Monday, May. 14th 2012 12:35 PM
In these times of financial uncertainty, many investors are looking for new ways to make their money grow, leaving behind more traditional opportunities. Instead, these money makers are looking towards items such as vintage cars, comics and books and rare musical instruments to make their money. However, are vintage guitars really an investment or are they just status symbols for people with lots of money?
Previously, investors have bought comics, first edition books, rare paintings and other historical artefacts in a bid to make a financial profit. However, in recent years many of the world’s most high profile vintage guitar purchases have been made, not by guitarists or enthusiasts, but by money men that are attempting to profit from these guitars and their desirability.
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Friday, May. 11th 2012 9:43 AM
At the end of last month, a vintage guitar auction in Dallas sold a collection of 409 lots that raised over $1.5 million in total. At the forefront of the bidding action was a rare and sought after guitar, a guitar that caused frenzy. In fact the lot in question, a 1949 Bigsby vintage guitar, sold at auction for $266,500, with head-to-head bidding by two determined parties propelling the price upwards.
The vintage guitar wasn’t just any old guitar though. It was a 1949 Bigsby birds-eye maple solid body electric guitar, and it was the forth instrument to be made at this famous old guitar shop. For their quarter of a million dollars, the winning bidder isn’t only buying a stunning example of a prestigious guitar, they are also buying a piece of music history.
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Friday, Mar. 16th 2012 10:43 AM
One of the very best known names in both vintage and custom guitars is about to sell shares to the public. Fender has filed for a $200 million IPO in a bid to raise revenue to pay off debts and to generate working capital for the 66 year old, world famous guitar manufacturer. However, no date has been set for the flotation and it is unknown just how many Fender shares will be made available to the public.
This won’t be the first time that ownership of part or all of the time-served guitar company has changed hands. Leo Fender, founder of the company, sold Fender to CBS Inc in 1965. The guitar manufacturer was sold again in the mid-eighties, this time being picked up by an investor group. Currently Fender’s biggest shareholders are the private equity firm Weston Presidio, which owns 43% and Fender’s Japanese distributor Yamano Music, which owns 14%.
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Monday, Mar. 5th 2012 9:45 AM
Whether you’re a guitar player or not, you will almost certainly heard of the Fender Stratocaster, which is considered by many to be a timeless classic instrument. But the ‘Strat’ isn’t just another guitar, oh no. The Fender Stratocaster is a piece of music history, with some of the most famous guitarists that have ever picked up a six string declaring the Stratocaster as the best guitar ever made.
Designed by Leo Fender, Freddie Tavares and George Fullerton way back in 1954, the simple, yet iconic double-cutaway construction of the original Stratocaster has stood the test of time. The Stratocaster has been made continuously by Fender for the past 58 years and continues to be the guitar of choice for both new and old players alike.
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Monday, Jan. 9th 2012 9:51 PM
The Fender Custom Shop in Scottsdale, Arizona is famed for producing some of the finest quality guitars in the world, with their success story stretching back to the 1950’s. And now, this classic guitar manufacturer is heading back in time with the 2012 Fender vintage and custom guitar collection. The collection is made up of nine custom guitars and a custom bass, with six designs styled on classic Fender models while the other four are the latest designs from the legendary guitar makers.
The new 2012 Fender vintage and custom guitar collection features guitar designs of both past and present. These ten limited edition custom guitars are some of the finest instruments to be found, made using the most sought after materials and built at the Fender Custom Shop by time-served guitar builders.
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Monday, Oct. 10th 2011 9:36 AM
Over the years there have been many vintage guitars built and played, some better known than others. But what makes famous vintage guitars so iconic, so desirable and so famous? Some vintage guitars make their way into history for being the very first of their kind, with their makers being known as pioneers of their field, while others are the weapon of choice for some of the world’s biggest stars.
When you think of classic vintage electric guitars there are one or two names that spring to mind every time. Names like Fender, Gibson, Vox and Rickenbacker are all synonymous with vintage guitars and can be found at vintage guitar auctions around the world, where enthusiastic bidders can pay a small, or not so small, fortune for rare and desirable vintage guitars.
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Monday, Oct. 3rd 2011 5:23 PM
We’d all like to be the owner of a Fender Telecaster but just how far would you go to get your hands on one? Well, it is alleged that a Wisconsin man stole a guitar from the arms of a dead body that had been laid to rest in a crypt and, as a defence the accused is quoted as saying that he did it because he had “a respect for fine musical instruments.”
Allouez Catholic Cemetery employee Steven Conard saw the custom Fender Telecaster, which is worth in the region of $2,000, while working a shift and said to a fellow co-worker “I have to have that guitar, it’s too expensive to be in a crypt”, and it is alleged that he took the guitar from the deceased man’s casket.
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Tuesday, Sep. 20th 2011 9:35 AM
The name ‘Fender’ has been synonymous with custom guitars for generations and now, as a tribute, the Fender-styled VW Beetle has been displayed as a concept car at the 2011 Volkswagen Frankfurt Motor Show. The stylish vehicle has been modelled in many of the features that make Fender guitars so iconic.
Even though it’s clear to see that this car is a VW Beetle, the references to Fender and their guitar and amp designs are also obvious. From the two-tone wood design pattern to the high-end audio system that allows you to plug in your guitar and play on the move, the custom Beetle screams ‘Fender’!
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