Conference napalm::guitar

    G'day,
    	
    	I dont know too much about the going price for a GUILD FG-512
    but I do have a quick question. What price would you expect to pay
    for a new Strat and an old Twin. Keeping in mind our pathetic Dollar,
    a Twin in good nick would cost around $900 (aust) and a new pop-out
    Strat would be around $1000 (aust). 
    	As I intend to visit the Good ol' US of A soon, I'm curious
    as to what prices you would pay.
    
    Cheers,
    Colin.
    Sydney, Australia.

    I assume you are talking Fender. The start, new, would be some where
    between 550 and 700 dollars. The twin I really do not know, but
    I would think $300 would do it for a used one. A pre-cbs (63 or
    older) would probably be more, but then again if the one selling
    does not know what it has, you can get it for lets say $100.
    
    

    re .1:
    
    I think you're paying for the name when you buy 'real' Fender stuff
    today. I'd buy a JB Player or an ESP Strat over the Fender any day,
    at half the price! I own a twin, which I love the sound of. However,
    they are prone to breaking down. $300-350 does sound about right
    for a used one. I'm not sure they make Twins anymore.
    
    -Dave

    A new Fender Strat re-issue model (same as '50's) cost $425 in NYC.
    
    Don't but a copy unless it's your second "strat". The first should
    be the real thing.
    
    Dennis

I saw one of the new Japanese Fender Strats in a local store, brand new,
for $399 (not sure if it included a hardshell).  That guitar came with
Schaller-type heads and a Fender-made Kayler-type tailpiece (including the
locking nut).  Not a bad deal, but they had a used '73 Strat with no
tremelo at all, kinda beat up, but including case, which they were asking
$499 for, and it played much nicer than the new one.

-- Sam

    Well I hate to be controversial, but I compared a Japanese Fender
    Strat to a JB Player and to be honest I was not impressed with the
    JB Player. You can buy a new Fender Strat (from Japan) for $375
    without a case in Indy. Also I used to own a 1973 ? Fender Telecaster
    Thinline with Humbuckers which I loved and sold due to money needs.
    It was the one with the "F" hole in the body. From what I can remember,
    this was a while ago, the new strat's action is not any worse that
    the tele. Of course the sound is different, but the I don't think
    the new strat's are that bad of a deal. I think they are an excellent
    value at $375. 
    
    One man's opinion
    
    Tony
    

    I played teo of the Fender Contemporary Strats about a month ago
    or so..it's got a lockinbg trem, 1 humbucker by the bridge and the
    other 2 a single coil...the action was poor, typical factory set
    up, the humbucker didn't work on either guitar. I was not impressed.
    And yes they are assembled in Japan, but from what I was told the
    parts are manufactured in California (sounds wierd). Anyway it didn't
    hold a candle to my '73 strat and was a poor second to my son's
    Squire strat (2 years old) also made in Japan. Fender seems to be
    on another quality downswing.....
    
    re: the tele custon thinline,....I got one of those..neat guitar!

    Hi.  First a question, then an attempt at an answer.  I'm not familiar
    with the Guild FG-512; can you describe it, i.e., style and where
    it fits in the Guild line?  I'm looking for an acoustic[-electric]
    cutaway with nice action and sound (and I've liked most of the Guilds
    I've played). 
    
    Don't know a lot about Strats, as I've never owned one, but I've
    tried a few here and there with thoughts of buying one in the future.
    I've come to the conclusion that I'll just have to keep trying them
    until I find one that feels right for me, as I couldn't see any
    definite trend in terms of which were the good years and which weren't.
    I should add, however, that I've never had the good fortune to try
    a vintage pre-CBS model. 
    
    As for the Twin Reverb, they do indeed still make them.  Don't quote
    me on the price, but I think it's in the neighborhood of $800 for
    a new one (list).  I do know that the Twin head by itself was selling
    for about $600 list last time I checked at Wurlitzer's.
    
    I'm no expert on the issue, but I've been told (and it made sense
    to me, but I'd be interested in other replies on the subject) that
    the preferred value of a pre-CBS Fender does not apply to an amp
    in the same way as it does to an instrument such as guitar or bass.
    Although there may be collector's value in a pre-CBS amp, the quality
    of the electronics should actually be *better* now, if any different
    at all, considering how far the electronics industry has come in
    20-odd years.  And depending on your purposes, the age factor could
    make a 20-year-old amp impractical when you consider its effects
    on parts such as wires and speakers.  The point of all this is that 
    you should never need to spend *more* on a pre-CBS amp than on a new
    one, and possibly you should expect to pay less for one.  You can
    bet your bridges, however, that you'll pay a lot more for a pre-CBS
    guitar than for a new one.  Which, of course, doesn't mean you can't
    get a more recent model that's as good as the vintage.
    
    This also doesn't mean you shouldn't consider copies such as Ibanez,
    Squires, etc., which (I'm told) are real nice.
    
    Good luck!
    
    steve

    RE .7
    
    oooppps, my mistake, should have clarified, I did not mean the strat
    with the Humbucker, but the original strat with the 3 single coil
    pickups, sunburst finish, white pickguard, maple neck, maple fretboard.
    I think the strats with the humbucker are called contemporary strats
    and the one I referred to was a vintage strat. I was not impressed
    with the contemporary strats, however, I did like the vintage strats.
    I also think that the contemporary strats sell for much more money
    than the vintage ones, $200-$300 and up. I recommend trying a vintage
    strat and see what you think.

    
    I've just been through exactly this loop and ended up getting a
    76(ish) instead of a new one. The price differential in the U.K.
    was that the new ones where about 400 pounds and the used one which
    fealt and played better was only 360 including a case. If you want
    to check one of the big differences check out the weight. The 76
    version weighed about 50% more than the new ones.
    
    					Paul.

    re .10:
    
    why do people like heavy guitars? I bought the JB player because
    it is LIGHT! I get pains in my lower back if I play my Les Paul
    standing up for 2 or 3 hours. Admittedly, the Paul sustains more,
    but I thing it's harder to play fast runs on because the notes
    sort of don't want to die.
    
    -Dave

re: .11	

	You answered yourself:  "Sustain".  Heavy, massive wood sustains
	more than light wood.

-- Sam

    
    Re .-2 and -1
    
    Yes that's the reason I wanted the heavier version. You'll just
    have to get wider shoulders to go with a Strat.
    
    				Paul.

    Re .11:
    
    Dave, that's what it's all about man, notes that *never* die!
    I drilled a hole in my guitar and filled it with lead to increase
    the weight of the guitar..it really helped the sustain. My notes
    have an average life span of about 25 years! (^;
    
    I don't like light guitars cuz they feel so wimbly, whambly, wombly
    on your shoulder and the sound is so dry and thin and tacky and
    yucky! 
    
    I think it's harder to play fast runs on the Paul cuz of the weird
    neck on that beast, but my Jackson is real heavy and you can do
    real speedy licks easy on it.
    Bj