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I'm in a hotel in Nashville and head back with the guitar to Cinci tomorrow.
I bought a 1956 from GC for $5K + Nashville tax ($5.5K). The usual B.S., we don't discount Vintage. I got the to throw in a Fender Custom Shop Tweed case as well, not sure how much these are worth.
I've had George Gruhn appraise it. He say it's worth $6. I have 30 days to decide to keep it or return it to GC, and then I have 12 months financing. Gruhn said that maybe it was refin'd at Gibson. The finish is almost brand spanking new and nicely done, but not what you expect for a 50 year old axe. He said he wouldn't sink any more money into it.
The guitar plays good but IMO needs larger frets. I'm a jumbo fret guy, medium jumbos at the least. There's no 12th fret hump, the neck looks nice and straight. Gruhn said the truss rod was very tight - I'll need to look at it when I get home.
You'll see by the pictures that a lot of the hardware looks like Gibson USA crap. Chrome tailpiece (alignment looks good splitting the knobs), Chrome Nashville bridge instead of the ABR-1 (cry), pickguard looks USA pink junk, toggle switch USA too, and has a chrome metal jackplate(why?). Gruhn said the P90s look like they might be rewound. They look brand new, not like something over 50 years old. No rust anywhere, everything new and shiney.
The stuff that looks good / original are the truss rod cover, tuners, the toggle switch (seems to be crazy glued on!), the knobs and pointers, and maybe the strap buttons, and the case (not a 5 latch, 4). Control cavity had bumble bees (don't know if these are correct for a 56). Couldn't date the pots yet.
One more odd thing, the first inlay (third fret) appears to be 70's material, like the 50's inlay fell out and it was replaced with 70s stuff.
I haven't gotten home yet with it to see what the tenon looks like (was the neck reset)?
Also the "dish" top doesn't seem to have a big belly. I'm not an expert on dish shape, is a bigger belly better? this one doesn't seem too big to me.
The good: No breaks anywhere. Plays good. Refin is good quality no orange peel but maybe not my favorite color / look. Looks like they were trying for a "Brockburst" but maybe missed the mark? Another nice thing is the maple seem is pretty well hidden just above the knobs. The pickguard hides most of it. The flames remind my of a USA Faded series (not good). Maybe the top was dyed? I've seen a lot worse LPs go for more money. This one is playable right out of the shoot, no work needed. The back is straight grain mahogany. No swirls or curls.
Anyway, just looking at opinions as what to do with this if it was yours. Keep it? Take it back? Send it to Historic Makeovers?
Consider that this is my most expensive guitar (a CR8 was at $3K), I have 6 LP's now, almost 40 guitars total, Jacksons, Charvels, MIM Fenders, ESPs (no LTD). About $20K to $30K in gear for a hobbyist, and a wife about ready to kill me. Seriously.
Anyway, here are the pictures. You can see the Fender case as well.
Big pictures:
Thanks for all the help!
I bought a 1956 from GC for $5K + Nashville tax ($5.5K). The usual B.S., we don't discount Vintage. I got the to throw in a Fender Custom Shop Tweed case as well, not sure how much these are worth.
I've had George Gruhn appraise it. He say it's worth $6. I have 30 days to decide to keep it or return it to GC, and then I have 12 months financing. Gruhn said that maybe it was refin'd at Gibson. The finish is almost brand spanking new and nicely done, but not what you expect for a 50 year old axe. He said he wouldn't sink any more money into it.
The guitar plays good but IMO needs larger frets. I'm a jumbo fret guy, medium jumbos at the least. There's no 12th fret hump, the neck looks nice and straight. Gruhn said the truss rod was very tight - I'll need to look at it when I get home.
You'll see by the pictures that a lot of the hardware looks like Gibson USA crap. Chrome tailpiece (alignment looks good splitting the knobs), Chrome Nashville bridge instead of the ABR-1 (cry), pickguard looks USA pink junk, toggle switch USA too, and has a chrome metal jackplate(why?). Gruhn said the P90s look like they might be rewound. They look brand new, not like something over 50 years old. No rust anywhere, everything new and shiney.
The stuff that looks good / original are the truss rod cover, tuners, the toggle switch (seems to be crazy glued on!), the knobs and pointers, and maybe the strap buttons, and the case (not a 5 latch, 4). Control cavity had bumble bees (don't know if these are correct for a 56). Couldn't date the pots yet.
One more odd thing, the first inlay (third fret) appears to be 70's material, like the 50's inlay fell out and it was replaced with 70s stuff.
I haven't gotten home yet with it to see what the tenon looks like (was the neck reset)?
Also the "dish" top doesn't seem to have a big belly. I'm not an expert on dish shape, is a bigger belly better? this one doesn't seem too big to me.
The good: No breaks anywhere. Plays good. Refin is good quality no orange peel but maybe not my favorite color / look. Looks like they were trying for a "Brockburst" but maybe missed the mark? Another nice thing is the maple seem is pretty well hidden just above the knobs. The pickguard hides most of it. The flames remind my of a USA Faded series (not good). Maybe the top was dyed? I've seen a lot worse LPs go for more money. This one is playable right out of the shoot, no work needed. The back is straight grain mahogany. No swirls or curls.
Anyway, just looking at opinions as what to do with this if it was yours. Keep it? Take it back? Send it to Historic Makeovers?
Consider that this is my most expensive guitar (a CR8 was at $3K), I have 6 LP's now, almost 40 guitars total, Jacksons, Charvels, MIM Fenders, ESPs (no LTD). About $20K to $30K in gear for a hobbyist, and a wife about ready to kill me. Seriously.
Anyway, here are the pictures. You can see the Fender case as well.
Big pictures:
Thanks for all the help!
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