So I Was in a Guitar Store...

[Shakey]

...in San Francisco last week and was blown away.  I couldn't believe some of the price tags on these guitars.  I had no idea musical instruments were worth so much.

I noticed there were some guitar players on this site so I thought I'd share these photos with you.

Don't recall the name of the store but it was on Van Ness Ave. near California St.

      

Oh yeah, here is a shot of one of Neil Peart's drum kits that sold last week.

[Charger_Fan]

Holy crapolee!

[ChargerSG]

Sick prices

[bordin34]

Thats a lot does "Guitar Center" ring a bell?

[JimShine]

Times have changed all the way down to everyday guitars. I was looking at old pictures of our guitar store from the early to mid 90's. The only guitars we had over $1k were the vintage Strats, Teles and Pauls (pre 70's). USA Strats, both standard and reissues were priced no more than $700 new, old SG's were a hard sell for any more than $500. G&L guitars retailed for under $1K (the first time we broke the $1K mark was with the Fullerton models). They discounted for just under a grand. Used stuff was dirt cheap. You could find a USA made guitar for under $500 with little problem.

That $55K strat was around $6-7K at that time, on a great day.

[69bronzeT5]

Okay as a guitar player...48,000 isnt for a used or new Les Paul. That price is for a Les Paul used by a rockstar! Like Slash or Jimmy Page. The rest are probally used by rockstars too.

[JimShine]

Okay as a guitar player...48,000 isnt for a used or new Les Paul. That price is for a Les Paul used by a rockstar! Like Slash or Jimmy Page. The rest are probally used by rockstars too.

Incorrect. "Nobody" owned vintage guitars are commanding stupid money. A 1958, 1959, or 1960 Les Paul owned by joe nobody will set you back $100K for an unattractive top to a quarter mil for highly figured top. A 1954 Strat will set you back $60K easy these days.

[69bronzeT5]

Okay as a guitar player...48,000 isnt for a used or new Les Paul. That price is for a Les Paul used by a rockstar! Like Slash or Jimmy Page. The rest are probally used by rockstars too.

Incorrect. "Nobody" owned vintage guitars are commanding stupid money. A 1958, 1959, or 1960 Les Paul owned by joe nobody will set you back $100K for an unattractive top to a quarter mil for highly figured top. A 1954 Strat will set you back $60K easy these days.

Wrong. I could of bought a mint condition 1960 Les Paul goldtop for 30,000 but its too far out of my price catergory. Maybe a  24-k gold covered Les Paul with diamond encrusted inlays could sell for 100-500k.

[JimShine]

You missed out Einstein. Interesting, a 60 goldtop, even though the original run was discontinued in 1957 until 1968?

Here are some real world prices. These guys used to buy alot from me. They have a high turnover rate.

http://rumbleseatmusic.com/gibsonelectrics.html

A nice article on the biz

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4070/is_213/ai_n15876035

Grab a blue book. High value of a '59 Burst in mint condition is $300K.

Oh, by the way, this is where I make my money. Vintage guitars have been my business for 15 years.

[Brock Samson]

these kids know more than you'll ever even hope to know jim, give it up. 

[hemigeno]

I'm anything but an expert on Les Paul guitars, but it only took about 5 seconds to google and find this link:

http://www.enter.net/~blueta2/1960lespaul.html

1960 Les Paul Sunburst for sale @ $125k.  Of course, asking for that amount and getting it are two different things, but it's a far cry from $30k - that's for sure.

[JimShine]

lol Strat, thats true.

That Paul linked is a beauty, but missing parts. Believe it or not the original knobs would fetch about $1K these days. The repops are not that different, but these guys are anal. Being a 60 hurts it too because they slimmed the necks down a bit that year. Collectors want the 59 with the larger profile. Each of the 3 years is slightly priced different, with the 59 being the cream of the crop. This one claims to have the 59 profile, which is cool.

[69bronzeT5]

You missed out Einstein. Interesting, a 60 goldtop, even though the original run was discontinued in 1957 until 1968?

What the hell was the guy on when he told me it was a 1960?? Freaking turd, it was probally an 80s goldtop.

[Rocky]

 

[Brock Samson]

my best bud in H.S. later the bass player in my band had a Lp Gold top with cream colored soapbar pick ups it was stolen from his house one night when we had a party... i think it was pretty rare i had never seen another with those pick ups since..
i now own a les paul studio, it seems fine the tuneres are kinda sketchy though, overall i prefer the PRS Santana it ain't pretty but plays beautifully all over the neck which is wide and flat and some great frequencies result.

[JimShine]

12 years ago I had one of the first Les Pauls ever made. It was a gold top with the cream soapbars made in 1952. It had some weird early appointments that only the first ones had. The 1958-1960 models were getting around $50K at the time and nobody really wanted the gold tops because they felt the pickups were inferior. I sat on that forever and finally sold it for $6K making $2K profit. Today I would have been able to get alot more than that for it. But just about every vintage guitar I had back in the 90's is worth 5-10 times more now than it was then.

[bull]

Shakey, aren't you ever home? You live in Canada, remember?

[Shakey]

Shakey, aren't you ever home? You live in Canada, remember?

But I make all of my money from the Americans!   

Thanks guys! 

[Charger_Fan]

Shakey, aren't you ever home? You live in Canada, remember?

But I make all of my money from the Americans!   

Hmmm, same with the Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, Vietnamese,...


...but at least you post some pics of your travels!

[Old Moparz]

A friend of mine owns a musical instrument repair shop, but also buys, sells, & collects. (Mostly buys & hordes so he's broke, lol.) He's showed me a few guitars he's kept that turned out to be nice investments. That wasn't his intention though since he plays, but it's a win-win thing. He was able to buy them years ago when prices were reasonable, so he doesn't have tons of money invested. One I recall seeing that looked like new, was a 50's Gibson hollow body in a mint green color. It's been awhile, but if I'm not mistaken, I think it was the "ES" mode, maybe a 1957. He's played it at my house when we jammed & it sounds great.

He's mostly into acoustic guitars & has some old, pre-1940's  Martins as well as others. I love going to his shop because you never know what he's going to have behind the counter. People bring in some odd items for repairs that you hardly ever see & it's cool. Once in awhile he is offered something, like the 1959 Martin D18 my wife now has. It was totally destroyed, & at one time floated around in someone's basement flood. He got it for parts, but decided to take a crack at fixing it & did. My wife plays it at festivals & one time someone from Martin said it would probably appraise at over $5K. Not bad for a basement floater.

Prices on vintage guitars are just as nuts as Hemi cars.   

[bordin34]

Les Paul lives in my town.

[Brock Samson]

wow! that's cool, i got a Les Paul Mary Ford record right here... I'll put it on... 

[Old Moparz]

wow! that's cool, i got a Les Paul Mary Ford record right here... I'll put it on... 

I have one too, it's a 45 with a photo sleeve I found at a yard sale for a $1. I listened to it when I got it, but I don't think it'll see the turntable again, not my type of music.

Les Paul plays at a club in NYC every Monday called "The Iridium Jazz Club" & does 2 shows. I've been putting it off, but will be going there very soon.

http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/les.shtml

http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/

[Ghoste]

What's been shocking to me is the way Norlin Gibsons and 70's Strats with 3 bolt necks and 1/8 inch deep poly finish with no body contours have been going up.  I have always expected pre-CBS Fenders or 50's Les Pauls to go up in value.  Maybe not at the rate they have, but I still looked at them as investment guitars.  Now the ones from the 70's that only a few short years ago had people turning up their noses because they were perceived as junk, are shooting up.
If it's an old guitar, it's as good as an old Mopar it seems.  Now I can't afford either of my hobbies. 

[4cruzin]

Some prices I can't afford!!  That is one cool drum set as RUSH is my favorite group!  Sweet setup!