Part of the history of Parlour Pawn has been our relationship with some serious instrument collectors over the years. What most people don’t know is that we’ve become a destination for some of these collectors and they often find some great pieces and some awesome deals when they come in. This week we take a look at a collection from one of our regulars.

Bitten by the bug

Our featured collector today, let’s call him Joe as he would prefer we don’t use his real name, has been a customer and avid collector at Parlour Pawn for over 30 years. Joe started the same way most collectors do of course as he was a player, but in the end it was the look and sound of a great electric guitar that made him fall in love with them and it wasn’t before long that he found himself dipping his toe into collecting. To get started Joe would mainly search for what some collectors would consider the lower line instruments by collecting mainly Japanese copies of american pieces which 30 years ago might not have been as desirable but today some of those pieces would have been worth as much or more as some of their american counterparts.

You might have caught that little word WOULD in the last paragraph unfortunately as life often does with collectors Joe had to make the tough choice and had to make his business come first so he made the hard choice to liquidate his first collection for the towing equipment he needed. Sufficed to say there is of course a one that got away from that first collection that Joe wishes he had never given up and for him it’s a Les Paul Custom Copy that he’s never seen one that nice since.

Rebirth of a passion

Luckily for Joe his investment into his business paid off and since then he has been able to start the collection again but this time not only has joe been able to start collecting the kinds of guitars he had always wanted but this time he’s gotten to share it with his daughter who also has become a good player and a bit of a collector in her own right. Over the years since restarting his collection he has almost exclusively collected the more sought after American-made instruments that he knows he wants to leave as an enjoyable and valuable legacy to pass on to her but really it’s that hunter collector GAS or Guitar Acquisition Syndrome that keeps him hunting for the next pieces.

A Museum of American Classics!

In his collection he has purchased the cream of the crop of his collection from Parlour Pawn. Instruments Here is just a taste:

• Reissue ’59 Gibson Melody Maker

• Gibson “The Paul”

• Gibson Firebrand

• Gibson 1973 SG

• 2008 Gibson Les Paul standard

• Fender Stratocaster

• Fender 60th anniversary Precision bass

• Gibson “Shred V”

• Fender Jimmy Vaughn Stratocaster (with Bare Knuckles “Rory Gallagher” pick-ups)

• Gibson SG Melody Maker

and guitar amps such as

• Fender Super 6 Reverb

• Gibson GA-8T amp

• Fender Music Master bass amp.

Of course there are a few more to his collection and it was hard to get him to narrow it down to just a few but we pushed a little harder and he was able to choose from his many children and that at this moment, he would have to say, it was the 1973 Gibson SG that was and is his favorite but really because it was the first Gibson he was able to collect and that it holds a special place.

Gallery

[nggallery id=4]

A truly “active” collector, he drops into chat and see what else is around to add to the Parlour Pawn shop prize collection.

Got a favorite item in your collection? Got a question? Comment? leave your comment below and we’ll be sure to answer or jump on over to our Facebook or twitter pages for more great content and join in on the conversation!