I have come into possession of a 1940s vintage Gibson guitar. My MIL ought it new during the War. She is finally ready to part with it and wants me to sell it well. It has some cosmetic finish damage, an original case, and an original tube amplifier in need of new caps and a general refresh.
I live in a major metro area, but one awash in old crap from the recently deceased elderly.
Mom’s stuff isn’t crap. Neither is it in museum condition.
How and where should I look to find an honest price and an honest buyer? We can deal both locally and remotely. I can even travel affordably if there’s a specialist someplace in the USA that’ll make it worth my / our time to travel.
Any suggestions are welcome. She called the local Guitar Center and was told they’d pay 25% of the $8K “Kelly Bluebook” for it. She didn’t remember what source they were using as their “bluebook”. That sounds like a sucker’s deal to me. But I know squat about vintage guitars.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Details and photos available on request.
Hmm, without seeing the guitar, case and amp (condition means a lot), or knowing the specific model of each: 6K sounds pretty sweet for a sight unseen deal.
Gibson made some stuff that’s crazily collectible, and some stuff that no-one really wants that badly. So, specifics matter a lot.
You need to take it to shop with a good guitar tech. Ask him to evaluate it. Is the neck reasonably straight? Can a small truss rod adjustment fix it? Look at the top. Vintage guitar tops always warp where the bridge attaches. How much? Can a setup make the guitar playable?
If it’s OK. I would have the guitar tech
replace the strings and get a set up. My tech in Little Rock strongly recommends light gauge strings on vintage guitars. It minimizes the tension on the guitar top and neck.
Put it on eBay with a reserve price. Take PLENTY of pictures of every surface. Indicate in your description that the guitar was evaluated and professionally set up.
Point out any dings or scratches in your description. Buyers appreciate honesty.
Relist if you don’t get your reserve. Be patient. Maybe drop the price a little. Relist.
That’s an advantage. You can take it to a reputable shop in a major city. A Vintage Gibson from the 1940’s will definitely get people excited. Norman’s Rare Guitars on Ventura Blvd, Tarzana, CA is well known and respected. They might even make an offer if the guitar is in good condition.
example sells and repairs rare guitars.
Wordman can recommend well known shops that cater to the rare vintage market.
You can fully document it and put it on ebay with a reserve and see if anyone bites. Normally a re-seller who has to sell it will only offer a fraction of motivated collector worth. I would do the same in their position as re-selling vintage anything often has nasty and expensive surprises in doing deals for the tradesman.
In some cases having vintage items refurbished actually diminishes their value to collectors so you many want to be be careful with any changes or services. I generally do not touch anything vintage I am selling as the danger of f’ing it up outweighs (in my case) any value to be had via repairs and collectors know more about it than I ever will. I know squat about vintage guitars so this may not apply in your scenario.
so GC quoted her over the phone? How did she describe it to them? If they said $8,000 blue book (Vintage Guitar guide), they must’ve thought it was a J-45, SJ, or other pricier guitar. But without knowledge of condition it was illustrative at best.
the GC is right in one regard: % of Retail value is the right way to manage your expectations. You’ll have to decide how much effort you want to put into selling it. If you sell to a knowledgable vintage dealer, you should expect to get 50%-60% of retail, taking condition into account. Or they may offer to consign for you and if it sells in X months, you’d typically get 70%. You can try to sell it yourself on eBay, Craig’s List, etc, but they have their own learning curves and hassles, and you’ll likely only get maybe 80% of retail, because you can’t back up your sale the way a good vintage dealer can, with service, etc.
the guitar journalist and historian and player John Thomas has a great book called Kalamazoo Gals, about the Gibsons made by women during WW2, something Gibson seemed to have suppressed. If yours has a banner reading Only a Gibson is Good Enough, it would be one of those guitars.
You know, I have been thinking it was an acoustic guitar. But is it a hollow-body electric? Does it have F-Holes?
If that is the case, depending on the model, those can have values all over the place. Some are inexpensive and would sell today for $1,000; others could be for $8,000 or above. And the amp could have a bit of value of course - make sure it is understood and appraised, too.
Now I am really curious as to what model it is!!
(I am not in the market so am only approaching this with curiosity)
Another stray thought: assuming now that it is an archtop electric since that is what Gibson was making that had pickups in the 1940s, you will need to pay particular attention to the type of pickups on the guitar. If you Google Gibson 1940’s electrics and look a the images, you will see a variety of pickups - some are built into the pickguard, some are long and diagonally mounted under the strings. Some are called Charlie Christian pickups, so nicknamed after the brilliant player who popularized them in Benny Goodman’s orchestra before dying at age 27.
The point is that Gibson was innovating a lot with their pickups in the '40’s - some variations are highly desirable and some much less so. Understanding what your guitar comes with and the overall desirability of that particular variation is key.
The guitar is an L7 which is purely acoustic. Ref the comments above, the arch seems in good shape; there’s no discernable flattening where the bridge sits. The neck seems straight to this non-expert. It is very similar to this one: Gibson L7-C Acoustic Guitar for sale online | eBay although I know her’s is earlier, not post-war.
Ah, an L-7. I used to own a '54 L-7c (looked like the one you link to on eBay, but with a cutaway, which is what the “c” stands for). Excellent, excellent guitar! So, an archtop acoustic with no pickups. Got it.
Archtops are a subset that have their own aficionados. I am not sure I would guesstimate $8,000 as an initial retail value, or if I did, it would be a bit of a harder sell vs. say an acoustic J-45. Would take more time to find the right buyer. There are a number of vintage dealers that carry archtops - a few in NYC for instance. Getting it in front of them and either selling it or putting it on consignment would be the least-hassle thing to do.
ETA: and I suspect the amp is not lap-steel specific, but simply a 1940’s Gibson amp for use with “regular” (i.e., Spanish) electric guitars and lap steels. Definitely have it checked out and appraised separately. Not as desirable as the amps from the 50’s, but some are very good and very collectible from the 40’s, if they are in good shape. Do NOT swap out the capacitors or anything to get it into working order until it has been checked out by someone who knows vintage Gibson amps!!!