Dickey Betts' "Redtop" Goldtop...a bunch of cool pics!

[MapleFlame]

We just finished the restoration of this guitar today.
For those who would like to see the process:

https://historicmakeovers.smugmug.com/Shipped-2019/8-3142-DB/n-qNbtj7/

https://historicmakeovers.smugmug.com/Shipped-2019/8-3142-DB/n-qNbtj7/

Outstanding work. :salude

 

[djcmusician]

Restoration. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

 

[boogieongtr]

Kim did a great job bringing the guitar back to life, it looks awesome...!! The guitar has now been marked down to $75K. Still at $75K without any original parts, body & heel break, neck break, replaced fingerboard, inlays, binding and NO documentation that it was owned by Dickey. Pretty steep IMOP. Last year Carters had a 57 on consignement with original parts but had a burst refin for $50K. That guitar was for sale for over a year and I don't know the actual selling price. Joey Landreth had a nice demo of the guitar, I thought it had great PAF tone. Goode luck on the sale.

 

[STROKER]

I think its worth around 40k even with it being the Humpty Dumpty burst it looks great it needs some real parts and paf's to make it where it needs to be but its a great start.

 

[marshall1987]

Appearances are one thing. I sure hope that after all the work that has gone into to it, the guitar sounds good and plays well. That's the million dollar question.

 

[jimmi]

I think its worth around 40k even with it being the Humpty Dumpty burst it looks great it needs some real parts and paf's to make it where it needs to be but its a great start.

This would be a great buy at $40K especially if you can prove the history and it still functions well as a guitar. It looks fantastic and I know I would love to have a guitar used on stage by the Allman bros.

 

[AVGDeluxe]

This would be a great buy at $40K especially if you can prove the history and it still functions well as a guitar. It looks fantastic and I know I would love to have a guitar used on stage by the Allman bros.

There is a video of this guitar being played well by Spencer Kirkpatrick ...there is another video being shot tomorrow ....showing it played thru a Twin Reverb and a Marshall as well ... We took the guitar off Reverb but is still for sale !

 

[AVGDeluxe]

Appearances are one thing. I sure hope that after all the work that has gone into to it, the guitar sounds good and plays well. That's the million dollar question.

It maybe the best playing and sounding Les Paul I have ever played ....the fretwork done by Historic Makeovers is amazing ...they do not need a Plek machine !!!

 

[AVGDeluxe]

I think its worth around 40k even with it being the Humpty Dumpty burst it looks great it needs some real parts and paf's to make it where it needs to be but its a great start.

I promise you it sounds and plays as good as any I have ever played and feels very light !!!

 

[E.M.]

I started researching the history of Dickey's gold tops and I am still not sure which guitar this is. This is not Goldie/Redtop or is it? If it is Redtop - when did Dickey relinquish it and why was it stripped back down to bare wood? It seems like it would have been very valuable as Redtop repainted by Dickey himself, albeit without the original gold finish. Could someone post a video of Dickey playing this guitar in its original form before it was either repainted or left in disrepair? Stunning restoration but it remains unsold and unverified. https://reverb.com/item/34362816-gibson-les-paul-1958-burst-original-goldtop

 

[El Gringo]

I started researching the history of Dickey's gold tops and I am still not sure which guitar this is. This is not Goldie/Redtop or is it? If it is Redtop - when did Dickey relinquish it and why was it stripped back down to bare wood? It seems like it would have been very valuable as Redtop repainted by Dickey himself, albeit without the original gold finish. Could someone post a video of Dickey playing this guitar in its original form before it was either repainted or left in disrepair? Stunning restoration but it remains unsold and unverified. https://reverb.com/item/34362816-gibson-les-paul-1958-burst-original-goldtop

This one actually looks nice and the price point as well and if i was into this i probably would want one similar to this one versus a 52-55 one that has been repurposed with the removal of the trapeze tail and such along with the removal of the gold finish thus most likely exposing a 3 piece top . I also forgot to add that i like Historic Makeovers and it looks marvelous as there work is on point !

 

[AVGDeluxe]

I am the guy who had this guitar restored at Historic Makeovers I have the receipts to prove it. I also provided the pickups for this special guitar. According to David Spero, Dickey’s manager this is not his guitar nor was it ever! I lost a dear friend over this guitar and it is special but warning someone out there may have a real valid receipt for this! Sometimes it’s best to keep the fantasy in your head ! At least the guy who owns it can worship it and pretend he is Dickey and Duane all he wants but he treated a true friend like crap who finally got it playable for him after 20 or so years ! This is the true story and I can back it up ask Kim at Historic who paid him for this !! It was me !

 

[MapleFlame]

I am the guy who had this guitar restored at Historic Makeovers I have the receipts to prove it. I also provided the pickups for this special guitar. According to David Spero, Dickey’s manager this is not his guitar nor was it ever! I lost a dear friend over this guitar and it is special but warning someone out there may have a real valid receipt for this! Sometimes it’s best to keep the fantasy in your head ! At least the guy who owns it can worship it and pretend he is Dickey and Duane all he wants but he treated a true friend like crap who finally got it playable for him after 20 or so years ! This is the true story and I can back it up ask Kim at Historic who paid him for this !! It was me !

Sorry you had to go through that. I've restored several 50's guitars, I prefer to view this one as a nice save and a very nice playing Les Paul. Sometimes its best to cut bait with so called friends. I've done a lot of that recently. Life is too short. With all the alcohol and drugs, could those guys really remember all the guitars they had lol

 

[Drayve85]

I started researching the history of Dickey's gold tops and I am still not sure which guitar this is. This is not Goldie/Redtop or is it? If it is Redtop - when did Dickey relinquish it and why was it stripped back down to bare wood? It seems like it would have been very valuable as Redtop repainted by Dickey himself, albeit without the original gold finish. Could someone post a video of Dickey playing this guitar in its original form before it was either repainted or left in disrepair? Stunning restoration but it remains unsold and unverified. https://reverb.com/item/34362816-gibson-les-paul-1958-burst-original-goldtop

Just spitballin’ here, but wouldn’t there be marks where the Floyd rose was in Goldie? That was her right? I would think Goldie would still be with Dickey. I wouldn’t think he would let her go after retrieving her from the Hard Rock Cafe. I could be wrong, but just thinking out loud.

Beautiful guitar, nonetheless! Historic Makeovers does brilliant work!! Just wish I had the beans to pony up for it.

Anybody have any ideas on a name for her? I think deserves a name. My vote would be for “Pandora”, because a lot of bad came from her, but she looks SOO damn good! And I’m sure Kim and his team at HM felt like they were opening Pandora’s box when they opened the box that this guitar came in!lol

 

[Hayduke]

I know...old thread...

Did anyone ever actually figure out what this guitar was?

Because here's Dickey's redtop/Goldie reunited with the "Toler burst" last weekend. Unless Dickey had a habit of stripping old gold tops and spraying them red, the stripped guitar in the original post wasn't a Dickey Betts redtop.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[stevechilders]

I know...old thread...

Did anyone ever actually figure out what this guitar was?

Because here's Dickey's redtop/Goldie reunited with the "Toler burst" last weekend. Unless Dickey had a habit of stripping old gold tops and spraying them red, the stripped guitar in the original post wasn't a Dickey Betts redtop.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Dickey’s red top is the guitar he was playing in the late 80’s & 90’s. He said it looked so bad that he stripped the gold and did the red finish himself. It was played last Friday night by Duane Betts as well the Toler Burst. ( Duane & Charlie Starr, played that one). They both sounded fantastic.

 

[Hayduke]

Dickey’s red top is the guitar he was playing in the late 80’s & 90’s. He said it looked so bad that he stripped the gold and did the red finish himself. It was played last Friday night by Duane Betts as well the Toler Burst. ( Duane & Charlie Starr, played that one). They both sounded fantastic.

Right.

But the whole premise of this thread, is that the husk of a stripped '58 posted in the first post was supposedly Dickey's redtop, that had been re-stripped. Someone bought it, had Historic Makeovers revive it as a sunburst (guess whoever bought it was more interested in the 1958 wood than the supposed Dickey Goldtop/Redtop story) then it was put up for sale for six figures.

Meanwhile, everyone is super confused about all the Goldtops Dickey played, and it appeared no one really knew whatever became of the redtop. Now we have evidence that the redtop remained red, that it definitely was not the guitar originally posted in this thread.

So I'm just wondering, if there was ever any provenance proven with the original guitar posted in this thread. Or if the Dickey Betts connection has been dropped.

 

[stevechilders]

Hayduke… in October 2020 it was posted in this thread that the guitar had nothing to do with Dickey.

 

[stevechilders]

Hayduke… in October 2020 it was posted in this thread that the guitar had nothing to do with Dickey.

 

[Hayduke]

Hayduke… in October 2020 it was posted in this thread that the guitar had nothing to do with Dickey.

Well, I guess that means I didn't read as closely as I thought I did, lol

But I'm glad to hear that was revealed.

Edited: Now I see how I missed it. The post was hardly decipherable.