1965 Gibson Tal Farlow

[HeyNow]

no affiliation - filled holes in top from a previous CC pickup install - $8,280

https://www.ebay.com/itm/39752810107...1077&recoPos=1

[Gitterbug]

Stunning! Also interesting, as this and other restoration projects by renowned luthiers contradict many collectors' insistence on originality, warts and all. I much prefer to see professionally restored vintage guitars and think they should command a price premium rather than the opposite. Somebody's paid a hefty sum for the work after all. These aren't prehistoric artifacts belonging to a museum. Why should guitars be different from vintage furniture, works of art, cars - or other musical instruments - in this regard? Hard to guess which one is more desirable: a 100-year old Steinway in original condition, with or without a mouse colony, or a sibling that's been at least refurbished, let alone rebuilt. As a regular concert-goer, I've seen and heard a number of instruments from the violin family dating to the late 1600s and onwards. Their fingerboards must have been replaced several times, and invasive surgery in other parts is also quite common.

[Cunamara]

And those modifications and repairs, as immaculately done as they were, probably knock a couple grand off the price of the instrument. There were only something like 214 of these made in the initial production run.

It's interesting that somebody put a CC pickup in it at one point; that of course is what Tal used in his ES-250 and retrofitted to his ES-350, which originally had two P90s. Perhaps the original owner was a serious Tal fan and wanted to be as tonally accurate as possible. I might have actually left that in place, although Mark Campellone did a fantastic job of restoring it to original factory spec.

[vinnyv1k]

This guitar was restored by Mark Campellone so it is most definitely worth the price.

[Cunamara]

Casting no aspersions whatsoever on the outstanding work of Mark Campellone. With his level of skill and expertise he is worth every dollar. I can't imagine better crafted repair- or perhaps restoration is more apropos.

But practically speaking, in the world of guitar collectors, the mods that were previously done which Mark had to repair knock value off the price. If it had been unmodified in the first place, probably a $10k instrument given the very limited number that exist.

But like I said, I might have personally kept the CC as I really liked how Tal sounded with the CC in his ES-350 (e.g., The Swinging Guitar of Tal Farlow).

[MCampellone]

Stunning! Also interesting, as this and other restoration projects by renowned luthiers contradict many collectors' insistence on originality, warts and all. I much prefer to see professionally restored vintage guitars and think they should command a price premium rather than the opposite. Somebody's paid a hefty sum for the work after all. These aren't prehistoric artifacts belonging to a museum. Why should guitars be different from vintage furniture, works of art, cars - or other musical instruments - in this regard? Hard to guess which one is more desirable: a 100-year old Steinway in original condition, with or without a mouse colony, or a sibling that's been at least refurbished, let alone rebuilt. As a regular concert-goer, I've seen and heard a number of instruments from the violin family dating to the late 1600s and onwards. Their fingerboards must have been replaced several times, and invasive surgery in other parts is also quite common.

I guess the value of a restoration vs. an original with defects is a debatable issue, at least as far as guitars go - I'm obviously in Gitterbug's camp on this question. While an original guitar in excellent condition will command higher price, I think that a nicely restored instrument should be worth at least as much as an original with issues.

[HeyNow]

would be nice to have pics of the back of the neck, back of the headstock

[MCampellone]

would be nice to have pics of the back of the neck, back of the headstock

Here you go -

[andrew]

What happened to the Charlie Christian pickup that was in the guitar?

[Woody Sound]

Nice burst color. Looks like it was just sold, maybe someone here...

[brownbagpro]

Vintage furniture is ALWAYS worth the most when left unfinished. I've seen furniture built in the 1700's originally worth $300,000 devalued by more than $200,000 because someone chose to polish, strip or refinish it to make it look nicer... Beware adding or removing original parts.

[Woody Sound]

Vintage furniture is ALWAYS worth the most when left unfinished. I've seen furniture built in the 1700's originally worth $300,000 devalued by more than $200,000 because someone chose to polish, strip or refinish it to make it look nicer... Beware adding or removing original parts.

Ah, but a piece of furniture is not normally a musical instrument, and a musical instrument is not usually a piece of furniture.

[Cunamara]

I guess the value of a restoration vs. an original with defects is a debatable issue, at least as far as guitars go - I'm obviously in Gitterbug's camp on this question. While an original guitar in excellent condition will command higher price, I think that a nicely restored instrument should be worth at least as much as an original with issues.

A well restored instrument should usually be worth more than the same instrument unrestored (except perhaps in the case of a specific instrument associated with a specific player- restoring Rory Gallagher's '61 Strat, for example, would not enhance its value). It's the psychology of the collector.

[MCampellone]

What happened to the Charlie Christian pickup that was in the guitar?

No idea - the CC pickup was long gone by the time I got the guitar -

[brownbagpro]

And to that I say...don't ever strip the finish or change the appearance of your classic guitar (Gibson burst, 1960 L-5, Stradivarius violin or cello, 57-64 Strat or tele, etc. or you may discover the point i'm making...)

[brownbagpro]

The work Mr. Campellone did on this beautiful guitar is indeed stunning and of high quality, please don't get me wrong on that. In fact, it comes very close to the Tal Farlow that I own, basic difference is that mine is original, and with prejudice I would value mine just as high and a grade above. All that said, we all have differing opinions which is why there is a "market" out there that allows a prospective buyer "choices" to pay what they are willing for an object of their desire.

[Gitterbug]

Regarding antique furniture, the picture is not black/white. I think furniture is meant to be used and kept in shape, not collected. While some sort of natural varnishes have existed since ancient times, especially in Asia, peasant furniture remained largely untreated, at least here in Scandinavia. Linseed oil was often used, also as a base for the typical red ochre paints used mainly for exteriors. Further south, furniture from harder and/or naturally oily woods needed even less protection. Oils and waxes were used for finer furniture. Those treatments were repeated on a regular basis, and it takes a lab to analyze the timing of successive strates. Shellac came into use max. three centuries ago. We all know how vulnerable it is to scratches, moisture or alcohol, so at least touch-up spots are common. French polishing is even more recent as a method, and cellulose dope is an early 20th century substitute. Without softeners, early cellulose dope has a tendency to crackle.

Having removed layers of enamel paint from a number of Art Nouveau chairs and étagères, I fully agree that painting them is a sin. But to save the piece, what else can you do but try and restore it with original stain and varnish? Once when my ex-brother-in-law and I were carrying an Art Nouveau dining set from a dingy storage to my my car, he asked: "How can you tell the difference between junk and antiques?" My reply: "Depends on which way you're taking it: homeward or away." Restoring that set lasted from Thanksgiving to Epiphany, but there were two Christmases in between. That was 40 years ago, and the set is still serving us every day.

[HeyNow]

Re-listed at $9,200 - strange. There was some 10% discount before

[MCampellone]

Re-listed at $9,200 - strange. There was some 10% discount before

The seller was discounting a number of items and the Tal was included by mistake.