Evaluate Vintage Electric GuitarsQuality is king when buying vintage electric guitars. Ask sellers the right questions to ensure you get the exact vintage electric guitar you want. Vintage electric guitars in good shape provide an excellent playing experience, and can serve as a sound investment. Don't cut corners by purchasing a replica or incomplete original. Look for original hardware. Tuning pegs, bridges, and pick-ups wear down over time and while replacement guitar parts or upgraded hardware might make for better sound or playability, they can cut into the value of vintage electric guitars. A vintage electric guitar with a worn, but original, finish will usually be worth more than a refinished vintage guitar. A true vintage electric guitar should have the original finish: cracks, dents, and all. Find a vintage electric guitar that uses a quality tone wood. Mahogany and maple woods are most common on vintage electric guitars. For solid-body vintage electric guitars, mahogany produces a warmer tone, and maple produces a brighter tone. Quality vintage electric guitars that can provide an acoustic output have a spruce top with a maple back and sides. Less expensive vintage electric guitars will be solid maple. You'll also find tone woods such as ash, alder, and kornia used for vintage electric guitars. You may even get lucky and find a vintage electric guitar made of Brazilian rosewood. Although it cannot be used in the United States today, it was commonly used on even the least expensive guitars in the 1960s. Loose neck joints won’t handle string vibrations well and can rattle the neck of your vintage electric guitar, adversely affecting the tone. Some vintage electric guitar manufacturers have glued the neck in place, providing a more solid connection between the neck and the body. Every piece of hardware on your vintage electric guitar should be solid and well-seated. Make sure the nut holds the guitar strings in place and doesn’t rattle. Ask if the tuning pegs are solid and hold true. The same goes for the electric guitar’s bridge. Pick-ups should be shielded from electronic interference with either epoxy or wax. Poorly insulated pick-ups will hum or buzz if they are in close proximity to large electric fields. Determine how much you're willing to pay before purchasing your vintage electric guitar. Search Completed Listings on eBay to find out how much buyers typically pay for specific vintage electric guitar brands, models, and woods. Just because a vintage guitar is rare doesn’t necessarily mean it is valuable. For example, Fender’s electric mandolin is incredibly rare but because not many people are in the market for an electric mandolin, its value is lower than the widely produced Fender Stratocaster. | 
