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Government Series- Les Paul


retrorod

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Hey all, I just ran across this on the local Craigs List....

 

http://norfolk.craig...4001180582.html

 

Any comments or info?

 

Well it's not listed as a "Gov't Mule" or "Government Mule" signature Les Paul, so I'm just seeing any value in the listed item.......

 

Besides, it's not listed as having been actually owned by the "Fish and Wildlife" folks, so, what's the big deal ???

 

Thirdly, the seller doesn't offer proof which portion of the wood was actually held by the Gov. in a non climate controlled environment.

 

And, even if the wood is special because it sat in some gov warehouse for a year, how does that make it special ??

 

Did it sit next to some confiscated bald eagle feathers ?? Did some secret "mojo" flow between the two ???

 

And finally, a buyer should be aware that the wood would always be "on call" to be "subpoenaed" for any further investigations...

 

I would not but it, but hey, who knows ??

 

Maybe it excels at playing a certain Judas Priest song....

 

( I haven't checked out the model on any site, so I'm a bit in the unknown here, just being me )

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Well it's not listed as a "Gov't Mule" or "Government Mule" signature Les Paul, so I'm just seeing any value in the listed item.......

 

Besides, it's not listed as having been actually owned by the "Fish and Wildlife" folks, so, what's the big deal ???

 

Thirdly, the seller doesn't offer proof which portion of the wood was actually held by the Gov. in a non climate controlled environment.

 

And, even if the wood is special because it sat in some gov warehouse for a year, how does that make it special ??

 

Did it sit next to some confiscated bald eagle feathers ?? Did some secret "mojo" flow between the two ???

 

And finally, a buyer should be aware that the wood would always be "on call" to be "subpoenaed" for any further investigations...

 

I would not but it, but hey, who knows ??

 

Maybe it excels at playing a certain Judas Priest song....

 

( I haven't checked out the model on any site, so I'm a bit in the unknown here, just being me )

 

I think the point is that it was a national news story and a major event in gibson's history. So to have a limited edition guitar made of the confiscated wood is pretty cool i think.

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I think the point is that it was a national news story and a major event in gibson's history. So to have a limited edition guitar made of the confiscated wood is pretty cool i think.

 

I do understand that, and it is "pretty cool", I agree.

 

The term "Limited Edition", no matter what, won't make it a better sounding guitar, but, that point is moot as well......I wish him luck with the sale for sure.....

 

Will it gain in value over time ??? No, it will not. Do I know this for a fact ?? No, but it will not gain any special value at all.......It's just another of the production line "Studio" Les Paul.

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Guest Farnsbarns

Ah yes, and due to the royalties they had to pay you per item, these guitars are very rare, aren't they? [mellow]

I assume the Governmental Grey colour was your suggestion, too? :rolleyes:

 

Nope, just the notion...

 

My link

 

See post 6.

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Is there any authentication that they're made of the confiscated wood? I'm a little wary

Interesting question. I think that they may consist of confiscated and other woods depending on species. So I think there was no trouble with maple anyhow.

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I hope the feds had more than 300 fingerboards. That's like maybe 50 board feet of wood. What's that, one or two thousand dollars worth?

 

So what'd they save by breaking the law for those 300 guitars. A few hundred bucks? Like one dollar per guitar.

 

Way to go Hanky!! One dollar per guitar. That's what you would have saved if you got away with it. You're slick, Hoss. [biggrin]

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I hope the feds had more than 300 fingerboards. That's like maybe 50 board feet of wood. What's that, one or two thousand dollars worth?

 

So what'd they save by breaking the law for those 300 guitars. A few hundred bucks? Like one dollar per guitar.

 

Way to go Hanky!! One dollar per guitar. That's what you would have saved if you got away with it. You're slick, Hoss. [biggrin]

They made Government series of LP, SG, Explorer, Flying V and perhaps others. I think that most of the confiscated woods was sealed by the authorities but left at the factory, and they took samples with them for chemical and biological laboratory investigations. Maybe the Government series were made using returned samples after Gibson was allowed to unseal the related batches of woods.

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Thanks for the varied opinions. I,myself, only trust the Gibson Certificate Authorisation a 'slight' bit more than the US Gov't claim to the 'illegalities' of 'said wood'.

I believe that Gibson bought the wood...in good faith and according to international law. If anyone is guilty it would be the 'seller'.

 

Kind of like 'drug-dealing' [confused]

 

I really don,t see Gibson Inc wanting to provide laminate bridges and fingerboards to hit a price point....Jeeesh!

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Thanks for the varied opinions. I,myself, only trust the Gibson Certificate Authorisation a 'slight' bit more than the US Gov't claim to the 'illegalities' of 'said wood'.

I believe that Gibson bought the wood...in good faith and according to international law. If anyone is guilty it would be the 'seller'.

 

Kind of like 'drug-dealing' [confused]

 

I really don,t see Gibson Inc wanting to provide laminate bridges and fingerboards to hit a price point....Jeeesh!

+1

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I've got a Gov't Series Les Paul. I bought it off Ebay following the first release for approx $1300.

 

They are a bit more than a studio model. They have the black hardware, Dirty Fingers pickups, a custom color case, a custom pickguard with an eagle holding a guitar neck (the pickguard comes unattached) and a COA stating they are part of a limited edition and contain at least some portion of confiscated wood.

 

The entire guitar is a commentary on a historic event: A large American company was raided by armed US federal officers that confiscated materials due to a law enacted to protect foreign interests, not US interests. The government series thumb their nose at this oppressive event by use of the following inside joke: the guitar is made with wood confiscated by the government with dirty fingers.

 

Will they go up in value? When they first came out they sold for about $800. I tired to buy one the first second I read about them, they were sold out except for Ebay, where I bought mine for $1300. Right now there is one on Ebay for $1666 and another one for $1500. The second release has come and gone. Again, they are all sold out except for used market. Even if it doesn't go up in value, it's a Les Paul, and a good one.

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Thanks for the info!

Any chance of some pics??

Sure. Here is one of my earlier posts on this board. I wanted to confirm that it was real:

 

My Government Series LP

 

Another point I thought of is that to my thinking, I can't recall another example of a major guitar maker putting out a special issue guitar as a response in protest to a government action. I could of course be very wrong, but I can't think of any other example. Plenty of protest songs, but I can't think of another protest guitar.

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