today’s vintage market, but you
can reasonably expect that a high-
quality instrument will soon be
worth more than you paid for it.
In general, the better-appointed
guitars are better investments,
but there are some noteworthy
exceptions, such as the 1958-60
sunburst Les Paul Standard or the
1958-62 dot-neck ES-335, both
of which bring more on the vintage
market than the fancier model in
their respective model groups, the
Les Paul Custom and ES-355.
Even an inexpensive but well-made
guitar such as Gibson’s Les Paul
Junior is worth over ten times more
than the original buyer paid for it in
the 1950s.
Craftsmanship is important to the
future value of a guitar. Areas that
require special skills, such as the
binding, finishing, handshaping and
inlay work, are ever more costly and
will enhance the value of today’s
guitars in the future.
MATERIALS ARE IMPORTANT
RULE 5
DEMAND GOOD TONE
WOOD
Every guitar begins with a piece of
wood, and if you don’t know what
you’re doing with wood, you’re
finished before you even start.
Although the sound of an electric
guitar would seem to come entirely
from the pickup, the type of wood
has an important influence on tone
and sustain. “Tone woods” – woods
that have high strength and
stability – are the best for electric
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