'85 Soloist - Refinished = worth less?

[pro-fusion]

Re: \'85 Soloist - Refinished = worth less?

I'll dissent a little here. I think the market for '80s Jacksons will always be a little different than what you're seeing now with vintage Gibsons and Fenders. J/C's were originally supposed to be 'hotrod' custom-made guitars, and no two were entirely alike. Add to that the overall coolness of modding guitars back in the '80s. I just don't think that most J/C collectors are looking for 100% authenticity the way Gibson/Fender collectors do. If an old Soloist has a beat-to-hell or really ugly finish, a refin will probably INCREASE its value in today's market. Especially true with yours, since you've given it a beautiful pearl white finish, which is a finish that seems to command a bit of a premium among us J/C folks.

Could the refin have a negative effect decades down the road? Sure, but guitar collecting is such a volatile business that it's hard to know what, if anything, will be collectible. The crazy vintage Gibson/Fender market is driven by Baby Boomers who now have the big $$ to spend. But once they are drooling their final years away in nursing homes, I think it's a good question whether the vintage guitar market will exist at all, apart from the museum trade. And even as an enthusiast, I doubt that many J/Cs are museum-bound. Maybe Randy's personal guitars or the Beck Soloists.

[overboard]

[QUOTE=Zerberus][ QUOTE ]
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Cars are a good example.
You see classic cars restored to original condition all the time.
It doesn't seem to hurt resale.

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I´ve never seen a restored car, regardless of how beautiful, go for anywhere near the same amount as the same car all original, even if the all original was barely drivable and only had 2 specks of paint left... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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That's incorrect. For an original to be worth more than a restoration, it has to be very near mint.

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This is currently true but i think in a few years people will cringe at restored cars...I would much rather have an untouched hemi than one of those completely restored hemis.I mean it looks so brand new it just doesnt have a vintage feel.Its character has been stripped-it just carries no more nostalgia in my book...Restored cars are kinda boring they lack personality...

I think this brings up a very interesting point in collecting.I beleive that refinishing or improving any condition of a collectible is very detrimental to the value.I personally would never try to fix anything on a collectible.if its some kind of ugly cosmetic thing etc you can leave it for the next person to fix but its so important to leave it in its original condition...
Now the car market is very interesting...It is about the only collectible area where completely stripped/restored cars cars go for more than unrestored...It doesnt make sense to me when you completely strip a car of its original skin and replace everything-i think the restoration frenzy will one day be looked at the biggest blunder ever made in car collecting...The car once redone has no more mojo and has had its character,smell etc taken away...In furniture/toy/jewlry collecting stripping and cleaning is a big no-no...Stuff that has been refinished will go for 50-80% less...im talking about something worth 30k that would have gone for 250k had it not be stripped and refinished...I love old axes with scars and all...somebody had a lo number sandimas rhoads on ebay awhile ago but it was a repaint from gmw and at 1500 no takers...i would have jumped on it but the repaint killed it for me and i guess for others also as i dont think it ever sold after multi listings...

[StukaJU87]

I think it was the color of the refin on that RR that prevented a sale at $1500. I would have bought it if it was vintage white or Ferrari red. In MY opinion, the trans green killed it, nothing else.

[pebber]

and even that one -I suppose were speaking of Brett's green one- was sold, I'm sure, for well over $1000.. btw, I didn't remember the trans-green to be a GMW refin at all, tho he had another white one which was refinned by GMW.

[StukaJU87]

Hmmm...maybe I am wrong. I thought the trans green was a GMW refin. I am not sure now.

[overboard]

I think it was the color of the refin on that RR that prevented a sale at $1500. I would have bought it if it was vintage white or Ferrari red. In MY opinion, the trans green killed it, nothing else.

No,the one i was talking about was white...and it was a killer paint job...

Actually to find out what refinishing a guitar does to its value is look at what happens to a classic star or gibson when they have been refinished...Although jacksons arent classic vintage yet being only 20 yrs old they will be...
My friend bought a 1962 strat from a vintage shop via mail order in 1990(pre internet when you had to look in classifieds and write letter to get a catalog then drive hundreds of miles to pick up your axe).Anyway,he paid 2500 for it then.I ust looked on the bay and a 64 strat was going for 23K...WTF,is going on?My friend scored big i guess...prices are insane....

btw does anybody remember a white 1984 RR string thru lo number(500's) san dimas that was on ebay in mid december 2005?the seller was new,the axe had peeling paint on the neck,pickup didnt work and he had a reserve on it and with only 2 hrs left and a bid at 750 which didnt meet the reserve i figured the reserve was way high and it was pointless to try bidding...lo and behold his reserve was prbably 1000 and it sold for 1250...I have been kicking myself ever since!

[LarryL]

I'm all about a nice '85 Soloist with a Floyd. To me an early '85 would be pushing $2k (maybe more for the right color) and a later '85 probably $1500. As for how much you devalued yours, I would say quite a bit. Still a nice guitar but there are many people like myself that would never buy a refin. It eliminates a big chunk of potential buyers which is never a good thing.

I have seen a lot of early Jacksons that have yellowed. I'm guessing that many of us would have really liked it as-is. I think your $400 offers were coming from the typical crowd that isn't into Jacksons at all.

In the end I wouldn't worry about it too much. It seems like you like it so that is what is important.