WOW. A buddy of mine found an old Gibson accoustic in his parents attic. He doesn't play or know much about guitars, but he decided to have it appraised to see what he had. Below is a copy of the appraisal! Not Bad. They even offered to buy it from him.
Being that they offered to buy it, do you think they made an accurate appraisal, or might it be worth even a bit more?
We certify that the guitar described below is, in our opinion, a Gibson model L-00 made circa 1934.
Description: Factory work order number on the neck block 918. The owner states that no other numbers are visible. The instrument appears to be in fine condition. It conforms to the typical specifications of the model for the period in which it was made with 14 ¾ inch body width, spruce top with sunburst finish with small light area in the center and large dark area (typical of the earliest Gibson sunburst), nitrocellulose tortoise shell grain pickguard with diagonal striped pattern, white binding around the top edge of the body only, mahogany back and sides with uniform dark red mahogany stain finish, mahogany neck, unbound Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlays and white paint silk screened script Gibson peghead logo.
Current market value: $4,250 (four thousand two hundred fifty dollars)
"There won't be any money. But when you die, on your death bed, you will receive total conciousness. So, I got that going for me. Which is nice." - Bill Murray, Caddyshack ~~ Michigan Music Dojo - http://michiganmusicdojo.com ~~
It sounds a lot like the first guitar on this page:
http://www.provide.net/~cfh/loo.html
That's a very high price for mid-30s L-00's. That's not what they're offering him, is it? Even if it's in spectacular condition it's high.
It's pretty unusual to see L-00's going for over $4k.
(But a great blues box, still!)
That's a very high price for mid-30s L-00's. That's not what they're offering him, is it? Even if it's in spectacular condition it's high.
It's pretty unusual to see L-00's going for over $4k.
No, they offered to either handle it on consignment for a commison or to buy it outright for a percentage of the appraised value. I'm not sure of the percentage offered.
But I found this one which sounds similar:
http://www.mandoweb.com/1b_morea.htm
48-3999 Gibson (used, c. 1934) L-00 acoustic, ISI-1534, dark sunburst spruce top, uniform brown mahogany sides and back, in very good condition with newer Guild hard shell case.
The Gibson prewar L-00 is rapidly becoming the guitar of choice for the modern finger stylist who wishes to follow in the footsteps of, say, Howard Emerson, who used an L-00, among other guitars, on his Crossing Crystal Lake album. Its strong midrange resonance, its articulate highs and woody, crispy lows make it the best sounding six-string one can envision in a small package. Measuring only 14 3/4" at the lower bout, 8 ½" waist and 10 ¼ at the upper, 4 ¼" in depth at the lower bout, this proud pensioner (a dozen years into Social Security) produces more total sound and a wider frequency range than portly dreadnoughts twice its size and half its age. The string spacing at the bridge is 2 3/8" making for comfort and expanded capability without cramping. The top is bordered in ivoroid while the back is unbound; the black headstock overlay is decorated with the prewar white script Gibson cursive logo and six original open back tuners on rectangular plates with ivoroid button tuners. The rosewood unbound fretboard is inlaid with 7 mother-of-pearl dotmarkers in 6 positions. The bridge is rectangular with a "through" bone saddle. Under that bridge is a new maple bridge plate of correct size. This must have been owned by a child or adolescent at one time since somebody lightly scratched their name into the finish on the bass side of the soundhole and then, just as capriciously, scratched it out. This is not terribly noticeable, however, since the piece does show normal playing wear overall. This is the guitar players, especially blues and fingerstyle players, dream of finding their entire lives. It can become part of your “permanent estate.†$4222 or, at our cash discount price, $4095
"There won't be any money. But when you die, on your death bed, you will receive total conciousness. So, I got that going for me. Which is nice." - Bill Murray, Caddyshack ~~ Michigan Music Dojo - http://michiganmusicdojo.com ~~
That's a very high price for mid-30s L-00's. That's not what they're offering him, is it? Even if it's in spectacular condition it's high.
It's pretty unusual to see L-00's going for over $4k.
No, they offered to either handle it on consignment for a commison or to buy it outright for a percentage of the appraised value. I'm not sure of the percentage offered.
But I found this one which sounds similar:
Yes, but Mandolin Brothers are very expensive. I think Matt Umanov also sold an L-00 recently for close to $5k, but they're legendarily expensive and that guitar had been worked on by TJ Thompson and was in great shape. Anyway, if he can get this, more power to him. On eBay it's more typical for L-00s to go for $2-3k.
He doesn't want to sell it. He doesn't care too much about guitars and certainly isn't a collector, but I guess it was his grandpa's, so he wants to keep it as an heirloom. He just wanted to know what it was worth. I think he would have been happy to find it worth few hundred bucks. He never expected it to be anywhere near 4 grand.
"There won't be any money. But when you die, on your death bed, you will receive total conciousness. So, I got that going for me. Which is nice." - Bill Murray, Caddyshack ~~ Michigan Music Dojo - http://michiganmusicdojo.com ~~
