$500,000 Les Paul?

AcornHouse

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Did anyone else catch tonight's episode of "Treasure Detectives"? One of the items they were investigating was a 2002 Les Paul that Les Paul was given by Gibson for the 50th anniversary of the LP, and was on the cover of Les Paul's autobio. The owner claimed that because it was on the cover of Les' only book, it was special to him and must be worth $500K.
They talked with various people, including Les' guitar tech and the LP foundation. They verified that it was indeed the guitar that Les was holding on the cover. They also said that it wasn't special to Les or one that he played regularly, and that it was worth what the owner paid for it, about $7-10K.
The owner (who claims to be a vintage, collector dealer) started sputtering, accusing them of everything, shouting obscenities, and threatening them with lawsuits, etc... :shock:
Too funny! :lol:
 

tjmangum

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How funny. I will try to find that episode. My experience in the auction business is that people get a "Number" in their head and once that $$$ is planted, no one can change it.
As Mr. Simon once wrote and sang, "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest".
T
 

dreadnut

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I'll have to try to dredge that one up, sounds good. :lol:

A wise friend once told me: "Perception, in the eye of the beholder, is every bit as real as reality."
 

AcornHouse

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At the beginning of the episode, as soon as he threw out the $500K number I knew he was totally out of it. Les is known for playing LPs that were highly modified and ungodly heavy. Plus, as a 2002, it couldn't have any history with him.
Clapton's Brownie got just under $500K, and he recorded Layla with it!


Btw, I found the link to his eBay listing on the LP forum. He was indeed asking for $500K, had 96 offers, and the listing was ended due to it being no longer available. The guy was such a db, I hope he gets less than he paid.

The show is on CNBC, btw.
 

Yoko Oh No

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AcornHouse said:
The show is on CNBC, btw.

Ok....this is a JOKE Mr. Moderator....please don't banish my comment to cyberspace...

If it show was on CNBC, there could only be one person at fault for not appraising the guitar at $500,000.....

George W. Bush :D
 

dreadnut

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Thanks for that, Chris :D

We all took one of those personality tests at work years ago. I laughed because one of my boss's identified tendencies was to "continue to defend his position, even after having been proven wrong." :lol:
 

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I think I had this post in the back of my mind when I dug up my company of the Duane Allman biography Skydog. In the back is a section on his guitars, and the first one listed was his first electric, a 1959 Les Paul Junior. The story goes that he pawned it when he was drunk and couldn't remember where. His friend Delaney Bramlett unknowingly buys the guitar at a pawn shop for $60, and eventuall Allman sees it again and asks if there's a gouge on the back that looks like it was made by a thumbnail.

When Bramlett says there is, Allman says, "Damn, that's where I pawned it." He asks for it back, but Bramlett says no. Eventually it winds up in the hands of a Japanese collector named Kunio Kishida, who note only still owns it, but certainly can play it.

gdalpj59.jpg
 

dreadnut

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Great story, TF!

So my cousin says to me a couple years ago: "My Grampa bought me a guitar when I was 10 years old; a Gibson Les Paul Jr." Me "No $hit :shock: Now yer gonna tell me you sold it for $50 once, right?" "No" he says "my daughter keeps it in her bedroom, she plunks on it once in awhile." I advised him to lock it away and insure it. I researched it, there were only some 4,000 of them manufactured in '58, and only about 400 of them were like this one, a Junior Junior. (They took the regular LP body and put a short-scale neck on it for younger players. It's a little bit nicked up and missing one knob. This is it:

37bc749d-d009-488b-a79d-25b2f99ee65c_zpsde198f8c.jpg
 

walrus

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Those clips were was entertaining! That guy is nuts!

Dread, looks like he has some of her college tuition sitting there in her room! All the more reason he should take your advice and insure it...

walrus
 

poser

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walrus said:
Those clips were was entertaining! That guy is nuts!

Dread, looks like he has some of her college tuition sitting there in her room! All the more reason he should take your advice and insure it...

walrus
Exactly. I don't consider anything that I see on reality shows to be anything close to reality. If they aren't scripted, then I'm sure those guys a re coached.
It's just not entertaining if people don't display some outrageous behavior. :roll:
 

dreadnut

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Yeah, his grandpa paid $120 for it in 1958, which was a pretty good chunk of change back then. It was Gibson's entry-level electric guitar - one pickup, 2 knobs, transparent red paint, Gibson decal on the headstock. Still pretty cool though :D

Evidently the seller didn't want to lose face when he found out his claims about the rarity and value of this guitar were greatly exaggerated. I wonder where in the world he came up with the $500K figure?
 

AcornHouse

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dreadnut said:
Evidently the seller didn't want to lose face when he found out his claims about the rarity and value of this guitar were greatly exaggerated. I wonder where in the world he came up with the $500K figure?
He probably thought that since Clapton's Brownie brought just under 500k and Blackie just under 1mill., that Les Paul's LP must be worth that much, too.
If it was Les' original "log" guitar, then it might have been in that area.
 

AcornHouse

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I just noticed, it's being rerun tonight at 8 and 11 (cnbc), if any one wants to see it. There's also a segment with James Brown's cape.
 

kitniyatran

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AcornHouse said:
I just noticed, it's being rerun tonight at 8 and 11 (cnbc), if any one wants to see it. There's also a segment with James Brown's cape.
Too busy with the new season debut of Doctor Who & series premier of Orphan Black, but thanks anyway.
 

adorshki

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poser said:
Exactly. I don't consider anything that I see on reality shows to be anything close to reality. If they aren't scripted, then I'm sure those guys a re coached.
It's just not entertaining if people don't display some outrageous behavior. :roll:
OR there's a Chumlee.
Short veer: I used to think "Reality TV" was supposed to mean "unscripted" too, but I finally realized it just means "non-fictional characters". In fact, by that definition, "What's My Line", "Candid Camera" and "Lets Make a Deal" were all "reality TV".
Kind of explains why the so-called "original" reality show, "Survivor", was really nothing more than a game show dressed up with exotic locales and improbable contests of skill.
At least "Pawn Stars" offers real people at a real place of work and some comedy relief. :D
And then there's "Top Gear".
Real people in real cars performing improbable feats of skill.
:lol:
 
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