Collecting Musical Instruments

Collecting musical paraphernalia is a hobby that can be both fun and profitable. `Rique's collection of musical instruments includes guitars, mandolins, bass guitars, and amplifiers. The guitar collection is divided into acoustic and electric guitars.

It's fun to scout the pawn shops, garage sales and estate auctions, to find a bargain on a fine instrument; but the fun doesn't stop there. After you've got the thing home, there's usually some restoration work to be done. Collectors are stewards of cultural artifacts, and have a responsibility to honor and conserve the art of the luthier.

If you're thinking of getting into the hobby, or have accidentally fallen into the avocation and would like to get serious about it, it's best to do a little preparation before you begin throwing down the cash. Just being old does not make an instrument valuable. You'll want to know what's collectable, what's historically significant and how to distinguish a nice, high quality instrument from the common garage-sale junk.

Start by studying the history of the stuff that you'll be collecting. `Rique's principal fields of interest have been guitars and amplifiers. Some of the references that have been most useful to him are:

1. Tom Wheeler's " American Guitars An Illustrated History"

   This is the definitive guide to the history of guitar manufacturing in the U.S.A. All American manufacturers are described in separate articles, appearing in alphabetical order. Although this is a book about guitars, many of these companies also made mandolins, banjos, even harps and violins. This book is three hundred and seventy pages of indispensible information for every stringed instrument collector.

2. " Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars" by George Gruhn and Walter Carter

   This is another essential reference for every guitar collector. Although short sketches of the covered manufacturers appear in this book, this is not a history book. This is the essential guide to the identification of every model ever produced by the leading American manufacturers.

   The old version

   The information in this book will allow any collector to easily identify the most obscure model ever made by Dobro, Epiphone, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Martin, National, or Rickenbacker. Useful information is also provided for Guild, Ovation, Larson Brothers and Kay, with short descriptions of the work of the best small shops such as Benedetto, Collings, D'Angelico, D'Aquisto, Gilchrist, and Stromberg.

   Even though `Rique has the original version of this classic reference, he has also ordered his own copy of this latest version. You'll want one too!

`Rique is always interested to gather additional information about the instruments in his collection and their manufacturers, and is eager to correspond with other collectors. Please forward your comments/questions.