Chandler Guitars?

[jgcable]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

I agree, I am nuts. I have scored many a great guitar deal and I didn't feel bad paying top dollar for this one. I just couldn't allow it to go to GC as a partial payment for a new PRS Santana! [img]graemlins/puke.gif[/img] This Chandler can stand toe to toe with my 1983 Zebra Sandy Charvel anytime. The quality is outstanding.

[JACKSONFREAK]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

Yeah they were great guitars but unfortunately most 80's style guitars just dont have the resale value they deserve. Look at Jackson and Charvel for instance. THe only things holding thier value are custom shops and Sandi Strat heads. Chandlers were quality parts and relatively inexpensive for the most part. Although some did reach a grand and over in price. In the current market the "parts guitars" or after market manufacturers dont have the resal value because they dont have a name to go with them. Like Gibson, or Fender, or even BC Rich, and JAckson for that matter. Look at what Kramer prices have done lately they've pretty much dropped and leveled off.
The Candler stuff is on par if not better than the Charvel Model series just think of them as a model of similar options for pricing.
Gil

[jgcable]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

The whole "worth" thing is so subjective when it comes to 80's guitars. Because I am 42 and was gigging almost every night for the entire 80's decade I still "remember" the guitars that I couldn't afford but often dreamed about. At the time, everybody had Charvels, kick a$$ Kramers, Rich's, etc...You could walk into Mannys or Sam Ash and see Bullseyes, Zebras, and lots of very cool Charvels hanging right on the wall. The boutique guitars during that time were Mighty Mite, Schecter, Chandler, and Boogie. Those guitars were the ones that got the attention of us players because they weren't hanging on every stand in every guitar shop around. You had to order them, pay in advance, possibly have them built and set up but the cool thing was you could order anything you wanted provided it was in the catalog. Remember that at the time, EVH was very popular and his "homemade" strat carried such a vibe that everybody wanted to build their own frankenstrat. A majority of the serious players searched for companies to design one of a kind guitars for them to play. At the time, I ordered a Mighty Mite body with red and ivory stripes, a Schecter raw maple 22 fret neck, Schecter pickguard loaded with Duncan HotRails, a football style jackplate with a built in preamp in it and an OFR. It was a killer guitar and 1 of a kind. Guliano's built it for me and I paid dearly for it. (between $800-$1000) I think that even Performance Guitars was around then. To own a Guiliano's built Chandler that was totally custom ordered and built was the coolest thing on the planet. In todays standards, some of these manufacturers are quickly becoming forgotten, but to me the aura and vibe that these guitars had in the 80's is just as fresh today. Many of you guys weren't around gigging in the 80's so it may be difficult to understand. There really weren't that many manufacturers. Gibson was hurting bad, Fender just dabbled in the metal scene with their HM strats and Ibanez didn't start addressing the metal scene until the late 80's. PRS didn't exist, neither did Jackson. I don't even recall if ESP was around. Hamer was popular but hard to get. Many stores were stocked to the cealing with Aria's, Hondo's and other copies. That is why guys of my generation tend to overvalue some guitars and pay more than we should. We still remember... Rock on [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

[j2379]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

i dont think anyone is denying how well its made or plays, just NON big names dont have resale value. the guitar market in general is down, its a buyers market i know ive gotten a couple of great deals lately but i cant seem to get what i think a few of my guitars are worth. its just not a good time to be selling unless its a SD strathead. BTW i wouldnt checkerboard that hamer.

[jgcable]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

My point wasn't to diepute the worth of the guitar to the general public in this crap economy. I was trying to state my personal point of view regarding the worth. To me.. it is worth more and technically it was a brand name in the early to mid 80's. Like I said earlier, Chandler, Schecter, Mighty Mite and Boogie were all really popular with the serious players. Mighty Mite Strats were topics of conversation on a regualr basis back then. Now they are just considered a mail order/ internet company. To have a Mighty Mite body with a Schecter neck was just too cool.

[ September 25, 2003, 09:50 AM: Message edited by: jgcable ]

[jgcable]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

People would never believe that the $350.00 Les Paul existed, but it did. In 1980 I bought a 68 Gibson SG for $275.00 from Sam Ash Music in White Plains, NY. Brand new Les Pauls were $600.00 and the stores were full of used ones for around $350.00. At one point I think that every Fender Strat/Gibson Les Paul player traded in their guitars for Kramer Pacers. East Coast Music (Ed Romans old store) bought out BC Rich and every player in Westchester County traded in their Gibbys and Fenders for Rich's. It would be a shock to people today to see what we saw. In the very early 80's picture a Kramer Pacer and a Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty hanging side by side on the rack at the local store. The Kramer is priced at $699.00 new without a case and the Gibson is priced $350.00 with the case. Which one would sell faster? Thats right. The Kramer. At the time, I played a 1st year Kramer USA Pacer, a 68 Gibson SG and 2 Aria Urchins. One was a base model and the other was a neck thru, koa bodied fully loaded guitar that had all the options of a fully loaded Bich including the cloud MOP's. My twin hum/Floyd Zebra Sandy came soon afterwords (around 1983). I had a walnut bodied Chandler a while back with gold hardware. It was a killer guitar and had a black Kahler Flyer on it. Supposedly, Chandler was the 1st company to offer Kahlers as an option and mine was the 1st guitar ever to have one installed. It worked flawlessly for many years of heavy abuse.

[Chuckracer]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

Great posts, JG. As you know, I was there too, and also place a higher value on these guitars than the younger crowd who didn't live through the eighties.
Yeah, ESP necks and bodies were available then. I built a parts guitar from them. Chandler, Boogie, Mighty Mite, Dimarzio, all players. You could walk into any pawnshop and see 10 Les Pauls with $350 price tags on them. Couldn't give a Les Paul away! Early seventies metal panel Marshall model 1959 heads were $300 all day long.
That Chandler is sweet, regardless of street value vs. sentimental value!

[JACKSONFREAK]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

Well I remembere the 80's just lke you guys do. I'm 39 and holdng:. As a guy growing up in the 80's I would love for these guitars to have a better value all inclusive) But they don't. As a businessman in the music retail business I see these things all day every day. We have two USA Kramers one with the banana headstock in 9.0/10 condition that just sits there. The other is a way heavy Maple Pacer Carrera in white with a pitched HS and it just sits there. Although for good reason I guess, The scarf joint is cracking.
But the guitar sounds great. Not to mention some used Jacksons, and a bunch of used Ibanez's but they just sit there and do nothing. Some are over priced because the wrong person bought them in but that happens when they don't know what they're looking at.Theres also a Kramer amrican with a floyd rose Sustainer pup in it in excellent conditoin it just sits there. ( well it sold once but was returned yesturday). It's a great guitar. But the 80's style guitars just arent selling right now. I dont know how may times a month I hear " oh Jackson those are those 80's metal guitars". I hear it so much I just reply " Yeah they got their popularity then but they are great gutars reguardless. Here play one see what you think"
9 out 0f 10 they agree with me that they are great guitars after playing it. But that doesn't sell them unfortunately. Although I am swaying a lot of customers to Jacksons. it's just not what it was in the 80's. It may never be what it was then but its nice to think so. Anyway value is inharent which is what it will sell for reguardless of sentamental value to those of us who lived the 80's as high school or college students at the hight of guitar rock. One day they will realise what they are. Until then we can buy then cheap and hold on to them. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Gil

[ September 26, 2003, 01:29 AM: Message edited by: JACKSONFREAK ]

[slayer]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

$135!! Wow, i wouldn`t let mine go for that, but ya, the prices are all over the place for these guitars, a real shame as they are so well built and high quality [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Jack.

[jgcable]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

Maybe the seller listed it as a Blintz and a bakery bought it. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Jim Shine]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

Heh, people don't believe I bought a '76 Les Paul Standard for $200 or a 1968 SG Standard with Lyre Vibrola for $250, both clean and 100% stock. I picked them both up over '00. 1970's-80's SG's were a very hard sell until the past could of years. If it had a volute, nobody wanted it.

[j2379]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

JG east coast music & Ed didnt buy out BCRich until 87 or so. having dealt with ed back then i dont think he was trading richs for gibbys & fenders unless you were giving him $ too. he is/was always the most expensive place for richs & even back then they were around $1000 for nice neckthrus, around $7-800 for painted models & close to that for boltons. & within a couple of years he would close to double those prices

[ September 26, 2003, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: j2379 ]

[RacerX]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

Cool trip down memory lane on this thread! [img]graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

[jgcable]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

It was so long ago that I get the years mixed up a bit. Yea, Ed was kickin expensive but he had every Rich on the planet. I thought it was earlier than 87 though.

[BigDaddyD]

Re: Chandler Guitars?

My buddy just picked up a blitz for $135! "Shred" guitar prices are all over the place these days.