My friend acquired this baby from someone who was hard up for money and sold it to her for a “pawn store” price - $250, iirc. The deal was that after a year, if he didn’t have the money to pay her back, she could do with it whatever she wants.
Well, it’s been 2 years and she’s tired of lugging it around and could really use the money. She wants me to sell it for basically what she got it for on Craigslist, but I told her she was out of her damn mind. I don’t know much about guitars, but I know an original Gibson Les Paul with original tuners, hardware, etc in barely played condition has to be worth at least $500. It’s also a finish I’ve never see before, a matte deep red color, which meant it was probably cheaper when it was bought but more rare now, no?
Anyway, if you could give me any help at all that would be great! My google fu is really failing me and ebay is of no help at all this time around.
Yep, that’s a 1976 Gibson, and without playing it, I’d say it’s worth minimum $2,000. Probably actually more like $2500-3000.
I know that my own 1974 Les Paul Custom, with quite a bit of wear and tear, was last appraised at $3500, and that was 12 years ago.
It’s entirely possible the guitar you have (or your friend has) is worth as much as $3500-$4000, but that would only be true if there were special circumstances surrounding it’s ownership or something.
ETA: Hell, I’ll give your friend $1000 for it right now. I don’t have a Les Paul Standard in my collection. Yet.
Holy shit! I had no idea that these Les Pauls were worth so much.
Circa 1970-1972 my older brother had a gold faced, 3 pickup, Les Paul with a mahogany body. Just a work of art. We strumed around a little to old CCR and then he sold it back to the music store.
Kind of looked like this but I really think it had 3 pick ups.
That may be a 1976, but it is NOT a LP Standard - it is a different Gibson LP variant. It doesn’t have a carved (i.e., arched) top. You call it a Les Paul Special in your OP and I suspect that is more correct - Specials were started in the early 50’s as a starter LP and have never had the carved top which adds cost to the production.
70’s LP’s are going up in value in general, so some research is required, but I would be more inclined to suspect that it is worth maybe $1,000 - $1,250. I strongly recommend that you check eBay for mid-70’s LP Specials and/or hang out on the Les Paul Forum in the correct sub-forum where they discuss 70’s LP’s.
Looks like a cool guitar and entirely worthy of attention, but it is not one of the upper-tier LP’s that Bo correctly asserts are going up past $3,500 these days.
I have a '73 Limited Edition 1954 Reissue Black Beauty (try saying that 3 times fast), which is a whole 'nother kettle of fish - and yeah, while you need to be careful with some of the 70’s Norlin Gibsons (Gibson was owned by Norlin in this era, and the name connotes certain design changes from earlier-gen LP’s) - they can be super heavy in weight for instance - but they have their own strong following.
Hey Bo, what source did you use to verify that date? My book says it’s a 2002. I’m not sure what model it is, but unbound LPs from 2002 are probably going to be worth more like $900, from 1976, a few hundred more.
This is all more or less correct from what I can tell, I’m just having a real hard time finding any guitar like it anywhere online. If it is from the Norlin era, it has none of his signature moves - it’s not a pancake, it has no voluting, etc. It definitely is a “blue collar” LP too, having no fancy fret inlays, pickguard, or special finishes.
I think I’m going to take it to Austin Vintage Guitars to see what they have to say. I know it’s not going to be a $2,500 piece, but it sure ain’t a $400 one either!
I went to the same place. Read a little further down on the site, or just look at my post above. The 1975 through 1977 numbers were decals. The impressed numbers started in 1977 and follow a different scheme.
For a 2002 Gibson Les Paul special with the hardshell case, depending on condition…
Anywhere in the range of five to six hundred dollars is fair for both the buyer and the seller.
- no, serial numbers on Gibsons are bewildering, at least until the 80’s when they intro’d the scheme you shared upthread. Gibsons are pretty much my favorite guitars (well, and a Tele!) but damn if they don’t find ways to mess with your mind. Don’t get me started on their vintage acoustics, most of which lacked SN’s and some of which had “FON’s” - Factory Order Numbers - which covered batches of guitars, not single ones, and which got reused!
In contrast, Martin has had the same SN system since the late 1800’s - their first 8,000 guitars didn’t have them but pretty much every one since then can be pinpointed. Having one of the first 100,000 numbered ones (so, from 8000 to 108000) is considered a big deal. That’s about 1949…
The look of that git seems more '02 than '76 - bet it plays well regardless, though…
As WordMan said, it’s mostly Gibsons that have serial number confusion. What can be even worse, as this guitar demonstrates, is figuring out what model you’re dealing with. The guitar that ZebraShaSha is asking about is obviously a Les Paul. It’s not a Standard or a Custom or a Studio or a Recording. It has some of the traits of a Special or a Junior, but Specials have P-90 pickups (I think!) and Juniors have a single pickup. This guitar appears to have two humbuckers.
I feel pretty confident about the 2002 date, but really have no idea what the exact model might be. My vintage guitar price guide lists more than 50 Les Paul variations, only a dozen or so of which are pictured. I would be really interested in what Austin Vintage Guitars has to say about it.
Can we have a shot of the front of the headstock? I have a theory: the ‘Gibson’ is just carved in and not inlaid. If so, it’s a Firebrand series. Though that had different tuners and a relocated switch. That all mahogany body screams low-end to me, though, no maple cap.
Probably just a Standard. (Still more expensive than any guitar I own)
While Specials are strongly associated with P-90 pickups since the guitar model was introduced with them, there have been many variants equipped with humbuckers.
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- no, serial numbers on Gibsons are bewildering, at least until the 80’s when they intro’d the scheme you shared upthread. Gibsons are pretty much my favorite guitars (well, and a Tele!) but damn if they don’t find ways to mess with your mind. Don’t get me started on their vintage acoustics, most of which lacked SN’s and some of which had “FON’s” - Factory Order Numbers - which covered batches of guitars, not single ones, and which got reused!
