Is my 2004 Strat now considered “vintage”

[lungimsam]

Or is the “vintage” term used for a certain era only?

 

[chazmo]

An undefined term as far as guitar collecting is concerned, Lung... You can call it whatever you like!

Personally, I wouldn't call a guitar "vintage" until it's at least 50 years old, but that's just me.

 

[SFIV1967]

Good question! Yes, some consider 20 years as vintage others 40 years.
In terms of guitars probably anything from before 1990 could be called vintage already, the 40 years mark is 1984. 50 years is probbaly too long as a 1975 guitar is vintage in my opinion.

Ralf

 

[Walter Broes]

You might be on the early side with 80's, but the 20-somethings I get in the shop consider anything 70's "vintage".

To the extent I quit trying to explain that 3-bolt strats , pancake-body Les Pauls weirdly overbuilt Gibson acoustics and inconsistent Martins are the very reasons people started getting into the older guitars in the first place...I get enough eyerolls already..

 

[Sal]

I think when you are an adult, things from your childhood are vintage. So that number is different for everyone.

 

[johnreardon]

I wouldn’t consider my Strat, which is 11-12 years older than yours in any way to be vintage. It’s a modern guitar.



I am vintage, so was my pre CBS Strat pictured below was vintage. The little boy holding it in 71, is now in his 50s. I stupidly sold the Strat in 1980

 

[James Hart]

Fender and Gibson blur the lines with constantly reissued eras... but yes 20-99 years is vintage.

 

[GGJaguar]

Fender collectors of my generation usually consider pre-1970 to be the vintage era. Leo Fender's last company, G&L, was founded in 1980 so there aren't any G&L guitars or basses made before 1980. The G&Ls from the 1980s are considered vintage, while Fenders from the 1980s are not.

 

[James Hart]

in May, my vintage styled custom fretless 6 string will finally BE vintage. I received it May 18, 2004

 

[LesB3]

I don't know how I feel about the "vintage" label on 20 or even 30 year old guitars. My 1997 Epiphone Les Paul Special II ($129 new in 1997) won't ever be vintage IMHO. That being said, I took my '97 Strat in for service, and the kids (all in their 20's) treated it like a vintage axe. I think I paid $399 for it almost 30 years ago and would not consider that vintage either, but they certainly did. I guess its all perspective.

 

[merlin6666]

I consider vintage early models from a brand in their early configuration before they were mucked around with by marketing departments. For example some pre war Gibson and Martin acoustics, 50s Les Pauls, or pre-CBS strats.

 

[GAD]

Was a ‘60s guitar vintage in the ‘80s? As I recall, yes, and coveted them.

The issue is indeed perspective. As we get older our view of the past compresses. In the ‘80s 40 years ago was the 1940s which seemed like an unfathomably long time ago. Today the ‘80s is 40 years ago.

If it doesn’t seem vintage it’s because you’re (sigh - we’re) vintage.

 

[Guildedagain]

Nope, don't think so.

Gear Page crowd/mods won't budge, vintage starts before 1980, which is becoming ridiculous.

I now consider 1990's to be vintage, 90's vintage that is, maybe the last great decade for USA guitars.

But really, is a 2004 Strat vintage?

It's just getting old.

 

[Rocky]

So, my 2005 Les Paul becomes vintage next year?

Maybe the lacquer will have finally dried by then.

 

[LesB3]

We have the same problem with "vintage" and "antique" cars in Pennsylvania. Any car over 15 years old is considered a "classic" so anyone with 2009 Saturn can get classic tags. Antique is over 25 years old, so a 1986 Cherokee would qualify (by several years!!). Ridiculous. I'd say that anything "classic" should be pre-1980, anything antique should be pre-1940. But thats just me...

Guitars.... who knows where to draw a line? I guess it depends on make / model, but should probably be pre-1980? Like Guildedagain said, some models would be considered vintage 90's too. Is my 90's strat? I don't think so. What about a 90's Guild spaz guitar? Maybe?

In 20 years, my grandfather's J-45 will be 100 years old. Is that guitar vintage? Or is it an antique now?

 

[GAD]

Vintage is a stupidly misused word anyway.

Define “old” vs “vintage”. The word “vintage” does not mean “older than x years” - it means was made in a certain year (or place) in its original meaning as it pertains to wine.

To say “that’s a vintage wine” in nonsensical. It’s more accurate to say “what vintage is that wine?” or “that’s a good vintage” or “1986 vintage.”

Similarly, we should say “that’s a 1985 vintage Strat” and guess what? “That’s a vintage 2014 Guild” is also correct, but we don’t do that because we all mindlessly repeat nonsense fed to us from marketing departments and other misinformed musicians.

Instead, since it’s become common it will now show up as an alternative definition in dictionaries and everyone will complain about how dictionaries have gone to hell.

 

[Sal]

The vintage tag is not entirely useless when it comes to used and collectable things. Whether it's clothing, furniture, or nic-nacs, you can know the "vintage" description is an age range loosely placed before antique. My daughters love vintage shops and probably wouldn't think to enter an antique store. Calling something vintage is a little better than claiming it's "collectable" or "limited addition". When I hear limited addition I think Beany Babies and Franklin Mint!

 

[bobouz]

Blame George Gruhn. Before he opened his first store (right around 1970, iirc), they were all just old guitars. But for Gruhn, “vintage“ was really all about Golden Era instruments from the major US manufactures. He rather quickly was writing for magazines & would tout a ”vintage instrument from Martin’s Golden Era“ & others, and the definition of the word expanded.

Fast forward a bit, and we need look no further than Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars for the ultimate use of the word. I have volume 2, covering US made instruments made through 1999 - and they all managed to fit into this book under the Vintage umbrella! So yes, nowadays the definition can fly off in a multitude of directions.

 

[Uke]

I wouldn’t consider my Strat, which is 11-12 years older than yours in any way to be vintage. It’s a modern guitar.



I am vintage, so was my pre CBS Strat pictured below was vintage. The little boy holding it in 71, is now in his 50s. I stupidly sold the Strat in 1980

The color of that Strat makes me think someone had been watching Hank Marvin (though Marvin's was a brighter red with gold hardware).

 

[Uke]

I'm pretty sure I'm "vintage" --- my top coat is getting flakey, my pots are quite scratchy, and my binding is getting pretty loose.