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by silverdemon 2172 days ago
They're collectable and valuable because of the association with famous players in the classic rock era, and the rarity of examples. A perfect copy of the Mona Lisa would be worth a few $, not a few milion $, even if it were indistinguishable to the viewer.

Many guitarists fetishize the 59 Les Paul because of the sound. The trick is that '59 Les Paul might not sound any different objectively, but the musician knows they are playing an iconic and rare instrument. This can make the musician play better than usual. Guitarists often attribute this to the "mojo" in the guitar; the trick is the mojo is in the player's belief.
4 comments
elihu 2172 days ago
On one hand, I think the 59 Les Paul would be valuable to people who collect those sorts of rare things regardless of whether they actually intend to play it.

On the other hand, I could see that for some successful performers, the purchase could be a sound financial investment if fans are just a bit more excited about hearing their favorite musician playing a rare instrument live than they would otherwise be. One might be able to recover the purchase price of the instrument through increased ticket sales.

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irscott 2172 days ago
100% this. I work in vintage guitars and this is a huge part of it. This why a 62 strat costs way more than a 62 jaguar.
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TheOtherHobbes 2172 days ago
The mojo is always in the player, and buying more expensive instruments won't create it if it's not there.

I once turned up to a pub session and saw this hairy-looking person with a complete PoS no-name guitar. It had holes in the body and looked like it was held together with tape.

Even so. Surprisingly good sound. Sweet playing.

Complete opposite to the guitar nerds who turn up with gleaming prestige instruments they fumble around on.

I found out afterwards he'd been in a household name UK pop band in the late 60s.

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thorin 2172 days ago
Grunge movement in the 90s was founded on this premise, which picked it up from the hardcore/punk scenes of earlier times. Kurt would turn up in a cardigan and jazzmaster from a thrift store and rock out.

[edit] I think it might have been a Fender Jaguar actually, it looked terrible!

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jakear 2172 days ago
I can assure you that a perfect copy of the Mona Lisa (i.e. indistinguishable, even to an expert) would cost much more than a few dollars.
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