Used and Vintage Guitars

The Music Zoo maintains a great selection of used guitars, basses, and amplifiers. The guitars pictured here are in stock and individually photographed. Please note: pre-owned/used equipment does not include the manufacturer's warranty. Items are sold as-is. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions at all --we'll be happy to give an in-hand description. Learn more about trades and consignments.

Jump to: Pre-Owned Guitars • Pre-Owned Basses • Pre-Owned Amplifiers

1961 Gibson SG Junior Electric Guitar Cherry - Used View

It's hard to believe that the "Junior" Gibson guitars started out as being marketed as beginner instruments. Who would have known that some 50 years later, they would be some of the best playing vintage guitars you could find? Here's a SG Junior with a cherry finish, made in 1961. This model is an early version, with the Les Paul logo on the headstock. Built of a mahogany body with a slim taper mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, 24-3/4" scale length, a single P-90 pickup with volume and tone controls. It has a simple set-up that begs to be cranked through an old-school tube amp.

The guitar has a wraparound bridge that gives the guitar a resonant and open feel. The original vibrato was removed at one point and is not included with the instrument. It has accumulated finish checking and dings that come naturally with an instrument that's been played and loved throughout the years, also has a very nicely aged patina. Plugged in, the guitar has a nice mid-range tone to it from the P-90, it can go from gritty cleans to full-out distortion easily, with no scrachy pots or electronics to be heard.

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1964 Gibson B-25 Acoustic Guitar - Used View

Here's a nice vintage Gibson piece from the '60s, a B-25 with a natural finish. The B-25 is a small bodied acoustic that has a nice and focused sound to it, with lots of low end, even for a guitar of its size. The guitar has a spruce top with mahogany back and sides, a mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, and aftermarket chrome Grover tuners. There has also been a pickup installed in the guitar, with a strap-pin input jack. As with a guitar of its age, it shows its share of wear and tear. There's finish checking throughout the body, with some wear in the wood around the soundhole and headstock. As with all vintage guitars, we feel like the cosmetics give the guitar a story to tell, and we love how the original sunburst finish has faded to an "almost" natural. It's a player with a slim feeling neck and great tone.

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1965 Gibson SG Junior Electric Guitar Cherry - Used View

There's just something about a vintage SG or Les Paul Junior that gets us every time. Like a fine wine, these guitars just seem to get better and better with age. The guitar has accumulated finish checking and dings that come naturally with an instrument that's been played and loved throughout the years. It's built of a solid mahogany body, mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, 24-3/4" scale length, a single P-90 dogear pickup with master volume and tone controls, and a wraparound bridge. The neck shape is an excellent feeling '60s slim taper. Plugged in, the guitar has a nice mid-range tone to it from the P-90, it can go from gritty cleans to full-out distortion easily.

The frets have been worn down a bit and have a low profile, it makes the guitar a breeze to play, but a refret will be in order eventually. Overall a great playing and sounding instrument with a ton of vintage mojo.

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1968 Gibson J-50 Acoustic Guitar Natural - Used View

Here's a vintage Gibson acoustic guitar with the three key ingredients to a cool guitar; looks, playability, and a ton of mojo. This J-50 was built in 1968, when Gibson altered the body of the J-50 from its round-shouldered shape to become square-shouldered. This J-50 is built of a spruce top with a mahogany back, sides, and neck. Other features include a rosewood fretboard and bridge, a height-adjustable rosewood saddle, 25.5" scale length, 16" lower bout and 11.5" upper bout, 20 vintage-style frets, Gibson tuners with white buttons, 3-ply body binding, a tortoise shell pickguard, and an abalone Gibson logo on the headstock.

As an acoustic guitar that has not sat in its case over the years, the guitar has some players wear and tear all around the body. There are dings around the back of the neck, with a few scattered throughout the body. The body has pick marks and scratches throughout, though there is not much lacquer checking. The fretboard has a ding in it on the 12th fret right around the D string, though you do not feel it when you're playing, nor does it affect any notes.

Tone-wise, the guitar sounds nothing short of fantastic. The chords ring out loud and clear, with a well-pronounced bass that isn't overbearing, and very subtle highs. It is a very well-rounded instrument that can make anything from fingerpicking to heavy strumming sound good. Put a microphone up to the soundhole of this J-50 and you've got one great recording guitar.

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1980 Gibson ES-347 Electric Guitar Natural Blonde - Used View

This is a Gibson semi-hollowbody from the 80's that you don't see every day, an '80 ES-347 with a natural blonde finish. This ES-347 is loaded with features that make in an extremely versatile instrument. Built of a maple body with a 3-piece maple neck, ebony fretboard with block inlays, two Gibson humbuckers with individual volume and tone controls, a coil-tap switch, a brass nut, a fixed bridge with fine-tuners on the tailpiece, Gibson tuners, and gold hardware.

The guitar has its fair share of wear for an instrument that's almost thirty years old, it is stamped as a "Factory 2nd," and it looks to have had its neck reset at one point. Cosmetics aside, the guitar plays wonderfully. The low height of the frets make the guitar a very quick player, and the ebony fretboard gives the notes a tight attack. There's something to be said about the pickups in the guitar as well, which sound quite hot for a semi-hollowbody and can handle distortion well. The coil-tap is also very useful for when you want to turn things down a notch and get some excellent single coil tones. Overall an excellent vintage instrument with vibe, looks, and tone.

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1986 Jackson San Dimas Bloodsplatter Electric Guitar - Used View

Here's a very interesting vintage Jackson from the 80's that's sure to start up a conversation any time you take it out of its case. This is a pre-owned 1986 Jackson San Dimas with a bloodsplatter skull graphic finish. This San Dimas has an incredible feeling oil-finished maple neck with 22 frets, 25.5" scale length, a USA Kahler tremolo with a locking nut, a J50 humbucker in the neck with a J80 in the bridge, and black hardware.

The wiring of this guitar is very unique and provides a wide variety of tones. When the 3-way switch is in the neck position, the full bridge humbucker is activated. When the switch is in the middle, the full bridge is combined with the outer coil of the neck pickup, and when the switch is in the bridge position, the outer coil of the neck is the only pickup. This wiring allows you to get a traditional hot lead sound, a thicker rhythm tone than a sole single-coil pickup, and then the traditional single-coil sound, respectively.

As a guitar of its age that has been played, it has some scratches throughout the body with a few small dings here and there. There is some wear to the frets, with not much buzzing there is still lots of life left in them. What's nice about the guitar being played over the years is that now you have a neck that feels nothing short of awesome, with rounded edges that fit right into the palm of your hand. Another conversation starter is the Charvel backplate of the guitar, engraved with the serial number and P.O. box to the San Dimas shop that Charvel and Jackson both shared during this time. How cool is that?

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1986 Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 Electric Guitar Cherry Burst - Used View

This is a gorgeous Custom 24 from the very early days of Paul Reed Smith. The guitar was made in 1986, only a year after the company was founded. Features include a nitrocellulose lacquer cherry burst finish on an exceptional flamed maple top, mahogany body, a mahogany set-neck construction with a rosewood fretboard and PRS bird inlays, locking tuners, two PRS humbuckers, a master volume control with a 5-way rotary pickup switch, and a PRS "Sweet Spot" switch, which adds a slight "nasal" character to your tone. It sounds comparable to a wah pedal in the halfway position.

The neck on this Custom 24 has a narrow and profile around the first few frets, and becomes chunkier as you go up the neck. It feels great, and makes the guitar excellent for both rhythm and solo playing.

The guitar looks like it's been very well taken care of over the years. There are no deep scratches or dings to the body or top, just some surface scratches which don't break the finish, and some minor fretwear, neither of which affect the playability of this wonderful piece of PRS history.

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1998 Gibson Custom Shop '57 Les Paul Goldtop Electric Guitar - Used View

This is one killer Goldtop where everything just lines up for a perfect look, sound, and feel. A pre-owned Custom Shop '57 reissue made in 1998. This gloss-finished Goldtop is built of a maple top on a solid mahogany body, a mahogany neck with a chunky 50's profile and rosewood fretboard, trapezoid inlays, 24-3/4" scale length, 22 frets, '57 Classic humbuckers an ABR-1 bridge with wire and stopbar tailpiece, and nickel hardware.

There are some light surface marks around the top of the guitar, with a small ding on the back edge of the body. There is a small amount of fretwear going down the G string area of the frets, however there are no dead spots. The hardware has some tarnishing to the nickel, nevertheless these '57 Classics sound fantastic with a super-thick and crystal clear Les Paul tone. Overall an excellent Goldtop with classic looks and superb playability.

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2000 Fender American Deluxe HSS Ash Stratocaster Electric Guitar Teal Green - Used View

This is a cool pre-owned American Deluxe HSS Strat with a unique looking teal green transparent finish on the ash body. We dig how the transparency lets you see all the well-defined grain in the ash body. Other features on this HSS Strat are a "C" shaped maple neck, 22 medium jumbo frets, 25.5" scale length, a 2-point tremolo with a pop-in arm, two Fender Noiseless single-coil pickups with a Fender humbucker in the bridge, 5-way pickup switch, deluxe locking tuners, an LSR roller nut, and chrome hardware.

The guitar has been played in a bit, with some surface marks around the body, some very light indentations on the back of the body, and one very small scratch on the forearm contour of the top. However these are all cosmetic blemishes that are hard to spot from more than a few inches away. There is a minimal amount of fretwear, nothing that affects the resonance or playability of the guitar. The "C" shape of the neck fits right into the palm of your hand, and the HSS configuration gives you a ton of tonal options.

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2000 Gibson ES-335 Figured Top Electric Guitar Heritage Cherry - Used View

Few electric guitars have seen use in as many genres of music as the Gibson ES-335 has, and for good reason. The ES-335 is a semi-hollowbody guitar that can do everything from jazz to blues right up to modern rock. This guitar is a pre-owned ES-335 with a figured maple body, made by the Custom Shop in 2000. Features include a heritage cherry finish, 1-piece mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, 24-3/4" scale length, two Gibson humbuckers, an ABR-1 bridge, stopbar tailpiece, and Grover tuners.

The previous owner of this ES-335 had a Buzz Feiten nut installed, which helps to improve the intonation and tuning stability of the guitar. There are some indentations and surface scratches around the body of the guitar, neither of which break through the finish to reveal bare wood. The hardware has been tarnished a bit, but we feel it gives the guitar a played-in vibe that really invites you to pick the guitar up and rock out.

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2001 Gibson Custom Shop '59 ES-335 Electric Guitar Antique Natural - Used View

This is a truly excellent ES-335. A preowned '59 ES-335 Dot, made by the Custom Shop in 2001. Features include an antique natural finish on a maple body with cream top, back, and fretboard binding, a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard, 24-3/4" scale length, an ABR-1 bridge with a stopbar tailpiece, Kluson-style tuners, and nickel hardware.

The previous owner of this ES-335 installed a set of Tom Holmes 450/455 humbuckers in the guitar. These elusive humbuckers sound nothing short of fantastic. They pump out a super-clear and round tone with great response and a ton of punch, without being overly bassy. They're definitely among the best pickups we've ever heard in a 335.

With no major scratches, dents, or dings the guitar is in great condition. There is a small ding on the top of the headstock, with some pick and surface marks around the body of the guitar. However, none of which affect the playability, or even the looks of the guitar from more than a few inches away. The serial number on the certificate is off by one digit, we assume this is just a mistake as all other info matches up, therefore we are including it with the guitar as this is how it came to us.

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2001 Gibson Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar Alpine White - Used View

Here's a pre-owned 2001 Gibson Les Paul Custom, with the classy looking combo of an alpine white finish and gold hardware. Features on the Les Paul Custom include a mahogany body, mahogany neck, an ebony fretboard, 24-3/4" scale length, two Gibson humbuckers, a tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece, and Grover tuners. The guitar has some signs of use with some surface scratches around the body, with some buckle rash on the back and some tarnishing to the hardware. We feel that this wear has broken the guitar in nicely, and it's still a definite looker.

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2001 Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 Electric Guitar Tobacco Sunburst - Used View

Take a look at the beautiful piece of book-matched flame maple used for the 10-top on this pre-owned 2001 PRS Custom 24. Thin, well-defined flames with lots of intensity make this top a definite eye-catcher. Features on this Custom 24 also include a mahogany body, mahogany set-neck construction with a wide-thin profile, rosewood fretboard, PRS bird inlays, scraped maple top binding, a wraparound tailpiece, and PRS locking tuners. The pickups in the guitar are a Vintage Bass in the neck position, with an HFS bridge humbucker. The controls are a master volume and tone, with the tone being a push/pull to split the humbuckers.

The guitar is in fantastic condition, with only some very slight surface marks around the body as signs of previous play time. There are no dents or dings that would compromise either the looks or playability of this beautiful instrument.

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2002 Gibson Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar Heritage Cherry Sunburst - Used View

On the hunt for a reliable, gig-able, and all-around great Les Paul? Here's a contender: a pre-owned 2002 Les Paul Standard with a beautiful heritage cherry sunburst finish. Features on this Les Paul are a flamed maple top on a weight-relieved mahogany body, mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard and '50s neck profile, trapezoid inlays, two Gibson PAF humbuckers, a Nashville tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece, Kluson-style tuners, and chrome hardware.

The guitar has small dings and indentations throughout the body, which is not necessarily a bad thing if you're worried about scratching your axe up at the gig, this guitar was made to be played hard and loud. There is a small amount of fretwear, which does not affect the playability or hinder any notes from ringing out. The guitar has a great looking top with lots of figuring in it, and the bright red heritage cherry sunburst gives the guitar that classic Les Paul appearance.

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2003 Gibson Custom Shop '59 Korina Flying V Electric Guitar Natural - Used View

Here's one of our favorite incarnations of the Flying V; a '59 Korina V with a natural finish, allowing the long streaks of grain in the korina to be shown off. This pre-owned Flying V was made by the Custom Shop in 2003 and features a korina body and neck, rosewood fretboard, 24-3/4" scale length, an ABR-1 bridge and stopbar tailpiece, Kluson style tuners, and gold hardware.

The instrument has been refretted with Dunlop 6100 size frets, these jumbo frets make riffing and even tapping on this guitar incredibly easy. The work looks very well done, and it shows in the playability. The guitar has some play wear on it, with dings on the top edges of the headstock, very slight fret wear, and tarnishing to the gold hardware. There is buckle wear over most of the back of the body. No wood has been gouged out, the wear is only on the surface level. Cosmetics aside, this Flying V sounds absolutely killer, the korina gives the guitar a ton of beef and low end to it, while adding a nice bit of midrange and clarity.

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2003 Gibson Custom Shop Firebird III Electric Guitar Trans Cherry - Used View

This is a really cool pre-owned FIrebird III that we were glad to get our hands on. With a mix of a few different Firebird features in one guitar, we thought this instrument had a great vibe about it. Features include a transparent cherry finish on a 9-ply mahogany/walnut neck-through-body construction, solid mahogany wings, a rosewood fretboard with trapezoid inlays, 24-3/4" scale length, 22 frets, a nice and chunky rounded neck profile, two soapbar P-90 pickups, a vibrola tailpiece with an ABR-1 bridge, and banjo-style tuners.

The P-90s are an excellent change-up from the usual mini-humbucker configuration you would usually find in a Firebird. They offer the same mid-range bump that lets you cut through the mix, but P-90s have a bit more round and organic tone to them that we really love. The guitar has a few surface scratches and blemishes around the body, however none of which go down to the wood. The neck profile has that classic Firebird "chunk" to it, and the shorter vibrola arm stays well out of your way while strumming around.

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2003 Gibson Custom Shop SG Custom Electric Guitar Faded Cherry - Used View

This beautiful guitar is a pre-owned SG Custom with a faded cherry finish and gold hardware, made by the Custom Shop in 2003. Features on this SG Custom are a solid mahogany body, a mahogany neck with a slim-taper profile, an ebony fretboard with block inlays, 24-3/4" scale length, three Gibson humbuckers, two volume and two tone controls, an ABR-1 bridge with stopbar tailpiece, and Kluson-style tuners.

We're really digging the combination of all the colors on this SG. The gold hardware looks great on top of the faded cherry stain, and the dark color of the cherry really makes the white pickguard and back plate "pop" out. The guitar has some surface marks around the top of the body, and the fretboard binding around the treble side of the first three frets has some chips in the lacquer. These chips aren't very rough to the touch, and don't scrape your hand as you're playing around that area. The slim-taper profile of the neck is great for fast riffing, and the three humbuckers provide a classic SG crunch.

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2004 Fender 50th Anniversary Stratocaster Electric Guitar 2-Tone Sunburst - Used View

This pre-owned Strat was released in 2004 as part of a commemorative run by Fender to celebrate 50 years of the Stratocaster. This guitar has an awesome vintage look, while adding in some modern playability. Features are a 2-tone sunburst finish on a 1-piece ash body, a 1-piece maple neck, 25.5" scale length, 22 medium jumbo frets, replica '54 Strat single-coil pickups, a 2-point tremolo, chrome Fender tuners, 1-ply parchment pickguard, and an engraved 50th Anniversary neck plate. The guitar is in great shape, the plastic covering is still on the pickguard and backplate, and no fretwear to be seen. The only cosmetic blemish to be seen is a small scratch on the back of the body near the lower horn. Otherwise this is an excellent Strat with "best of both worlds" features.

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