Hey,
Some bro is selling a Gibson Sonex 180 body and neck for $100, is it worth dicking with?
I have no hands-on experience so i don't know if these play good or not. I liek the way they look.
Up for sale is a cool old restorable Gibson guitar. This is an original 1981 Gibson Sonex-180 Deluxe. This is only a body and neck with tuners and bridge studs. I dont have the pickguard, electronics, bridge pieces, or nut. You can get the pickguards on Ebay and all over the web. The bridges are just standard tunomatic and the electronics can be whatever you want to use since everything is pickguard mounted. There is some fretboard seperation that leads into a crack at the upper part of the fretboard towards the nut. This is an easy fix with some wood glue and a clamp. You can apply the wood glue with a syringe so you dont need to open the crack up more. I planned to restore this guitar and do a silverburst paint job on it but dont have time. We have a new baby on the way and I dont want to leave it hanging on my wall for as long as it would have to before I could get to it. Where else will you find an American made Gibson that is near 30 years old for $100.00. If you love to bring old and abused guitars back to life then this one is for you. My price is fair and firm. Call me at 423-715-7920 if youd like to take a look. Thank-Dave
If the neck is good it's a deal. The body is some kind of resin coated crap but as long as you don't sand through the thick outer layer you're good to go.
I can't really attest to the deluxes, which were the cheapest ones. The bodies are all the same, and they do have a nice sustain to them, strange combination of being heavy as fuck and the massive route... quite loud acoustically. But the necks differed in quality. My Custom has a nice three-piece maple neck with an ebony fretboard. Teh deluxes were made out of some mystery wood, possibly even the same crap as the bodies if you believe some of the online reviews. I'm personally a sucker for a heavy guitar... and its a more interesting project than an Epi or something, but I wouldn't pay much for it. For many people the appeal of the Sonex is in the pickups (Velvet Bricks or Dirty Fingers) and having a super cheap Gibson.
It's not a bad deal if you have $100. I mean, that is not a terrible price for anything with a neck sticking out. If you hate it you could easily get your money back or most of it.
