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Would you leave this 53 GT LP as it is if you bought it ?

Tom Wittrock

Les Paul Forum Co-Owner
Joined
Aug 2, 2001
Messages
42,567
Just look at the thread I linked to.


The guitars with pickups in random order:
1953/57 Les Paul conversion .......... PAF's
1964 ES-345.................................PAT's
1964 Firebird I...............................FB p/u
1957 ES-350TD.............................PAF's
1974 Flying V................................Dr. Vintage
1959 ES 330TDN............................P-90's
1963 SG Standard..........................PAT's

The clip:


http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=5421385&q=hi&newref=1


All of these apparently totally different guitars and nobody could tell in a blind listening test which one was which.

Try for yourself, it's fun. Since PAFs sound so distinct and superior, it ought to at least be easy to nail those.

I understand that some people find this fascinating.
I don't. :)

However, I do enjoy different guitars at my gigs, where I can compare them in a way that matters to me .... when I am playing.
You're welcome to come to our gigs and listen to the tonal differences, from PAFs, to Duncans, to Custombuckers, to P-90s, to ????. :salude
 
Y

yeti

Guest
IMHO, it's really more of a fashion statement to have PAFs in a Les Paul than anything to do with tone. People have been conditioned to think that a Les Paul only looks "right" with humbuckers and try to invent ways to rationally justify that viewpoint. Guitar players, as a group, seem to be more interested in how their guitars look than how they sound. The overwhelming popularity of and preoccupation with fake aging/artificial "mojo" clearly illustrates this.

I agree but it's also about being able to say it's a real PAF. Don't get me wrong, the best sounding Gibson guitars I've played were PAF guitars but they were the exception, not the rule. P-90 equipped Gibsons have never disappointed me but many of the PAF equipped Gibsons have. maybe that's because they are so hyped that the bar is impossibly high.
 
Y

yeti

Guest
"40% too high" according to who? Thinking 6K is really low number for that guitar. It sounds like you'd even be shooting lower saying they should be asking 6K then taking offers from there?

With org. finish and no breaks , its a nice guitar. Yeah , the stop tail holes in the wrong place dose devalue the guitar in a big way , but not as much as your saying, IMO.

If it were mine , I'd keep it before selling it for under 7.5K :jim

I wouldn't be shooting lower. I don't haggle anymore, simple as that. For me the asking price is the price I either pay or I don't pursue the guitar. Want to sell me a guitar? Put an honest price on it (that you have to get for the deal to make sense) and I won't waste your time haggling.
That's how I got all the guitars I have bought in the last 20 years (6 total) If I was in the market for a player grade lester I'd offer $6K, take it or leave it. It being a consignment @ 9,999 my guess is that he'd wouldn't accept. I could live with that. If this was your guitar I hope you'd put a $7.5K pricetag on it, firm!
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
Uh, Joe you know I love you and the Abomonable one two, but 6K seems low in the present market for a no breaks, original finish goldtop like this. The bridge isn't much of an issue as I see it and the TP can be dealt with in such a way that it wouldn't hurt the integrety much. But jeeze with MAP for new R9's at $6400 I don't see 10K Can. to be unfair.

I looked like crazy for a decent early P90 Goldtop and saw nothing even close to this. I ended up getting a R9/R8 pair instead.
 

Three13

Member
Joined
May 7, 2011
Messages
852
I think $6K is a little low right now, but not too far off the mark. I just bought a '53 with a stripped top and some replaced hardware, otherwise problem free for $6,250. $9,000 or $10,000 is definitely way too high for that particular beast. If you're going to blow that kind of money, find a nice '59 or '60 ES-345 or ES-355 - no fuss, no muss, no routing and they throw in a pair of PAFs for free...
 

MapleFlame

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 3, 2005
Messages
14,044
I would rather have a stripped top than stop tail holes in the top any day. With the mojoaxe trap replacement there's no need to do what the owner of that guitar did. I find it funny to have a stoptail and then use the mojoaxe bar for a bridge. Looks awful in my book. So for point of reference, buy price 7500-8000.00, 2500.00 or more for a neck reset/conversion, then another 2500 to 5000k for PAF's. Doesn't sound like a great deal does it. I find 52's all the time and they don't just come from Ebay and Gbase, as Charlie does for 335's I do the same for GoldTops. This guitar is overpriced.
 

jimmi

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
2,077
I would rather have a stripped top than stop tail holes in the top any day. With the mojoaxe trap replacement there's no need to do what the owner of that guitar did. I find it funny to have a stoptail and then use the mojoaxe bar for a bridge. Looks awful in my book. So for point of reference, buy price 7500-8000.00, 2500.00 or more for a neck reset/conversion, then another 2500 to 5000k for PAF's. Doesn't sound like a great deal does it. I find 52's all the time and they don't just come from Ebay and Gbase, as Charlie does for 335's I do the same for GoldTops. This guitar is overpriced.

I might get with you over the summer to find me a haggered gold top.
 

Minibucker

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2003
Messages
6,372
Defnitely a good conversion candidate. Depending on the top seam/match, I might want to keep it a goldtop.
 

Wilko

All Access/Backstage Pass
Joined
Mar 11, 2002
Messages
20,853
60hz is why I prefer PAFs to P90s. That will never change.

You don't have to be a cork sniffer to just be plain sick of the hum.
Yeah, yeah. Turn down between songs. Whatever.

I don't want the hassle. I have Fenders for that.
 

jimmi

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
2,077
Noise gate, pickup pocket shielding, there are some wiring tricks. I don't have an issue ...dont with my Fenders either though
 

Wilko

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Mar 11, 2002
Messages
20,853
like I said.whatever.

Noise gate? seriously? probably goes great with your true-bypass pedals.

No thanks.

It's noise. It's always there. It has to addressed at every gig. Every time you plug in in a new place.
 

jimmi

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
2,077
I have a low threshold NG that works great. The shielding takes some off.


If you really don't like it, there are a couple of alternative wirings you can use. That also works for strats. Does kind of turn the center position into a big humbucker.

All that said, it has never been that big of an issue but I also often mike the amp so we can control the mix instead of depending on the amp volume for most gigs so not sure if that could be the difference.
 
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