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I called on a Craigslist ad for a "1950's Musicmaster" and I asked the guy how he knows that it's a '50's guitar- did he take the neck offe etc, and he told me "because I bought it new in the '50s". Nice guy- he's 85 and a "guy who knows guitars" told him it's worth between $1500 and $1700. He says it still has the original strings on the guitar, so I'm assuming that it's in mint or near mint condition. He's about 45 minutes drive from me. It's red. I've seen Musicmaster values from $700 to $1200 so my question is what do you think the actual value of an all original late '50's Musicmaster is? He's open to offers- I'm thinking $1000- then I need to figure out how to get $1000.

The gentleman does not have a smart phone or any way to transmit photos.

Fender started production in '57 I believe, so it's either a '57,'58 or '59.

Do a completed listings search on ebay to get a feel for the price. I'm pretty sure I've seen them go for quite a bit cheaper than that.

I think the Musicmaster II ones are probably worth more because they're more like a Mustang, but then occasionally you see an older Musicmaster go for a lot if it's in superb condition.

With the 50s ones the things that matter for the value are the neck plate, the bridge saddles and the dome knobs. If his story is true I doubt it would be the case here but people often sell those to people rebuilding vintage Teles. Without them the Musicmaster loses a ton of value.

Completed ebay listings look like $900-1100 as the going rate but red being rarer and the fact you're dealing with the original owner $1200 might not be unreasonable.

i agree, 1000-1200 seems like that would be the right price, if indeed its a true late fifties musicmaster in mint condition.
if, for some odd reason, it really does have the o.g. strings, tags, sales reciept. and case, then im tempted to say its closer to the 1500 range. but that is what a store would want for it after listing it at 1800.00 for a while.

What is the scale? I think they were two different scales to choose from back then. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

cur wrote:WEhat is the scale? I think they were two different scales to choose from back then. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

yeah that is a good point- it has a white pick guard, so it should be a '59 as '58 was the last year with the anodized guard. I think I'm going to be too far away from what this guy is expecting. Asking him to measure the scale will be tough- but yeah they came in 22.5 and 24" scales.

First owner, unmodified can do funny things to the market.

Just ask if it has an inlay on the last fret. That will tell you if it's 22.5" or 24".

If it is the original owner he might even offer it to you for less if you really like it. I'd go down the "how much could you sell it for?" route rather than making an offer.

Not to be a negative nancy, but remember there is the chance that the OG owner stuff is a fib. I've dealt with people before who were selling guitars that they claimed were owned by them from new and totally untouched but when i took off the guards they were hacked up with subbed parts (I always take a screwdriver when going to check out something to buy. Especially something expensive).

'50s musicmasters were never 24" scale. if it's red and the paint is original, it's one of the mahogany ones with a semi-transparent finish.

good point about the fibbing on o.g. owners and what not, i had a guy tell me that his jazz bass elite(?) was from 84, but i knew it was from 96, how did i know this? the gold sticker on the back, just like the j.s. model i had.
he told me he bought it new in 84 which was the funniest part. i didn't argue too much , but i did ask him when he bought the sticker and put it on.

If it's a 50's maple board with a gold guard, and it's painted red, it is most likely a refinished body.
If it is an original red, it's worth much more money and is extremely rare.

IPLAYLOUD wrote:If it's a 50's maple board with a gold guard, and it's painted red, it is most likely a refinished body.
If it is an original red, it's worth much more money and is extremely rare.

Are you saying original red with white pickguard and rosewood fingerboard is rare? I know it does not have the anodized guard.

red ones are pretty rare.

stewart wrote:'50s musicmasters were never 24" scale. if it's red and the paint is original, it's one of the mahogany ones with a semi-transparent finish.

I also thought all '50s musicmasters were 22.5" scale. I played one at Guitar Center's "vintage shop" in Hollywood. It was desert sand with an anodized gold guard. I believe this was the most common color for the OG musicmaster. It was priced around $2000. Ridiculous but it was in excellent condition. I think a '50s musicmaster may be worth $1200-1500 on the high end, assuming it is all original and in good shape.