Collecting Vintage Guitars
Vintage Guitars offer a rare opportunity to combine investing
with genuine pleasure. A vintage instrument is the product of craftmanship, something of beauty that can be enjoyed and displayed,
but can also be played at any time. Owning a vintage instrument is more than investing in a sound appreciating asset.
For collectors, there are two major factors that influence the vintage guitar market. One is that the
"Baby Boomer" generation can now afford to buy the guitars they watched their idols using in the past. The other is
the historical significance of the impact their music had on the 20th century. Like anything of historical significance,
vintage guitars are desirable because of the human desire to own a piece of history.
By definition, there is a finite supply of vintage guitars.
As the supply cannot increase, and demand is not likely to decrease, then like fine wine, or classic art, the value can only
go up. So, even if you collect solely for the pleasure of owning a beautiful instrument with character and history,
you can confidently expect your instrument to hold, and even increase, in value over the years.
Why Gibson Basses?
The appeal of a Gibson can be traced to the 1960's when the guitar greats
(Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, among others) fell in love with the sound of the Les Paul guitar. At the same
time the leading Bass players fell for the deep bass tone and craftmanship only offered by Gibson.
Bass players such as Jack Bruce (Cream), Andy Fraser (Free), Glen Cornick (Jethro
Tull) Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones), Trevor Bolder (David Bowie), Glen Cornick (Jethro Tull), Chris White (Zombies),
David Knights (Procol Harum), Felix Pappalardi (Mountain) and Jermaine Jackson of the Jackson Five
took up Gibson basses, producing the unique bass tone that underpinned Rock and also Reggae during that incredible era.
The Vintage Guitar Investment Market
The vintage guitar market
has outperformed traditional markets ever since it has been tracked by an index created by Vintage Guitar magazine in 1991.
"The ‘42 Index’ has demonstrated an average annual return of over 31% since it began 17 years ago,"
said Tommy Byrne, co-founder of ACP and Chief Investment Officer of the Fund. "Historically, when the major markets have collapsed,
this market has plateaued until the traditional markets picked up again."
