Please help me value my 91 studio , totally out of touch with prices !

liamon

musteatbrain said:

I think you’ll probably get £700 for an early 90s studio in good condition these days because of the Ebony board and today’s high prices.

I’ve owned one from 94 since new. The finish has always been a bit slap dash and a lot were heavy, but mine has now got a great rock and roll natural relic look.

They seemed to go a bit downhill sometime in the late 90s. Not sure why, but the ones I tried with the rosewood board when they switched from Ebony around 94 just didn’t seem as nice.

I remember reading on somewhere like the Les Paul forum from a Gibson employee that in 91 they got caught by surprise by the demand for studios and ended up using some better wood than they originally planned for due lack of time to sort 

Yeah, rock maple tops on them. By all accounts these are fantastic guitars... 600 would be money well spent. 

ThePrettyDamned

riffpowers said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

It'll depend on fret wear as well. 20 year old frets are going to be somewhat worn unless it hasn't been played much. 

It’s hardly been played ! 

Careful wording that on the advert, you might want to give it a good clean and set up too - make it play good. Untouched guitars can be a bit rough around the edges, rough frets etc. 

To be honest, right now I'd be leaning towards the higher estimates on this thread. I'd have had it off you if you'd been selling maybe a month ago but I wound up with a new one... 

impmann

Its a flipper's market...

The pricks will hoover up all the reasonably priced guitars, then stick em back up for sale for a big mark up... then tell you "well, thats what they're worth".

No dickweed, thats what you are turning the market into.

They make my blood boil.

What is it worth to a musician who'll enjoy it? Probably about £650-700. But they'll probably be forced into paying more because of the above...

riffpowers

Just for clarity , I’m not a flipper , I’m a guitarist that doesn’t buy or sell much so I don’t the value of things. My other les Paul I’ve owned since bought new  in 1990!

gazrichards

riffpowers said:

Just for clarity , I’m not a flipper , I’m a guitarist that doesn’t buy or sell much so I don’t the value of things. My other les Paul I’ve owned since bought new  in 1990!

I am a flipper. I’ve sold over 60 guitars in the last year. You could say the flippers are the ones with their finger on the pulse. 

Put it up for £700 and it’ll be gone quick. Put it up for £500 and I’ll have it off you (and we all know what will happen to it after that!)

TINMAN82

gazrichards said:

riffpowers said:

Just for clarity , I’m not a flipper , I’m a guitarist that doesn’t buy or sell much so I don’t the value of things. My other les Paul I’ve owned since bought new  in 1990!

I am a flipper. I’ve sold over 60 guitars in the last year. You could say the flippers are the ones with their finger on the pulse. 

Put it up for £700 and it’ll be gone quick. Put it up for £500 and I’ll have it off you (and we all know what will happen to it after that!)

No surprises here.

TTBZ

It's really crazy how high prices are right now. I was looking at getting a Studio probably this time last year and they were about £600-700 tops if the condition was good. Same for the used PRS models I've been looking at. Similar models to my SG Standard are going for £800-900 right now. I'm half tempted to take advantage of it tbh then wait til it dies down again to buy it's replacement.

gazrichards

TTBZ said:

It's really crazy how high prices are right now. I was looking at getting a Studio probably this time last year and they were about £600-700 tops if the condition was good. Same for the used PRS models I've been looking at. Similar models to my SG Standard are going for £800-900 right now. I'm half tempted to take advantage of it tbh then wait til it dies down again to buy it's replacement.

What makes you think it will die down?
a new one is £1250. Charging less than half for a used one is mental. Shops have been charging into £800 for studios for a while so the open used market reaches similar heights. 

Why on earth would you list something for £500 when the only other ones for sale are all £700 plus?!?

impmann

gazrichards said:

TTBZ said:

It's really crazy how high prices are right now. I was looking at getting a Studio probably this time last year and they were about £600-700 tops if the condition was good. Same for the used PRS models I've been looking at. Similar models to my SG Standard are going for £800-900 right now. I'm half tempted to take advantage of it tbh then wait til it dies down again to buy it's replacement.

What makes you think it will die down?
a new one is £1250. Charging less than half for a used one is mental. Shops have been charging into £800 for studios for a while so the open used market reaches similar heights. 

Why on earth would you list something for £500 when the only other ones for sale are all £700 plus?!?

And most for sale by bedroom flippers trying to make money out of others... and bought for £500. 

But hey, what do we know...

gazrichards

impmann said:

gazrichards said:

TTBZ said:

It's really crazy how high prices are right now. I was looking at getting a Studio probably this time last year and they were about £600-700 tops if the condition was good. Same for the used PRS models I've been looking at. Similar models to my SG Standard are going for £800-900 right now. I'm half tempted to take advantage of it tbh then wait til it dies down again to buy it's replacement.

What makes you think it will die down?
a new one is £1250. Charging less than half for a used one is mental. Shops have been charging into £800 for studios for a while so the open used market reaches similar heights. 

Why on earth would you list something for £500 when the only other ones for sale are all £700 plus?!?

And most for sale by bedroom flippers trying to make money out of others... and bought for £500. 

But hey, what do we know...

Most........???
as if. Get over it, that’s the going rate. It’s totally dictated by the new price or the price set by shops. 

When I ran a guitar shop there was no way I would put a used version of a guitar up for £500 next to a new one for £1250. Partly because a customer ain’t coming in and letting me give him £350 in part ex for a guitar he knows sells new at £1250. 

gusman2x

I’ve always had a real soft spot for those wine red studios. I bought a studio gem in 96 (P90s), but have always had a small regret I didn’t buy a wine red studio instead. They’re quintessential 90s for me.  

gazrichards

gusman2x said:

I’ve always had a real soft spot for those wine red studios. I bought a studio gem in 96 (P90s), but have always had a small regret I didn’t buy a wine red studio instead. They’re quintessential 90s for me.  

The gems are “rare” and sought after  by some. Can command quite a premium. It’s a good les paul with p90s that they only did for a couple of years. The recent tribute stuff wasn’t anywhere near as good (it’s literally a typically good era for Gibson vs a bad one. 

I thought they were super cool when they came out. 

gusman2x

gazrichards said:

gusman2x said:

I’ve always had a real soft spot for those wine red studios. I bought a studio gem in 96 (P90s), but have always had a small regret I didn’t buy a wine red studio instead. They’re quintessential 90s for me.  

The gems are “rare” and sought after  by some. Can command quite a premium. It’s a good les paul with p90s that they only did for a couple of years. The recent tribute stuff wasn’t anywhere near as good (it’s literally a typically good era for Gibson vs a bad one. 

I thought they were super cool when they came out. 

Yeah you’re right, and my one is a good one as well, probably the best sounding guitar I’ve owned. 

TTBZ

gazrichards said:

TTBZ said:

It's really crazy how high prices are right now. I was looking at getting a Studio probably this time last year and they were about £600-700 tops if the condition was good. Same for the used PRS models I've been looking at. Similar models to my SG Standard are going for £800-900 right now. I'm half tempted to take advantage of it tbh then wait til it dies down again to buy it's replacement.

What makes you think it will die down?
a new one is £1250. Charging less than half for a used one is mental. Shops have been charging into £800 for studios for a while so the open used market reaches similar heights. 

Why on earth would you list something for £500 when the only other ones for sale are all £700 plus?!?

When I was looking at selling it before they were all going for about £600-700 max so the price seems to have gone up about £200 which I had put down to the Covid bubble, factories not being able to keep up so higher demand on the used market. I was thinking this time next year the prices could go back down again. Could be wrong though maybe it's just inflation. It was £999 new when I bought it 10 years ago so £900 seems a lot but Gibson do keep value quite well too I suppose!

TDubs

gusman2x said:

I’ve always had a real soft spot for those wine red studios. I bought a studio gem in 96 (P90s), but have always had a small regret I didn’t buy a wine red studio instead. They’re quintessential 90s for me.  

I’d completely forgotten about these gems. Just searched the web to see one again. Reminds me of being a young teen, reading Total Guitar and dreaming of owning one some day.

liamon

I remember watching a guy who had 2 early 90s studios for auction on eBay. Just checked my email for the prices because I remember them being staggering. A white 92 studio went for £1,648 - this was 2019. Madness. 

TINMAN82

liamon said:

I remember watching a guy who had 2 early 90s studios for auction on eBay. Just checked my email for the prices because I remember them being staggering. A white 92 studio went for £1,648 - this was 2019. Madness. 

There’s usually a margin above which a majority of buyers wouldn’t pay because they might as well buy the brand new one. For me, that would be around £750-800 (assuming excellent condition and the right finish) if the new price is £1250.

At £1,600 +, buy a standard. Or refinish a cheap studio in any colour you like. I doubt that wood used on studios was uniformly superior in any measurable way in ‘92 and they’d still have been multi-piece bodies. Ebony fingerboards are subjective. Bonkers.

ThePrettyDamned

TINMAN82 said:

liamon said:

I remember watching a guy who had 2 early 90s studios for auction on eBay. Just checked my email for the prices because I remember them being staggering. A white 92 studio went for £1,648 - this was 2019. Madness. 

There’s usually a margin above which a majority of buyers wouldn’t pay because they might as well buy the brand new one. For me, that would be around £750-800 (assuming excellent condition and the right finish) if the new price is £1250.

At £1,600 +, buy a standard. Or refinish a cheap studio in any colour you like. I doubt that wood used on studios was uniformly superior in any measurable way in ‘92 and they’d still have been multi-piece bodies. Ebony fingerboards are subjective. Bonkers.

I've seen, recently, the 80s, 90s, 2000s and the last decade all referred to in adverts as a "great era" or words to that effect. 

Us guitarists are right suckers! 

riffpowers

I have a real soft spot for 90’s gibsons , I’ve never played one that I didn’t think was less than fantastic!

Voxman

riffpowers said:

I have a real soft spot for 90’s gibsons , I’ve never played one that I didn’t think was less than fantastic!

Cant speak for the rest but my 1990 LP Custom, Tobacco Sunburst, is a cracking guitar.