Seen this on YT the other day. 1953 Les Paul thats being heavy modified and was up for sale.



The guitar was up for sale on Reverb and sold for $35000. The family are going to tell who the buyer was.A few people reckon it was Joe Bonamassa.

Great share, thank you

And I thought Ibanez prices were too high

No problem Phil


[quote name='Todd Simpson' date='Jan 29 2022, 11:11 PM' post='795969']
And I thought Ibanez prices were too high



Yeah everything has went crazy on prices. What a see with guitars in the UK is stock levels are low on guitars. A lot of the big guitar retailers say more stock due 3 months or more.Being itching for a Black Gibson SG Standard. Guitarguitar seem to be the only ones to have them in stock and are £200 dearer. Andertons had the cherry colour and I seen today that they have no stock left. Checked guitarguitar and their prices has went up on the cherry colour to.

Then a seen one on ebay used going for more than the retailers are selling them for.

This post has been edited by liveOASISforever: Jan 30 2022, 05:57 PM

$35,000 for a '53, even heavily modded is a pretty decent price.
In the early 90s I worked at a vintage shop that had an 'all original' 1953 Gold Top with (the orig) stop bar tailpiece. Some had a trapeze tailpiece. That made those axes a little uncomfortable to play and most folks swapped the tailpiece out for a Bigsby and then later the standard Gibson (ABR style) bridge and tailpiece combo. I can't remember exactly how much the one in that shop cost - I think around $6000.00 (in 1992) but it was a great sounding guitar. One of the really cool things about it was that it was 'ALL' gold. Gold top, gold sides, gold back and gold back of the neck. I probably shoulda' bought it

Here's pic of a completely refurbished '53 ...



This post has been edited by klasaine: Jan 30 2022, 06:30 PM

Yeah thats a fantastic price.

That trapeze tailpiece looks weird to me. Would you say $6000 back in the early 90s was considered really expensive for a 53 LES paul. How much would a new Les Paul standard cost back then.

I love gold top Les Pauls. Especially with p90s. They look incredible

No, $6000 was not a particularly high price in 1992 but there were a lot of variables.
1) The guitar looked like it was from '53. Lots of finish checking and where it was worn away on the upper back bout, the finish was actually flaking off. Also, when there's a spot for air and moisture to get in, those gold metallic finishes will start to oxidize - "greening".
2) The pkups were orig but most of the electronics had been changed out.
3) Many re-frets.
4) Multiple holes on the bottom because the strap button stripped and pulled out.
5) But probably the most important factor influencing the price - the 'vintage' market wasn't that hot yet.
*That axe played and sounded fantastic!

In the early 90s, an LP standard was around $900 whsc and you could def find them for less.
At a guitar show around probably 93 I ran into a real 1959 LP for just 10 grand. It wasn't very flamey (the top) and had new tuners and a new input jack (and maybe pkup surrounds) but it was in decent shape. I didn't play it and I'm not sure who bought it. I think it was the guy playing with "the Desert Rose Band" at the time (Jeff Ross).

This post has been edited by klasaine: Feb 1 2022, 04:04 PM

Yeah a could imagine it would be very difficult to find a guitar of that age thats mostly original and in decent condition. Back in 53 someone buying it new wouldnt be thinking of the resell value in years to come. It would be bought to be played the way it should.

When would you say the vintage market got hot?

Oh really. If only it was that cheap now A Les Paul studio is more expensive than that now.

Wow a original 59 for $10000. Re issues can be close to that price now.

A will need to check the Desert Rose Band out a have never heard of them before.

*Actual 'retail' Gibson price lists are difficult to find. A lot of what you'll see on line are the wholesale (price to dealers) costs. with that said ...

In 1959 the price of a cherry sunburst flame top Les Paul 'model' whsc was $450. In today's dollars that's a little over 4 grand - which is around what a normal, non-custom shop reissue 50's LP goes for now.
In '53 that Goldie listed around $250 whsc give or take. This is not taking into account any state, fed or local taxes at the time.
For comparison, a Strat in the mid 50s was about $200.

Out here, I noticed vintage prices starting to climb fast when I was working at that vintage shop in '92 and '93 and then they started to skyrocket in the 00s. Why? IDK. Scarcity, cool factor, collector mind set - ?
I got a few pretty cool pieces at good prices when I was working there. A 1974 LP special and a 1964 BF Bassman amp (head/cab combo). Both great, cheap and I still have them.