They want a working utility tool. It’s just that they were a byproduct. "George Gruhn (Nashville TN) knows more about guitars than anyone on earth” says Tom Wheeler, former editor of Guitar Player magazine. Conversations with George Gruhn, October 2 . The people who remember something new at a hundred bucks, they’re not going to go out and pay 150 grand for one even if they had the money. We know that C.F. They’re the best mandolins I’ve ever encountered. I checked the classified ads and the Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune. These things do happen, so I can’t tell you that nothing good ever turns out on eBay. “I feel very honored to be able to represent the estate for these pieces,” said George Gruhn, who opened Gruhn Guitars in 1970 and was a friend of Dickens for more than 40 years. July 13th, 2010 at 8:36 am George Gruhn Says: If you have questions about specific instruemnts, please send photos and your questions direct to George Gruhn at ggruhn@gruhn.com. Gibson's Harp Guitar Patent Filed Nov 9, 1908 Granted July 19th, 1910. Try closing your eyes and visualizing a violin. If you have one guitar, you can list it on eBay or Craigslist. 6,102 3,958 40. The classic Style U, designed by Gibson engineer George D. Laurian. Don't sell it to him. After studying zoology and animal behavior at the University of Chicago, George moved to Knoxville for a research job at the University of Tennessee. That would be no fun. Absolutely no electric guitars. And given a few more years they most likely could surpass them. It actually took several years before it dawned on me that these nuisance byproducts were what were supporting my collection. If they’re buying a rocking chair, they like one that’s comfortable because they’re going to sit on it, and it has to fit the decor of their house. Jay Myer has worked at CF Martin Guitar for 16 years. If I could take the collection I had in ’76 and stick it in a time machine and bring it back today, it would be worth about my entire current net worth. 2. George Gruhn continues talking about the difference between vintage and merely old instruments - this time, focusing on electric guitar. Appraisal by George Gruhn for $60,000. Actually, Les didn’t design much. There are some in England, some in Germany, a bit in Scandinavia, a little bit in Italy, none in Spain except for classical and Flamenco guitars. (1991), 2nd ed. Since 1963, George Gruhn has been buying and selling used instruments, but there’s an intriguing story behind the start of the company. They want to hold it maybe six months to no more than a year, and then flip it. Generation X and Y never did much to support me in the past and they still don’t. George. I was one of three in the world who did a monthly vintage guitar catalogue. You have an accumulation of utility guitars. I didn’t necessarily like all that, but it is what it is. All of a sudden I had to compete against a lot more people. Different audience, different players, but most of the people who collect guitars do play. That knowledge has made Gruhn Guitars the world's most famous vintage instrument store and has brought George Gruhn worldwide recognition as an author of definitive books on vintage guitars and a primary source for insight into the guitar market – … There was an active folk music scene in Berkeley, California as well as Greenwich Village, New York, and, to a considerable extent, these people kept in touch with each other. ... Well worth the extra investment, as it turns out. There are other people who are collectors, and they will pay far more money than the people who simply wanted a utility piece of furniture or a utility guitar. 109. The percentage of down and out fraud is probably pretty small, but the percentage of inaccurate descriptions is pretty high. Even if you wanted a vintage one, it was hard to spend over $300. There’s also one out of Long Island, New York – 20th Century Guitar – and then other magazines like Premier Guitar and Guitar World and Guitar Player will do an occasional article about something vintage. View Full Background Info. If you’re looking for prewar D-45s, you’re keeping your eyes open so that when you walk in a pawnshop or a music store or checking out the classified ads, you do notice the others. (Before I did that I got an estimate from George Gruhn, because I wasn't sure of the guitar's value). This guitar was used by both George Harrison & John Lennon between 1966 and 1969, making appearances on Revolver and the White album. “I feel very honored to be able to represent the estate for these pieces,” said George Gruhn, who opened Gruhn Guitars in 1970 and was a friend of Dickens for more than 40 years. It’s worth the hype if you believe it. S# 0283-87. Gruhn Guitars History. Original hard case included. Registered Member. Net worth: $9.8 billion. In this interview, George Gruhn talks about collecting vintage electric and acoustic guitars. Anyway, it didn't sell that way. Conversations with George Gruhn, September 18, 2020. With Fender, the people who seem to have been involved with the design of the Stratocaster, guys like Bill Carson and Freddie Tavares who worked at Fender, they were not really given much direct credit. That started more with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. They tend to be more sophisticated in their knowledge. Warning, DO NOT buy George Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars 3rd Edition. (All images in this article courtesy George Gruhn of http://www.gruhn.com). Back then you could actually find things in classified ads. I started out primarily as a collector and the business aspect of it evolved over time, almost by accident. That happens plenty. There were only 91 D-45 Martins ever made. 40 hole arch top tone ring. In this interview, George Gruhn talks about collecting vintage electric and acoustic guitars. This week Jay Myer of Martin Guitars will be joining us. I would’ve been better off with a steel-string guitar, because what I liked was Appalachian string band music. George Gruhn began hunting for rare instruments in the mid 1960s in Chicago and went on to found Gruhn Guitars in Nashville; a mecca for vintage collectors and connoisseurs. It will surely be worth it to deviate a bit from your route! It’s disappointing. Sep 22, 2018 - TMN is very proud to bring you one of the world`s foremost experts in guitars & other stringed instruments, Mr. George Gruhn (Gruhn's Guitars). They’re not overly concerned with how original it is, and they often don’t take very good care of them. Richard Kinder. add that the MK models were custom designed by Michael Kasha and other acoustic physicists and Richard Schneider, Gibson’s Master Luthier at the time. Enjoy your life. George Gruhn on why guitars from the 70's are not vintage. Epiphone’s Zephyr Emperor Regent of the early 1950s represents not only the most deluxe electric guitar the company ever made, it also marks the culmination of a 20-year rivalry with Gibson that kept both companies at the … Gruhn: There are many types, because there are many types of guitars. This Friday, October 30 at 12 pm EST and 11:00 am CST watch this live Zoom call with George Gruhn. they jump all over the place. I was also interested in the early Gibson mandolins, in particular the F5 style, which is very rare, and good Fairbanks and Gibson five-string banjos. For over 25 years I’ve been a full-time picker and on most of those trips it was just me, my van, and a radio. Jay Myer has worked at CF Martin Guitar for 16 years. If you’re not really expert enough to certify originality when you look at a guitar yourself, then you’re far better off to do business with somebody you know and you trust. Thought of as a successor to Gibson’s iconic flat-tops of the 1930s to 1960s, they were produced in a range of finishes and prices. A Martin flat top does not look much like a metal-body National resonator guitar, and that doesn’t look like a solid-body Les Paul or a Fender Stratocaster. But the speculators don’t want to hold it long. Also pictured on Pg 131 of George Gruhn and Walter Carter's definitive acoustic book entitled "Acoustic Guitars and Other Fretted Instruments" $20,000 - Hard Case - Pearl Tuners You might concentrate on Martin guitars or Gibson guitars or perhaps zero in on all the models that Martin made, say, from 1935 through ’38 or something. Nashville-based Gibson agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty, forfeit claims to about $262,000 worth of wood seized by federal agents and contribute $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to promote the conservation of protected tree species. Registered Member. While there were thousand of makers of violins, they still all look pretty much like violins. I’d say I have three basic categories of buyers: musicians wanting a utility tool, collectors, and at least from 2002 to the present, a lot of speculators. He is recognized worldwide as a leading expert on vintage guitars, mandolins and banjos. Even within steel-string flat tops, there can be something like a Martin Dreadnought that’s created for bluegrass, or it might be an acoustic Martin 000 or 00 or a Gibson that’s great for blues. Gruhn has written articles for The Music Trades magazine and other periodicals. He has also published instrument guides with Walter Carter. George Gruhn began hunting for rare instruments in the mid 1960s in Chicago and went on to found Gruhn Guitars in Nashville; a mecca for vintage collectors and connoisseurs. Some lower numbers were made after this in 1954. Used by Jimi Hendrix on stage at Woodstock, including Jimi's famous rendition of "The Star Spangled banner." Originally published on Collectorsweekly.com. There are Internet forums, but typically I avoid those. Guitars don’t figure as heavily into chart-topping music as they once did, according to Gruhn. It is a fantastic piece of Fender history and rock ‘n’ roll history for Howard’s time in Gene Vincent’s Blue Caps and 15 years spent in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.” George Jacob Jung (born August 6, 1942), nicknamed Boston George and El Americano, is an American former drug trafficker and smuggler who was a major figure in the cocaine trade in the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s. Gibson Bella Voce Tenor Banjo. Gruhn Guitars History. (they changed the way the cut and cured the wood, because their backorders were backed up about a year back up then} Gibson and Epiphone have been notorious, for unreliable ser #'s. It’s not simply that they’re too young, because when my generation was 25 years of age, there were folks who were already really seriously starting to collect. Related Videos All original. George Gruhn is a writer, businessman and ophiophilist. I collected those, and I would sell basically everything else I’d find. I bought a Conde Hermanos classical guitar made in Madrid. Unless that's an existential issue. It’s not like I had a business plan or decided to open up a store. Sometimes I feel almost like the Rolls Royce salesman who’s driving a Chevy. As a dealer, one of the things that I don’t like is that if I list something that’s special, it doesn’t take an hour or two before it’s being discussed in chat rooms. Gruhn describes his early days of guitar collecting as "a compulsive mania." I started out primarily as a collector and the business aspect of it evolved over time, almost by accident. Some may be because people embellish, and some because people can be quite ignorant and they don’t know what they’ve got. 1.2K Views. If you are very knowledgeable, you can buy at flea markets, pawnshops, eBay, whatever, but you’ve got to know your stuff. I’d be looking for things like pre-World War II Martin guitars. 5.80lbs. He went on to earn degrees in animal behavior and zoology from the University of Chicago and Duke University. Back in ’76, I sold most of my collection and I bought a house and a building for the business. ", Interview with George Gruhn - NAMM Oral History Library (2000), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Gruhn&oldid=918007620, Wikipedia articles with style issues from April 2017, Articles with topics of unclear notability from April 2017, All articles with topics of unclear notability, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 1st ed. He began collecting insects, frogs and turtles at age four. He ought to know. I found things I didn’t want, but I had to buy it because it was so cheap and I knew where I could sell it. Original Thermometer case is in good condition. In fact, you don’t even have to have the instrument; you can post somebody else’s photos and list it as though it were your own. “Guitars, which are the ultimate collectible, can be looked at, touched, listened to and played,” he says. In fact, when I saw the folklore society’s festivals and performances at the University of Chicago – they had concerts and an annual festival – they permitted acoustic instruments only. Today, those same instruments are between 65 and 95 years old and remain the most sought-after pieces. Photo: Billy Mitchell, courtesy George Gruhn. George Gruhn turned a hobby collecting vintage guitars into one of the most well-known guitar shops in the world. Gruhn: The typical buyers/collectors that I deal with are Baby Boomers. He began collecting insects, frogs and turtles at age four. The places that I see overseas that collect American guitars tend to be areas where Armed Forces Radio was big. People who collect rock ‘n’ roll guitars are not the same folks who collect classical or Flamenco guitars or steel-string flat top guitars. I recognized that they were valuable, and valuable back then meant that they were asking $50 or $75 for something that I could sell for $150 or $200. Stay away from George Gruhn. He certainly didn’t invent solid-body guitars in spite of his claims to that effect. They hate to sell it. Gibson Style o 1924. Miscellaneous. If a saw a Fender Telecaster or a Les Paul or a Fender Stratocaster or a Gibson ES-335 or a Gibson J-45 flat top, I knew enough to buy them. The ones who really collect look all their life for this particular stamp and when they get it, they don’t want to simply turn right around and sell it right away. But after that, they really started skyrocketing. Maple short scale. "[2] He is also the author of several books on the subject.[3]. Some crossed over. ... by having a Gruhn or Carter market this for them. Gruhn: The Internet certainly makes it easier for people to contact each other and for somebody who’s looking for something to find it. Original hard case included. Thought of as a successor to Gibson’s iconic flat-tops of the 1930s to 1960s, they were produced in a range of finishes and prices. Those artists have left indelible imprints on the music landscape, all t… This family that had it didn’t know squat about it, but they ended up getting over $300,000 for it. 2. He'll tell you it's worth a few hundred dollars. I found that I just couldn’t help myself. “I purchased it from Bill Blackburn via George Gruhn in 2014. George Gruhn net worth is $13 Million George Gruhn Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family George Gruhn is a writer and businessman. He was a great player, but for the most part he didn’t really do a whole lot in the designing work on the Les Paul guitar. I have been an Elderly customer since 1984, so I may be a bit biased in their favor, but I can certainly recommend George Gruhn without reservation. For every one I’d find that I wanted to keep, I could run across fifty to a hundred that were great deals on things I didn’t want. His shop is well worth the visit if you are in Nashville. All original.