I know the general consensus being that older guitars definitely does not mean better. And in some cases this can be quite the contrary.
But I've been offered a 58 LP Jnr refin for my CS 52' Tele and my CS VOS 61' SG, both of which are for sale.
I've never actually played a vintage guitar and obviously would want to have a good play of it first. I think, for that fact, I'm more curious about this trade than I otherwise would have been.
Knowing full well that there will be a range of different opinions on this, I was just wonder what peoples intuitions are on such a deal?
Here is a link to the guitar:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/vintage-1958-gibson-les-paul-junior-tv-/1475433799
Comments
Youve got to be mad (maybe with the caveat that if you’ve played it and it’s a genuine stunner there’s slightly more sense)
If your guitars are for sale anyway you’re not losing anything, and a Junior (edit - not this one) will almost certainly not go down in value or be difficult to sell if you don’t like it. It may not be as good a guitar or as versatile as the two you have, but that means nothing in the market.
Obviously that depends on it being genuine - looking on a bigger screen, and with what @jumping@shadows said, I’m not sure it is. Not anywhere near enough to swap two £3K guitars for it, at the least.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I should show my hand here and say I'm not especially interested in vintage guitars - that isn't to say I wouldn't buy one but I wouldn't do so at the expense of my other guitars.
In the course of writing this I'm acknowledging to myself I'm pretty happy with what I have, but sadly the GAS is still ever-present :-)
Ill post what he thinks when he replies.
But it’s all a personal choice, you might really like LP Juniors and want a 50s one and that’s your prerogative.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I have nothing whatsoever against a player grade non original old guitar - Often they can end up being a better player than an original example - But the most important aspect is that you need to play it and enjoy the experience that it offers - If it doesn't feel/play/sound right then it is not for you
Your 2 guitars probably have a used value pushing 6K - Don't know what your thought process is, if yous ell them - Are you buying another guitar - Need the cash for other bills etc - Some players are turned on by such old guitars, but old doesn't always mean good and often they are not good at all
Tree carefully - But if it gives you some wow factor as/when you play it then that is good
My worry would be - did a headstock break cause the loss of wood on that side ... and what is under that finish in the critical area?
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Looks pretty authentic to me, although the logo seems a bit blocky, but they were screen printing them, so that might explain it.
Plus the logo and Les Paul silkscreen are non original, so again don’t indicate much.
The critical detail is the flattened back of the headstock/neck transition, and that completely incorrect wire channel leading from the control cavity to the pickup route.
I buy and work on guitars exactly like this day in day out, and I wouldn’t touch this one.
I'd want to see the pictures before the refinish and I want to know who did it.
(formerly customkits)