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What`s the deal with "project guitars"


btoth76

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Hello!

 

I was looking at eBay and found a whole bunch of "body and neck project" Gibsons.

 

I am curious, why would people buy expensive guitars, remove all the hardware and sell them as this:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-Gibson-USA-Les-Paul-Peace-BODY-NECK-Project-Guitar-Tranquility-Blue-/361006291920?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item540da6dbd0#ht_1994wt_1073

 

I just can't get it...

 

Do You have an idea?

 

Cheers... Bence

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I think somebody liked the "Peace" design hardware and plastics, and so they sold pickups and machine heads, too. Remember Donny was looking for "Peace" pot knobs recently... wait... Donny????? [scared] Hey, what's up??!? :o [-X

 

;)

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So, do I understand correctly?

 

The eBay seller bought a complete guitar. Disassembled it. Sold the hardware, and now selling the body. Thus, earning more money than selling it as a complete guitar... This seller has many others for sale.

 

That's behind "body and neck projects" being offered for sale?

 

Cheers... Bence

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So, do I understand correctly?

 

The eBay seller bought a complete guitar. Disassembled it. Sold the hardware, and now selling the body. Thus, earning more money than selling it as a complete guitar... This seller has many others for sale.

 

That's behind "body and neck projects" being offered for sale?

 

Cheers... Bence

Don't know for sure, but I guess that's the way it is.

 

They obviously sold the "Peace" case separately, too.

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So, do I understand correctly?

 

The eBay seller bought a complete guitar. Disassembled it. Sold the hardware, and now selling the body. Thus, earning more money than selling it as a complete guitar... This seller has many others for sale.

 

That's behind "body and neck projects" being offered for sale?

 

Cheers... Bence

 

Yes, that's it. there are more but this particular seller used to deal only in Fender parts, now that is so common to modify Gibsons they can be had stripped of all parts as a base for a project.

 

lets say you want boutique pickups, locking tuners, aluminum tailpiece, ABR bridge and you were planning to replace all pots and caps, why not just buy a stripped body for a little less and save the time to sell all the stock hardware yourself.

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Right but if your not handy with a saw and don't want to spend 5 years to learn how to build a guitar and you want to make a Les Paul to your own specs… There you go. That how I did my project Les Paul Gold top.

 

Went from this:

 

111607.jpg

 

To this:

 

7Fullfront.jpg

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Right but if your not handy with a saw and don't want to spend 5 years to learn how to build a guitar and you want to make a Les Paul to your own specs… There you go. That how I did my project Les Paul Gold top.

 

Went from this:

 

111607.jpg

 

To this:

 

7Fullfront.jpg

 

Hello Dave!

 

In these cases I miss that "+" button. [thumbup]

 

Best wishes... Bence

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So, do I understand correctly?

 

The eBay seller bought a complete guitar. Disassembled it. Sold the hardware, and now selling the body. Thus, earning more money than selling it as a complete guitar... This seller has many others for sale.

 

That's behind "body and neck projects" being offered for sale?

 

Cheers... Bence

 

 

You're talking about a seller named "gibson dependable". And yes, they are doing what they do to make money. They buy the guitar whole sale, break it down and sell off the parts. I've bought from them many times. High quality stuff and the descriptions are usually dead on and returns are quick and painless.

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I have bought from both Gibson Dependable and The stratosphere and have great things to say about both.

 

I saw the stratosphere ebay guitars last month when I was trying to figure out what to do with my pickups. I thought they bought the bodies without hardware and sold them new that way. These are disassembled?

Nice looking bodies. I almost got a cherry SG.

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I bought my 2014 SG Standard from The Stratosphere on eBay as a body/neck only for around $600. I agree with much of what's been said here already. They must be making more profit by selling the parts separately. I was skeptical at first, thinking it might be a warranty junker that mysteriously got "lost in transit" on its way back to Gibson to be destroyed. Its not! It worked out great for me after finally getting the setup perfect. I basically have my own signature model SG now! I thought gold hardware would look perfect with the walnut finish. The tuners are Gibson, the roller bridge and electronics are from Brown's Custom Shop, and the tailpiece is Gotoh. The pickups are Seymour Duncan P-Rails with the Triple Shot mounting rings that have the switches built in. In total, I have around $1200 into it. For less than a stock SG Standard, I have a full custom guitar. The only downside, and its a BIG one: Say goodbye to the Gibson warranty! Anyone considering going this route should be aware that you will be losing the factory warranty, so build at you own risk. I'm very pleased with it so far!

 

IMG_0654_zpsa84d6e99.jpg

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I bought my 2014 SG Standard from The Stratosphere on eBay as a body/neck only for around $600. I agree with much of what's been said here already. They must be making more profit by selling the parts separately. I was skeptical at first, thinking it might be a warranty junker that mysteriously got "lost in transit" on its way back to Gibson to be destroyed. Its not! It worked out great for me after finally getting the setup perfect. I basically have my own signature model SG now! I thought gold hardware would look perfect with the walnut finish. The tuners are Gibson, the roller bridge and electronics are from Brown's Custom Shop, and the tailpiece is Gotoh. The pickups are Seymour Duncan P-Rails with the Triple Shot mounting rings that have the switches built in. In total, I have around $1200 into it. For less than a stock SG Standard, I have a full custom guitar. The only downside, and its a BIG one: Say goodbye to the Gibson warranty! Anyone considering going this route should be aware that you will be losing the factory warranty, so build at you own risk. I'm very pleased with it so far!

 

IMG_0654_zpsa84d6e99.jpg

 

Gorgeous! I'm thinking about doing the same thing with my LP classic pickups that I replaced with burst buckers. I'd have an SG with "Loud as Hell" pickups.

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I bought my 2014 SG Standard from The Stratosphere on eBay as a body/neck only for around $600. I agree with much of what's been said here already. They must be making more profit by selling the parts separately. I was skeptical at first, thinking it might be a warranty junker that mysteriously got "lost in transit" on its way back to Gibson to be destroyed. Its not! It worked out great for me after finally getting the setup perfect. I basically have my own signature model SG now! I thought gold hardware would look perfect with the walnut finish. The tuners are Gibson, the roller bridge and electronics are from Brown's Custom Shop, and the tailpiece is Gotoh. The pickups are Seymour Duncan P-Rails with the Triple Shot mounting rings that have the switches built in. In total, I have around $1200 into it. For less than a stock SG Standard, I have a full custom guitar. The only downside, and its a BIG one: Say goodbye to the Gibson warranty! Anyone considering going this route should be aware that you will be losing the factory warranty, so build at you own risk. I'm very pleased with it so far!

 

IMG_0654_zpsa84d6e99.jpg

 

Great looking SG. Well done!!!

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I would be leery of the guitar in the originally posted link.

 

While an old car is worth less as a unit than the sum of it's parts, a newer one is not.

 

If the only thing 'wrong' with this guitar is that it's been stripped, why was it stripped in the first place?

 

There could be a body / neck issue not noticeable with strings removed.

 

I can't believe that selling a four pots, two pick-ups and six tuners would garner the seller more than selling the guitar, with a custom case, as a unit. Even if he COULD get 1200 for the stripped body.

 

Buyer be ware on this one.

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Have you seen the stuff the Stratopshere has? They obviously have the capital to buy all the guitars they stripdown and like I, and others have said in this thread , they ain't doing it for free. They have to be making a profit. I have purchased an American Fender Strat body, an American Fender J Bass body, a American Fender Strat neck and various other parts and peices I have needed for projects. All have been exactally as they described it. If they said it was mint on the site page, when I got it, it was indeed mint. For them it must be about price they get and volume.

 

I can certainly understand why people are skeptical about these guitars. I was too at first, but I bought one knowing that I could return it if it wasn't right. As I mentioned earlier, the warranty is possibly the biggest downside to buying a guitar like this. Mine has no issues at all, and I would buy another one from The Stratosphere without question. I modify all my electric guitars to my taste, and it just works out better for me to buy the body and neck only, rather than paying for a bunch of parts I'm going to swap out anyway. I will mention another challenge I had: The tenon cover and pickguard were not included. This required a lot of measuring and I had to mail templates to a custom manufacturer (Pickguardian) in order to get them made. It took quite a while to get them made and some work with a Dremel and sandpaper after they arrived. I'm happy with my decision to build one, and I will eventually build a Les Paul this way.

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