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Hi all...I have a question regarding value of a 1949 Gibson ES-175 that has undergone some mods and how it would affect the value. A professional luthier converted it to a 7-string and replaced the neck pickup with vintage Charlie Christian pickup. How much would you say it is worth? Everything else about it is in good order.
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05-06-2017 01:43 PM
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Do you play guitar?
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Yes, of course.
Originally Posted by LtKojak
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Are you selling or buying?
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Potentially buying. I have two 7 string guitars and played this guitar. Really like it...regardless if Gibson or vintage, it sounds nice and has a much more comfortable neck and slightly more comfortable scale length than what I am accustomed to. Originally Posted by ronjazz
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I have seen vintage archtops that have been converted to 7 string. I would say that if an unknown luthier did the work, the conversion will have dininished the value, but if the work were done by Bob Benedetto, the guitar could be worth more than a stock 49.
Tell us more about the guitar in question and show us pictures.
And welcome to rhe forum!
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Hi. Thank you! Been reading a while...just don't post much. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
The luthier who did the work was Jimmy Foster.
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Jimmy Foster did great work.
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I can't tell you about that guitar in particular, but I think most would agree any "vintage" value would be lost. What you have is a boutique 7 string laminate guitar that happens to be built on an ES-175 body.
Collectors and traders would likely pass, so you would have the equivalent of maybe at best a used Bill Moll 7 string or Benedetto Bambino 7 string all the way down to a used Eastman 7 string. Or for that matter, used Fosters are available right now on Reverb. I can't imagine anyone paying more for a guitar modified by him than one purpose built by him.
Of course, in the end, if you are buying it really is up to you what you want to pay for it. One off boutique guitars, even if built on a vintage platform, don't have a universally agreed to price.
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If you become really famous, and that guitar becomes your trademark, then that guitar is gonna be worth a fortune. Good incentive to prove these guys wrong. Ha.
By the way, that instrument sounds great! Now you've got me thinking...
David
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I certainly don't know what it's worth, but I would suspect that people are not lining up to buy such a thing, and therefore I would be inclined to negotiate hard.
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I have an Eastman 810-ce7 that has the carved top. This ES-175 popped up in my area and I have been seriously considering buying it. I'd love a real Foster, but they are extremely pricey!
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….
Last edited by Hammertone; 05-06-2017 at 10:37 PM.
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Absolutely! Here're some PIGS, I feel much better.
David
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Jimmy Foster also did the custom inlay work on the tailpiece
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How much are they asking?
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Over or under what I was trying to ask the group Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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DAMN that is sexy.
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I don't think that's a Gibson......
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1 - the guitar is lovely and quite interesting, but it is not an ES-175.
-The ES-175 has a maple-laminated top. This guitar has a spruce top.
-The ES-175 has a mahogany neck. This guitar has a maple neck.
2 - what is it?
- the cutaway is not a Gibson cutaway, so I conclude that the guitar stated out as non-cutaway.
- the 16" body is definitely Gibson-made, so it most likely started out either as a Gibson L-4 or a Gibson L-50.
- there are all sorts of Gibson parts on the guitar, including the bridge, the fretboard, and the headstock inlays
- my guess is that the CC is an old Gibson pickup.
- the tailpiece is quite clever, but it's not from Gibson.
- the way that the Les Paul Custom fingerboard has been widened with strips of binding material is also quite clever.
3 - is it cool?
I think it's great!Last edited by Hammertone; 05-07-2017 at 04:52 AM.
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Trussrod cover has 3 screws. No Gibson - that I know of - ever had that.
I have never seen a Gibson with a cutaway shaped like this; it's too deep and too wide.
Furthermore I underline Hammertone's comments.
Whatever it is, it is not a 175 and I have serious doubts it's even a Gibson.
The finish doesn't seem nitro in the pictures, but rather poly. But that's difficult to say from pictures.
For a final judgement more and especially more detailed pictures would be needed, but for now I would say: fishy, stay away from it.
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+2 what hammertone said; noncut L4 with Added cutaway, various parts, refinned, and extensively reworked neck
value: it might be a fantastic player like you say, and Foster was well known for 7 strings and 7 string conversions. But there is an extremely little market for 7 strings. Id say $ 1000-1200 tops ?
better get that deteriorating pickguard off, too, before it eats into the guitar....Last edited by fws6; 05-07-2017 at 05:52 AM.
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Originally Posted by Little Jay
That's been re-necked. Certainly making any comments about the originality of the truss rod, or the neck material itself moot. Originally Posted by Hammertone
First thing I thought was it was an old L-4 non cutaway with a broken neck. Maybe even converted to the CC pickup before the re-necking.
I've done 6-7 conversions before. It involves a new neck entirely and some amount of overhang on the cutaway side because if you're retaining the original centre line, the 6 string width that the cutaway was cut to will be too narrow to the tune of a half a string's spacing. Benedetto has a clever solution for this buy building in a graceful overhang over the cutaway section.
Now IF the cutaway IS flush to the new fingerboard, then the cutaway was added at the time of the conversion. Pictures please.
Had this in reality have been a non cutaway L-4 with a totally broken neck, then there's a huge "why not" factor to retro fitting it to a seven. At this point it's not a repair, or a restoration, but a resurrection from a piece of firewood to a player's tool. And a nice job too.
Also I tend to think the fingerboard is a complete new construction too, radius issues are kind of problematic to retrofit. If I were to build an entirely new neck, I'd build a new one, inlay it the way I wanted and bind it as the photos show.
As to its value, I'd say pretty much what was paid for the work of the conversion, because what made that guitar a Gibson died on the operating table. If it plays like magic, then all the more of a find. You don't buy that quality, you find it.
That's my feeling anyway.
David
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The jack under the pickguard tells me maybe that guitar started out originally as an acoustic instrument ?
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Yeah could be the body was an acoustic Gibson once and a new neck and cutaway were added later.
If it plays and sounds good and you want a 7-string then go for it.
If they ask a high price 'because it's a Gibson': nope, it's not anymore! So price cannot be that of a vintage Gibson. The value is what TruthHertz states about it I guess.
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