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thoughts on 1974 custom??

frenchphil

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Sounds like a nice guitar price wise is really your comfort zone , Although I never consider value tomorrow going forward with a purchase .

You would be wise to buy the guitar choosing on its particular merits , I never think guitars as a investment & I have spent plenty !
i have heard about the merits of the 70s custom and their pickups that s why i m looking for one
 

frenchphil

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All good advice. The missing parts are more concerning, value or price wise, and should be reflected in price. I do not really know the overseas market. Seems fair, there is a lot of interest in Kalamazoo Customs over here. You may need to factor in a fret job as most find the low, low skinny flat frets unusable. MAKE SURE IT HAS A MAHOGANY NECK.
i asked my luthier about the neck , following your advice, and it s mahogany. i was even able to see inside the truss rod cavity and it looks like mahogany for sure, the colour of the wood tells it.

and of course i ve had it refretted and set up. my luhtier who never kisses ass even told me that the guitar was very well built , that the qulity was great, they took care in those days, and he mentioned the extra care they did when he saw that the truss rod cavity was neat , no residu of glue and it was even lacquered
 

frenchphil

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You must be talking about me . As I never ever think about value , if I did it would take the fun out of it for me . The only thing I ever think about is having the funds to cover the cost . We should make a new rule on our Forum , that we should not talk about values and price estimates as that detracts from the joy of making music with our favorite instruments ( Gibson Les Paul's )
well... as you might guess, if i m spending about 3400 euros on a guitar, which is a bit of money for me, i have looked on the internet before to see what is the used price on the used maket.
i dont spend that much money without knowing a little before, if i m paying the right price or if i m paying too much. so yes , talking about the price is not taboo for me....and i m not stupid, i dont expect to make 2000 euros of resale on a guitar i bought 3400.
 

El Gringo

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well... as you might guess, if i m spending about 3400 euros on a guitar, which is a bit of money for me, i have looked on the internet before to see what is the used price on the used maket.
i dont spend that much money without knowing a little before, if i m paying the right price or if i m paying too much. so yes , talking about the price is not taboo for me....and i m not stupid, i dont expect to make 2000 euros of resale on a guitar i bought 3400.
Knowing the value is important and ditto for doing our homework as that way we keep everything on the up and up , lest someone thinks that they are going to get over or something .
 

frenchphil

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on a side note my luthier who did the refret said that the glue inside the frets slots was maybe some kind of animal glue. it had a particular smell. is that what is called hide glue?
 

El Gringo

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on a side note my luthier who did the refret said that the glue inside the frets slots was maybe some kind of animal glue. it had a particular smell. is that what is called hide glue?
Deleted and I stand corrected .
 
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frenchphil

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Gibson did not glue the fret slots.
the thing is these were the original frets and he definitevely found glue that was hard to remove in the slots. he had to remove it with a sharp tool like a blade, and he smelt that particular smell.....go figure
 

Bob Womack

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When I went to pick up my '74 LP Standard after it was refretted in 1996, my luthier/tech offered to buy it from me on the spot. I guess it made an impression. :D

Bob
 

guitplayer

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The neck on the white 74 is nice and chunky. I`ve not played enough
others to say if all are that way. Pickups sound great on both the 71 +74.
 

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frenchphil

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Gibson did not glue the fret slots.
the thing is these were the original frets and he definitevely found glue that was hard to remove in the slots. he had to remove it with a sharp tool like a blade, and he smelt that particular smell.....go figure
The neck on the white 74 is nice and chunky. I`ve not played enough
others to say if all are that way. Pickups sound great on both the 71 +74.
neck on my 74 custom is not chunky , but wider than my 93 standard which is narrow. the 74 is kind of flat more like a d shape
 

sliberty

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Aug 11, 2006
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I had a Sunburst 74 Custom (or maybe 73 - can't be positive). Bought it new. Mine had a maple neck, and a 3 piece pancake body with a poorly matched top, not symmetrically pieced together. The Fretless Wonder frets were completely done after 1 year of playing rock on that guitar (replaced with SG sized frets). The pickups were only ok. I changed the tuners to Grovers. Overall, the guitar was just meh. I sold it several years ago for $2850 (I paid $475 out the door when I bought it). Recently I bought the first run of the Les Paul Standard Original Collection 50's neck models, and frankly it KILLS my old Custom by a mile in every way. Fatter neck (my preference), better build (2 piece matched top, etc.), better sounding pickups, vintage spec pots/caps, PLEK, just better all around (for my taste). I couldn't be happier.

I hope you have a better "Custom" experience.
 

Big Al

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the thing is these were the original frets and he definitevely found glue that was hard to remove in the slots. he had to remove it with a sharp tool like a blade, and he smelt that particular smell.....go figure
Gibson, did not glue the frets in. They were compression fit with dead blow hammers on the ebony board. Hand trimmed and then the binding was glued on and trimmed by hand leaving the fret nibs. When done the fretted, bound, leveled and profiled finished fingerboard was then glued onto the neck. I watched, and performed this operation in Kalamazoo during the Authorised Repair Tech Certification I completed at the factory in the good ol days. Frets were not glued in.
 

frenchphil

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Gibson, did not glue the frets in. They were compression fit with dead blow hammers on the ebony board. Hand trimmed and then the binding was glued on and trimmed by hand leaving the fret nibs. When done the fretted, bound, leveled and profiled finished fingerboard was then glued onto the neck. I watched, and performed this operation in Kalamazoo during the Authorised Repair Tech Certification I completed at the factory in the good ol days. Frets were not glued in.
i think you re right judging by your experience and training course, so no i wonder what it was that was in the slot and that smelt....
 
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