>> I stood there looking at that guitar and swore, 'Someday I will own all the J-200s!'
>> I used to get musicians asking me to help find a guitar with a sound they wanted. Now I get calls are from people who don't play and never intend to, saying, 'I've got $50,000 to invest. What should I buy and can you help me find it?' I don't know anymore if I'm a guitar dealer or a stockbroker.
These two sections sum it all up for me. The vintage market in general, and I know that there are exceptions to this rule, has nothing to do with love for music or musical instruments anymore, but with making money. And what's exactly the point of collecting all the specimens of a particular instrument still known to exist, other than some weird fanaticism?
>> I don't think most musicians can afford to play guitars like this anymore, he says. They're too expensive, too risky to perform with. You wouldn't play a Stradivarius in a country band, and that's what these guitars are like now.
Cause and effect, or the other way around?
Wilfred