Hi fellow Guildsters -
I am more of an electric guitarist, though I do love my Guild G312 and D50. These are however my only acoustics, and while I enjoy playing them, I just tend to reach for the Bluesbird when I have time to play anymore. With that said, I have an opportunity to purchase a '66 Gibson J-45 in VG+ condition with hardshell plastic case. Problem is, I have no idea what these are worth, so I am hoping someone here that has more exposure to mid-60's Gibby's maybe can help me out.
The guitar in question is an extremely rare color, being Red with Mahogany back/sides and it looks identical to this one:
It is in really good shape, with a few minor dings and a little bit of finish checking - not a big deal at all. It had a Gibson factory neck reset at some point and was apparently marked with "BGN" (bargain?) at that point. I will get a chance to play it this weekend, but according to the seller, who is a world reknown guitarist and a dear friend, "it plays better than any acoustic guitar" he has ever played. I believe this, as he would not lie and he definitely knows his stuff.
I just have no idea how much these are worth on the market, especially with the "BGN" stamp. He is listing it for $3500 and offering to sell to me for $3k, which seems reasonable for a completely mint '66 J-45 (based on my research). I just don't know that he hasn't just thrown a number out there without knowing the market value for one thyat is not collector grade. So while I may fall in love and have to have it all costs, I at least don't want to be in a position of dropping 3G's and then finding out if I want to resell it I grossly overpaid. I just have no clue what this would be worth and I see prices all over the map for these mid-late '60's J45's. I mean, $1200-3500 is what have found for recent prices...this is a pretty extreme range for what appears to be a pretty narrow range of condition - good to mint.
If I say that $2k is kind of an average, how much does a rare color add to the value and how much does a neck reset and "BGN" stamp detract from the value? Any opinions?
Much appreciated!
Craig
I am more of an electric guitarist, though I do love my Guild G312 and D50. These are however my only acoustics, and while I enjoy playing them, I just tend to reach for the Bluesbird when I have time to play anymore. With that said, I have an opportunity to purchase a '66 Gibson J-45 in VG+ condition with hardshell plastic case. Problem is, I have no idea what these are worth, so I am hoping someone here that has more exposure to mid-60's Gibby's maybe can help me out.
The guitar in question is an extremely rare color, being Red with Mahogany back/sides and it looks identical to this one:
It is in really good shape, with a few minor dings and a little bit of finish checking - not a big deal at all. It had a Gibson factory neck reset at some point and was apparently marked with "BGN" (bargain?) at that point. I will get a chance to play it this weekend, but according to the seller, who is a world reknown guitarist and a dear friend, "it plays better than any acoustic guitar" he has ever played. I believe this, as he would not lie and he definitely knows his stuff.
I just have no idea how much these are worth on the market, especially with the "BGN" stamp. He is listing it for $3500 and offering to sell to me for $3k, which seems reasonable for a completely mint '66 J-45 (based on my research). I just don't know that he hasn't just thrown a number out there without knowing the market value for one thyat is not collector grade. So while I may fall in love and have to have it all costs, I at least don't want to be in a position of dropping 3G's and then finding out if I want to resell it I grossly overpaid. I just have no clue what this would be worth and I see prices all over the map for these mid-late '60's J45's. I mean, $1200-3500 is what have found for recent prices...this is a pretty extreme range for what appears to be a pretty narrow range of condition - good to mint.
If I say that $2k is kind of an average, how much does a rare color add to the value and how much does a neck reset and "BGN" stamp detract from the value? Any opinions?
Much appreciated!
Craig