Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe

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siliconsoniquete

Posts: 38
Joined: Apr. 14 2015

Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe

I came across a used 1985 DeVoe blanca at my local guitar store, selling for $4,900. It's in good condition and it has a very nice and rich sound but I don't have much to compare it to. A few questions I'm hoping somebody with more experience can answer:

-How do DeVoe guitars from the 80's compare to newer models? I've read in other threads that his guitars weren't as good back then.

-How does the age of the guitar itself impact the sound? It's 30 years old so wondering if that reduces the 'quality' of the guitar.

-Is $4,900 a reasonable price? Picture below

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 5:40:47

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

sabicas owned and played a guitar built by lester devoe back in the late 1980's. interesting that a devoe would show up at a local store. $4900 seems high for the age if one compares it to newer guitars but if the guitar does not show the effects of age then the price might be in the general ballpark.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 9:03:36

Ruphus

Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

Hey Keith,

Lester´s guitars are now well beyond 8 grands new ( http://www.devoeguitars.com/price_list.html ), so the price should be pretty alright for a mint like this one. And if this one being only close to the overall properties of my negra, anyway.

Siliconsoniquete,

Don´t worry about age. Even if there was something to the claim that guitars wood could be wearing out through playing (which I don´t believe for a minute), the way this one looks it has apparently hardly been played if at all since purchase.

Ruphus

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 9:43:35

Tom Blackshear

Posts: 2304
Joined: Apr. 15 2008

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

Age is not relative for a good guitar as it normally gets better with age and has less complications as an aged instrument.

The price is nice.

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Tom Blackshear Guitar maker

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 10:45:32

estebanana

Posts: 9353
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

That is a really nice guitar.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 11:56:47

keith

Posts: 1108
Joined: Sep. 29 2009
From: Back in Boston

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

ruphus and tom--when i mentioned age it was not to imply guitars with a few years under their belts are lesser than new ones but that with 30 years comes the possibility of cracking, neck angle changes, etc. if a guitar is mint then it is mint regardless of age.

from the one photo the guitar looks like a keeper.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 12:23:38

ngiorgio

Posts: 168
Joined: Nov. 1 2005
From: Florida, USA

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

If you can afford it, go for it. You could always try to negotiate the price. A guitar from a builder with such a good reputation should always hold its value. Looks like it was very well taken care of. Nice find.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 14:38:27

Ruphus

Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

Keith,

I think we were relating to the TO´s question "It's 30 years old so wondering if that reduces the 'quality' of the guitar."

Ruphus

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 19:42:25

RobJe

Posts: 731
Joined: Dec. 16 2006
From: UK

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

It is not easy to generalise about this.

Some 1985 DeVoe guitars will have been better than others at the outset.

Some DeVoe guitars will last better than others.

Fashions in flamenco guitars change – later DeVoe guitars might be aimed at a different ideal than those of the 1980s – not necessarily better, just different.

Many people who express strong opinions about these matters don’t know what they are talking about so you can’t always rely on what you hear or read.

Often when people ask questions such as yours they don’t have the opportunity to try before they buy. You are in the fortunate position that you can play the guitar and make your own mind up. I should add that unless you can play flamenco reasonably well it is difficult to make a valid judgment. If this is a problem for you, try and find someone who can play and ask for help – pay them if necessary!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 20:44:59

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

quote:

ORIGINAL: siliconsoniquete

I came across a used 1985 DeVoe blanca at my local guitar store, selling for $4,900. It's in good condition and it has a very nice and rich sound but I don't have much to compare it to. A few questions I'm hoping somebody with more experience can answer:

I can't comment on the quality of an '85 DeVoe except to state that he's a very respected maker. What puzzles me is the apparent complete lake of wear on the golpeador and finish of the top. Has this guitar ever been played?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 21:37:12

Mark2

Posts: 1872
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

I think 5k for a basically un played Devoe seems like a pretty good deal, but agree with everything RobJe wrote.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 21:41:17

estebanana

Posts: 9353
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

De Voe's building style has not actually changed much since the mid 1980's- His guitars are pretty consistent and the the major thing he changed was the way he does the back, other than that he really has not changed. He's not a maker who changes style radically, he has a format that works and he stays with that.

I have seen now uses a spherical dish to do the back. So I prefer his older guitars where the back is fitted to a plane. It's my long range guess that the older ones which were built purely in the Spanish manner will always hold value, although there is nothing wrong with dishes, ( I gag and want to vomit as I say that, but true.) many makers prefer to stay with the older method of fitting the back.

He also at some point in the 90's stopped using the back strip, the patch of wood over the back seam on the inside, at least on rosewood guitars.

If you are in doubt, phone him up and ask him yourself. He is accessible and would probably speak to you about your concerns before you buy.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 28 2015 22:38:45

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

Very nice guitar!

If you pay attention to humidity cracks will not be likely.
A guitar this old survived a lot of crack possibillities, the wood is worked out.
In my oppinion most guitars crack within the first 5 years.

A lot of people say also that a guitar is getting at his best after 30 years.
I have a Gerundino from 1990, never have problems with it, and sounds better than 10 years ago when I bought it.
Also in the past I had an Eladio from 1978 same thing.

Enjoy the guitar, play it, love it, you are likely to crack sooner than the guitar

And, if it becomes your frend it will age together with you.....

Peter

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 29 2015 8:10:55

Ruphus

Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

Hi Peter,

Agreed on all that you wrote, only asides I am not sure about the possible time range of cracking, remembering a member in the AG forum in Arizona who told us how his precious guitar that had cracked after 14 years.

Ruphus

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 29 2015 8:25:49

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to Ruphus)

Yes Ruphus,

Everything on this subject is discutable, a guitar is a natural product in a natural enviroment.
A crack is not the end of the world. It gets only importand if you want to resell it. And than it is just money we are talking about.
Not a big deal.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 29 2015 10:34:57

Echi

Posts: 1132
Joined: Jan. 11 2013

RE: Some questions about a 1985 DeVoe (in reply to siliconsoniquete)

IMHO the real danger in the 2nd hand market (when the guitar doesn't show any sign of having been played) it's to find that the guitar had the top wholly refinished at some stage.
When it happens it's never a good thing as some wood has to be taken away and you end loosing something of the original sound.
It happend to me a couple of times.
I also had to refinish an Eladio guitar: at the end the tone was the same but I clearly noticed to have lost some power and depth. It was a nice cedar guitar.

Can't say anything about this DeVoe: but I'd take a better look at the varnish at the and of the bridge wings...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 29 2015 11:17:58

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 2 2015 20:15:49