Now at 80 King Street · Littleton MA 01460 · (978) 486-0112 · Interstate 495 Exit 30
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What's In Zach's Attic Today?

As of August 1st, 2020 we have the following used and vintage instruments in Zach's Attic:

Click on one of these instruments or just scroll down for photos and more information.

And these instruments just came in - photos and descriptions coming soon:

If you're interested in one of these new arrivals, call us or email us via our Ask Us! page to get first dibs.

Zach's Archives

Want to peek at the extraordinary range of cool and interesting instruments that have passed through Zach's Attic? Just click HERE!

Contributing to Zach's Attic

We're always looking for interesting used and vintage guitars, basses and other fretted instruments that need new homes. (Sorry, we don't accept used band instruments.)

If you have a used or vintage instrument that you think Zach might be interested in, bring it in and show it to him. (Call ahead to make sure he'll be in the store when you come.) If he likes your instrument we can work out a trade or buy it outright.

You can contact Zach by phone at the number above or via our Ask Us! page.

Our Guarantee

Buying a used or vintage instrument can be a scary process. If you don't know what you're looking for, you can easily overpay or end up with an inferior (or even unplayable) instrument.

When you buy a used or vintage instrument from The Minor Chord we guarantee it to be as described. If there are flaws in the instrument that we know about, we'll tell you. If there are significant flaws we didn't notice and disclose, tell us within 30 days and we'll cheerfully give you your money back.

The Minor Chord is a music store you can trust!

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Our Used and Vintage Instruments

Zach is our store manager and head instrument buyer. He hunts down the top quality used and vintage instruments that we feature here in "Zach's Attic".


Vintage ca. 1960 Kay 7070 Classical

Anyone looking for an inexpensive but vintage folk/classical guitar, check this Kay model 7070 out! Built right around 1960 in the U.S.A. it was made around a time when folk-style guitars were popular. Resembling more of a '00' body style than a tradition classical, what really stands out is the big chunky V-neck profile. If it's a slim neck you're after, this is not the one. For those who prefer good 'chunk' in the hand, it really sits nicely.

The durable laminate body is great if you want to leave it on a stand, travel with it, etc. Nice warm character due to it's age. Remarkably this is a one owner guitar, the original owner has fond memories of using it during the 60's folk movement. Asking only $150.00 in chipboard case!

The specs:

  • Made in U.S.A. ca. 1960
  • '00' folk-style body size
  • Full laminate body and top
  • Rosewood bridge with finials
  • Rosewood fingerboard
  • Chunky V-neck profile
  • 24.75 inch scale
  • 2 inch nut width
  • Nickel tuners with plastic buttons
  • Very good condition
  • 1 owner!
  • Chipboard case included

Yamaha SLG-200N 'NT'

Always a stand-out instrument, Yamaha's silent guitar resembles a modern work of art as well as a functioning classical guitar with several cool features. The upper bout comes apart, held on by the two strap buttons. The gig bag is slim for exceptionally easy travel.

Play silently with a pair of headphones and let the world fade away, or plug in to your favorite amp, computer, etc. Nice to have the piezo/mic blend knob depending on what application it's being used for. Sweeten the sound with built in reverb and chorus. Excellent condition, asking $499.00 in Yamaha gig bag.

The specs:

  • Silent Guitar classical body style
  • Detachable upper bout for slim/easy travel
  • Mahogany body and neck
  • Rosewood bridge and fingerboard
  • 25.5 inch scale
  • 1-31/32 inch nut width
  • SRT powered pickup system
  • Built in tuner, E.Q., reverb and chorus
  • Piezo and mic pickup blend control
  • Headphone input
  • Aux input
  • Feedback resistant
  • Gig bag included

Rogue RLS-1 'MBL' Lap Steel

Just arrived to the Attic we have a flashy metallic blue beginner's lap steel guitar. Meant as a good entry-level package, it includes the stand legs and a gig bag for travel.

Simple setup with the single coil pickup and one volume and tone control. Slide your way to a warm or bright sound. Setup for C6 tuning, excellent condition asking $99.99.

The specs:

  • 6-string Lap Steel
  • Hardwood body and neck
  • Metallic Blue finish
  • Stainless steel pickguard
  • Single coil pickup
  • Volume and tone control
  • Position markers
  • Chrome hardware
  • Legs and gig bag included
  • Excellent condition

Yamaha APX-500III 'VS'

One of our customers decided to trade their steel string towards a classical guitar, so here we have a very nice used Yamaha APX-500III in the Vintage Sunburst finish. Long been a great-seller here at the store, these guitars are known for their super-comfortable slim size, and their versatility.

The full laminate body is durable, and the built in pickup and tuner makes for many easy applications. Overall in very good condition, couple minor scuffs on the bottom of the guitar. Asking $249.99 with a quality Access Bag included.

The specs:

  • Thinline Concert size body shape with cutaway
  • Durable full laminate gloss body
  • Vintage sunburst finish
  • Cream binding
  • 25 inch scale
  • 1-11/16 inch nut width
  • Slim neck profile
  • Rosewood bridge and fretboard
  • Chrome tuning machines
  • Built in pickup and tuner
  • 1 local owner, sold here originally
  • Very good condition
  • Access bag included

Larrivee P-09 Custom

It's always nice to have a sweet pre-owned Larrivee come through the Attic, and this P-09 Custom is a fantastic little guitar. (A Larrivee P-09 famously went to space a while back...how cool!)

This is a fancier, limited-production P-09 with a gorgeous book-matched Adirondack spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. The maple body and neck binding contrasts nicely for the overall look. Super comfortable with its petite shape, and the 24-inch scale and 1-3/4 inch nut width should feel familiar to most.

Even though it's a parlour-sized guitar, it has a much warmer, bigger sound than you would expect.

This P-09 originally sold for over $3,000 new, and it's in near mint condition. We're asking $2,699, including the original deluxe hardshell case.

The specs:

  • Made in U.S.A.
  • Parlor body size
  • Solid Adirondack spruce top w/matching bracing
  • Sunburst finish
  • Solid Indian rosewood back and sides
  • Maple body and neck binding
  • Mahogany neck
  • Ebony bridge and fretboard
  • Abalone rosette
  • Tortoise pickguard
  • Bone nut and saddle
  • 1-3/4 inch nut width
  • 24 inch scale
  • 4 inch body depth
  • Larrivee 18:1 chrome tuners
  • Deluxe hardshell case included
  • Near mint condition

PRS S2 Mira

Lightweight, smooth, and it growls! Just in we have this PRS S2 Mira in the gloss black finish. The asymmetric shape sits comfortably against the body and under the right arm. The dual humbuckers are not super hi-gain rather have a nice warmth to them. Rock n' roll and bluesy tones are easy to dial in.

The controls are simple with the single volume and tone. The tone knob is a push/pull coil tap as well to thin out the pickup sounds. A couple minor scuffs but overall in excellent condition. $799.00 in PRS gig bag.

The specs:

  • Made in U.S.A. in 2014
  • Dual cutaway, asymmetric body
  • Mahogany body in gloss black finish
  • 3-ply black pickguard
  • Mahogany neck
  • Rosewood fingerboard
  • White dot inlays
  • 25 inch scale
  • PRS locking tuners
  • PRS adjustable wraparound stoptail bridge with brass studs
  • Two PRS humbuckers
  • Volume and tone control
  • Coil tap push/pull on tone control
  • 3-way selector switch
  • PRS gig bag included

Common problems with used instruments

We see a lot of used instruments at The Minor Chord and a few common issues seem to show up in many of them. If you are thinking of buying an instrument on the private market, make sure you can spot these common flaws.

Lifting bridges

Most bridges on acoustic guitars are simply glued to the guitar top. If the glue joint starts to separate you are looking at a dangerous guitar. Six steel strings exert a huge tension on the bridge, and if it suddenly comes loose it can seriously injure anyone nearby. The staff at The Minor Chord has seen this happen - so we always inspect the bridge of an acoustic guitar before restringing it.

Piece of paper under a lifting bridge

Piece of paper under a lifting bridge

If you can slip a sheet of paper under the bridge of your guitar (see picture) you should relax the string tension immediately and bring the instrument to us for inspection.

An experienced luthier can remove a bridge and reglue it, but the time and labor involved makes the process too expensive for beginner and intermediate guitars.

High action

The distance between the strings and the fingerboard is called the action height. If the action is too high the guitar becomes hard (or even impossible) to play because it takes too much effort to press a string against the fingerboard. In addition, the guitar will probably not play in tune because each string has to be stretched so much (which raises its pitch) as it is pressed down.

Proper action height depends on two factors: The alignment of the neck and the height of the saddle (the point at which the strings rest on the bridge).

Electric and steel-string acoustic guitars usually have a truss rod running down the neck that can be used to adjust neck alignment. Classical-style guitars with nylon strings typically do not have a truss rod, and the only way to realign the neck is for a luthier to remove, shim and reinstall the neck - a major operation. The same operation is required on electrics or steel-string acoustics if the truss rod doesn't have enough available play to achieve the needed adjustment.

Saddle height is easily adjusted on electric guitars using a very small allen-head wrench. The saddles on acoustics and classical nylon strings may simply lift out of the bridge and can be shaved or shimmed to achieve the correct height. If these adjustments cannot bring the action height to a playable level, an expensive neck reset is required.

A low action height is desirable for easy playing but the action cannot be lowered so much that the strings start buzzing against the frets. Inexpensive guitars tend to have uneven frets, which means that the action height cannot be brought very low at all. Resetting or dressing the frets can even them up but it is a time consuming and expensive process, worthwhile only for valuable guitars.

All of these adjustments related to action height are fussy and interrelated. It's best to leave them to an experienced luthier, which means it is usually not economical to rescue an inexpensive guitar having these problems.