If you own a musical instrument, chances are it is a “regular” one that you purchased or received as a gift. And it is also more than likely that the instrument is only a few years old, or even newer. Of course, you might be one of the lucky people who own an old and valuable instrument. If that’s the case, it may be worth big bucks.
Maybe you have an old instrument in your attic or storage that you once played and never thought of again, or one that you bought at a bargain price at a yard sale but forgot all about it? Well, you’d better have a second look at it because some vintage instruments are worth thousands of dollars.
The good news is that these instruments can be quite “ordinary,” that is, they don’t have to be made by famous manufacturers. This guide lists some of the instruments that a lot of musicians and collectors are looking for: If you own a Stradivarius violin, you can probably quit your job and live in the lap of luxury. But Strads are not the only strings that are valuable. Early- to mid-19th-century Italian violins, which could still be purchased in the 1950s for a few thousand dollars, are now worth 10 times as much. Let’s move on to other instruments. Do you happen to own a pre-1945 Martin and Gibson acoustic guitar? If so, you are in luck – between 1920s and early 1940s, these companies took advantage of advances in engineering and construction to build excellent guitars, before shifting to different manufacturing methods to meet the increasing demand for this instrument. As it so often happens, quantity prevailed over quality, and the prewar models remain in demand. Speaking of guitars, some accessories are also worth a good deal of money, such as amps containing glass vacuum tubes. Many of today’s musicians prefer the warm, rich sound of an old tube amp over the newer ones. Last, but not least, if you own Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos from the 1960s and 1970s, you have a great collectible on (or under) your hands. These instruments have physical hammers like acoustic pianos and electrical pickups like electric guitars, which fell out of fashion in the 1980s in favor of electronic synthesizers. All this goes to prove that old instruments don’t die out; they just are more in demand!
Of course, you don’t have to own one of the above-mentioned relics in order to play music. Whatever functional instrument you have, one of our teachers will come to your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office to give you lessons. But you may want to hold on to your instrument and treat it well because one day it could be worth its weight in gold!
