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 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.

Vintage Gibson Les Paul Special TV Yellow

Vintage-Gibson-Acoustic Guitar

A vintage acoustic guitar sale highlight this past week is a 1958 Gibson Les Paul Special TV Yellow.   1958 was the last year of the single cut Les Paul Special and features two of Gibson's P-90 pickups.  This guitar is a second owner piece and was in all original condition and should continue to increase in value since only a small number of 1958 special single-cuts were produced.  This vintage guitar sold for $10,500 on eBay on August 25, 2009.

1961 Gibson SG Les Paul Standard Highlight Sale of the Week

This weeks vintage guitar sale of the week is a 1961 Gibson SG Les Paul in Cherry. The dual Humbuckers yielded plenty of vintage tone as reported by the owner. The seller rated the guitar as very good 8/10. The guitar sold for $12,695.95 in eBay auction on March 30, 2009

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1964 Gibson Firebird III Reverse, Sale of The Week

This 1964 Gibson Firebird was in orginal condition when sold, with orginal pots and no splits or cracks  and a solid body. It is of the reverse style (treble horn longer than the base horn).  The owner reported several minor items including one pickup that wasn't working. This used Gibson guitar sold on ebay auction for $8,000 on February 4, 2009.  There are many used Gibson guitars for sale every day on ebay.  Check out the selection here. Gibson Guitars For Sale

Gibson Black Beauty Highlighted Sale Of The Week

Vintage Gibson guitars continue to command top dollar in auctions of vintage guitars on ebay Vintage Guitars. This weeks highlighted sale of a vintage guitar is a 1956 Gibson Les Paul Custom in excellent collector condition. This vintage Gibson sold for $23,000 on January 13, 2009.

1956 Vintage Gibson Guitar