ShortScale.org

Only $265,000 (link)

Wow, that's clean.

It looks fake. I'm sure it's not, but yeah, I can think of way better uses for $265K.

Of course you can. I can think of better uses for $2500 than a current production Les Paul, or for whatever ridiculous amount of money Rickenbacker want for that crap they're putting out after you promise Xenu it'll never go on eBay.
The economy has taken its toll on the holy grail for sure. That thing might've gone for $500,000 a few years ago.

I remember when it seemed crazy that these late 50s Standards were selling for as much as $3000

That guitar is just stunning. That figured maple top is insanlely gorgeous!

I've read somewhere about a man who worked in a guitar store when a "vintage rush" began. He said that people had a tendency to buy Les Pauls with beautiful tops, such Pauls became very expensive really fast, while really good sounding Pauls with plain tops cost relatively cheap. He tried to convince buyers to save their money and to buy a better sounding instrument, but nobody listened him.

when collecting, go for the pretty looking valueable guitar, not the one that sounds better, and besides. sounding "better" is purely subjective, its just an opinion. its not fact.
a AAAA curly maple top is in FACT very rare on a les paul and therefor worth MORE just becuz of the rarity.
i rmemeber seeing a 50's les paul in hollywood for 99,000 in 2009. i thought it was alot, but it was a pretty clean lil guitar and sounded decent( i just hit some of the strings open when no one was looking.)

Check out the prices on Guitar Trader in 1978

robert(original) wrote:when collecting, go for the pretty looking valueable guitar, not the one that sounds better, and besides. sounding "better" is purely subjective, its just an opinion. its not fact.
a AAAA curly maple top is in FACT very rare on a les paul and therefor worth MORE just becuz of the rarity.
i rmemeber seeing a 50's les paul in hollywood for 99,000 in 2009. i thought it was alot, but it was a pretty clean lil guitar and sounded decent( i just hit some of the strings open when no one was looking.)

Yes, I think you are right about subjectivity and about rarity. I just think that visual attraction of the instrument is very important, at least for me, but it is not the main value of any musical instrument. People pay crazy money for the icons of rock'n'roll.

Pretty much the way collector trends go... the only people who would place this guitar at such a value are the old foggies who can afford them, as they tend to be at the height/end of their career, have no debt, and start to think about their bucket list a bit more seriously.

Of course young players appreciate the old guitars too, but it takes actual nostalgia to make something worth this price, and the young will always see the value in some of the less popular guitars from that era that are bargains compared to this Then you have the people who can afford it and just want them because they're the most expensive and therefore the best...these collectors may have a long term affect on the market somewhat but I don't think it's enough to sustain these prices for long.

In a couple decades, when the generation hoarding these "holy grails" starts to die off, these bucket list specials will start flooding the market. No matter how much you love your $300k guitar, when you're dead the chances are your beneficiaries will like the $300k more. I think these guitars will always fetch a premium, but will overall come down to more reasonable prices.

westtexasred wrote:Check out the prices on Guitar Trader in 1978

Wilshire 6-string and 12-string are $275 each. I would buy both.
And what a nice charming guitar Ovation Preacher is

I'd buy the '60 Les Paul Special Doublecut for $400.

Status of the Paul at Elderly is "no longer available"

sunshiner wrote:Status of the Paul at Elderly is "no longer available"

Guess somebody still has lots of money to blow.
If I really needed a guitar like that there are many fine builders who could build one even nicer.

westtexasred wrote:Check out the prices on Guitar Trader in 1978

cry evertyiem