Starting in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, selling guitars in Chicago became a trendy market of its own. Since then, it has become a solid pastime, hobby, business and a passion to find that “holy grail” for countless people worldwide. Guitars are considered “vintage” if they’re from the 1970’s or older, but there’s no strict set of rules when it comes to this topic, as some younger people born in the 1980’s feel that era represents nostalgic vintage for them.
It’s not necessarily how old a guitar is, it’s how rare one is. Like a 1949 Gibson L-5 may only be worth $1600.00 but a newer 1961 L-5 will be worth $8,000.00 and up and more. Guitars are made up with many parts, so having a guitar with all the original parts determines it’s value & collectability; if your guitar may have replacement parts that didn’t come on the original guitar when it was originally manufactured it can affect the value from 10% to 40%. Things like the tuning keys or machine heads, nuts, knobs are less of a detriment, but if the original electronics, the pickups, wiring, electronic parts and the original finish have been changed, it can decrease the guitar’s value tremendously. If your end goal is to sell your guitar in Chicago, it is better to have a completely original stock instrument, so try to avoid replacing parts, even if you’re doing so to make the instrument play better, or sound different by adding switches to make the guitars electronics sound different. For a player that is not concerned about originality or re-sale value then it’s fine to do whatever you want to your guitar, but the facts are, the more original condition and parts your guitar has, the more money it’s worth.
Original Finish on your guitar is also an important factor in determining the price. You’ll often see guitars labeled “refinished” or “refin,” meaning that at some point, it was repainted. Even the highest quality refinishes can decrease a guitar’s value by 50 percent or more. Other issues like cracks, repaired splits and cracks, replaced electronic and other modifications ( called “Mods”) decrease value and structural integrity ( breaks even repaired breaks) can cause serious value decrease. The overall sound quality and play-ability are other things to keep in mind when it comes to used guitars. If it doesn’t feel and play to your preference and has an uncomfortable action that cannot be adjusted by a qualified repair person it may have other issues like a broken truss rod. If you’re looking to sell your guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukulele or another music instrument, visit Chicago Gold Gallery where we have seasoned experienced professional musicians & collectors on staff to pay you top dollar for your guitars and musical instruments.