LAST CALL
BUY-BUY, RECESSION BY JOHN BOHLINGER
During our country’s last recession,;I;was;but;a;fresh-faced;kid,;barely;able;to;stretch
my wimpy little hands around a
G;chord.;I;desperately;wanted;a
good;guitar.;Regrettably,;a;good
guitar;was;unattainably;expen-sive, so I wound up with cheap
foreign crap made of plywood
that sounded like fishing line tied
over;a;cardboard;box.;Today,;our
country finds itself deep in finan-cial;woes;yet;again,;but;unlike
the;last;recession,;I;have;a;job
and a little cash. And that means
I’m;faring;far;better;in;this;guitar
buyer’s;market.
The heavy competition
amongst guitar manufacturers
has generated enormous improve-ment;in;the;quality;of;low-;and
moderately priced guitars, wheth-er;imported;or;built;in;the;US.;It
used;to;be;that;a;new,;cheap;gui-
tar;sounded,;well,;cheap.;In;1980,
$250;would;not;get;you;much;of
a;new;guitar.;Adjusted;for;infla-
tion,;that’s;$672;in;today’s;dol-
lars—and;you;can;definitely;buy;a
brand;new,;gig-ready;axe;for;that
amount today.
New,;inexpensive;guitars;have
vastly;improved;over;the;past;30
years, which is all well and good,
but;what’s;far;more;exciting;is;the
current vintage market. We may
be;reaching;a;perfect;storm;for
buying;classic;American;guitars.
Think;of;it;a;bit;like;the;stock
market,;only;instead;of;blips;on
your computer screen, it’s a sexy
6-string;in;your;hands.
In;the;December;2010;issue;of
Esquire,;Ken;Kurson;wrote:
Drool-worthy: A rare single-cutaway 1961 Gretsch Country Gentleman with Filter’Tron pickups, a brushed aluminum Gretsch “V” cutout Bigsby, gold-plated Grover Imperial tuners, and an ebony fretboard with thumbprint
inlays. In 1961, this guitar cost $575. Photo by Tim Mullally of Dave’s Guitar Shop
Everything I’ve been fretting
over for the past two years—
inflation, the price of gold—is
good for many stocks. After
all, what is inflation? It means
that each dollar is worth less.
So it now costs 1300 of them
to buy the same ounce of gold
that was recently had for 650.
By the same token, the share
of GE that you could buy for
$14 in June will now cost you
$16. Is that because GE is a
better company whose future is
more promising today than in
June? Maybe. But another way
of saying it is that each dollar
is now worth only 1/16 share
of GE compared with 1/14
share in early summer.
We may be reaching
a perfect storm
for buying classic
American guitars.
The markets are about to
make a run similar to the
one we saw in the late 1990s.
It’s not a leap in productivity
catalyzed by American ingenuity . . . this time it’s more
that we’ve so undermined our
currency and so dramatically
debt-leveraged our future that
assets priced in dollars have
nowhere to go but up.
In short, guitars aren’t necessar-ily;worth;more,;just;our;dollars;are
worth less. So you can hold onto
your cash and watch it go the way
of;the;peso;or;you;can;buy;that
old;Esquire;you;always;wanted.
The other factor in the perfect
buying;storm;is;that;the;vintage
guitar;market;has;been;wildly;over-priced for the past decade. Again,
like the stock market, the actual
value is far different than the inflat-ed;sale;price.;Gruhn;Guitars;and
The Official Vintage Guitar Price
Guide can swear all day long that a
1957 goldtop is worth $150,000,
but;try;getting;somebody;to;actu-ally;pay;that.;Anybody;who;needs
to move a vintage instrument will
take;what;this;cash-strapped;world
is;able;to;spend,;and;that;might;be
a fraction of what authorities and
experts estimate the instrument is
worth.;Sure,;any;bozo;with;a;two-comma income can slap down the
platinum card and pay the inflated
price,;but;those;kinds;of;crazy,
rich-guy;purchases;have;all;but
dried up. And this forces the real
price—our;street;price—down.
Strangely enough, I earned less
money last year than I’ve made in
about;eight;years,;but;I’ve;bought
three;guitars—which;is;more;than
I’ve ever purchased in one year. I
searched;Craigslist;and;eBay,;sorted
through a ton of crap instruments
and;delusional;sellers;(“I;won’t;take
a;nickel;under;$15k;for;this;1971
refinished;Melody;Maker”),;and
managed to find a couple of great
deals. Surprisingly, I even found
a;real;bargain;on;an;old-ish;Les
Paul;at;Guitar;Center;in;Nashville.
That’s;proof;it’s;a;buyer’s;market.
I’m;not;suggesting;that;buy-
ing;guitars;is;a;fiscally;responsible
retirement;plan.;It’s;better;than
investing in commemorative
NASCAR;plates,;but;it’s;probably
not going to take care of you in
your old age like stocks, gold, or
real;estate.;Over;the;past;decade,
a lot of people who were investing
heavily in vintage guitars would
have;been;better;off;burying;their
dough;in;Mason;jars;in;their;back-
yard. Some folks lost a fortune.
JOHN BOHLINGER is
a Nashville-based guitar-
ist who works primarily
in TV and has recorded
and toured with over 30
major-label artists. His songs
and playing can be heard
in major motion pictures, on major-label
releases, and in literally hundreds of television
drops. Visit him at youtube.com/user/john-
bohlinger or facebook.com/johnbohlinger.
