1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom value??

flyingv

https://i.imgur.com/bZ5JtR0.jpg https://i.imgur.com/gSNOfwr.jpg https://i.imgur.com/r0DGI0T.jpg https://i.imgur.com/TAWo7gv.jpg https://i.imgur.com/qa5If1o.jpg https://i.imgur.com/pqckcmO.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zPMA6v3.jpg Possible trade on horizon? just wondering the value of this Custom?? Not the best colour IMO' but never the less'

She's been re fretted about 8 years ago?? still great shape, but obviously no nibs now.. usual wear and tear for a 40 + year old guitar...... BUT....... there is what seems to be a crack near the headstock? which the owner says has been there ever since he bought it' and the luthier that  done the fret work, said it was sound'  with no movement?? Tuning is stable'  but hmm? I don't know until I've seen it in the flesh?

So taking this into account, what would be the rough price of something like this?? Cheers.

guitars4you

certainly a crack of some kind on the headstock whih will have significant impact on the price - Do you know when it happened, who repaired it and if it is a professional repair job - Certainly could have been finished better to minimise how it looks and this tends to lead me into thinking it might not be the best repair job as it stands

If it was all clean then an LP Custom from that period might have fetched £2500/2800 and I've seen them north of that - As it stands you might struggle to get £1500 for it - I'd be tempted to have it at least 're-finished' on the headstock area and re-repaired after the opinions of a good tech

BloodEagle

Personally I wouldn’t want it with that crack in the headstock, but if it’s been repaired well and verified by a decent guy probably £1200-£1400 max 

ellwood

BloodEagle said:

Personally I wouldn’t want it with that crack in the headstock, but if it’s been repaired well and verified by a decent guy probably £1200-£1400 max 

Colour and the cracked headstock are definitely against it. Agree with @BloodEagle ;

flyingv

cheers fellas' luthier who done the fretwork / checked it over was a guy called Colin Fulton, Fulton Guitars???

ellwood

flyingv said:

cheers fellas' luthier who done the fretwork / checked it over was a guy called Colin Fulton, Fulton Guitars???

If it is coming in in trade I guess the question of value is more one of if you actually want the guitar, or if you want the hassle of trying to get rid of it if you don't want it personally?

bodhi

ellwood said:

BloodEagle said:

Personally I wouldn’t want it with that crack in the headstock, but if it’s been repaired well and verified by a decent guy probably £1200-£1400 max 

Colour and the cracked headstock are definitely against it. Agree with @BloodEagle ;

Wonder how much it weighs?  Those can be quite hefty.

Honestly, there are so many fine guitars out there that personally I just steer clear of any headstock repairs.  Not worth the potential uncertainty to me.

shefguitar

bodhi said:

Honestly, there are so many fine guitars out there that personally I just steer clear of any headstock repairs.  Not worth the potential uncertainty to me.

I’m the opposite - I don’t mind at all if repaired properly and it means you can get a hefty discount on what the guitar would usually be worth. Had about 3 guitars over the years with headstock repairs and not a single problem.

guitars4you

shefguitar said:

bodhi said:

Honestly, there are so many fine guitars out there that personally I just steer clear of any headstock repairs.  Not worth the potential uncertainty to me.

I’m the opposite - I don’t mind at all if repaired properly and it means you can get a hefty discount on what the guitar would usually be worth. Had about 3 guitars over the years with headstock repairs and not a single problem.

The re-fret should enhance the playing performance if a good re-fret - If repaired well and the price is good then shouldn't present an issue, but you do tend to get  lot of negatives towards such issues - However if the guitar possesses other key attributes players like, then as a 'players grade' guitar there will be less of an issue to sell but IMO still needs to be under £1500 and play like 'butter'

HarrySeven

I love headstock-busted Norlin LP's - as long as it's solid (and at a decent price), I'd be more than happy with it. If the price were right, that would be my ideal Custom.

Funkfingers

HarrySeven said:

my ideal Custom.

Wot? In that colour? 

I know somebody who has a '77 Custom, sans headstock break, that he rarely uses and really ought to sell.

Voxman

Take my advice - steer clear.   Buying something like this means you'll likely be taking on extra risk, work & cost.  The best way to win this game is not to play.  I've made mistakes in the past and now I only buy used gear that's near pristine - it's also a reflection of how well it's been looked after.   As pointed out, there are plenty of good LP's to choose from out there that can be had for a decent price. 

Jez6345789

I feel there is a certain irony in a velouted headstock Norlin Era Les Paul with a repaired neck. 

As for value, will leave that to the experts but as much as these can be stable and better than new unless I was getting the deal from hell I would rather walk away as they are always trouble to move on. 

regards jez

flyingv

Thanks for the comments chaps' going to steer clear I think? Sooner a real one (Black) tbh.

HarrySeven

Funkfingers said:

HarrySeven said:

my ideal Custom.

Wot? In that colour? 

I know somebody who has a '77 Custom, sans headstock break, that he rarely uses and really ought to sell.

Yes, in that colour, lol.

Re. ‘77 LPC - do tell.

HarrySeven

To all the naysayers - understand your position, but (from my perspective - as they wouldn’t be moved on), as long as the price was right, I’d seek out a neck repair job over a pristine example every time.

musteatbrain

Cracking the neck badly on my strat and getting it fixed (cheers feline) has shown me it’s not a big deal if repaired well.
I can’t tell the difference to how it was before.
headstock breaks would no longer put me off any guitar. There’s enough people on here that can fix stuff properly if things break

Funkfingers

HarrySeven said:

as long as the price was right, I’d seek out a neck repair job over a pristine example every time.

A skilled luthier can make a repair in which the glue bond will be stronger than the wood fibre to either side of it. In that sense, a repaired neck is no more vulnerable to future breakage than an original one.

The difficult aspect is the expectation from some customers that any repair should be undetectable. 

HarrySeven said:

Re. ‘77 LPC - do tell.

Go to Hull. (That's where the guitar is.)

webrthomson

I quite like that Custom - I'd gig that till it squealed for mercy

lamf68

The only Guitar I have owned that I truly loved was my 74 Custom, I loved it so much I sold it!!! I never felt worthy of it, it was absolutely stunning to play, everything was original including the Fretless Wonder frets, which most people haven’t a clue about! They were so thin and flat it required zero effort to fret anything, and the sound it made was incredible. I’ve since owned numerous customs and even had Marc at Mojo make me replica t-tops to go in them as they are such a meaty pup. I contacted the fella I sold it to about a year after the sale begging to take it back but the pleb had re-fretted  it so he could do some of that Gay bending shit! He wouldn’t sell anyway, seriously mate, if you fancy that I’d not be bothered about the neck break, it’s obviously been repaired just needs a paint job. For anyone who’s owned a 74 they’ll know the difference in them to anything after, I’m convinced as soon as they switched to them decals for serial numbers in 75 they went whiffy.