State of the Vintage Stratocaster, 2005, by David Belzer
The demand for good, clean, all-original Strats continues to be strong, particularly for 4-bolt, pre-CBS and Custom Color models. Unfortunately, the supply of these strats is low and itâs getting harder and harder to find the good stuff. Equally tough is that as the supply dwindles, prices go up, with 2004 prices up about 30% from 2003. I would say that the year 2004 saw more first time collectors entering the market than ever before. Many people feel that itâs now or never to get into a vintage strat, knowing that the same guitar may be financially out of reach in another year or two...