osueric27 Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 I have an 80 LP Custom Silverburst. It is in decent shape but the tuners and the bridge and tailpiece have been changed. I am looking for the original tuners and bridge and TP to put back on the guitar. I am also considering getting it refinished and all the dings and scratches fixed as well. 1. Where can I find the original parts to put back on the guitar? 2. If I refinish it and restore it to it's original condition will it hurt the value? I have heard that the wear and tear is what some collectors look for. The tuners are nice Grover replacements and the bridge and TP look to be fairly similar to the original but not Gibson spec so I am told. It appraised for $2400 so I want to make sure it willnot lose value if I restore it to original spec. Here are some pictures as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loboblanca Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 OSU Eric, I'm in the same boat as you. I have a '77 Custom and was looking into getting it refinished as well, and replacing a couple of pots. I emailed the tech guys in Nashville, and they said, without the benefit of seeing the guitar, it would cost around 1200-1400 bucks (and up) to refinish it, and that largely depended on the original finish and what choices I'd make for the new finish. If your guitar is finished in polyeurothane, the cost goes way up since it is so hard to remove. I asked a similar question in the Les Paul forum, and one of the members gave me some good advice: dings and scratches are the mark of a well loved and well played guitar, and the only way to prevent them is to put it in its case and leave it there. He added that sometimes refinishing can affect the tone of the guitar and at the same time reduce its value. Points to ponder, for sure. I'd suggest talking to the folks at Gibson, plus only allowing them to do any work along the lines of what we're talking about. 20-something-year-old guitar and a 20-something-year-old tech might not be a good combination, if you catch my drift (even though I'm sure there are some very excellent techs in their 20s out there). If Gibson does the work, then you can kinda call it "factory restored?" I don't know. I don't have the nuts to mail my guitar to them, so I'm waiting until I can road-trip to Nashville. Don't know how far you are from Nashville, but it would be worth the drive if you decide to refinish it. But you're asking the right question in the right forum, for sure. I've found a lot of knowledge and expertise here. Here's the email for Gibson's repair gurus: Repair.Request@gibson.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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