UK '52/57 goldtop conversion

[honduras]

Looking for advice on the value of a very resonant and great playing '52/57 goldtop which I played at a guitar store in the UK a couple of days ago.
The asking price is £11,999 ($18,000 at current rates).

The guitar has a beautifully aged and worn original top with lots of greening and weather checking. The back and neck appear to have been refinished at some stage,although both are showing playing wear.The guitar has no serial number and is fitted with what look like old Grovers.Fingerboard appears to be original with thin binding a nicely aged inlays.An ABR and stoptail have been fitted and the stoptail is positioned in the accurate vintage location.
There appear to be no obvious breaks in the headstock region and it looks as though the neck has not been reset. ABR sits reasonably low and the guitar intonates perfectly. There are holes in the body near the end pin where the trapeze would have originally been located.

The pickups are, the dealer confirms, '57 Classics and not PAF's.
I didn't have time to check out the control cavity.

The clincher for me is that this guitar sounds incredible. I was always sceptical about claims that "old wood " was superior tonally but having experienced the resonance of this instrument and its overall liveliness I have to say it is on a different level to my own beloved '99 R9 which is itself a great guitar and better than any other Historic I have tried.

I have read on this forum that the market for conversions is currently weak and I have no doubt this guitar is considerably overpriced. I want to negotiate but don't want to insult the seller with a ridiculously lowball opening offer. Given that vintage Les Paul's tend to fetch more in the UK than the US, would anyone hazard a guess at the ball park figure? i'm afraid I have no pictures as I didn't have my camera handy.

 

[MS 57]

Without being an expeert $ 18 000 sounds overpriced to me. That is what original ´52´s can go for in this market and the conversion is supposed to take something off the value. You should try to get the price down even though it is a bad position to bargain from when you REALLY want that guitar !

See this link for comparison :

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-Les-Paul...14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

 

[honduras]

I had a price in my mind of about $12,000 for a nicely done conversion. Is that a reasonable figure bearing in mind the soft market?

 

[Jumping@Shadows]

Im not in the market for a conversion so i promise this is not a sniping attempt ;-), can you say which shop in London you saw it in? I've a lot of collegues who work on Denmark Street so maybe i could put a pearl in one of their ears- it is very overpriced btw- there's that 52-57 conversion on ebay (admittedly top refin) thats sat at $6000 and vouched for by a couple of LPF members as being fantastic.

These guitars are more plentiful than you might think, the London mark-up should be vigorously and nimbly overcome with research, and a possible cheap flight to the US and a small stack of bills. You could buy a carcass and have it converted, with your choice of parts for way less than £12,000..just a thought :2cool

 

[honduras]

Unfortunately the shop is not in London, it is north of the border (I won't say more than that).

Thanks for the advice.

 

[kerryboy]

Unfortunately the shop is not in London, it is north of the border (I won't say more than that).

Thanks for the advice.

Is it the one in that guitar shop that has a shop in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The name of the shop is the same word repeated twice. Am I correct?.

I think its overpriced especially as it is very well worn. If it is, they have had it for a long time, so I reckon you could get a deal, especially in todays climate.

 

[johnnyslim]

Check the link posted by MS 57. I was one LPF member who played that 52/57 goldtop. At that time there were 3 conversions for sale at the same place and time. The goldtop and the lemon top were both $10,500.

I can say that goldtop conversion now "not bringing" $6000 US dollars is beyond me. That was hands down and by a long shot the best of those three conversions. It has Duncan Antiquities pickups and it sounded incredible and was light weight, too. If I did not have my conversion I would have jumped on this goldtop. I almost did anyway.

I think the price they are asking in the U.K. is too high. Yes, original '52 goldtops are somewhere in that price range, too. If they won't deal grab the goldtop in the U.S for $6000. It is a killer guitar and you will be pleased. Personally, I think Antiquities sound better than 57 Classics. At least the Antiquities sounded great in this guitar. I can only assume the pickups are still in the guitar. It is a good one.\

Just for reference, I spoke with a guy yesterday that bought an all original 1957 Les Paul TV Special for $6000. These were bringing A LOT just a few months ago. Yes...$6000 for a 1957 TV Special...no stories.

 

[zorglub!]

Original finish in the top is a plus, offer him $12k and see what happens. If it does not fly, then the $6k GT might be they way to go. The difference is you have tried (and loved) one of them, but not the other... that has some value also.

For $18k I would rather go for Mark's refin '55/'56 with P90s...

 

[Demon]

The Rumbleseat Goldtop was on Ebay with a STARTING BID of $6k, not a Buy it now. He would have shit for brains for selling that for $6k