guitar builders are as hands on as these two are. They
operate out of a small shop which was a former dance hall and restaurant
outside Charlotte North Carolina.
Ron Thorn is also building some really lovely guitars and is known for
his intricate and precise inlay work. Ron's guitars are made in very limited
production and his back order is measured in years not months.
 Linda
Manzer is a Toronto based luthier whose instruments are played by Pat
Matheny and Bruce Cockburn. Her acoustics are considered some of the finest
in the world and though Linda has a very small production each year, her
guitars are prized and sought after by players and collectors.
Every year several new guitars come on the seen that are hailed as the
next big thing. Some are based in traditional design while others like
Klein, Mercurio, and James Trussart are unique and push the art of guitar
design to new places. Some like James Tyler combined the essence of traditional
design with bold new modern styling. Some other noteworthy builders are
Artinger, 17th Street guitars, Jet, Don Grosh, Rick Turner, and Zemaitis
.
This list of new builders gives yet a hint of the offerings available
to collectors and speculators who wish to venture beyond the mainstream
of the established guitar makers.
There are some important rules to consider in collecting guitars.
1) Always buy what YOU like, if you do that chances are there is
someone else who will also.
2) If you have a choice, buy the best example of any given model
even if it means paying more for it.
3) Guitars do appreciate in value, but can be risky investments.
Choose carefully and diversify.
4) Look for models that are rare, but not so rare that they fall
out of mainstream appreciation.
5) Models made famous by Artists are worth consideration, while signed
guitars are seldom worth more than unsigned ones. There are some exceptions
such as One of the Beatles, Elvis etc...
6) When in doubt seek the opinion of one in the business, guitar dealers
generally have a strong read on the market and most will be helpful in
you simply ask.
That's all for this month, take care and God Bless.
Thanks and God Bless,
Rick Hogue
Garrett Park Guitars
410-571-9660
www.gpguitars.com
gpguitars@gmail.com
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The Modern Collector
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May/June 2005
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by Rick Hogue of Garrett Park Guitars
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| |
|
 Rick
Hogue writes the Modern Collectable Column for Musicians Hotline Magazine.
He welcomes questions about Modern Collectable Guitars and can be reached
via email atgpguitars@gmail.com.
Rick is the owner of Garrett Park Guitars in Annapolis, MD (www.gpguitars.com 410-571-9660). Rick has been in the guitar business since 1981 and has
traded in vintage guitars, amplifiers was one of the first to buy and
sell vintage effects. Rick and Garrett Park Guitars specialize in Modern
Collectable Guitars from Fender, PRS, Gibson and others. Notable clients
include Jay Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Chris Duarte, Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, David Gilmore, Robben Ford, Tom Kiefer of Cinderella, Vernon
Reid, Marshall Crenshaw, Vernon Reid, Bootsy Collins. Bruce Cockburn,
Steve Earle, and Joe Satriani.
Why do we collect Guitars?
Guitar collecting modern or otherwise is not new. Indeed guitar collections
have been assembled since guitars have been made. In the infancy of guitar
manufacturing there were top of the line models, with more ornate features
at a premium price, and these were collected for beauty as well as tone.
So why collect? And why did some choose to amass so many more than
they could actually use?
This question runs deep of course, and there are many explanations,
some of which have nothing at all to do with the guitar.
Guitarists have chosen to collect for many different reasons, some amass
guitars as tools meant to achieve a variety of tones. A studio or working
professional musician might find the need for a nylon string, a steel
string, a Tele, a Strat, a Les Paul and on and on. To consider this person
a collector is to bend the definition. These tools of that trade, and
no matter how sought after the guitar is, this application of the term
Guitar Collection is a stretch.
In 25 years of guitar dealings I have met many collectors, and there seem
to be some consistencies from collector to collector.
Let me start with the money is no object collector. Most who are in the
guitar business will tell you of some of these with whom they have dealt.
I think that the phrase "I collect because I can" is very appropriate
to this person. The wealthy collector usually plays some, but has a great
admiration for the finest and of course has the capital to obtain the
best of the best. I have been fortunate to have viewed some of the collections,
and have appraised a few for insurance. One thing that is common with
the ultra wealthy collector is the passing stages of interest in guitars
as opposed to the other many hobbies or passions that may occupy that
persons time. That being said the wealthy collector can lose interest
and switch to something else very fast.
Some of these collectors even drive the market for a time, pushing certain
models higher and higher as their desire for the rare and unusual sends
dealers pounding the bushes to find the best, Sometimes in a cost is no
object flurry that can artificially inflate the market. Great care is
to be taken at this time because all markets are fickle and what goes
up can go down.
Some of the finest guitar collections in the world have been assembled
in the last 20 years. There have been many factors that have enabled guitar
aficionados to obtain better guitar collections. Back in the late 1970s
there was a magazine called Mugwumps that was circulated that offered
guitar classifieds, then came other small rags such as Musical Instrument
Classifieds that were mailed out to a very limited circulation. Around
this time there were a few dealers who also began to publish a mailer,
among the most famous were Gruhns in Nashville and Guitar Trader in Red
Bank New Jersey. In addition to offering product for sale these mailers
helped guitar collectors to establish a pricing guide.
In the early 1980s The Guitar Show was born in Dallas Texas, this was
the brainchild of Charlie Wirz of Charley¹s Guitar and was held in
the Winterland Ballroom In March of 1981. These early shows were an instant
success and were soon rivaled by the Arlington shows held in the fall.
These events soon became huge and allowed collectors and dealers to meet
and do business in a way that was heretofore Impossible.
In 1985 Vintage Guitar magazine was launched and even more accessibility
was gained to rare and unusual guitars in this way. These were the days
when Inventories were amassed by dealers, then advertised monthly. Creating
a cycle for many in which there was a sudden flurry of business after
VG came out. This magazine can be seen as the catalyst for what has since
become a huge business. Price guides came out leveling the playing field
for sellers and buyers, and classifieds led the way to end users having
direct access to one another. Many guitars came out of the woodwork in
this time frame and many collectors were born out of interest in the hobby.
The guitar collecting bug grew into An international phenomenon almost
overnight as within months of the first Dallas shows Dealers from all
over the world began to show up to take American guitars home to Europe
and Asia. The Texas guitar shows were happy hunting grounds for a few
short years, dealers and collectors from all over found bargains and international
dealers began to buy like crazy, creating the huge increase in prices
around the end of 1984 and early 1985. This was the period of Strat mania,
which saw dealers from Japan descend in mass on the Texas shows. This
was due in part to the end of the monetary controls on the Japanese Yen,
as well as the Japanese rabid appetite for all things American and vintage
guitars in specific. Strat prices doubled and tripled almost overnight.
In the early days of my career in guitar dealing it was not uncommon to
buy a pre CBS Strat for $150 and sell it for $350, which seemed at the
time to be a tidy profit.
However in 1985 these prices saw a huge jump that has since climbed beyond
the grasp of most players and collectors. Virtually overnight the Japanese
converged and bought with a vengeance. Semi trailor¹s owned by Nippon
Express became a fixture in the parking lots of these shows and many were
filled with older American guitars headed to Japan.
The scope and variety of any guitar collection is entirely dependent on
the collector. Some collections are all about a given brand, such as Gibson
or Fender or Martin or Epiphone, While others have a wide range of interests
such as the inexpensive brands of the ¹60 from the US, Asia and Europe
with brands such as Danelectro, Tiesco, Wandre, Noble, Elk and others.
The collection can be as eccentric as the collector himself or herself.
Often times I have viewed collections that were displayed alongside jukeboxes,
old radios, antique art and advertising that all worked together as a
study of a particular period.
There are other collectors who created collections with modest means over
years and include many high end guitars that we simply purchased right
or at the right time.
Many have begun modest collections that simply included guitars that collector
could afford.
The central theme of the collecting bug seems to be similar throughout
the socio-economic ranges, from modest to extravagant there is an immense
pleasure that comes from ownership of so many special instruments, and
once again the question arises of why do people collect?
Collecting can start early with baseball cards or comic books, Webster
defines collection as "an accumulation of objects for study, comparison
or exhibition.
While there is immense satisfaction in the collection, one wonders if
pride is not central to the collector¹s motive. Indeed few if any
of the privately held collections are ever put on public display, so that
the appreciation of the collection is lost on all but a select few.
So who can be impressed if few are exposed to the collection. Is there
a simple satisfaction in the things themselves? The answer is clearly
yes, and to many collectors these sometimes annual visits with their collection
give all the satisfaction necessary to justify the process.
One truly odd pattern that I have noticed in the years of involvement
with the collectors is what I call "the rush of the acquisition".
In simple terms some truly get a high from the process of the hunt and
ultimately the receipt of a special sought after instrument. This buzz
is soon gone and in most cases needs to fed again. There is some psychology
here.
That would explain why people need this fix, and spend huge sums to get
it.
There is another breed of collector who buys and sells guitars as investments.
Some came to this practice after the stock market imploded after the dot
com boom and bust.
Indeed vintage and modern collector guitars have proven to be terrific
investments, with returns that have outpaced traditional investments such
as stocks and bonds. These are the collector investors who are driven
by the investment aspect and also intrigued by the beauty and esthetics
of the instrument, an appreciation that cannot be gained by stock portfolios.
One group of collector that has been omitted is perhaps the smallest,
those who prize the guitars for their tonal properties. I am sad to say
that while these collectors exist they seem to make up a smaller segment
of the collector market than others.
 For
whatever the reason guitar collecting seems to a growing avocation and
has captured the passion of many.
Thanks and God Bless,
Rick Hogue
Garrett Park Guitars
410-571-9660
www.gpguitars.com
gpguitars@gmail.com
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The Modern Collector
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April/May 2005
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by Rick Hogue of Garrett Park Guitars
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 Rick
Hogue writes the Modern Collectable Column for Musicians Hotline Magazine.
He welcomes questions about Modern Collectable Guitars and can be reached
via email atgpguitars@gmail.com.
Rick is the owner of Garrett Park Guitars in Annapolis, MD (www.gpguitars.com 410-571-9660). Rick has been in the guitar business since 1981 and has
traded in vintage guitars, amplifiers was one of the first to buy and
sell vintage effects. Rick and Garrett Park Guitars specialize in Modern
Collectable Guitars from Fender, PRS, Gibson and others. Notable clients
include Jay Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Chris Duarte, Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, David Gilmore, Robben Ford, Tom Kiefer of Cinderella, Vernon
Reid, Marshall Crenshaw, Vernon Reid, Bootsy Collins. Bruce Cockburn,
Steve Earle, and Joe Satriani.
PRS had been making guitars since 1975 by hand with the aid of a very
small crew. In 1984 that all changed as Paul hit the road with Tim King
to visit music stores on the East Coast to gather orders for his new company.
It was about this time that Paul became more businessman and less luthier.
Sam Ashe in NYC was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon and with
those orders in hand Paul was able to gather investor support. Records
on production numbers are very sketchy for these pre factory guitars,
Paul has said that he built about 100 hundred guitars himself and that
of those 20 were the maple top version. Of all the pre factory models
most were what we now know as the Santana model. This is the double cutaway
asymmetrical shape that was made famous by Carlos Santana.
The modern "Custom" body design began in 1984, after much late
night discussion and many modifications to the design. We have seen a
very few of these "Custom" body style guitars that were customer
ordered.
Two guitars were taken by Paul on his sales trip and 6 more were made
for the NAMM show (Feb 1985). Many of these NAMM guitars have remained
intact and were a mixture of Customs, PRS model and Metal Guitars. None
of these guitars were serialized and in fact another 20 guitars were finished
for the summer 1985 show, Soon after in August of 1985 PRS opened the
Virginia Avenue factory, thus ending the era of the hand made PRS guitar.
PRS guitars are as native to Annapolis, Maryland as the Rotary crab feast.
Paul started here and still lives very close to where PRS guitars was
born. As I have said before I was not some kind of visionary when it came
to buying and selling the early PRS's. Employees and local players just
brought them in and I soon became impressed with the quality, beauty and
yes the playability.
My shop started out with just vintage guitars and we were not really looking
to make a market in new stuff. But like I said the PRS stuff just kept
showing up, and soon I got to be the go to guy for the old stuff. We handled
guitars from some of the PRS investors, like Kenny Bernstein's guitar
which graced the cover of the 1985 catalog. It had a wild motorcycle style
paint job, which later became known as the metal model. These guitars
were the all Mahogany PRS model that we now know as the Standard. Bud
Davis, known for his outstanding paint jobs on Motorcycles was approached
by Paul after he saw one of Buds Bikes outside a local bar. Paul tracked
Bud down and Bud was very instrumental in a lot of Paul's early finish
work. Bud was and is an outstanding guy who painted almost everything
Paul made up till the first year of the Virginia Street factory. The factory
on Virginia street Opened in August of 1985 and it is interesting to note
that Paul was more fond of calling it Virginia Avenue so if you look at
any of the early catalogs or letter head from PRS they use Virginia Avenue
rather than Street. The local Post office eventually got used to it.
Kenny Bernstein was one of the early PRS investors, seizing the opportunity
when he had a chance to invest in PRS. He also asked Paul to build him
a guitar, and Paul utilized the Metal paint job that Bud was doing, Kenny
wanted something special so Paul inlayed stars of David as position markers
instead of moons or birds as others requested. The photo of Kenny's guitar
which graced that first catalog showed the guitar from the bottom standing
horizontally, in this fashion it is now as obvious that the markers are
stars of David, but that they are, symbolizing Kenny's Jewish faith.
 They
say you can never be a legend in your own hometown, but then THEY also
say that you can never go home again. So what do THEY know? Many people
have begun to believe some of the hype about the quality of the 1985-1995
PRS. There is a sort of general feeling that the old guitars are somehow
better instruments. Small neck heel, handmade, BRW fret board, real abalone
shell, are some of the reasons cited why these guitars are better. I would
personally like to say that the "heel from hell" description
is simply not true and seems to originate from someone who simply likes
to hear himself talk. PRS changed the heel to make a stronger guitar and
to make the guitars better, and though there is some getting used to the
feel the advantages of a stronger guitar outweigh the slightly larger
heel.
There are many reasons to collect older PRS guitars, and I am one to
encourage doing so, but to believe that the old ones are better instruments
is not exactly true. The older instruments contain wood which has had
much longer to dry and thus more resonate, but that is seemingly one of
the only advantages. PRS is one company that has not had to recreate its
original designs to get sales.
PRS has not and in my opinion never will have a vintage reissue, It is
simply not the way the company does business.
The older Dupli carver was less consistent than the C&C machines of
today and thus there was some variability in each guitar made on them,
But the sanding, finish and painting were and still are done by hand.
We are approached on a regular basis from those interested in starting
or improving a PRS collection, and are asked what makes up the essential
PRS collection since PRS has made so many different collectable items.
In response we do not feel that all guitars that are meant for collections
are worthy of collecting. This is simply a matter of what the market for
these guitars has shown us and not our opinions.
We therefore recommend the following as the basis for the ultimate PRS
collection:
1982-1984 PRS Pre Factory Santana Style, Try and find one.. Maple tops
are king!
1985 PRS Custom, Vintage Yellow, birds, low serial number
1985-1986 PRS Guitar (now known as the Standard), Magenta pearl, sea foam
green, powder blue, canary yellow are the rarest colors
1985-1986 Metal Model, with birds if possible, Magenta pearl or green
are rare ones
1986-1991 Signature model, 1st choice is quilt, We had a Purple one, Bonni
Pinks are the coolest!
Bonni Pink- THE Rare PRS color, it is hideous to behold but every PRS
collectors has to have one, Sig, Custom, Etc...
Signature Limited-Maple tops are RARE, others are cool too!
1992 Dragon I, amber quilt, pearl wings #1 choice
1993 Dragon II, amber quilt, pearl wings #1 (not as popular as 1 or 3)
1994 Dragon III, Indigo quilt
Dragon prototypes are cool also
2000 Millennium Dragon, Black Cherry is most common, all other Dragons
are passé
1994 McCarty models, numbered ones are cool, but earlier ones had CU22
style features and heel
1996 Artist III-these have been the favorite and have held value
1994 Artist Limited-Indigo Quilt
1996 Santana I, the numbered ones, Santana Yellow is best
1988-1991 Studio Model, maple tops are best
1987-1991 Special Model-crackled finish
10th Anniversary-Quilts
Single Cut Brazilian Rosewood-no other PRS sounds better with a Brazilian
neck
Rosewood Limited-Semi hollow and tremolos are rare
Employee Guitars-the closer to a Private Stock the better
Guitars of the month- not many around
Rarest PRS The Golden Dragon I
Honorable Mention-
HG-70 and HG 212 Amps
PRS Acoustics- no more than 13 made in two batches from early 90's (11)
and
two made later by Dana Bourgeouis
These are a sampling of what to collect, and of course it's a guide, but
there a lot of great PRS out there and I don't know of anyone that has
them all.
Thanks and God Bless,
Rick Hogue
Garrett Park Guitars
410-571-9660
www.gpguitars.com
gpguitars@gmail.com
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The Modern Collector
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March/April 2005
|
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by Rick Hogue of Garrett Park Guitars
|
| |
|
 Rick
Hogue writes the Modern Collectable Column for Musicians Hotline Magazine.
He welcomes questions about Modern Collectable Guitars and can be reached
via email atgpguitars@gmail.com.
Rick is the owner of Garrett Park Guitars in Annapolis, MD (www.gpguitars.com 410-571-9660). Rick has been in the guitar business since 1981 and has
traded in vintage guitars, amplifiers was one of the first to buy and
sell vintage effects. Rick and Garrett Park Guitars specialize in Modern
Collectable Guitars from Fender, PRS, Gibson and others. Notable clients
include Jay Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Chris Duarte, Bob Dylan, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, David Gilmore, Robben Ford, Tom Kiefer of Cinderella, Vernon
Reid, Marshall Crenshaw, Vernon Reid, Bootsy Collins. Bruce Cockburn,
Steve Earle, and Joe Satriani.
As the vintage market bloomed in the 1980s, American guitar builders
began to offer collectable series guitars in an attempt to capitalize
on the guitar collecting craze. In this first of a series article, I would
like to categorize these instruments which have been made since 1980 as
modern collectables. We will explore guitars from American builders that
are now highly collectable and will include guitars that were intended
to be so, as well as others that have achieved that status on their own
merit.
It can be argued that much of the modern collectable market has been
spurred on by the vintage market. Some of the first guitars that were
made for collectors were the recreations of the vintage Gibson Les Paul's
of the late 1960s. These were guitars that were built to vintage specifications
at the request of dealers such as Guitar Trader of Red Bank, New Jersey.
My first experience with guitar collecting grew from days of pouring over
Guitar Trade monthly magazines and viewing their amazing selection of
vintage guitars. It was in those pages that Guitar Trader introduced what
was the first Modern Collectable guitar; the Guitar Trader Gibson 1959
Reissue Les Paul. We will discuss the Guitar Trader, Leos Les Pauls and
Strings and Things Reissue Les Pauls in later articles. At about this
same time period, Paul Reed Smith was building guitars in a small shop
in Annapolis, Maryland. It is very easy to see that PRS guitars have had
a tremendous influence on several segments of the guitar building art,
but as collectables they have consistently led the market. The very first
guitars that Paul made are now highly sought after. Many of these guitars
are back in the PRS archives as PRS has reacquired many of these from
original and subsequent owners. The actual numbers of guitars that were
made prior to the opening of the PRS factory in 1985 is not exactly known.
Paul has told me that he made about 100 guitars and that about 20 percent
of these had maple tops. In my opinion, the most valuable PRS in the world
would be the first guitar that Paul made for Carlos Santana. This is certainly
one of the most valuable of all Modern Collectable Guitars in existence
and if ever sold could demand numbers that compete with guitars that were
owned by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
 There
are other guitars built in the period that command incredible prices when
they surface. These are the real pre-factory guitars, ones built prior
to PRS opening its factory in 1985. These guitars fall roughly in the
group of solid mahogany guitars and mahogany guitars with maple tops.
Of these the maple top guitars are the most valuable. The guitars in the
maple top category fall into three distinct groups, the Santana style
guitar, the Sorcerer's Apprentice and what we now know as the Custom.
Most of these guitars are still intact and are all exceptional instruments.
Some have sold for sums in the $40,000 price range. These instruments
were, for the most part, special orders built for individual customers
who learned of Paul from an article in Guitar Player in the early 1980s.
Still others saw Carlos Santana, Peter Frampton, Neil Schon or Howard
Leese and contacted Paul through those channels.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice was a model name that Paul came up with to describe
what now appears to be a grouping of only about five or six guitars. There
were two in blue, one with a tremolo, one with a stop tail piece, a
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