Monday, 15 December 2008

Fender '57 Stratocaster Pickguard - Gold

Guitar Replacement Pickguard. Made by Fender.

One of the really nice things about Fender instruments is that you can change the look of your instrument with relative ease.

One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to replace the pickguard! Fender offers a variety of pickguards with different pickup configurations and materials to help you add a personal touch to your favorite Fender instrument. This 1-Ply, 8 Hole Pickguard, is for 3 single coil pickups.

Fits:

  • 57 American Vintage, SRV and Eric Clapton Stratocasters (USA) (USA)
  • '50s Stratocasters (Mexico)



Every guitar player that has ever been born lives for the day when he/she can pick up a vintage guitar. Vintage guitars are available in all major manufacturers and brands. But it's not only musicians and guitar enthusiasts that are attracted to these masterpieces. Vintage guitars can also be viewed as an investment.

You're probably saying to yourself right now "How can a guitar be an investment?", "Is buying a vintage guitar really a good investment?" Allow me to enlighten you a little. To the untrained eye, a guitar is a guitar. Now we aren't talking about the walls of instruments you see at Guitar Center or Sam Ash. We are talking about those special few extraordinary guitars that just scream to be torn into.

Guitars are a great investment for a few reasons. First, they are beautiful and command a room where they are displayed. Second, vintage guitars don't depreciate or lose value with time. On the contrary, these babies appreciate and gain value as they age, especially if they are kept up nicely. Third, they have superior tonality and action when played due to the quality workmanship that went into their construction.

Undoubtedly, the most popular is the Les Paul by Gibson. This guitar carries the name of the man who invented the solid body electric guitar. In the 1960's, the Les Paul was just about THE choice of instrument. These are still made today, but the older ones were made of superior materials like mahogany and oak. Some even had gold frets and mother of pearl inlays on the fret board.

Fender also has a stranglehold on a couple of highly sought after guitars, especially the Stratocaster, the Telecaster and the Thunderbird. These were favorites among blues and rock players alike. Again, the ones everybody wants were made in the 1950's and 1960's.

Certainly among the reigning Kings of vintage guitars are those made by the CF Martin company. Martin emigrated here from Europe in the late 19th century and set up shop in New York. The craftsmanship he imparted is not only extraordinary. It is absolutely earth shattering. Martin pioneered the X-bracing system for acoustic guitars adding years to the longevity of the instruments he made. Many Martin's are still in use at nearly 100 years old!

Guild is another vintage guitar that is vastly overlooked these days. Guild was only in operation for about 25 years and was bought by Fender in the 1990's. Some of the older Guild guitars are extremely rare and sought after as they exhibited the same quality as the Martin instruments of the same time period.

Every one of these guitar manufacturers has made an exceptional line of guitars. Players like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Chet Atkins, Roy Clark and Les Paul have chosen them time and time again as their guitar of choice.

When bought as an investment, the vintage ones hold the possibility of giving a fantastic ROI (return on investment).

To see a collection of vintage guitars that are available right now, get on over to Vintage Guitar Zone and see what you can get your fingers around for a great price.

http://www.vintageguitarzone.com/investing

john mayer fender stratocaster