1960s Pricing

[JimPage]

Danny wrote: I paid something like $300 for my '62 Strat . . .

Interesting that the sunburst was cheaper. Do you still have that classic guitar?

First Strat I ever saw was in the hands of my cousin, Gram Parsons, who, at that time (1964, I guess), was not yet the totally out-of-control maniac he later became, but was still a piece of work.

His family had some serious money and he later let me borrow his Les Paul, Jr, which I had through college and gave back to him (via a relative) about six months before he died. His road manager, whose name I forget, still remembers that LP Jr. I have often wondered where it is nowadays.

--Jim

[101Volts]

My condolences. I know it must have been a while but still... Doggone... I'm sorry to hear.

When you speak of all these mass produced Stratocasters from the 60s it just makes me wonder what the heck happened to all of them. I mean, They were mass produced. Surely they aren't just locked up in a vault somewhere, There have to be tons of them. What the heck makes them go for so much money? I realize the vintage market is dwindling down but darn.


On the subject of those Epiphones, I have seen those on eBay a lot. Those are the Crestwood/Coronet/Wilshire guitars. They have recently been reissued, too. I hope to play one some time. Here's a link, They also have a cheaper model for $250.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=581888

[JimPage]

101volts wrote: On the subject of those Epiphones, . . . They have recently been reissued, too.

That cherry one looks just like the old ones. I suspect that would be a great guitar!

We are lucky to live in a time when so many fine guitars are available. It wasn't always that way!

--Jim

[JimPage]

I just realized that the solidbody Epiphone we are discussing is in my avatar photo, along with the Mosrite bass I used to have.

--Jim

[TimR]

I lived in Phoenix, Arizona in the 60's. By 1966, I had owned a couple Strats and a couple Teles, and assorted other odds & ends, all of which I had purchased used or traded for. $100.00 - 200.00 was pretty much top dollar for a good used guitar in those days. I used to buy really nice Japanese guitars for as little as $25.00. No one valued them too highly. One day I went to Wallach's Music City down off Camelback Rd., which was an affiliate of a big LA music store. They had an entire rack of Mosrites: Mark V's, Celebrities, Combos, basses and Ventures Mark I's in about every color made. The Ventures model Mark I's were $398.00. That's all I remember. I remembered the Ventures' albums I had, even though they were old and unlistened to by then, and those cool pictures of the Mosrites on the back. I was really impressed by the unbelievably low action and "fast" necks. I had to have one. I went home and proceeded to sell a Strat, I had, with the infamous "bowling ball" finish, which would be worth a fortune now, and a cherry red 1 pickup Gibson SG, along with a Teisco hollow body 335 clone of some sort. All I got for those 3 guitars plus another $50.00, was just enought to buy a pearl white Ventures Mark I, which I kept for about 5 years or so -then traded it on a Martin D-18, and became a folksinger........

[Veenture]

...//...All I got for those 3 guitars plus another $50.00, was just enought to buy a pearl white Ventures Mark I, which I kept for about 5 years or so -then traded it on a Martin D-18, and became a folksinger........

...which proves you are a musician and have the love for making music rather than collecting objects of interest/art...

[edit] BTW do you still have the Martin?...it should be worth a pretty penny too by now I would think

[TimR]

Naw, I eventually sold the Martin for the ridiculous reason of paying my income tax one year -talk about a waste.......... I don't think I ever kept anything more than 4 or 5 yrs. -except for the '76 Mosrite Bluesbender, which I traded an Ovation Glen Campbell 12 string for, back in about '92. Technically I still own that, but my son has it in Taiwan. He plays for an oldie's band in Taipei called the Originals. I think I'm gonna hang on to this Hallmark C-60, though (famous last words...)

[dorkrockrecords]

'76 Bluesbender? Are you sure about the year on that?

[oipunkguy]

I remember reading that a 1959 Les Paul burst was 275 with case the year it was made. and that a strat or tele was slightly less. Seems like a great price to today's stanards, but $300 went a lllllloooonnnnnggggg way back in the 1950's-1960's

[101Volts]

I remember reading that a 1959 Les Paul burst was 275 with case the year it was made. and that a strat or tele was slightly less. Seems like a great price to today's stanards, but $300 went a lllllloooonnnnnggggg way back in the 1950's-1960's

Well, $400 then is about $2,000 now so there you go.