Tigeralum2001
Well-known member
I went to the Bee-3 Vintage Guitar show today. I'd never been and didn't know what to expect. I play guitar very badly and have essentially abandoned it. However, my friends convinced me to go and I'm glad I did! Not only did I see some very cool guitars, I also got to see many other stringed instruments.
There was a guy there selling ukes. He had about every Martin, but they were all beat to hell & overpriced. All had cracks & gouges. He was selling soprano 0s for $750, Tenor 1s for $1650 and Baritone 1s for $1850. Another dealer had a beat up soprano 0 for $500 and a decent soprano 1 for $1250. Another vendor had 3 Tipples. They were in good shape. He wanted $750 for the Martin and a $450 for one of an unknown maker that had binding and inlays similar to this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220555783338&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT
Anyhow, I saw a friend at a guitar vendor and he asked if I found any Martin ukes and I said "nothing good at a reasonable price." Then the vendor said "I have a Martin uke." And he pulled it out. In its original case. A practically cherry style 1 concert. He wanted $1000, but that was too rich for my blood. It was so beautiful, though. A few MINOR surface imperfections, no chips, cracks, dings, etc. Looked to have the original strings still on it. He said "I have no idea what to do with it. I think it is a style 1, but you probably know more about it than I do. Tell you what, I don't want to deal with it. I have $800 in it, I'll sell it to you for that." I looked it over, pondering it hard. It appears to be a pre-1963 as it has no "Made in USA" stamp in the sound hole, but it also doesn't have the mark on the back of the head. After 2 minutes or so I said "deal!"
I hope it is a good deal. I took it home & restrung it with Aquillas (the only strings I have right now) and it sounds GREAT! It is in the case being humidified right now.
So... never having ventured into the realm of vintage or Martin, how did I do? Did I get caught in show hype or did I do good?
There was a guy there selling ukes. He had about every Martin, but they were all beat to hell & overpriced. All had cracks & gouges. He was selling soprano 0s for $750, Tenor 1s for $1650 and Baritone 1s for $1850. Another dealer had a beat up soprano 0 for $500 and a decent soprano 1 for $1250. Another vendor had 3 Tipples. They were in good shape. He wanted $750 for the Martin and a $450 for one of an unknown maker that had binding and inlays similar to this http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220555783338&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT
Anyhow, I saw a friend at a guitar vendor and he asked if I found any Martin ukes and I said "nothing good at a reasonable price." Then the vendor said "I have a Martin uke." And he pulled it out. In its original case. A practically cherry style 1 concert. He wanted $1000, but that was too rich for my blood. It was so beautiful, though. A few MINOR surface imperfections, no chips, cracks, dings, etc. Looked to have the original strings still on it. He said "I have no idea what to do with it. I think it is a style 1, but you probably know more about it than I do. Tell you what, I don't want to deal with it. I have $800 in it, I'll sell it to you for that." I looked it over, pondering it hard. It appears to be a pre-1963 as it has no "Made in USA" stamp in the sound hole, but it also doesn't have the mark on the back of the head. After 2 minutes or so I said "deal!"
I hope it is a good deal. I took it home & restrung it with Aquillas (the only strings I have right now) and it sounds GREAT! It is in the case being humidified right now.
So... never having ventured into the realm of vintage or Martin, how did I do? Did I get caught in show hype or did I do good?