OUR STORY
The story behind Vintage Guitars Australia
Hi, i am a private collector and player of Fender and Gibson vintage guitars and amps located in Sydney Australia, I am collecting mostly pre 1970, i bought my first guitar a 1962 black Fender Stratocaster serial number 1521 in 1973 for $475 from Barry farrells music, unfortunately it was stolen, I then bought a 1962 Fiesta red stratocaster for $650 which at the time seemed like a fortune, but as most serious vintage guitar collectors know vintage Fenders and Gibson guitars can reach 6 figure numbers and some very special Fender and Gibson guitars are in the hundreds of thousands
Since then i have played and collected many vintage guitars and amps, mostly from private collections, i have only ever owned and seeked the very best most original examples, being extreamly carefull and always had guitars inspected by well known vintage experts.
After collecting myself for around 40 years i know a few things and have learnt to look for all the tell tale signs about any modifications no matter how slight they may be, bottom line here i only collected factory original examples most at least 8/10 to mint condition.
I welcome any inspection by serious buyers, if a guitar is found to be not as described i offer a full refund, I have met and made friends with some of the leading most respected vintage guitar dealers and collectors in the world, i can supply references from some of the worlds leading vintage guitar experts, dealers, collectors to verify any of my guitars or to verify my years of collecting and my genuine love of my hobby collecting vintage guitars.
Some guitars listed here are my own, some are friends that i personally know the guitars history , i also over the years have met many collectors and know of various high end vintage guitars that are not actively advertised for sale but i can obtain if requested.
I may not have a flashy site full of guitars that have sold ( that probably never did ) and endless reviews from satisfied customers ( that never existed ) there are endless newcomers to the world of collecting and dealing vintage guitars with promises of greatness and knowledge beyond any mere mortal.
After my 40 odd years in guitars i am still learning and i know there are only a small number of dealers out there that are really genuine and do know there stuff, i am here for the hobby and passion of collecting and know a little more than the average punter, and are happy to point anyone in the right direction to other reputable dealers or luthiers worth your time, beware of the newbys with the flashy websites
If your after something that's not listed here let me know i can probably find it for you, or if you have a nice vintage guitar you are looking to find a new home for give me a call.
I am also collecting 1980's Fender vintage usa reissues, AVRI, I prefer the Fullerton Reissues 1982 to 1984, these 2 years are history in being the final 2 years of the Fullerton factory, click on the 1980's reissue link on the menu at the top of the page for more info on these guitars.
All prices on guitars and amps on this site are in Australian dollars, Tony Sheedy
Contact me at goldtop55@gmail.com
OUR COLLECTION
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1962 Fender stratocaster vintage Guitar 2nd guitar bought in the 70’s
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1964 Fender VIBROVERB ! vintage amp, $ SOLD
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1968 Fender Super Reverb Drip Edge Amp
$0.00 -
Lake placid blue factory original 1987 / 57 vintage guitar reissue review ( not for sale )
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SOLD……Vintage guitar, 1965 Fender Stratocaster Firemist Gold, 100% Factory original
$0.00 -
SOLD…..1966 Fender Amplifier, Super Reverb, Vintage , export model
$5,500.00 -
Vintage Guitar 1975 FENDER TELECASTER FACTORY ORIGINAL ( SOLD )
$3,800.00 -
Vintage Guitar, Gibson Les Paul 1955 Goldtop the all gold model $65,000 aud
$65,000.00 -
Vintage Guitar……1953 Fender Esquire blackguard untouched original beauty ( SOLD )
1980’S AMERICAN VINTAGE RE-ISSUE
Some info on the 1980's American vintage reissues AVRI
1980'S FENDER ....Vintage reissues , these reissues came about at a time when CBS were trying to save the Fender company , the Fullerton factory produced these vintage reissues from 82 -84 , they are known to collectors as the "Fullerton vintage reissues" they were a nice attempt at reproducing the highly sort after fenders from the pre-cbs era , these guitars are now sort after by collectors
But CBS ended up selling Fender after lots of failed attempts to keep the company going , they eventually sold to private investors and employees of the fender company, this led to the new owners opening a new factory at Corona, and in late 85 early 86 production started this time there was no influence coming from CBS, as most know CBS made too many cost cutting mistakes and tarnished fenders name, the 70's fenders are not regarded as anywhere near the quality of the original pre CBS guitars
1986 is the early production of what now is known by collectors as the " Corona vintage reissues " the early 86/87 issues were using left over bodies from the Fullerton factory, so these early coronas feel the same as the late fullertons, at first the production was very low at Corona, reports are that only a handful of guitars were made each day and the quality was very high, and collectors now are searching for the 86 to 89 Corona vintage reissues
These reissues feature various things that attempt to reproduce the pre cbs era, like small headstock, spaghetti logo, cloth covered wireing, and the paint is same as the originals using nitrocellulose Lacquer rather than the thick plastic feel of polyurethane, 3 way pickup switch although a 5 way switch is included separate as a extra if the owner wants to install, even the case is in the tweed covered style of the 50's, and like the original series the custom colours are more sort after than the standard sunburst, reissues were either a 57 or 62 Stratocaster, with features of each similar to the pre cbs guitars, of course nothing will ever be as good as the original pre cbs guitar but these 1980's reissues are a very nice guitar and are now around 30 years old, so are vintage in there own right, so if you cant afford the money being asked for a original pre cbs custom colour 1962 strat, have a look at one of the 1982 to 1989 vintage reissues they are going up in value and are becoming more collectable than ever
The 82 to 84 Fullerton reissues are the ones that top the list in these AVRI guitars, these are the last guitars out of the Fullerton factory, and also apart from the 57 and 62 Stratocasters they also did the 52 Blackgaurd telecasters, everyone loves a Blackgaurd and these are rising in value as more and more collectors wake up to the fact that these 2 years 82 to 84 are the reissues that started it all
For interest you can see a factory original 1987/57 Lake placid blue reissue on the shop page, not for sale, only listed to show new collectors an example of a original 1980's reissue , we are always interested in any nice examples of these reissues so if your selling give us a call