Actually, according to George Gruhn, vintage instruments have shown a better rate of return over the past 30-40 years than real estate or the stocks and bonds. That's not the reason I buy fiddles, mandolins, guitars & banjos, they are mostly for my own use, but some people do buy them as an investment. Unfortunately this means that some wonderful old ones are not being played, and working musickers can't afford to hardly look at them, much less take them out to a $50 gig.

Mark Ross