“There is a great romance in owning vintage, but I just don’t resonate with it.”
Everyone’s favorite guitar virtuoso, Steve Vai, reflected on why he isn’t all that into collecting vintage guitars.For a long time now, guitars manufactured back in the 1950s and the 1960s have been considered by some to be the peak of the instrument’s potential. With decades passing by, stuff from the 1970s, 1980s, and sometimes even the 1990s has become so attractive to collectors, with their market prices being significantly higher than a lot of pro-tier new stuff that’s being released.But as Vai says, the whole vintage guitar collecting thing just isn’t his thing. As he told Dean Delray in a recent visit to the “Let There Be Talk” podcast, “I just don’t resonate with it,” although he also admitted that he understands the “romance” of it.
When asked whether he ever passed through the “vintage thing” in terms of guitar collecting, Steve replied that he didn’t, revealing that he only has a handful of old-school instruments and then said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
“The thing about vintage — it just never… I make music based on what I’m feeling, like anybody else. When it comes to guitars, I am not an aficionado. I can’t really tell you a lot about the guitar. When I’m designing it, I know everything, the kind of neck, the fret dimensions, the ohmage on the pots, the wood — everything.”
“There is a great romance in owning vintage”
“But that information is kind of like boring to me in a sense,” Vai explained. And for him, what the guitar offers in terms of functionality is a priority. He added:
“And I like guitars that have functionality. So if you go in that room and look around, every guitar, there’s something unique that it offers. Most of them. Unless it’s just like a Les Paul, my few Les Pauls or whatever.”
“But there’s guitars — baritone guitars, there are seven-strings, there’s guitars with sustainers that have weird whammy. But there’s all sorts of things. And that’s what I like. I like collecting guitars that have unique functions.”
“There is a great romance in owning vintage,” Steve said. “But I just don’t resonate with it.”
“What am I chasing antique instruments for?”
Discussing this further, the guitar maestro also recalled one occasion when he needed a Strat-like tone for a specific song. And, after going through a number of vintage Strats, he chose a somewhat unexpected one.
“And I always wanted an old Strat, just to have it. And I had saved. Because, at the time, a really good old Strat was like $17,000. And I saved, and I had it.”
“And I went down to all the music stores in Hollywood. I said, ‘Bring me your best Strats, bring them to the studio.’ I sat for days and went through Strats — old Strat after old Strat.”
So, what did he choose in the end?
“I ended up buying a $500 Japanese knockoff Strat because it felt the best, and it absolutely sounded the best for what I was looking for,” Steve recalled. This experience changed his perception of vintage guitars. He added:
“And I said, ‘What am I chasing antique instruments for?’ They never really sound great to me, in a sense.”
But it’s kind of the same thing with brand-new guitars for him as well:
“I don’t like new guitars, either. It’s like a new car. Some people like that. I like a new car, but a new guitar just feels too pristine. It’s not worked in. I like to get my sweat in it, I like when it gets a few bumps and grinds in it. So I’ve never really had an attraction for vintage. I definitely appreciate the romance behind it. But they’re expensive also.”
