Any got a spare $100k burning a hole in their pocket?

[Litterick]

You're not supposed to buy it. You're supposed to talk about it.

[Jimmy blue note]

Dang! I've looked for exactly this guitar. For decades. I have money left over after the kids are finally graduated and the dog had the operation and I sold off the third mansion.
But my wife said $94,999.00 is the ABSOLUTE max I could spend on my next guitar. And the real kicker is, I don't even need to pay the shipping; I can have my driver flown in my plane to the nearest airport, he can buy a new car and pick it up for me.
But them's the rules. I may be a billionaire but I know the rules.

[GuyBoden]

Dang! I've looked for exactly this guitar. For decades. I have money left over after the kids are finally graduated and the dog had the operation and I sold off the third mansion.
But my wife said $94,999.00 is the ABSOLUTE max I could spend on my next guitar. And the real kicker is, I don't even need to pay the shipping; I can have my driver flown in my plane to the nearest airport, he can buy a new car and pick it up for me.
But them's the rules. I may be a billionaire but I know the rules.

Below, this original Jimmy D'Aquisto Solo is only £95,000, so could be within your budget.
Jimmy D'Aquisto Solo on Reverb...

[Jimmy blue note]

Below, this original Jimmy D'Aquisto Solo is only £95,000, so could be within your budget.
Jimmy D'Aquisto Solo on Reverb...

That particular one went for $135,000 when it sold. But pssst... back in the day when they went for $80,000, I bought 3. One for each of my residences. Just so I wouldn't have to worry about flying with one.
If you want to know how they compare with each other, well... Are you KIDDING? That'd be like drinking a rare bottle of vintage wine, or taking a restored B-36 for a spin on a Sunday afternoon. These are not guitars we're talking, they're investments.

[garybaldy]

I like the look of this one Gibson Super 400 1937 - Sunburst | Reverb UK is it a good price?

[andrew]

I like the look of this one Gibson Super 400 1937 - Sunburst | Reverb UK is it a good price?

My gut feeling is that it’s a LITTLE high, but certainly not orders of magnitude so (like the original listing here). But considering that it’s in the UK and at a premium shop, it’s not an unreasonable asking price.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I like the look of this one Gibson Super 400 1937 - Sunburst | Reverb UK is it a good price?

I'm not even convinced that it's a good guitar. That tailpiece and "palm bender" sure don't look factory to me. That's one weird bender! If I'm seeing it correctly, it raises the pitch when pressed. I've never seen anything like that on a guitar or in any books. It's certainly rare, but I have my doubts that it's factory. I also think I see a hole in the pickguard where a volume put used to be. I'd love to know more about it.

[garybaldy]

I'm not even convinced that it's a good guitar. That tailpiece and "palm bender" sure don't look factory to me. That's one weird bender! If I'm seeing it correctly, it raises the pitch when pressed. I've never seen anything like that on a guitar or in any books. It's certainly rare, but I have my doubts that it's factory. I also think I see a hole in the pickguard where a volume put used to be. I'd love to know more about it.

I realise I need to be careful when I start looking at old guitars for sale. They look so nice but I know very little of the nitty gritty.

[customxke]

I'm not even convinced that it's a good guitar. That tailpiece and "palm bender" sure don't look factory to me. That's one weird bender! If I'm seeing it correctly, it raises the pitch when pressed. I've never seen anything like that on a guitar or in any books. It's certainly rare, but I have my doubts that it's factory. I also think I see a hole in the pickguard where a volume put used to be. I'd love to know more about it.

That is 100% factory. Gibson produced several variants in the pre-war years, on archtops, electrics, and lap-steels.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

That is 100% factory. Gibson produced several variants in the pre-war years, on archtops, electrics, and lap-steels.

You’ve spurred me on to search for more info about it. Sadly, I can’t find any. I can’t find any mention or pic of it in Van Hoose’s S400 book. Do you know of any websites, references, articles, or pictures that might tell me more about it?

The strings wrap up and around the bar from the bottom, so pressing the trapeze lever would raise the pitch. The geometry suggests that it’d be harder to depress than a standard trem tailpiece that loosens the strings. That’s a strange mechanical design and an effect that I wouldn’t think would be very popular (especially on an S400).

Now I gotta know more!!

[wintermoon]

Attach=config]125764[/attach]

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Interesting - thanks. That's one weird whammy bar! Do we know who made them? I'm assuming it's not a Gibson part, although I also assumed it wasn't factory fitted and that appears to have been wrong. Pressing it would raise the pitch just by pushing down on the strings at the tailpiece. Adding the rotary action of the mechanism would compound this. But by pressing down on the tailpiece, the force of the strings against the saddles would increase. This would accelerate wear from the strings as they're sawed back and forth in their notches. It looks very poorly conceived to me.

[wintermoon]

Interesting - thanks. That's one weird whammy bar! Do we know who made them? I'm assuming it's not a Gibson part, although I also assumed it wasn't factory fitted and that appears to have been wrong. Pressing it would raise the pitch just by pushing down on the strings at the tailpiece. Adding the rotary action of the mechanism would compound this. But by pressing down on the tailpiece, the force of the strings against the saddles would increase. This would accelerate wear from the strings as they're sawed back and forth in their notches. It looks very poorly conceived to me.

it's a Vibra-Rest t.p., a Gibson factory option just like the Super 400 t.p. linked above

[wintermoon]

another later type....

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

another later type....

That one I've seen. It also looks mechanically odd - but at least it also looks like a higher quality device. I can't imagine that these things make a pleasing sound, but I'm sure it lives up to its promise to be clear and distinctive.