The Guitar Index
A map of important guitars, stories, and provenance.
The Guitar Index is a high-signal guide to the guitars, collections, and stories that shape the instrument’s history and market. It tracks how lore, provenance, and industry moves create value for players, collectors, and builders.
What this site covers
The Guitar Index focuses on four things: historic collections and auctions, artist instruments, provenance and registries, and the shifting guitar industry. Each area has its own dedicated pages you can explore in depth.
Collections & Auctions
Landmark collections, major sales, and how auctions reshape the value of specific guitars.
Artist Instruments & Signature Models
Guitars tied to artists, from one-off stage instruments to high-volume signature runs.
Provenance & Registries
How stories and documentation travel with instruments, and why structured provenance matters.
Market & Industry Shifts
Mergers, acquisitions, and tech changes that affect how guitars are built, bought, and collected.
Key ideas behind The Guitar Index
Historic auctions can reset price expectations for an entire era of guitars, not just the instruments in the sale.
For collector-grade instruments, the story often becomes as important as originality or specifications.
Provenance is fragile; without structure, details about ownership and modifications are usually lost within one or two ownership changes.
Artist signature guitars increasingly function as cultural collectibles, not just as everyday tools for playing.
The more digital the guitar world becomes, the more players and collectors gravitate toward original, physical artifacts with traceable histories.
Start here
Pick the path that best matches who you are in the guitar world.
For collectors
- Learn how provenance drives value and where stories come from.
- Links coming soon: What is guitar provenance? How provenance gets lost between owners.
For auction houses & dealers
- See how better documentation can make high-end instruments more trusted and easier to sell.
- Links: Why registries matter for auctions. Case studies: collection cataloging.
For builders, luthiers & techs
- Understand how your work becomes part of an instrument’s long-term record.
- Links: Documenting builds and repairs. How service history affects value.
Latest from the index
Recent highlights tracking where guitar history and value are being rewritten.
- “Why the Jim Irsay Collection is a historic value shock for iconic guitars.”
- “The G&L silent acquisition and what it reveals about corporate vs boutique mindsets.”
- “Modelers vs tube amps as a case study in why vintage rigs remain cultural artifacts.”
Each title will link to a hub page on The Guitar Index or a deeper claim page on GuitarProvenance.com.
About The Guitar Index
The Guitar Index is curated by Mariano Rozanski, a guitarist, luthier, and founder of projects focused on guitar provenance and verification infrastructure. It connects weekly coverage from Guitar Times, deeper concepts from GuitarProvenance.com, and registry experiments like Universal Guitar Registry to give the guitar world a more durable memory.
Optional links can point to guitarhistorian.com, GuitarProvenance.com, universalguitarregistry.com, and Veryfiable.