Truth, Myth & Market Reality If you’ve ever held a pristine 1950s Fender Stratocaster or gently strummed an early ’70s Gibson, it’s natural to wonder “Is this guitar actually a good investment?” It’s an appealing thought—guitars hold emotional and artistic value and offer a tangible presence that stocks or bonds simply can't match. But let's take a careful look at the facts and figures to reveal the nuanced truth about...

The searing summer of 2025 has seen our brand-new website go live and for the first time Coffee House Guitars now takes card payments online! The new website is fresh, up to date and much more user friendly than our trusty old one. Our old site always received very positive feedback from customers who appreciated the attention to detail for each guitar listing. All of the features from the old...

Fender in the 1950s If we scroll back in time to 1954 when Fender launched their ground-breaking Stratocaster. A new Strat cost $249, or $290 if you wanted a form fit case included. This was an entire months wages for the average American.  Today this equates to around $3200! By 1968 the average salary of Americans had doubled while the humble Strat remained at a modest $314, barely much of an...

Of all the models made by the Fender Custom Shop the Stratocaster must certainly be the most prolific. While Fender don’t actually publish the numbers they have manufactured it’s fair to assume that the Strat will be the most prolific followed closely by the Telecaster. The story of the Fender Custom Shop goes back to the 1980s and around the time that the Fender company was changing hands. From 1975...

If you’re looking for a brand new top of the range Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster you’d have already noticed that there’s a huge difference in the price between the Fender Custom Shop models and the range topping Masterbuilt guitars. In some extreme cases they can be double the price! Why buy a master build Strat if you could walk out with two team built models? In this short article I...

After much preparation Coffee House Guitars is about to open it’s doors and begin selling top end guitars from our shop in Frome, Somerset. The mission of the business is to offer a range of high end instruments, all used, that are presented to the customer in top condition. We’ve built a comfy coffee shop style interior where the guitars are displayed so you can drink a fine coffee while...