by Brenda Segna

Created on: March 20, 2008   Last Updated: November 25, 2008

Vintage guitars are original guitars made by the manufacturer or a rare special guitar made for a specific musician between 1920 and 1970. These breed of guitars stand in a class all their own. They were handcrafted and the wood was a Brazilian redwood which cannot be imported into the United States legally today. Here are a few examples:

Gretsch 6120

A family owned business since 1883, Friedrich Gretsch, who emigrated from Germany opened his Brooklyn storefront featuring banjos, tambourines and drums. When his great grandson Fred Gretsch, Jr. took over in 1948 he was fortunate to lead the market during the guitar boom of the 50's and 60's. One of the most popular vintage guitars made by this company was the Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins.

The Chet Atkins made its way on stage in 1954, this orange guitar made out of maple, was decorated with enough western applications that corral the most avid collector. It also includes Chet Atkins signature engraved signpost on the pickguard. Over the years the designs changed to include half-moon markers that Gretsches became notorious for. The body was also narrowed and Chet Atkins insisted that magnets be removed because they sucked the tone from the guitar. This guitar was first priced at $385 and can now run you anywhere from $1400 to $3000.

Fender

Leo Fender introduced the world to his custom made guitars in 1940. He lived in California, and his engineering techniques for the amplified hollow-body made his brand of guitars legendary. The electric solidbody Stratocaster was unique because of its three pickups; it had a body that was designed to make playing more comfortable, and a built-in tremolo that was fashioned specifically for the guitar. It became a coveted instrument among guitar enthusiasts around the world.

Fender became ill and eventually sold his company to a corporate guru, CBS. Fender not only was the best brand of guitars that were made in the 50's the Stratocaster was the most popular guitar favored by musicians such as Jimi Hendrix who named his favorite Fender Stratocaster Black Beauty'. But perhaps Eric Clapton's Fender is the most popular and expensive; he auctioned it off in 1999 for $497,500.00.

Gibson

Music was Orville Gibson's passion along with woodworking. He was fortunate enough to be able to combine both his passions allowing his dream to come to fruition in 1856 when he started his company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He crafted guitars from solid, unbent, unstressed, carved wood which produced the finest

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