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My impression is that back then, it was pretty much 'you'll have what we make' - akin to the Henry Ford quote about any colour you want as long as it's black.
Easy for us to look at retail now, with massive market research budgets, and assume retailers have always been aware of customer needs when things have clearly changed vastly.
I do remember a manky mid 50s Goldtop (p90s) in Wing Music back in the 80s. Also there was a similar aged Les Paul Custom that was in the Guitar Factory in Bexley a little later (I very nearly bought a 1960s SG junior they had - fitted with a genuine Zermatis bridge for £325… those were the days).
But you did occasionally see bursts (probably the same ones) in Macaris and Andy’s Guitar workshop back then. I still remember the 1960 335 in Andy’s that was allegedly ex Andy Summers.
And then there was Greenie sat on a guitar stand in Chandlers in Kew having been fixed post Gary’s car crash….
So, no you didn’t see many
As has been said earlier, Mike Long could have potentially paid £5k. It is greatly to his credit he did not. Dealers are often viewed with suspicion- I wonder what proportion of the general public would have made the same choice.
I'm not a particular follower of Jo Bonamassa's music, he's certainly a fine player, but it's gratifying to see these instruments being used for the purpose for which they were manufactured and I'm sure it will be optimally maintained and conserved.
With regard to whether they are good value, or something else might represent better value, the only relevant opinions are those of people with sufficient disposable funds to afford them.
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife/original-early-1960-gibson-les-7065457
Mike has sold the guitar to the American artist Joe Bonamassa who was playing two nights at the Royal Albert Hall last week. He said: “We took it to show him and he bought it on the spot.
“He will take it back to Nashville to get his people to restore it.” He declined to say how much he had paid the woman for the guitar but said he had sold it to Joe for between £150,000 and £200,000.
So the elephant in the room is how much did the woman get ? 50k ? 70k ?
I would also venture to say that this is probably one of the least attractive Bursts out there in its current state. The top is interesting but not flamey, the top will be scarred from the Bigsby and the other plugged holes, the pickups have been altered and it's generally something of a basket case, however much mojo it appears to have.
It's not at all outside the realms of possibility that ATB purchased the guitar before they had a buyer for it and, for the aforementioned reasons, they would needed to have been conservative in their valuation.
Let's be frank: this is a rare story where everyone wins, apart from the guy who sold the guitar for £50 in the 70s!
But maybe the women did not want it publicising ?
I was shocked it fetched over 250k in that state,needs a refret ,original parts to be sourced at a premium price , covers missing ,1 zebra,1 double cream doesn't look good to me ,holes when the bigsby is removed and a poor top as mentioned earlier
I would have thought 110k tops.
If and a huge IF at that, that the woman acquired £50K then it is still far more than she ever thought it was worth prior to getting some professional help - But that is not what has happened and not a credible point
Few comments on this post imply a rob dogging capitalist thief has taken advantage of an unaware owner - That is not the case - With ATB's contacts in the USA, he could have purchased it for 5K ish, got it to the USA to a major show - effectively sold it behind the scenes to another dealer/guitar collector and no one would have ever known about the whole story and how it got from an unaware father/daughter to an international rock star - It would have just been Jo's acquired another guitar with no info as to where it came from - Actually I believe J likes such history to go with his purchases - But my point is that many USA dealers/collectors would have purchased it at a show from Mike and no one on FB etc etc would have ever ever known about it
As others have implied on this post, if it was advertised for 5K in a local paper and/or even on a social buying/selling site, how many 'of us' would have purchased it for 5K and taken full advantage of the situation - I dare say quite a few would have done so
Mike and ATB have been upfront regarding the whole process, be it via social media and/or local press - The lady/father owner will see all this - Know the score and be paid an acceptable fee accordingly - Not sure what the issue is here with some basic upfront capitalism
by the way, I’ve played three bursts over the years, one was incredible, one was meh and the other was actually utter crap (but had had some of the greatest music ever recorded played on it). My experience of pre-CBS Strats is pretty much in line with this (although more extensive). The best Strat I have ever owned (or played) came out of Fullerton in 1972. Go figure.
1. I have never accused atb of anything .
2. Just a genuine question wondering how much the lady got,which has turned me into public enemy no1.
3. I'll mind my own business and not come back to this thread.