Badge found on some late '50s MM/DS cases. c/o T. Pershing
What this is:
In early 1998 I pored through the ads in all 5 of my back issues of Vintage Guitar and Twentieth Century Guitar magazines to determine the trends (if any) in the market value of Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic guitars. These guitars are more affordable because they tend to be looked down on by collectors and because there were many more made to begin with. But how long would they remain affordable? (For example, anyone that's shopped for new Gibson guitars recently knows they really jacked up their prices in the late '90s.) Basically, I was trying to determine if I'd ever be able to afford any more of these little guitars, so I copied down the prices and descriptions (in a couple of cases these were price guide listings) and made a spreadsheet (later converted into HTML; see below). I included where (what state or area code) the guitar was listed for sale, to allow for regional differences. In cases where it looked like the same guitar was advertised for sale by the same place in a previous issue, I indicated whether the price had gone up (+), stayed the same (*), or decreased (-). I have no idea whether the guitars sold at the listed prices, or if they were worth what was asked of them (like anything else, an old guitar is only worth what someone will pay for it). Take from these listings what you can.Aside from the recent March 2001 and July 2000 listings, I really haven't been able to add to them since first posting them. I would welcome similar info anyone wants to compile similar info from ads in other 'zines, but it's a pretty time-consuming task. For a national sample of more recent prices, check gbase.com.
What this isn't:
This is NOT a price guide, or an offer to buy, sell, or appraise anything. I'm not qualified to appraise a guitar, even if I had it in front of me, so please don't send me e-mail asking how much your guitar is worth. You might be able to infer a relative value (e.g., an approximate value for the year indicated, for a refinished guitar, or for one without original parts), but keep in mind it's still only an estimate. Your mileage may vary.
- March 2001/July 2000 listings
- January 1997 listings
- March 1996 listings
- April 1995 listings
- September 1994 listings
- July 1994 listings