Vintage gear

bass sic · February 08, 2011, 01:20:46 AM

What exactly makes certain gear vintage? Im seeing 80's crappy guitars and basses being labeled vintage, and even some 90's shit. I realize its just a selling ploy, but what the fuck. Every thing I see on evilbay or craigslist is listed as vintage. If I remember correctly, old does not = vintage, and vintage/old does not = good. And for that matter, 80's aint fuckin old.

spookstrickland · February 08, 2011, 02:24:57 AM

It's a Jedi Mind Trick sellers use on unsuspecting hipster douchebags.

Lumpy · February 08, 2011, 03:09:18 AM

Doesn't 'vintage' usually mean an instrument is at least 30 years old? I may be wrong.

zachoff · February 08, 2011, 09:26:00 AM

I have a vintage Yugo for sale. $4000... It's a steal for such a fine piece of Eastern European craftsmanship!

I've also heard people say if it's not American it's not vintage, which is strange to me but whatever.

E9th · February 08, 2011, 09:48:02 AM

80's = over a quarter century old. In electronics (effects,amps, keyboards) thats a HUGE amount of time. They even used to make a few things in the USA back then. wow, ancient times indeed.

neighbor664 · February 08, 2011, 11:46:35 AM

Vintage has nothing to do with the quality or desirability of an item. Vintage is simply a term used to describe something as old but not quite an antique. At 20 years is usually the accepted age something is considered vintage.

For us folks pushing 40 that means EVERYTHING from our youth is vintage. Everything good or bad. Every last stick! Even the most culturally vacuous, poorly made, useless piece of junk is ........you've got it.....VINTAGE.

VOLVO))) · February 08, 2011, 01:49:57 PM

It's disappointing to me to see people buying shit based off words. I HATE telling people what I'm looking for when they ask me at pawn shops. Usually goes something like: "Whatcha lookin' for?" "You know, used musical equipment, older amps, etc.." and they immediately say "Oh, you're lookin' for vintage musical equipment?"

No, I'm looking for shit that wasn't built in China, assembled in Malaysia, shipped to England, then boated over to the US, ok?

E9th · February 08, 2011, 03:13:51 PM

well technically vintage just means the year it was made. a brand new squire classic vibe tele would be a 2011 vintage.

for musical instruments amps and effects it is most commonly used to mean 25 years old.
We stopped making things in this country sometime in the early 80's so if your looking for something that wasnt made in Taiwan your looking for something "vintage" most likely. Hell even "made in japan" is desirable now.

I tell sellers I like "old" amps and guitar and effects. To the people I deal with most commonly this means 60's and early 70's.
Pawn shops have the internet so its hardly worth checking anymore. alot of old guys just dont wanna do the research to see what their old effects are worth and are happy to get rid of "old" effects they havent used since 1971. This is how I got my best vintage peices at non ebay prices.

Ranbat · February 08, 2011, 03:44:22 PM

Some might also consider 80s stuff vintage because musical equipment from that era had it's own personality. Lots of guitars and amps made for the budding whiz-bang guitarist. The sad thing is Gibsons were pretty undesirable during that time and they were cheap. The supply far outweighed the demand at the time. I bought an early 70's SG w/case, DOD overdrive, Crybaby wah and a Pignose amp for $200 during that time period. Les Pauls could be had quite easily for under $1000, sometimes even under $500. V's and Explorers got better money because of their radical shapes.

mawso · February 11, 2011, 12:37:56 AM

strictly speaking, "vintage" just means that something comes from a particular year. it's a fairly nebulous concept. i wouldn't get too hung up on the difference between vintage and second hand.

Ranbat · February 11, 2011, 07:19:28 AM

Vintage sounds better than second hand whether you're the buyer or seller. But that is a great line to use on a Gibby forum. Can you imagine the shit storm you could start by referring to a 50s or 60s Les Paul as a second hand guitar? Hell, even a 70s or 80s Les Paul referred to as second hand would make the owner of such an instrument blow a gasket.

Pissy · February 12, 2011, 08:26:48 AM

Quote from: mawso on February 11, 2011, 12:37:56 AM
strictly speaking, "vintage" just means that something comes from a particular year. it's a fairly nebulous concept. i wouldn't get too hung up on the difference between vintage and second hand.

This is correct. If you were to talk about wine Vintage refers to the year it was produced, and not how old it is.

A current Les Paul would be a 2011 vintage Les Paul. But like many things, current slang just mucks that all up. In order to navigate the pre-owned market you got no choice but to play that game, cuz everyone with gear for sale uses a ballpark 20 years or so mentality when trying to strike the "older is better" chord within all of us.

this sort of thing has bothered me for a long time. Don't get me started on old cars being post/no-post vs. sedan/hardtop. Again, if I wanted to buy one of those cars, I'd have to dumb down in order to have a crack at the most opportunities. There's no way around it.

Mike_Sims · February 13, 2011, 04:19:04 PM

Quote from: Lumpy on February 08, 2011, 03:09:18 AM
Doesn't 'vintage' usually mean an instrument is at least 30 years old? I may be wrong.

I think you're right, there. Vintage would = Pre-80's I believe.

mortlock · February 13, 2011, 04:25:59 PM

since im 42 years old..im going to play my cock off as 'vintage' to the chicks in their 20s..i may be able to score a 20 something that way..

Mike_Sims · February 13, 2011, 04:28:25 PM

"That's what I love about high school girls, I keep gettin' older, they stay the same age"

hayseed · February 13, 2011, 07:45:21 PM

I believe that in car talk classic = 15 yrs old and antique = 25 yrs old(I believe these numbers are accurate though i could be wrong). I think of vintage as something rare and not easily obtained. A vintage piece could be one that parts are not readily available. I don't however think that just because gear is considered vintage that the prices should be driven up. I also buy "old" gear(1970 to 1980 seems to be my common landing spot). I have been lucky to find a lot of cool guys that like trading for old gear rather than raping my wallet.

Jake · February 15, 2011, 09:47:17 AM

Ha! I did not know that. So in two years my POS '98 Chevy S10 will be a "classic?"

I'm sure you're right, but that's just wrong!

hayseed · February 15, 2011, 10:29:23 AM

Quote from: Jake on February 15, 2011, 09:47:17 AM
Ha! I did not know that. So in two years my POS '98 Chevy S10 will be a "classic?"

I'm sure you're right, but that's just wrong!

^^technically yes. I know a lot of car enthusiasts disagree with the dating these days and are lobbying for a change of criteria. Like i said the exact years for the catagories may be off but they are not off by much. Much like guitars and gear, modern cars are more mass produced. If there is a huge surplus to be had then it doesn't really qualify as anything special. For example, S10 parts are pretty easy to find still and there are still a lot of them on the road. I think the same can be said for (lets say for arguments sake) Peavey gear from the 80's. Sure alot of it was great gear and very well built, but there is still a ton of it out there.

Discö Rice · February 15, 2011, 02:03:10 PM

I'm gonna throw out there that I think having a metal body, as opposed to some sort of polymer is probably also a requisite for "classic" with the exception of certain sports cars, and I've never heard the term "vintage" applied as an adjective to a car.

hayseed · February 15, 2011, 02:31:50 PM

Quote from: Discö Rice on February 15, 2011, 02:03:10 PM
I'm gonna throw out there that I think having a metal body, as opposed to some sort of polymer is probably also a requisite for "classic" with the exception of certain sports cars, and I've never heard the term "vintage" applied as an adjective to a car.

i have definitely heard "vintage" used in reference to cars, especially in regards to the individual parts( original vs. remanufactured). Not entirely sure the metal vs polymer comment is true, i believe the dating has more to do with how the vehicle is registered. Antiques tend to not be road legal in some regards(lack of good lights, seatbelts, windows, etc).

Anyway.... this is a guitar forum. Lets stick to that! haha!

bass sic · February 15, 2011, 04:10:09 PM

I was originally just making a point about how every ad on Craigslist and Ebay list an item over ten years old as vintage. Like its going to make me scrape up my coins and buy. Just because its old, its still the same piece of shit it was ten/twenty or thirty years ago.