I had a lot of positive feedback from the first episode of the Pawn Shop Picking Tour that I made a volume 2. Lots of cool shops, a few duds, but nice people all along the way!
Thanx for the vid...I love guitars of all kinds and guns..I wish we had pawn shops by me but I havnt seen any..innnew England though.i bet there are some like in Burlington or Connecticut..but not bybme.. thanx again was fun
I have a strat guitar 🎸 made by Dixon and it was designed to look a lot like EVHS FRANKENSTEIN and I can't sell it because I can't find any information about it to be able to price it I paid $150 for it but I have no idea if it is Rare or not, have you ever been in a situation like that?
Yes. It is probably a custom build that is most likely worth more than $150. If you can’t find anything on it then you are probably best to post it in FB groups until someone chimes in that knows more about it and maybe willing to give you an offer. I have a prototype Washburn that was handled by Sammy Hagar. I don’t know what it is worth as it is one of a kind.
Reminds me of when I lived in Chicago. I had about 5 pawn shops nearby, but I've never been to 16 in one day! I moved to the suburbs where there aren't as many shops. The great thing about them is you can haggle on the price. Crazy that some shops want more for dust covered junk than you can buy it for new!
I love to go around and check out all the Pawn shops in my area. Mainly look for Ibanez RG's made in the Fuji Factory where I rewire them with new DiMarzio pickups, pots and switches and give them away to kids who can't afford to buy nice guitars. Great shopping for all of you!!
I’m not as into those, but I would love Japanese guitars. The lawsuit ones, Yairi’s, and Japanese Fenders. That’s cool you do that for kids. Keep on keeping on!
I picked up a 1972 Fender Strat, sunburst with a rosewood board, for $200 in 1978 and the pawn shop owner threw in a tweed case and a Peavey Backstage 30. Those were the days!
One day I went into a random Pawn shop in (Brisbane Australia) and picked up a USA PRS Custom 22 Tremonti Singlecut for $800. I have a feeling they priced it by mistake as an SE Korean model. That doesn’t happen often!
1970 I got a pawnshop sunburst 60 strat with original case for $99. Sold it to a friend who got it stolen. Still remember the sound and feel of it plugged into my 67 Vibrolux, iconic.
Yeah, I find you can get good deals on them at pawn shops, since they are heavy and expensive to ship, especially if they have been sitting on them for a while and just want to move the inventory.
You passed over a sleeper amp in Pawn Shop #5 at 8:25 you referred to that Traynor as a crusty amp. Those are great amps. Looks like a YCV40 2 channel tube combo with reverb. Solid amps.
Yeah, I was like, check out that Traynor. I have gigged with a YCV20 in small clubs in Memphis back in the day on lead guitar, killer little Class A amp. Got a great deal on a YCV40 with all the accessories in excellent condition. Just wasn't using it much, had some Fender combos, so traded it with a wee bit of cash for a Carvin V3 head with footswitch. I just like to have a small collection of cool tube amps, although I mainly gig with a Quilter Aviator Mach 3 these days. So light and versatile at 21 lbs. I wouldn't mind finding a nice YCV80 with the 4-10s one of these days, just for kicks and giggles. Seems like they would be cool, although probably heavy.
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback. Hard to show a lot of detail with only a couple of minutes per shop, but I tried to give a good overall glance at each one.
You definitely more than earned those finds! Pawn shopping is not what it used to be, I think I can barely find any guitars in pawn shops, I would flip to find a Japanese Squire. LOL
Appreciate that. It’s fun but a lot work, however you have to put the time in to find the hidden gems. I thought pawn shops were the hoarders of all junk guitars, so if your shops are empty, then sounds like the locals have a lot of crappy guitars.
This is an awesome tour your giving us. I,m laughing because all those same brands of guitars you are looking at are the exact same types of guitars there are here in my hometown too.Keep doung what you,re doing.You definitely have my attention.👍👍👍👍
@briansuniqueguitars I wish i had the time and money to do what you do, my brother.It looks like fun.If I didn,t have my job and a more supportive wife,Lol ,I would like to do that,but i,m glad your out there showing us those pawn stores. Keep em coming
25:42 One I think you might have liked - a cream coloured Japanese Yamaha SE250 by the looks of it. Great Yamaha version of the Floyd Rose... from the legendary Matsumoku factory around 1986, The whole SE series of that time were excellent guitars.
I think some people spend more on their wheels and tires than their car, so when it comes time to pay the man, you don’t sell the car, just the wheels!
@@briansuniqueguitars , " So you buy yourself a brand new set of wheels/to show your family just how good you feel/and you keep it hid/just like Your Dad Did......" John Hiatt
The Kent mando was interesting. Haven’t see that name, well, in decades. My first band bassist had a Kent bass, pretty cream color. I’ve dealt with pawn shops in the past. You never know what you might find. But pawn shop owners now are better educated about instruments than they were when I was a kid.
This reminds me of my local pawn shop crawls. The good stuff is overpriced, the cheap stuff is meh, & sleepers are extremely rare. The shops that do automatic markdowns after X amount of time sometimes have good buys on amps, & occasionally oddball instruments.
Finally, a realistic video depicting the amount of shyte that you have to sift through in pawn shops. Mostly stuff left over after a four day garage sale. Then finally a D-28 appears, only to be grossly overpriced.
Yeah, and typical that the only time you find a quality instrument, it is way over priced. Those scenarios make me not even want to pick it up or make an offer. Thanks for watching!
Appreciate it. I can do better on the next round on the quality. Probably need to pull back in the quantity also, but hey it was a fun run in a couple days!
Thanks to the internet, store owners know exactly what something is worth a keystroke 'after' it comes through the door. The days of discovering a Stradivarius violin in a pawn shop are long gone, except that the Chinese copies are now fooling and ripping off both proprietors and customers in equal numbers.
I have told a local shop near me that the Gibson they are asking $2000 for is a fake and pointed out 5 or so items that were obvious to me and I am not an expert. They just say, “yeah I don’t really know,” but they leave it up at that price.
Hey Brian, just to let you know that a Japanese Squire Strat is an amazing guitar, they are sought after by many studio musicians. These guitars are made precisely to the exact specifications as the USA Stratocaster but most people think of them as an el cheapo jap Strat, not so and not by a long shot. They are marvelous instruments. Secondly, the Peavey Special amp. . . . you bought the Black Widow Speaker and got the Special Amp thrown in with the deal. Black Widow speakers sold for $150 back in 2005, the other Special Amp had a Scorpion Spkr. Why do I know I spent 45 yrs in the music business. The Fender Squire though is a real keeper. It also looked like you passed up on a blue Peavey Bass. I was a Peavey dealer for 30 yrs and anything Peavey was absolutely beyond great. The bass was one you should have purchased, however !
I hear you on Jap Strats from the early 80’s when they were making better stuff than in the US. This Japanese Squier was a later 80’s one that I think is middle of the road. My favorite are the SQ serial number ones with the larger headstocks. I have 3 of them from 83. I also like the Japanese Bullet Squiers. Some of them have amazing necks. I own a few Japanese Squiers but I own a lot more Peavey guitars and amps from the 80’s. Thanks for watching and liking the same gear!
I got so jealous when I saw that off-white Squire Strat, I’ve been looking for one for a while and at $110 talk them down to $80/90 and deal. Guitar hunting is a lot of fun.
Those shops are slammed full like WOW man. Here in my area I have on two near ok at times, neighbor town two businesses extremely decent with one that has many locations. Any way the guitar at 7.07 rivers edge that is blue with like a mockingbird body if I remember it's called that my bad if not what brand was that looks interesting. Thank you happy I found the videos.
The closer to the motherland you are, the more you see. They are also a favorite of mine, so I tend to focus on them more than most. Thanks for watching!
Probably so being that Peavey Electronics headquarters are in Meridian Mississippi. Unfortunately like everything else the amps these days are made in China.
Yeah, I don’t touch any of there stuff made later in the 90’s and beyond. Sad what happened to the company, but in an interview with Hartley, he admitted that they priced things too low relative to their actual costs.
@@Netmover not really. They cover a lot of genres. Their amps range from bright pedal steel amps to doom metal amps like the Butcher, and many amps in between so I would say there is one for every type of music. They were well known for their distinct sound on Lynyrd Skynyrd albums with their built in phaser with slight breakup and gain.
I'm totallty into this!!! When I was a kid, I thought that Arkansas and (R) Kansas where two different places !!! Haha! Just got a Nice Korean Fender Strat for 180$ with maple neck a a pawn shop! Cheers from Montreal.
The internet killed great deals on guitars and amps. I used to go into pawnshops in the 80's and could find Gibson SG's for $100 and run into a Les Paul for $250. American Fender Strats and Tele's were $175 to $250. Those days are gone. 😕
Yes those days are gone as those guitars have increased too much in value. So, I would challenge you to try to find the guitars that haven’t gone crazy in value but probably will in the future. That’s why I grabbed this Japanese Squier.
Love finding good deals in pawn shops. Been doing it for 30 years or so and found some really collectable ones too. The 70s Alvarez acoustics are great guitars. My only complaint is the unstable camera work. The panning camera actually messes with my vertigo and makes me slightly ill.
You never know what you might find at pawn shops and never be afraid to make a cash offer. Thanks for the feedback on the camera. Just got a gopro and chest mount so the next time I do this it should have better quality. Just hope I don’t get kicked out. The cell phone in the hand is less obvious.
By the way you quickly scan around and not focusing in on anything makes this show is a total waste of time, seems like you want subscribers to pay for your purchases on the shopping spree
@@briansuniqueguitars, At times I found myself slowing the video down to 75% or even 50% speed but then it gets kind of jerky and the video resolution suffers (impossible to read the price tags). You focused a bit too much on the acoustic guitars, but in most cases I couldn't even see the headstocks on the electrics to see which were actual Fenders, Gibsons etc or just copies. I still can't believe you only bought Peavey amplifiers! I'm curious about what that Vox amp or speaker was at the last shop, not to mention the Fender Vibratone which was of course a Leslie-type cabinet made specifically for guitar and used by Stevie Ray Vaughan and many others.
@@briansuniqueguitars Hey brother, I dont know who messed with his cornflakes. BUT I realy enjoyed your little show. I have a nice little Alvarez, which I "loaned" to #1 son, Im hoping I can get it back!! I dont mind that you are rolling thru there. I can always pause, rewind whatever. You are covering a lotta ground. Dont change a thing. Fun stuff.
The same speaker from 25 years ago? That’s wild. That place had so much stuff. Of all the ones I visited, I would like to go back to that one with a handful of cash. He proved pretty quickly on the Twin Reverb Silverface price.
Stevie Ray Vaughan used to play through a Vibratone. It's a Leslie-type rotary speaker that was designed specifically for guitar and they're quite collectible and desirable nowadays. I saw what looked like an actual Leslie cabinet elsewhere in one of the stores.
Good luck I’ve found some killers over many years and kept a few too .✌️ I sold one of the Peavey 400’s boat anchors but sound amazing for slide guitar and blues .. don’t miss the weirdness it’s around less now them places ain’t stupid and have serious buyers on the text….but ya never know
My favorite electric guitarist was Roy Buchanan. Roy usually used a Fender Twin Reverb or Fender Vibrolux, but he said he could also use a Peavey Classic that had two 12" speakers and get the sound he wanted. I watched your video hoping to see a Peavey Classic but didn't see any.
I have the amp you are talking about. Based upon the knobs I would say it is from the late 70’s but I need to look closer. Maybe I can make a video with it soon.
Yeah, it’s funny seeing all of the cheap Chinese brands all together. Also, they are often in very rough condition and priced like they are brand new. I like EZ Pawn and Cash America’s model my automatically lowering the price on set dates as the product sits longer.
Second hand shops in general have changed because the staff can immediately check the value of incoming goods, as can the seller. The likelihood of finding a real gem has drastically diminished.
@Mountainrock70 yeah, you are right. Sadly that is a rare find in a pawn shop these days. I had a tribute sg guitar i got on trade for an amp years ago and it was a great deal, but I sold it. I prefer the heavier thicker body of a LP vs a SG.
Dude! Can't believe you past right by that reverse headstock Series 10 and the snakeskin one right beside it @25:47 I would have for sure got those if the price was right.
That would be cool if it was, but how do you explain the squiggle at the end that looks like a Y? I looked up his signature and his G is also lot different. Either way, I appreciate the feedback and attempt at solving the mystery!
The Ross amp Co. had ties to Bud Ross, who owned and designed Kustom amps out of Chanute KS. I think his son ran it. I believe it later changed to RAW which stood for Ross Audio Works.
Alcohol or lighter fluid will remove permanent marker, for future reference. Also, that Kingston Mandolin was a buy at $50. Probably could have gotten it cheaper too. And those Traynor amps like the one at that pawn shop are great sounding amps. At pawn shop #14, you missed a Charvel logo chainsaw case sitting there. Would have been nice to see what went with it. The case alone is worth decent money. In the last pawn shop, no surprise you saw a Kustom, a Ross, and a Woodson all in one place. Those brands are related. I think Woodson was made by a former employee of Kustom, IIRC. That Sears Silvertone Solid State amp and the Vox were pretty cool. Neat seeing those. And that Ampeg! you passed that up. That old 30s or 40s lap steel amp on the top shelf was tits too! Nice Ace strap. You stole that. Good video. go back to #14 and #16 and buy more stuff. ;)
Brad, been watching your stuff for years. Pretty sure some of the first guitar hunting shows I saw on RU-vid were you at yard sales and flea markets, so it’s an honor to have you watching my stuff. I had reached out to you back in 2019 when you were selling a few things. I was trying to get that Ampeq Super Stud, but you had already sold it. Thanks for the feedback and support. I’m going to try it with a GoPro next time and see if I can give everyone a better view vs with my incognito phone. I enjoy the hunt, but video editing is for the birds…
Yes it was. A little rough condition but still a great find. The guy at that shop was really cool and would have sold me more at good prices, but I didn’t need anything else at the time.
I’ve seen pedals in pawn shops the same price as brand new. Most pedals I’ve bought were found in garage sales or via friends at very reasonable prices.
"Just came to see if ya had any guitars worth getting divorced over. Wife says if I buy one more, she's leaving me. I'm gonna miss her, but I need the room." Breaking the ice in pawn shops for 40 years.
In the early 90’s the Peavey studio chorus 210 was my first real gigging amp. I upgraded the speakers to Peavey scorpions then the amp really came to life, still have it to this day.✌🏼🤘🏼
Welcome to Arkansas. Slim picking here. Got a 95 Mexican strat for 60. Fairly complete 2003 yamaha stage custom drum set for 125. But that's 5 years of looking. But hay all the locals are extremely rude and stupid, so at least you're entertained.
I didn’t feel they were rude, but they were not that hungry to make a sale. The guy at the shop where I got the strat from was very cool, knowledgeable, and wanted to make a deal.
Neat channel. Subscribed. For $125.00 I'd grabbed the Nashville 400 for the speaker and cabinet alone. About all the pawn shops in my area stopped dealing with instruments' I did run across a 1957 Kay upright bass for $325.00 'ended up trading it for a like new 2011 fender USA precision bass and he gave me $500.00 to boot' he calls me 2 days later and asked' are you satisfied with the way we traded and do I owe you any more money, kinda stunned I said' are you? Then he tells me he sold the bow that came with it for $1200.00 and the bridge for $500.00 and had been offered $3500.00 for the bass but would never sell it. We both got a good deal so no complaints.
Sometimes it’s ok to let something go for a good price when you already got a great deal on it in the first place. That’s how it was when I got a garage of fender amps for $1000 a few years ago. I sold them for a good price to others and we both felt great about the deal and that is all that matters. Thanks for the sub. I’ll try to get some more scruff out there like this.
I'm surprised pawn shops are still around despite the ease of selling stuff locally online at FB or craigslist. Pawn shops give you pennies on the dollar then hike the prices up to nearly new. They don't even bother wiping the funk and junk off of them. That being said I do like finding weird, oddball stuff and occasionally finding a gem at these stores. I gave up on my local shops as they all have the same overpriced, funk covered, stuff. Although you found a few stores with some cool items. The thrill of the hunt pulls me back in occasionally.
The sad part is the big chain pawn shops often have better deals because they understand that the price goes down over time the longer an item sits. Glad you also enjoy the hunts!
30:47 You totally missed that Yamaha G-100 head. I got one of those at 10 back in 76 before I got my first Marshall 100w half stack 2 years later. Not a lot of resale value but a lot of bang for the buck if you're into a clean jazz sound with an excellent reverb tank.
Funny, you bought the three Peavey amp oldies I would look for also. I got a Special 130 not so long ago, simply for kicks and giggles, didn't really need it, just nostalgia since I had one back in the day. I love all the old Bandit models too, but try to avoid collecting too much stuff anymore. I mainly stick to tube amps around the house, but carry a light Quilter Aviator Mach 3 to the gigs, very good amp. They aren't huge, but are very capable and powerful, and only weigh 21 lbs. KISS for the gigs.
@@briansuniqueguitars The Scorpion is questionable in my 130. It's really only 47 lbs. or so, but feels heavy in the compact format, a lot of bear loaded into one amp. I am buying a 5.25 lbs Neo-dymium Celestion Copperback for it soon. That should bring her down into the 30s. It will make a great back-up to my Quilter. The Quilter Aviator Mach 3 has cut three gigs for me now in the last month. So light at 21 lbs., less than my Fender Super Champ XD, but doesn't have all the digital effects, but does have an effects loop, etc. The various amp models, reverb and tremolo do well enough for me on my simple 1960s/70s music gigs, with no need for a lot of effects, which can also be front loaded by pedals. Got to respect the Special 130 though, it's killer.
@Brian’s Unique Guitars Okay I can drop some major knowledge to ya on the amp at 25:31 they have $34 in that amp. I used to work at a pawn shop and there is a code used for pawn shops who use a POS called Rain. Just remember the word Restocking…1234567890… there are 10 letters in the word restocking and each letter corresponds to a number. I.e. ST is $34. If the code said EOK then that would mean the item has $257 in it. If you see those codes… That will help you see the price of the item. 🤘🏻 happy safari….ing. 25:31
I wouldn’t have skipped on the fender pa column from 68’/69’ for $100. if it was loaded it would have cts 10” speakers which were in the super reverbs from 1965 onwards. That would’ve made a great cab, or could be gutted for the resale value on the speakers.
Fun video, especially since I live in Arkansas. Do you remember in Shop #2 if one of the red acoustic guitar's that you saw was one of the "Keith Urban" models? I couldn't quite tell. If so I'd be interested in finding them, even if the video is a couple of month's old.
@@briansuniqueguitars Thank you for that info. Van Buren is only about 45 minutes from me. That proximaty might make for a good shopping trip this weekend. I'm glad you found some good gear on this trip.
At 34:43 the tag that says MCC001222 is the tag I was talking about. RESTOCKING 🤘🏻 check and see how much they had in it and make sure you haggle good deals.
Thanks for the tip. I have already thrown the tags away on this one and sold it. That is good info to have in the future, especially since pawn shops over price things, I can possibly know where they stand on it. I like how EZ Pawn and a few others put a price that automatically drops over time. Thanks for watching all the way through!
Can you tell us more about targeting Peavey? I'm no way trying to throw shade, as I often collect the brands that aren't the most sought after. I was wondering if there is an arbitrage situation (for flipping or resale) with Peavey amps. Great video by the way!
I don’t think there is a big flipping opportunity today unless you can pickup some of the old tube heads like the MACE, DUECE, Butcher, VTM, etc, but maybe in the future, as these amps stand the test of time as solid foundational amps for pedal platforms and small gigs. Now, when you talk about old Peavey guitars, I think their early 80’s guitars were introducing new technologies and manufacturing techniques. To make those same guitars today in the US would cost over $1000 and all of those guitars are still under than value. Just my opinion. I used to buy a T-60 for $300 and now you can’t find any under $600 and they keep going higher where a mint one can go for $1000.
Obviously a lot of people bitten by the buying bug at many price points I mow from my own mistakes keep it realistic good video plenty of good buys if the price is reasonable.
I have A Seagull 12 string like the one you see @ East Pawn. Great Guitar made by Godin in Canada. that might be worth a second look if its still there.
I’ve still got my seagull S6 cedar top I bought 25 years ago. The cedar top is worn to the raw wood where the pickguard would typically be if it had one.
Bro… you’ve gotta show the cooler guitars like that FR Squier. You might not be into the, but lots of people are. I almost traded a crappy MIM Strat for one but the guy wouldn’t do it in the end. 🤷🏼♂️ I know you’ve only got so much time but if it’s shaped like a Fender headstock, we’re gonna want to see it. 😊 You’d only need to spend a NY second on it if it’s the typical Squier, of course. 😉
I have a peavey renown 212 sitting up in my garage its loud as hell and i never use it.. what do you like about them? Maybe i should give it another try
In my experience, Pawn Shopping has gotten a lot better. The Pawn Shops in San Antonio know that you, now, have more knowledge and info regarding current used prices. In my opinion, used item prices at Pawn Shops has come way down. I remember going into Pawn Shops years ago and seeing many things for the same price as Brand New. The quality of most items has gone way up, too. I've gotten very lucky on some of my guitar purchases. I've bought at least 3 guitars, in Brand New Condition, for about half of what they were selling for online.
I think finding a 60’s Fender or Gibson for a steal is out of the picture, but if you are ok with getting someone at 70% of value, there are a few deals to be found. Stuff flows through pawn shops all the time, so you have to visit them to see what’s new. They don’t want to deal with an online sell, so you can get a better deal with cash.
I like Matsumoku made Japanese guitars such as Westone, Ariel pro & etc. I am new to your channel but, I've already caught myself screaming at the screen,,,"Look up, left, right, what's that one there, look at the blue electric",,, & etc. I am expecting delivery today of my Amazon purchased Fesley but, I work nights & they decided to switch are schedules. I have to be up 2 hrs early today & 12 hours early the day b4 Thanksgiving. Not knowing when the UPS driver will arrive & when I should go to sleep is killing me! The tracking says by 9pm. Wtf. Evertime I walk into my local pond shop I hope they don't have something I want, I have 4 layaways. My bill is outrageous! I got a Marshall 100 watt head, Randall 4x12 cab, B.C. Rich warlock, Brand new Ibanez!
I’m a big fan of Japanese guitars, and I used to hop on every Alvarez, Aria, Takamine, or Sigma I could get at a good deal, but have since realized that often the $100 in profit to be made isn’t worth the time. Ultimately, I just only have so much space for a collection that these days I have to be more picky and nearly have to sell one to add one. Thanks for watching and supporting!
