Retrofret Vintage Guitars

Retrofret Vintage Guitars Brooklyn's go-to shop for vintage guitars and stringed instrument repairs.
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Welcome to one of the world's great vintage guitar shops -- located in the heart of Brooklyn, New York and serving musicians and collectors from all over the world since 1983! Along with vintage electric, acoustic, and classical guitars, we buy and sell banjos, mandolins, violin family instruments, ukuleles, amplifiers, and even musical ephemera through our companion site, Musurgia.com. The Retrof

ret staff includes skilled luthiers and technicians able to handle everything from routine set-up, to complex historically accurate repairs. Our sales team has decades of experience appraising and authenticating instruments for major museums and working musicians in every geographical location and musical genre. "Entering the serene, light-filled showroom, you are greeted by rows of Martin acoustic guitars propped on stands on a large Oriental rug. To the right is a wall of banjos, and to the left a room of electric guitars, where Fenders and Gibsons hang from the walls like so many lacquered lollipops." - The New York Times

Out now this beautiful 1962 Fender P Bass in its OHSC.  Link in our profile.-While not technically near mint, this late ...
05/30/2026

Out now this beautiful 1962 Fender P Bass in its OHSC. Link in our profile.
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While not technically near mint, this late 1962 Precision bass is really about as clean as it usually gets now 60+ years along if the instrument has been used at all. It shows some very light finish wear but appears to have seen only limited service over the last six decades plus. This is truly a very lovely fully pre-CBS Precision, one of the lighter and handier we have had with the look, feel, and sound that defines the classic 1960s Fender bass.
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If you’re looking for a beautiful Semi-Hollow Body Electric guitar you should seriously consider this 1962 Epiphone Sher...
05/29/2026

If you’re looking for a beautiful Semi-Hollow Body Electric guitar you should seriously consider this 1962 Epiphone Sheraton E212T! https://retrofret.com/products/epiphone-sheraton-e212t-arch-top-semi-hollow-body-electric-guitar-1962-13954
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This spectacular semi-hollow thinline guitar is an Epiphone Sheraton ordered in mid-1962 finished in the rich cherry lacquer previously reserved for Gibson instruments but just then first applied on this Epiphone model. The E-212T was Epiphone’s top of the thinline semi-hollow guitar line in the 1960s; only the huge hollow body Emperor was more expensive. This guitar is an E212TV, designating that it was factory fitted with the Epiphone Tremotone vibrato, a catalog option, instead of the standard Frequensator tailpiece. On the July 1962 Epiphone price list this combination of features ran to $565, plus $50 for the # 1519 hard case. This one had a gold-plated Bigsby substituted for the original Epi trem early on but otherwise remains original.
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Just arrived this National Style 2 Resophonic Tenor Guitar made in 1928 Los Angeles California!  https://retrofret.com/p...
05/28/2026

Just arrived this National Style 2 Resophonic Tenor Guitar made in 1928 Los Angeles California! https://retrofret.com/products/national-style-2-resophonic-tenor-guitar-1928-13967
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This is a lovely example of a rare and somewhat forgotten National instrument, a first-generation Style 2 Tricone Tenor guitar. The National String Instrument Corporation’s first products, released in 1927, were German silver bodied Tricone Spanish and Hawaiian 6-string guitars. As the name implies the Tricone design uses 3 small spun aluminum cones to amplify the strings, set inside a hollow metal body of “German silver” alloy. A collaborative project between inventor John Dopyera and Hawaiian guitarist George Beauchamp The Tricone came out so well that in 1927 they attracted investors and went into production with four styles of “National Silver Guitars” ranging from a plain deco Style 1 through the elaborately engraved Style 4.
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1966 Epiphone Newport Bass Formerly Owned By Steely Dan’s Walter Becker!  We held onto this for a long time but this is ...
05/27/2026

1966 Epiphone Newport Bass Formerly Owned By Steely Dan’s Walter Becker! We held onto this for a long time but this is the last one that we now have. Orange re-finish. https://retrofret.com/products/epiphone-newport-formerly-owned-by-steely-dans-walter-becker-electric-bass-guitar-1966-9069
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This is a pretty eccentric example of one of Gibson’s more obscure bass instruments from the 1960’s, the Epiphone Newport. It belonged to Steely Dan’s Walter Becker and was sold at the auction of his estate in 2019. Prior to Walter owning it this bass was non-professionally refinished in an approximation of one of the rarest 1960’s Epiphone custom Colors: California Coral. We don’t know if that’s what attracted Walter to the bass, but it certainly has a flashier look than the standard cherry.
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Just arrived this 1931 Epiphone Deluxe Arch Top Acoustic Guitar!  https://retrofret.com/products/epiphone-deluxe-arch-to...
05/26/2026

Just arrived this 1931 Epiphone Deluxe Arch Top Acoustic Guitar! https://retrofret.com/products/epiphone-deluxe-arch-top-acoustic-guitar-1931-14055
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This guitar is an extremely rare find, a VERY early “first generation” Epiphone MasterBilt Deluxe. This top-of-the-line guitar was obviously a working professional’s instrument over the decades, probably here in the New York area where it surfaced recently. The guitar has seen some substantial changes from its initial 1931 form but is a fantastic piece of history and truly superb player’s instrument nonetheless. The instrument has some stories; it was re-topped by Epiphone probably around 1935, and at some point in that era the guitar was also almost certainly re-worked by John D’Angelico at his Kenmare street shop.
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Just arrived this 1965 Danelectro Longhorn Guitarlin Model 4123 Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar!  https://retrofr...
05/23/2026

Just arrived this 1965 Danelectro Longhorn Guitarlin Model 4123 Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar! https://retrofret.com/products/danelectro-longhorn-guitarlin-model-4123-semi-hollow-body-electric-guitar-1965-13919
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The Danelectro Model 4123 Guitarlin (better known as the “Longhorn guitar”) is a serious rarity and simply one of the coolest 6-strings ever designed! This was one of Nathan Daniels’ greatest gifts to the world, conceived from a doodle he sketched in the later 1950s of an “extreme cutaway” guitar.
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Today we have a black 1974 Fender Precision Bass with a rosewood fingerboard!  This is a very nice, super clean example ...
05/22/2026

Today we have a black 1974 Fender Precision Bass with a rosewood fingerboard! This is a very nice, super clean example of a mid-‘70s Fender Precision in the eye-catching “tuxedo” look with a black finished body and white pickguard. The maple neck has a rosewood fingerboard, somewhat less common by the mid-70s compared to the all-maple neck. At well under 8 1/2 Lbs. pounds, this is a much lighter bass than most ‘74-5s we have seen and has a nice resonant, growly tone. https://retrofret.com/products/fender-precision-bass-solid-body-electric-bass-guitar-1974-13922
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Just arrived a 1962 Framus Grand Star Black Rose Model 5/125 Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar in its original black ...
05/19/2026

Just arrived a 1962 Framus Grand Star Black Rose Model 5/125 Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar in its original black hard shell case! https://retrofret.com/products/framus-grand-star-black-rose-model-5125-arch-top-hollow-body-electric-guitar-1962-13561
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This early 1960s Framus Archtop Electric is quite the imposing beast with its striking “Black Rose” finish and elaborate decorative touches. We believe it to be a Grand Star 5/125 Model but there is no label inside to confirm that; the variations in Framus products seem endless but this is one of their best higher end guitars. It is in all original condition, a fine showcase for the craftsmanship and design Framus were capable in this era. The company has sadly never gotten much respect here in the US, but built large numbers of interesting instrument s in the 1950s and ‘60s, many of which (like this one) are serious bargains today compered to most others from this period.
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Address

87 Luquer Street
Brooklyn, NY
11217

Opening Hours

Monday 12pm - 7pm
Tuesday 12pm - 7pm
Wednesday 12pm - 7pm
Thursday 12pm - 7pm
Friday 12pm - 7pm
Saturday 12pm - 6pm

Telephone

+17182374040

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