For guitars made prior to 1977 use the extended search function. Gibson made the first electric guitar in 1935 and has pioneered famous guitars such as the les paul, the flying v, the explorer, the firebird, and sg. For more details on gibson serialization prior to 1975 and historical product specs, use your gruhns guide or view the following pdf files. So, if you had, say, a mid1990s koreanmade epiphone les paul with a. Im generalizing, but from my gatherings concerning most gibsons but especially lps and sgs, 60s thru like 7071 seem to have the best luck in terms. Vintage guitar collecting, like anything else is subject to fashion. For example, this guitar does not have origonal pickups in it. The following is what i found out from the blue book of electric.
What is the value of a 1974 gibson les paul custom 20th. You can also consult the blue book of guitar values to see what it is worth. Enjoy the lowest prices and best selection of gibson guitars at guitar center. Orvilles guitars were often made of the wood from old furniture, to get the tonal quality of aged wood. Do you have a gibson guitar and would like to know how much it is worth. This will give you a good base approximation of what your guitar is worth. Hello, this is just to see people opinions on which guitar would perform better when playing blues. We enlisted the help of chicago music exchanges daniel escauriza and the association of stringed music appraisers brian wolfe and leonard wyeth to find out how much electric guitars are worth and where to. If you already own an older edition of this book, you can not get a current price, simply by adjusting for inflation.
Read about guitar history and find out how much your guitar is worth at the reverb price guide. Vintage guitars info gibson collecting vintage gibson. Finding the value in a gibson acoustic guitar can be done in a number of common sense ways. Dating a gibson by factory order number fon gibson has historically used two different alphanumerical formats to catalog its instruments. If youre thinking about buying a gibson from this time on. Welcome to the reverb price guide, the ultimate resource for music gear pricing and information. Valuation reports for used electric guitar products. Whether you are looking for a fender guitar value, a gibson guitar value or a. Home forums the solid guitar gibson sg gibson sg custom 1976. What is the value of a 1965 gibson les paul sg guitar. I have an old gibson sg that ive been playing for about 15. To a lesser extent, gibson also makes banjos, dobro resonator guitars, electronics, and basses. The gibson guitar corporation in nashville, tennessee, was founded in 1902 in kalamazoo, michigan by orville gibson.
Read about guitar history and find out how much your guitar is worth at the. Mm12 string version available with 2 pickups and no vibrato. The blue book of guitar values, aka the guitar blue book, is an indispensable guide. Gibson and epiphone guitars serial number guide the. Another great resource is vintage guitar magazines price guide, which is regularly updated and available at amazon. Collectors who grew up in the 1950s often want different guitars to those that grew up in the 1980s. The official vintage guitar price guide vintage guitar. Gibson guitars resale value ed roman king of guitars.
There are always exceptions to these rules, the two listed below are worth noting. This new function will try to match the serial number against older formats, details required for an exact match are listed in yellow. Reverb transactions to estimate the current value of items in used but original. Vintage guitars info gibson solidbody vintage guitar. Hi all, i inheriting a gibson 1962 sg special painted offwhite color with a gibson falcon amp from my uncle. Discussion in guitars in general started by josephpnorman, jan. Cadillacs pelham blue metallic became one of gibsons most common custom colors in the 60s. Sg body style with pointed horns, white pickup covers, enlarged white pickguard that covers most of body, knobs mounted into top, vibrato standard, fire engine red or pelham blue finish. Les paul models sg models esstyle models basses designer models gibson custom shop. The guitar dater project gibson serial number decoder when was your gibson made. Carlos santana, robby krieger, and pete townshend were among the early champions of the gibson sg special shown here in its first incarnation. Trying to get an idea about the value of the guitar for insurance purposes.
The blue book of acoustic guitars and blue book of electric guitars are the. The new 14th editions of the blue book of acoustic guitars and blue book of electric. On this page, you will find questions and answers about the value of specific gibson guitars. Gibson is a wellknown musical instrument company in the united states, with origins dating back to the 1890s. Find the current blue book value and worth of your new and used guitars, both acoustic, electric and amplifier. The blue book of guitars to give it its proper name, has become the go to place for anyone buying or selling a second hand guitar in order to figure out what said guitar is worth. The following are a summary of fons as documented by joe spann in his great book of gibson fon numbers. Anyway, like you said, they made the sg melody maker in pelham blue, in 63 i think, pretty cool guitar. If you would like to see more information about specific brand of guitars,you may be interested in these pages. How to find the value of an epiphone guitar our pastimes. They are known for their acoustic and electric stringed instruments, primarily in guitars and mandolins. How to date a gibson using serial numbers, fons and.
Gibson guitars have been played by rock n roll and blues legends that include jimmy page and b. This is very important as the blue book provides values based upon the guitars condition as indicated above. Gibson electric guitar descriptions from the blue book of guitars. In the early years gibson also used factory order numbers f o n to track batches of instruments being produced at the time. If you want a completely accurate evaluation of your gibson, my advice would be to go to the experts at blue book of guitar values. Here are some useful tips and resources to help you find out the value of your guitar. The blue book is one of several respected pricing guides that can help you determine the general value of your guitar, depending on its overall condition and playability. Use this site for a pricing guide and source of information on all guitars.
Used equipment blue book values and online fair market. Have an old les paul, stratocaster, gibson flying v or other electric guitar to sell. How to find out the age and value of a guitar with pictures. Discussion in gibson sg started by syrjosh, nov 23, 2006. Gibson acoustic guitar descriptions from the blue book of. The guitar dater project gibson serial number decoder. We are the trusted guitar price guide for providing guitar blue book values. Had the guitar been a vintage gibson, or a more expensive guitar, it would matter. Within the past 20 years or so i can think of only one gibson that has increased in value. It is made by mostly dealers with info from actual sales. Its been so successful that its spawned a whole series of more specialist books, such as the paul reed smith pocket guide, and a special edition book on marshalls legendary bluesbreaker amp. By 1960, diminishing sales for gibsons original les paul solidbody guitar line compelled the company to gradually drop the thencurrent models and replace them with an entirely newly redesigned set. These price ranges utilize a combination of expert research, external market data, and realtime reverb transactions to estimate the current value of items in used but original condition.
The blue book of acoustic guitars and blue book of electric guitars are the two leading reference and value guides in the guitar industry, along with the blue. Find blue book values and fair market prices on used guns, computers, stereos and more with online price guides and the most accurate used equipment data online. Right a highly customized 1960 es350td with a bespoke dark blue finish. Musical instruments blue book used musical instruments product. The gibson serial number decoder currently supports 6 formats from 4 factories. Transparent colors, violet sunburst, natural, black, transparent red, blue. Your electric guitar could be worth thousands where to. The company was formerly known as gibson guitar corporation and renamed gibson brands, inc. For information on fon numbers a copy of the blue book of electric guitars by zachary r. Gibsons have serial numbers and there is a site called kelly blue book. New 14th editions of blue book of acoustic guitars and blue book. If youve ever encountered a 1959 gibson les paul standard, odds are you will know your answer immediately.
I agree that odds are that its not worth trading for the early 70s lp. If you know a little bit about fancy guitars or about joe bonamassa, you probably already know that the 1959 gibson les paul standard is the most coveted guitar on the marketplace. Refer to publications such as the blue book of guitars blue book publications. Orville also pioneered the use of the arch top in guitar and mandolin design, taking inspiration from. Fjestad1952 1960 solidbodieswhen gibson start the production of solidbody guitars in 1952, a new serial number system was developed. Ive had a gibson sg 90 double for many years and never really used it. How to find the value of a gibson acoustic guitar our. For instruments older than 1975, youll need to consult a gruhn guide or one of the blue book pdfs available through gibsons site. Gibson acoustic guitar descriptions from the blue book of guitars. You can find the blue book online and search it for free at. The blue book of electric guitars features comprehensive information and uptodate pricing. Get the best prices on our vintage gibson guitars both instore and online. Its in good shape, but the case is a little used looking.
When appraising your guitar, the first place to begin is the average market value of the guitar. For updates on what gibson is doing about covid19, click here. Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at. If you can not grade your guitar or amplifier please submit some close up pictures for my assessment top. Les paul models sg models esstyle models basses designer models. I use the blue book for all of my evaluation needs and i have found it to be accurate and extremely useful. This model features an ink stamped serial number with no made in usa just as we used on the. The number one source of guitar and amplifier pricing and information so you can find the price and value of your used guitars and amplifier. Solidbody double neck sg style guitars are not nearly as desirable, though popularized by bands such as led zeppelin in the 1970s. Carolyn manis background includes twenty years of experience in both live and online auctions, as well as an extensive background in appraising and vetting furniture and decorative arts, fine art, collectibles, musical instruments and entertainment memorabilia. The best way to determine a real cash value would be a blue book. Major trademarks including fender, gibson, martin, paul reed smith.
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