Music Appreciation

But, over the last 40 years or so I've been able to play a half-dozen of those old italo-tars.
They are junk!
Bridges are unstable; pickups are noisy but weak, and many were microphonic. A few were very neck heavy, because I think the bodies were cheap pine. I also found the necks chunky.
A lot of them look neat, but they aren't even good for beginners. Maybe worse, because they're harder to play.
Having said all that, I checked Reverb and they are fetching some pretty high prices. Several over a grand.
I might pay $200 as a wall-hanger, but the prices I'm seeing are stunning.