1971 Jacques Favino 14 Fret Oval Hole Guitar #187

MichaelHorowitz

1971
Jacques Favino 14 Fret Oval Hole Guitar #187 (Enrico Macias Modele -
Maple Back and Sides) with Custom Cedar Creek Hardshell Case

MichaelHorowitz

Much thanks to everyone who inquired about this guitar. I knew there'd be a lot people interested in such a rare and beautiful guitar, but even I was shocked at the response for this instrument!

Alas, it is now sold and on it's way to it's new happy owner.

'm

Phil

How much did it sell for? Cheers, Phil

MichaelHorowitz

$10,600.

'm

frater

We've officially entered a new Era...

MichaelHorowitz

Actually, the "new era" began at least a year ago, probably two. Good Jacques Favinos routinely go for $8k or more. This one fetched a little more since it's a rare Macias model and also is in unusually good shape.

Really, it's less of a sudden shift in prices and more of a natural appreciation over the last 5-10 years. A few years ago this guitar would have been around $8K, a few before that maybe $6k. Around 2000 probably $5K. So it's about doubled in a little less then 10 years (less if you account for inflation) which is pretty fast appreciation but nothing like you see with some solid bodies (like pre CBS strats), archtops, or flatops. Vintage Selmer type guitars are still relatively cheap, save for vintage Selmers. But even those get nowhere near the prices of D'Aquistos, pre-war Martins, etc, which can easily breach 6 figures.

Appreciation of these classic guitars has actually been pretty tame considering the massive growth of this genre and the demand that goes with it. There are easily 10 times more buyers now then there were in 2000. Back then it was just a handful of enthusiasts trading these old guitars...now it's a real vintage market with classic instruments getting bid up, and up. Sure, it'd be nice to go back to the days when you could pickup a Favino for $4K, or even walk into a pawn shop in Paris and find a Busato for $500! But those days are long gone...demand now severely outweighs the supply of these guitars.

Good news is there are more Luthiers then ever making Selmer type guitars and they are better then ever! Among the most vintage sounding of the new guitars would be Bob Holo or Dupont. Both are really capturing a lot of that vintage vibe without the huge price tag. And for a Favino copy it's hard to beat the Dell Arte Hommage is which is a bargain at under $3K new. Dupont's VR sounds so close to a real Selmer at a fraction of the price, and the Dupont Busatos are so close to the vintage ones it's hard to tell them apart, and less the half the price of an old one! Also, new guitars don't have all the setup issues, intonation, and playability issues the old ones have. You need really good technique to play most vintage Selmers, Busatos, Favinos, etc. In most cases the action needs to a lot higher then people are used too. Not so with the new ones which play so nice.

One thing is for sure, there's no doubt instruments as an investment class have done a lot better then stocks over the last decade!

'm

frater

I agree Michael. It was just a matter of time before a Favino broke the 10K barrier. I'm happy a very nice Macias did it. It will be remembered as the Favino's Chuck Yeager