Why not buy a used Gibson guitar?

**wintermoon** · 02-09-2018, 02:18 PM

the only new guitars I ever bought were custom builds. correction, I bought a couple blonde L-5's, one new and one nearly new in the 80s. but I knew I wouldn't be keeping them, they played good enough but didn't touch my vintage L-5s tonally, just got an unbelievable deal on them and flipped them within the next year to facilitate other vintage guitars.
the last car I bought, a now 18 yr old Toyota Camry was new.
my next car will not be, same for my next guitar.

that said, some folks like their stuff to look perfect, the minute they get a ding they get it drop filled back to new.
I don't begrudge them this, whatever floats your dingy....

**rpguitar** · 02-09-2018, 02:20 PM

I think that most sellers are basically honest, with the significant caveats that 1) All of them want to sell the object and may subtly manipulate the seller/buyer interaction towards that aim; 2) The seller may not disclose, or be ignorant about, things that matter to the buyer; and 3) Yes, I said "most," so watch for exceptions.

This applies to random people selling used guitars and major stores selling new ones. The more anonymous the sale, the more susceptible the buyer is. This is why one should beware sellers that do not respond promptly and fully to emails or questions.

So there is no fundamental reason not to buy used, or to buy new - each scenario is unique and must be evaluated on its own terms. I keep reading here that there are good Gibsons and bad ones from every decade since they have been in business. So how can there be any hard and fast rules? (rhetorical)

**joe2758** · 02-09-2018, 02:44 PM

I bought a new 2013 es 175 for $3500
1. lifetime guarantee...I don't have enough tech knowledge to see little problems that could escalate
2. free financing for 3 years
3. Plays and sounds amazing
4. I like the idea of starting with new and letting it mature with me as my playing matures.

doesn't seem SO un-reasonable to me. I'm sure the ones from the 50's are magical and give you manicures while you play or whatever

**joe2758** · 02-09-2018, 02:48 PM

oh and also it came with standard humbuckers, but also a free set of P-90s

**vinnyv1k** · 02-09-2018, 02:49 PM

I prefer to buy new and if it isn't a great guitar I sell it. I don't know too many cats that sell absolutely great guitars unless they are dead broke or the original owner has passed on. I keep great guitars and sell the so-so ones. I do absolutely need to thin my herd though but cannot decide what are the ones that need to go. All the ones I have now are all great and ALL are absolute perfect Gibsons BTW to all you Gibson bashers. Yes 2 went back for Gibson warranty work but returned far better than when bought new.
Yes I bash Gibson for there spotty QC but when you get a great one trust me you will never sell it ever.

Personally I see more risk buying used unless you can have it in your hands before you buy it. Reverb and eBay I would never do.
I have bought some great used axes in my lifetime but got to play them first. Internet used I would only do if there is a 100% no risk return policy with no shipping charges.

**rio** · 02-09-2018, 02:57 PM

If both were in a store to play then it would just come down to wanting a pristine guitar. There is something cool about knowing where every song came from and knowing the entire history of an instrument. However on the other hand, imo there is also something cool about not knowing that. When I look at my L5 there is a lot of mystery about where those songs came from in the 46 years before I got it two years ago and now I am adding my own marks to it like a big scratch down the front from my cat climbing up it while I was practicing to get on my shoulders. I can look at that and remember it and also not mind as much because it is not a pristine guitar with a scratch on it, it is a well used guitar with just another mark added to it.

So to each their own, both things have their attraction. When you get down to buying online without having played it first, though, that adds another layer of consideration. I also like that used guitars will have any potential problems already dealt with whereas those problems may be hidden or dormant on a new guitar.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

**joe2758** · 02-09-2018, 03:11 PM

sorry, last thing, fwiw I had a 1964 es 125 and sold it to help pay for the new 175. couldn't be happier

**BigMikeinNJ** · 02-09-2018, 03:16 PM

Seems to me that the CME Blowout gave a lot of guys a chance to buy a new (floor model, ahem) Gibson they never could have afforded.

Then there's the group of guys that still can't afford them and stick to alternatives like Chinese made archtops and
Ibanez, Peerless ect. I sure spent time in that group...

A lot of G envy and bashing here lately. Don't know why, don't care to either.

And then there's the cats that know what they want and go for the older stuff for the usual reasons:

already broken in and stable
really older guitars are lighter and resonate and have that mojo of being played a lot, a LOT in some cases
those old guitars pluck musical memory heart strings and they've been on the Bucket List a long time. Me scoring a couple of old L5s and a Rosewood Crest for example...

It's cycles, someday the cats waiting will get their turn, I'm pulling for them.

Big

**goldenwave77** · 02-09-2018, 03:25 PM

I think Gibsons are good used candidates.

Plenty of people buy them who are not great players, but have "fallen in love" with a guitar that lots of greats have played.....so......when these people find out that becoming great, actually requires a LOT of work, they are embarrassed to have an expensive instrument that they barely play.

Just yesterday, I'm in the local town court getting a vehicle inspection tkt dismissed (ticketed at 2:37 am, before I had a chance to get it inspected that day). I'd have to sit there for a while until my case came up so I brought along Arnie Berle's book on standard pop and jazz chord progressions, to flip through. The uniformed ct. officer at the entrance sees the book cover, and we strike up a conversation.

He's telling me about his black Les Paul Standard, and I tell him...very versatile guitar, and that Les Paul was a decent jazz player too.

He says to me, "Well I just like rock stuff....really just want to play some solid rhythm....that F bar chord is a real bitch....still working on it."

I bite my tongue, and ask him if he's had the action checked, and he said he had.

This is the kind of guy whose wife may be haranguing him in 6 mos...."You spent all that money on that fancy guitar, and you don't even play it."

So ....sure....most guitars don't "go bad". Some are bad to begin with, and you need to check them out, or pay a luthier to look one over. But there are probably millions of guitars in the US sitting under beds or in closets, not getting played.

Reminds me of a funny story from my older brother. His niece was kind of spoiled, and kept lobbying for a new car as a college graduation gift. His brother in law could probably afford one, but my brother thought the niece was being a little too entitled.

He asked her, "Noreen, you know how old I was ...when I got my first new car ?"

....."No...how old, Uncle Steven?"

.... "I'm still waiting !.... is how old....hasn't happened yet....maybe someday."

When we buried him, that was still a true statement.

**Greentone** · 02-09-2018, 04:17 PM

I must've played a thousand Gibson guitars over the years. My conclusions? The old ones, the less old ones, the more recent ones, and the new ones are the best! Seriously, I have played Gibsons made from the 1910s through off the shelf new, and I have been impressed by most of them.

True, some of square-shouldered flattops from the 70s didn't do it for me. They sounded kind of dead in comparison to Guilds and Martins of the same period.

But, go out and find an ES-175--from any period--and it's a pretty good guitar. Some of them are truly great. Same thing with an L5 or an ES-335.

**Stringswinger** · 02-09-2018, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by Greentone

I must've played a thousand Gibson guitars over the years. My conclusions? The old ones, the less old ones, the more recent ones, and the new ones are the best! Seriously, I have played Gibsons made from the 1910s through off the shelf new, and I have been impressed by most of them.

True, some of square-shouldered flattops from the 70s didn't do it for me. They sounded kind of dead in comparison to Guilds and Martins of the same period.

But, go out and find an ES-175--from any period--and it's a pretty good guitar. Some of them are truly great. Same thing with an L5 or an ES-335.

+1

**BigMikeinNJ** · 02-09-2018, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by jameslovestal

I have a 50s Gibson L-7 and 60s ES-125 and ES-175 and all of them I got from widows. With the L-7 I also got the deceased sheet music. While I never heard this man play, I assume he was 'good' based on the alternative chords he wrote on the sheet music. So I got a vintage guitar with guitar lessons!

I was able to use each guitar for a few days and 'test drive' it. We would go to a Music Store with the agreement I pay 10% more than the store would pay. That was fair to all involved. (the store mark-up being at least 50%).

I guess I've been lucky, but I plan on returning the favor. Each of these guitars are already willed to younger jazz guitar players I know, and my wife loves this idea. I.e. I know she would carry out my wishes.

You guys already know how I went from Ibanez and Wu's to Unity's and so on... It seems a lot of the gear I have purchased came from someone passing away. Aside from Patrick's gear the '39 L5P, the '68 Rosewood Crest, the Triggs New Yorker solid body and '65 Deluxe Reverb amp were all passed on via a surviving family member to be in my loving custody.

I know how Blessed I am. I never lose sight of it, and I keep that appreciation moving forward to young kids I know that have received great guitars from me. It's my way of telling God "Thanks, I got this". When I go, I’ve had something similar established through my will and trust so people I love will have something handed down via me to play that maybe they'd never otherwise get to own. There won't be any frantic selling or fire sale, it's all specifically marked and surprise guitar bomb parcels will arrive from my estate. I never feel guilty buying another guitar, most of the time I already know who's gonna get it and give a little smile and laugh...

Yeah call me crazy. I don't mind.

**hotpepper01** · 02-09-2018, 06:26 PM

May be because used guitars would be extremely rare today if nobody back in the days bought them new. It is the circle of guitar life....

**Donnie** · 02-09-2018, 06:36 PM

Agree... why not? my 1950 TL-50 Why not buy a used Gibson guitar?-20180120_185558-jpg

**ThatRhythmMan** · 02-09-2018, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by JazzNote

I bought my blonde 2003 L5CES brand new in 2003, had to order it half a year in advance and the deal was that i didn't need to buy if i wouldn't like it.

When it arrived at the importer i took my 1970 L5CES to the showroom, compared the two guitars intensively and found that the 2003 although not even 2 months old was an improvement over the 1970. I didn't play it too much for the first three years as the sound hadn't mellowed yet, but i could tell that it was going to be great.

And here we are, it became my most loved guitar, all my other archtops have to withstand comparison with this one. The reason why i bought it new was that there were simply no blond used L5's around. If there had been, i certainly would have considered buying used, but who knows. I do not regret having spent the extra money as it became such a great guitar.

I think the custom shop was really on top of its game circa 2003. That was a prime Hutch era.

**BigMikeinNJ** · 02-09-2018, 08:06 PM

Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan

I think the custom shop was really on top of its game circa 2003. That was a prime Hutch era.

Agreed, my 2004 Birdie is a Hutch signed guitar and I love it - one of the reasons I like it is the neck isn't as skinny as they used to be... Those classic Gibson designs just keep calling out to me "Mikey, Mikey..."

LOL

Enjoyed the hell out of your story Jazznote.

**Max405** · 02-09-2018, 08:21 PM

Enough great things can’t possibly happen to you Mikey.
Just have fun. Live.
Joe D

**JazzNote** · 02-09-2018, 08:24 PM

Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan

I think the custom shop was really on top of its game circa 2003. That was a prime Hutch era.

Yep, it's also signed by Hutch!

**2bornot2bop** · 02-09-2018, 08:33 PM

Throughout my life when it comes to cars I ALWAYS bought new. Jag's, Porsche's, Infiniti's, Lexus, I've owned some of everything. But I've only owned 1 new guitar. Saving $2500 on a used L5 versus a new one isn't worth the cost to me. However I've nothing against anyone who has money to blow. It's there's to spend.

And anyone who doesn't want to spend enough to own an L5 who hasn't tried a Tal Farlow is missing out. Just sayin'

**Max405** · 02-09-2018, 08:47 PM

Viceroy Brown..
takes a back seat to nothing.

**73Fender** · 02-09-2018, 10:01 PM

I've always bought my Gibsons used. An R8, R7, CS LP SG, Nashville 59 335 and some more modest examples like an SG Classic and a LP Special. I still have them all and am happy with each deal. I tried them all first in person. I got great deals at price points that if I had to sell them I'd get all or most of the money back. Trying to be practical I guess.

I had no reason to buy a new Gibson.

Until last night when I couldn't resist a new (floor model) ES 175 from CME at less than the price of the used ones I see out there. So my "practical" GAS continues.

Oh, I forgot the great deal I got on a 59 VOS 330 from, of all places Amazon. Listed at a great price as used, but it was new and had the COA. Needed a basic set up and some tweaks and some hunting down of rattles and when I called Amazon and complained about the set up they dropped a bunch off the price so that wound up way less than a used one. I steped in s..t with that deal.

I'm off to google the Tal Farlow model..you guys are GAS inducing.

**sunnysideup** · 02-09-2018, 10:15 PM

If I lived in the US I guess my closet would be stuffed with vintage Bibsons. Or perhaps Guilds. In the US they are cheap.

But I've found that many US private sellers, and even some dealers, are hostile to the idea of shipping their national treasures outside of the homeland. Either that or they don't know how international shipping works.

The shipping costs from the US are usually the most expensive in the world too.

**citizenk74** · 02-09-2018, 11:09 PM

Why not buy a used Gibson? Well, I have. Repeatedly. A series of Les Pauls. An L-48. An ES-325, -35, -45. An ES-175. An ES-137.

I did buy one new one, at the insistence of my wife - A 2006 ES-175, all curly maple back & sides, with a nicely chunky mahogany neck and Classic '57s. I just went in for a pack of Chromes and a Joe Pass book, honest. Some days just take a turn for the better.

I'm good.