A friend of mine mentioned he is thinking of selling his guitar as it's not used much anymore. It's a 1960 or 1961 les Paul deluxe. It's in cherry. As he is not really up to date with guitars and value etc, I am helping him think about it.
I have not seen the instrument, not that I am an expert in Lester's, but have every reason to believe it's genuine and in decent condition. So my first move will be to get the serial number and call Gibson.
He believes it may have been owned by a famous (local) musician but can't prove it. Would this add any value?
What would be the preferred route of sale- FB classifieds, dealer, auction or other?
Finally, what might might the value be? I think the market is weak at the moment but does this apply to these kinds of instruments?
Any advice welcome and thanks in advance
An official Foo liked guitarist since 2024
Comments
Any provenance must have documentation, not just hearsay to affect the value.
Condition matters a lot of course.
Regarding '60 -'61, a '60 would be a single cut and a '61 an SG IIRC.
If he believes it's been owned by someone famous, there may be ways of authenticating it through photos (especially if it has an distinguishing marks or grain patterns) well worth doing if it was, say, Keef. Not so much if it's the depping guitarist of Take That.
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/members/jfm07-albums-other-pics-picture39968-73-cherry-lp-deluxe.bmp
There are some 'know it alls' and actual experts on the Myles Paul forum and the proper grumpy anal experts reside on lespaulforum.com
Whilst it's not a vintage mortgageable model, there are some cool 'pancake' bodied norlin era Lesters about. Do the proper research and for heaven sake play the damn thing a lot first. If it's a good one you'll know.