Vintage Mustang prices in 2024

[pacemaker]

Yesterday I was in a small local shop eavesdropping as a fella was having his '64 Olympic White Mustang evaluated for consignment. I peered over at it as he was discussing the guitar with the guy behind the counter, and it was visually a nice example - it look both well played and well maintained.

When it came to the price, the owner suggested $4000 as a starting point. I wasn't exactly surprised, but it still kinda blows my mind. To be fair, the shop worker kinda hemmed and hawed when the owner asked if that was a realistic price.

After more thought, I realized I have no gauge as to what vintage Mustangs in decent condition are going for. They're anywhere from $1600 to $5000 on Reverb, but what are y'all seeing out in the real world?

[JamesSGBrown]

In the UK, around £2.5k for a Dakota Red '64, maybe £3k asking price. But Sonic Blue etc around £3k to £3.5k. Late 60's compstangs gone mental, 70's ones now around £3.5k too. All in all, silly money really.

[crazyzeke]

Agreed, these are former student-level guitars (I'm not saying that's what I think, it's how Fender pitched them and the Musicmaster/Duo-Sonic when launched, basically student level hence some being in small hand friendly 22.5" scales) and it's madness to see them going for what moderately ranged new/nearly new Gibsons do now I suppose, which I would also consider expensive. I didn't keep my eye on guitar prices for a long time and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but if anything the halo effect stuff around vintage gear has gotten worse which I don't like, yet conversely budget to mid level stuff (which I consider £999 or less, basically) has become super competitive and it's completely possible to get a MIM Fender or Epi that'll outplay something 3-4x more expensive if you know what you're looking for and don't mind a slight downgrade in fit and finish if the feel/tone is right. So a mixed bag I guess.

As someone who modifies most guitars he keeps, which is one good reason never to own an all-original vintage, I suppose I don't have to worry about that but the fact vintage Stangs are now reaching the sorts of price heights late 60s Strats (you know, CBS era but still good in a lot of cases) would have had in the early 2000s is ahead of inflation and not proportional to what the guitar actually plays like, after a point it becomes "it's worth money cos it's old" which is a bit sad, but it's hard to get too up in arms when you have such value possible in the sub-£1k catagory. Pao Ferro mostly has the same feel as rosewood I find (Meteora has it and I notice the scale/radius difference but the fingerboard feels almost identical).

[welshywelsh]

I'm deep into getting a Competition Mustang as my various threads on here will attest, so I'm keenly watching the market.

£3k will get me a red '73 all original. The only all original '69s in burgundy/blue/green currently for sale are £7k which are never selling at that price (one started at £17k!)

The Cobain factor is a huge reason, although one I don't understand. It's not like Nirvana weren't around for a good while before his guitar was auctioned last year is it.

In the back of my mind is what has been discussed here, it's a lot of money for a student guitar and I'm under no illusions that money could be better spent on an objectively better guitar.

However for me, it's the one missing offset from my collection, would fill a sonic space (I only own guitars I actively play) and after the debacle of buying a nice acoustic for my 40th, I'd really like one instead. Just wish I'd pulled the trigger 5 years ago!

[OffYourFace]

Wow. A friend just bought a nice refretted 1972 olympic white Mustang for $1900 on craigslist (los angeles). He's in love with it. I wouldn't pay that much but I'm very happy for him. Especially since I had to stop him from buying a fully nitro refin'd MIJ Mustang for $2400 I'm sure it was nice but come on.

I put my '66 Duo Sonic together from vintage parts for about $600-700 in 2011. You can't buy just the neck for that much now. The only reason I didn't do a Mustang is because I wanted it to be as light as possible for my gf. I'm glad we still have it. It sounds much better than the '69 Comp Red she used to have. I wish we kept it obv! But in general I usually love the sound of a Mustang vs. a Duo Sonic because of the extra bridge mass.

[crazyzeke]

£3k will get me a red '73 all original. The only all original '69s in burgundy/blue/green currently for sale are £7k which are never selling at that price (one started at £17k!)

Yeah that's just crazy money and in some cases people trying their luck to see how much they can get, so it's greed.

The Cobain factor is a huge reason, although one I don't understand. It's not like Nirvana weren't around for a good while before his guitar was auctioned last year is it.

Yeah and people spending that amount of money to be like "teh Kurdtz" are missing the point. Don't get me wrong I'm a huge Nirvana fan but I've never wanted to copy him when it comes to gear and actively avoided Mustangs and Jaguars for years because of it, even though at this point I play nothing like him. Kurdt went with Jags and Stangs to suit his small hands and stature, plus they were cheap back then. I very much doubt he'd have played vintage Mustangs if he was starting out today, it'd probably be something completely different. "People used what they had/what was available/what they could more comfortably afford" seems to get missed in the fervour of collectors/players trying to ape their idols. I paid £360 for my Jag, before upgrades, nearly 20 years ago. Same guitars go for £1,200 on Reverb, which to be honest means if I was getting into them today I'd probably be choosing cheaper models, so I'm following the same template as a lot of my favourite players by not very aping them and just going with what's available and represents good value.

In the back of my mind is what has been discussed here, it's a lot of money for a student guitar and I'm under no illusions that money could be better spent on an objectively better guitar.

You could yep, like a more modern Fender. If you choose one that feels right (neck especially) then you can upgrade the hardware/electronics if they're not to your taste and get something that's basically bespoke and save a ton of money.

[pacemaker]

Man... this is all in line with what I'm seeing as well as my own perspective on the subject. I certainly understand that prices are bound to rise over time, but like so many other things, the increase in perceived value seems out of proportion to reality.

My own experience with compstangs has been largely negative, and while I understand the Cobain thing as well as the simple fact that compstangs have a unique aesthetic, their popularity and higher price point always been a bit of headscratcher to me nonetheless.

[B]

I don't even know where to begin on this subject, but it has been on my mind a lot lately as I have my blue 1973 Compstang listed on here for sale.

I put $2300 on it. This is not me plugging my ad, this is me trying to describe the mental anguish I went through as I went back and forth on what to list it for.

Why the anguish? Because I live here in Washington State. And I'm in my 50s. I was playing music here right when the Nirvana nuclear bomb went off. When you hear the old offset/Seattle lore of "We bought them because they (Jags/Jazzmasters/Mustangs) were still quality Fender guitars that hung up cheap in pawn shops because our Dad's who were obsessed with the Ventures and surf guitar in the 60s eventually had to buy snowtires for the family suburban"... Yeah, I am LITERALLY that guy. I got my first early 60s Jaguar, in the original Sonic Blue finish, from a guy who did guitar repairs as a side gig in his custom camper van shop in Oregon (I think he was reupholstering my Dad's seats). It was $450 and I had to ask my Dad for half of it. Which he loaned me. Because it probably reminded him of his Jazzmaster he used to have. That he sold to buy tires. And I got my first 60s Mustang in Dakota Red for $175-ish from a "notoriously overpriced pawn shop" who wouldn't budge on the price.

That shit was real here.

Later, as "it" was just starting to happen, I remember walking into the Trading Musician (long time Seattle guitar shop) and seeing a Jazzmaster in some "hideous ass lilac color" (Burgundy Mist... And I REALLY wanted it.) and seeing $1995 on it and losing my mind so hard that I told the guy working "What happened to this shop? Nobody is ever gonna pay you that kind of money for some guitar the same color as my grandma's bathroom". Then turning to my girlfriend (who is now my wife) and saying "What the fuck is even happening around here anymore? Every shop has lost their freaking minds now". I was seriously fuming. Because I really wanted a Jazzmaster, and made a special trip into town because "I know one of the shops in town will have a Jazzmaster... And I have $600 cash on me, so I KNOW I can find somebody to sell me one for that!".

So that was my dilemma pricing my Mustang. I grew up seeing my favorite cheap ass pawn shop guitars explode in price and saying "Pfftt.... This won't last". And getting pissed at the local shops as their prices went up, and up, and up.

Now you have these Seattle shops selling Japanese offsets for $2500, original Compstangs for $4k-$6k, and '69 matching headstock Compstangs for over $10k. Refinished Jazzmasters for $15k? And I feel that same feeling all over again. "Screw these guys."

Every time I've said that, no matter how butthurt I may be about it, it has never stopped the rise in prices once. There was no way I was going to put $3995 on my guitar, but at the same time, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that listing it for $1000 would be rather foolish on my part. So I decided on $2300. It satisfies the reason I needed to sell it in the first place, but still makes me feel like I am not QUITE one of "those" freaking douchebags just yet.

[JSett]

This.

I too remember buying 60s offsets in my teens for £450-600 and thought they were kinda overpriced considering what I 'had' to do to them (which basically involved me smashing humbuckers into the bridge routing - hey, I was in a punk band!). Seeing what's happened since Covid is insane.

But I too try to not be a dick with pricing when I sell. Just last year I got that good deal on a 72 JM (2600 I think), When I listed it for sale I just put a few hundred on top and it eventually went for a little less to the same guy I sold my 67 Jag to (again, for a reasonable price). Anyone here that's seen my listings over the last few years knows I love to pass good deals on and have never tried to maximise my profit.

A non-vintage example is my recent Vista Musicmaster I sold to fi5hf4ce on here. I bought it for £210 and, despite knowing they sell for 600+ these days, still moved it on for just £250 to him (I upgraded the tuners and pickup). That felt better to me. I sold my black 65 Jag to Deathjag for 2k under the going rate also. The potential extra money in my pocket isn't important enough to me to outweigh the positivity I'd get for selling it at a wholesome price.

I personally think, B, your price is pretty much perfect and I'm amazed it's still for sale. If you were in the UK i'd be tempted myself!

[superficial]

If it was in the UK I’d have bought it by now, and I’d be feeling guilty I’d ripped you off…

I don’t understand where all this price angst comes from, though. It seems very stressful and you’re potentially losing a significant chunk of change! Prices are a function of supply and demand. Not how much of a ‘douchebag’ the seller is. I appreciate trying to keep the guitar within a community of enthusiasts, though.

[Fac 50]

UK Folks - I was in North Laine Music is Brighton the other weekend and they've got a lot of vintage offsets in right now - a 63 refin (Sonic Blue) JM, 65 3TS JM, a late 60's Jag and 2 other sunbursts, one a JM, one a Jag that mid-60s I think. No prices on any of them.

Anyway, there's also a rack of vintage Mustangs and at least one DuoSonic - maybe 6 or 7 guitars in total. I looked at the first couple and the prices were north of £4K. I didn't note down years, finishes etc as I was so shocked!

They don't have a website but some of them are on this Reverb shop: EDIT - can't get the link to work, but it's called Music Bazaar, Brighton UK

The Daphne Blue 67 Mustang is £4295 and a Desert Sand 60 Duo is a bit more. Also the 63 refin JM is £9.9K and the 65 sunburst JM is £10K. Maybe I'm a bit out of touch here but this is insane pricing! Are people actually paying these prices?

[panoramic]

for me these are 1200-2500 depending on what year and color scheme they are. I don't care for the non contour body ones so I am not counting those here.

[caples]

just sold my original comp blue '69 for 5500. It had Schaller tuners and an added strap button so it could be played lefty.

[OffYourFace]

i honestly can't believe people pay that much for mustangs. Don't get me wrong, they sound cool and are fun to play but wow.

[panoramic]

i honestly can't believe people pay that much for mustangs. Don't get me wrong, they sound cool and are fun to play but wow.

it's even crazier that Duo Sonics sell for the same range