FINEST GUITARS

Gibson 1969 Les Paul Custom “Black Beauty’

This weeks highlighted eBay auction sale of the week is a Gibson 1969 Les Paul "Black Beauty" The eBay seller "kvibe13"  did such a great job in his auction description that we are taking the unusual step of posting his auction description word for word.  In this case the seller provides information that all collectors of Gibson Les Paul guitars may find interesting.  This was the sellers description.

" Im offering this early 1969 LES PAUL CUSTOM “BLACK BEAUTY”, in ALL ORIGINAL NEAR MINT CONDITION. It was a one owner guitar before me, and has seen very limited use. It's amazingly clean, a jewel of a Les Paul in the best condition I've ever seen from a guitar of 68-69, the last year before Gibson was sold to CMI/Norlin. The previous owner had it in the closet from when his father bought it for him at age 14 forty years ago. Barely played, still shiny bright and new looking, you dream about finding a collectable vintage guitar like this. They are out there, good luck. Some things are priceless, and this is one of them. It is a centerpiece for any collection.
THE GUITAR HAS A ONE PIECE NECK AND ONE PIECE BODY WITH A LONG NECK TENON. Big value distinction from the later more common 3 pc neck ‘69s with the short transitional tenon. The pot dates are 1376850, or Dec 8-14,1968, which indicates a very early 1969 manufacture. It has the same one piece construction as a '68 (and a '59) including maple cap applied after routing. The only difference being the Gibson Logo with no dot on the “i”, and inside the electronics cavity it has one of the rounded curves squared off. The prevailing theory is that some '68s/ early 69's were built with leftover bodies from after the original LP shape discontinued 1960. Very believable from the sound of this one.
Then there are the ORIGINAL PRE T-TOP HUMBUCKERS. These are the second version of the PAFs, but with the pat # on the stickers instead of "pat applied for". The same in materials and construction, no "T" and one square and one round hole on the side of the bobbins. Pinkish purple wire visible within. They are virtually PAFs in every way except sticker. Its so incredibly rare that these pickups somehow made it into this guitar in 1969, again prevailing knowledge holds that the gold humbuckers were used on so few models that many hung around the factory after '62-'64 when they were made. The tone from them is simply outstanding, a classic Les Paul honk that is so recognizable from your favorite 70s bands. They capture every nuance of the pick attack in the special way PAFs do. And all the mounting hardware is original.
In the control cavity, CTS pots numbered 1376850, Sprague black beauty caps with untouched solder joints and wire.
There is NO checking, no scratches, belt rash, neck finish wear, fret wear, almost zero play wear on the top or back. The nitrocellulous finish retains all of its original gloss, looking like a mirror. ALL THE ORIGINAL PARTS AND HARDWARE ARE THERE, EVERY LAST SCREW. Gold Sealfast (waffleback) tuners are like new, smooth and tight, headstock tuner routing holes untouched. Gold witch hat knobs with the gold numbers unworn and fully legible, gold pat. # bridge with ALL the original plastic saddles and foundry mark, super lightweight gold tailpiece, original 5 ply pickguard. It remains absolutely the same as when it left Kalamazoo in 1969, having hibernated for 40 years in the original marigold lined case (also in excellent condition) with the fully intact owners manual. THE EBONY FRETBOARD, BINDING, AND INLAYS ARE ALL PERFECT. The binding has aged dramatically to a deep yellow-ivory. The frets are in amazing condition, never crowned or filed. Fully working truss rod. Sighting down the neck, it is absolutely laser strait on both sides. THE ACTION IS AS LOW AS IVE EVER SEEN ON ANY GUITAR with no buzzes or dead spots up and down. It seems to get louder going further up on the neck, like magic. Its a true testament to the skills of the artisans at Gibson during that time just before the sale of the company. THE WEIGHT IS UNDER 9 LBS, a nice lighter weight as these tend to run 10+ LBs.
To be absurdly critical, the tailpiece has some wear to the gold finish. The gold hardware on the bridge has some mild oxidation, about 85% gold remaining. On the back, a little slight shirt button scuffing and a couple of tiny dents, not very noticable except on an angle in bright light, and some edge finish flaking, from age not playwear. On top, two miniscule indented dings, one on the upper treble bout, one pencil tip sized on the lower bass bout, two small dings on the headstock, treble PU ring is warped slightly, all in the pics, see if you can see them. Otherwise it's mint. The pickguard has some abrasion, but after all that's why it's there. Gold pickup covers are off and in the case, it really does sound better without them. It has a “2” under the serial # but at this uber-vintage level it really doesn’t matter.
THERE ARE NO CRACKS, BREAKS, REPAIRS, MODS, REFINISH OR OVERSPRAY. Everything works perfectly, there are no issues.
You could pay more for a modern day Gibson, like the Page reissue, or a burst replica. Theres also another mint '69 LPC up on ebay for around this price, but it’s a 3 piece neck, not nearly as valuable. This one is museum quality, its a frozen moment in time and a true work of art. As a pure investment and a hedge against inflation you cant do better than this, and you will have a huge amount of fun playing this while it appreciates. Just holding this guitar in your hands is priceless, you cannot believe the feeling of joy, only burst owners could possibly know similar gratification."

This vintage Gibson guitar sold for $18,500 on February 26,2010.  There are many great Gibson guitars for sale every week on eBay auctions.

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Vintage Fender Guitar 1969 Fender Telecaster Custom

A vintage fender guitar sold at auction this week on eBay was one of four highest price sold vintage Fender guitars sold in the past week. Olivia's Vintage at http://www.oliviasvintageguitars.com presented this original 1969 Fender Telecaster Custom in an original Sunburst finish. Owner reported a great playing neck with good frets. It was all original and 100% complete including its original bridge cover and original hardshell case. There were minor nicks + dings and other minor cosmetic wear. The treble side of the body had the most wear as that area had been touched up long ago. All electronics work and sounded amazing with all original solder joints. This vintage fender telecaster sold for $11,900 on February 16 2010. Check the guitar auctions here on eBay and find a vintage Fender guitar to suit your collector and playing tastes.

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1956 Fender Esquire Guitar Highlight of The Week

This weeks highlighted eBay guitar auction is a 1956 Fender Esquire guitar sold along with a 1956 Fender Champ amplifier. This unit has been refinished and the amp electronics needed work along with the owner suggesting the guitar be cleaned. Other than the refinishing and a non original pick guard the unit was original. This auction started with an opening bid of $9.95, resulting in 30 bids and a winning price of $8,100. The auction closed on February 1, 2010.

Vintage Fender 1969 Rosewood Telecaster Guitar

Our highlight this week is another example of the great auctions on eBay in the vintage guitar category. This weeks highlight is an auction for a 1969 Fender Rosewood Telecaster. This original condition rare guitar featured a natural finish on the rosewood body, rosewood neck, and fret board with dot inlays. This Telecaster reflected only light playing wear and came with the original black Tolex hard case. This nice light 7.5 pound Tele is just like the rosewood Tele George Harrison played. This rosewood beauty sold on January 29, 2010 for $14,800 after 10 bidders started with bidding at $6500. Follow the guitar auctions on eBay for more great vintage Fender guitar auctions.

Vintage 1957 Fender Guitar Sale of The Week

This week we are highlighting a Vintage Fender guitar sold on eBay January 21, 2010 for $6,900. This guitar held our interest because of the amount of information the seller provided in the auction listing, and in response to questions. We are providing the information here since it may be educational and informative for those that love and collect these vintage Fender guitars This information is provided from the eBay auction listing.

"This auction is for a 1957 Fender Esquire Guitar ( ser # -17773 ) with the orig tweed case and its 1959 Fender Champ Tweed Amp Type 5FI ( ser # C10017 ) . This is not a re-issue, it’s the real thing. The guitar , amp and it’s tweed case has all their original parts completely, even the ash tray, in very nice shape. The body was contoured , probably in the 60’s as the finish is that old and the Jeff Beck contour was popular back then. Check out this Fender Custom Shop reissue ( at $15G ) at the Elderly site http://www.elderly.com/fmic/items/FCSJBESQ.htm Other than the period Beck Mod and a single MOP dot added to the neck ( see the pics ) , it is all original and plays, feels, sounds and works great. It has some nicks & wear marks on the bod as you would expect from a fifty three year old guitar but it’s not anything rough, no cracks or gouges or such bad stuff. I describe it as similar to a 57’ Chevy that was hot rodded in the 60’s. It’s not the value of a mint original, but it is very desirable and better than a recent refinish , as it is still a “period” mod that was done when it was “just” a great guitar. Ash could certainly be added back and a pro refin done, I thought about doing it, but it is a correct period Beck mod and very cool as it is. There is the history of this type of mod done back then, and it actually does make it pretty comfy to play. It is not a very heavy contour, it was done only to the bass side and the outline of the body is exactly right. The case is in great shape as is the amp, which also works great. I see a set like this that is original finish for $29,500 on ebay, and a refin 50’s Esquire by itself is in the mid teens these days after the economy adjusted the pricing. I have put the starting price on this without a reserve above it at a reasonable $7500 that is sure to go up in value as the economy gets back into shape. It is rare, a great guitar and as cool as can be, so bid often and seriously, as another as complete as this will certainly not be coming by your way again soon.

ADDED INFO ON THE GUITAR...I have been asked about THE M.O.P. DOT that was added to the fretboard...my bet is the dot is a clue to the individual who did it & the guitar norms of the times. He was prob a veteran older player at the time...its fifty years since that was done when the guitar was fairly new & that guitar influences us strongly still today. At the time the dot was done, just 40 to 50 years before that the parlor guitars from Chicago & the Boston makers sometimes used a dot in that position, which was at the end of the romantic era guitar details that went out of vogue with the end of romantic tunes popularity. My bet is the person who modified the guitar was a middle aged guy who had learned to play on guitars with that dot & needed it as a point of reference when playing."

If you are looking for vintage Fender guitars search the eBay auctions and find one that you can own at an "economy adjusted price" as the owner of this highlighted auction states in his listing copy. Nothing could be closer to the truth, since the down economy has affected collectible guitar prices. Don't forget in the US economy what goes down come back up and there are some excellent buys out there today.

Vintage Martin Guitar Sold On eBay

Our highlight eBay sale of the week this past week is a vintage Martin D-28 guitar vintage 1960. This second owner guitar was reported to be in near perfect condition with just a few light pick-stroke marks. The Brazilian Rosewood back and sides had the rich red-streaked chocolate colored markings on the book-matched back and sides and the Sikta top had great grain and silk, with the woods being typical of the model D 28's being crafted at the time. The guitar was sold with it's alligator grain original hard shell case on October 29, 2009 for $7999.99.

Vintage Martin Guitars

Vintage 1962 Fender Precision Bass Electric Guitar

1962-Vintage-Fender-Guitar

This week we are highlighting a Vintage Fender Guitar as the sale of the week on eBay. This 1962 completely original unit sold for $11,279 on October 24, 2009. The vintage guitar sales action of ebay continues every week as motivated buyers search for rare guitars in the largest setting for guitar auctions on the planet. This unit motivated 37 bidders to pursue a piece of guitar history. Check back here often to review what is happening with rare guitar sales.<--noadsense-->

Vintage Martin Guitar 1939 Model D-18

Vintage Martin Guitar, Martin d-18

Vintage Martin guitars don't often make our highlight sale of the week feature, because frankly there are not that many of them trading hands.  This past week one of the higher dollar value auctions of a Martin acoustic guitar transpired on eBay when a 1939 model D-18 vintage guitar sold for $22,000.  This guitar was a two owner guitar and in completely original condition.  For those not familiar with the D-18 Martin guitar it has a spruce top, mahogany body and has an awesome sound.  Followers of music history may know that Elvis Presley used a WW-II era Martin Model D-18 as his main guitar during much of the 1950's.  Check back here for other Martin guitar auctions on eBay.

Vintage Gibson Guitar Sale of the Week

This weeks sale of the week  is a 1956 Vintage Gibson Les Paul Guitar.  This solid body electric guitar was originally a "gold top" and had been refinished in cherry sunburst finish.  The guitar had been refretted and the ABR-1 bridge had been changed.  The owner sold this guitar along with it's original Lifton 4-latch hard shell case, for $15,000 on an eBay auction October 5, 2009.  eBay auctions have one of the largest selections in the world when it comes to vintage Gibson guitars.

Vintage Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty

It's been almost a month since we updated our "Highlight of the week" which features the highest selling price vintage guitar on eBay for the previous week.  This past week another Gibson Les Paul takes the spotlight with a selling price of $8269 after 25 bids, this 1968-69 custom "Black Beauty" sold on September 30, 2009.  This guitar was completely original with original solder joints on the pots which were dated the last week of 1968.  Several prospective bidders had questions regarding the construction which the owner clarified as follows; one piece body,three piece top, and three piece neck.  There are great vintage guitar selections on eBay every week and this past week was no exception.