quebone Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Hi I bought some years ago an ES-175 at a shop in Barcelona. They told me it was a 1968 with some customization. Last week, looking for the serial number, I found the FON, which was Y509010. It has no serial. According the Gibson guide, I think it could be a 1953. What do you think about it? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyl51 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Looks like this guitar had ALOT of custom stuff done to it...............like addition of pickups,pickguard etc...................jim in Maine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Why would you wait for years after buying it to look for a serial number? At first glance, it almost looks like it could be a fake. Unfortunately, your story that you waited years to look for a serial number only adds to the suspicion. Do you have a photo of the FON? You're correct that a FON with a "Y" prefix would indicate 1953. However, even if your guitar originated in 1953, that would make little difference now in terms of its age and value, due to the refinish and modifications. If it really is a modified 1953 example, then somebody ruined any collector's value it might have retained by not restoring it accurately. Hopefully you're enjoying it as a musical instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitball Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 I've completely edited my reply because there's too much "customization" of that guitar to really guess what year its from, if it is indeed a Gibson. I simply can't tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quebone Posted May 6, 2013 Author Share Posted May 6, 2013 Why would you wait for years after buying it to look for a serial number? At first glance, it almost looks like it could be a fake. Unfortunately, your story that you waited years to look for a serial number only adds to the suspicion. Do you have a photo of the FON? You're correct that a FON with a "Y" prefix would indicate 1953. However, even if your guitar originated in 1953, that would make little difference now in terms of its age and value, due to the refinish and modifications. If it really is a modified 1953 example, then somebody ruined any collector's value it might have retained by not restoring it accurately. Hopefully you're enjoying it as a musical instrument. I just uploaded the picture with the FON. I have many others of the guitar but no more space to upload them. Until now I just looked at the guitar as a musical instrument. I liked the sound, the shape and felt comfortable with it. Some time ago I had an accident and nowadays I can't play guitar anymore. So I see this guitar more like a collector piece, and I'd like to know more things about it. Perhaps I will try to sell it or not, I'm not sure. Last week I was looking for the serial number, which in fact doesn't exist, and found the FON inside the body and guess what year it was made and it's value. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 I just uploaded the picture with the FON. I have many others of the guitar but no more space to upload them. Until now I just looked at the guitar as a musical instrument. I liked the sound, the shape and felt comfortable with it. Some time ago I had an accident and nowadays I can't play guitar anymore. So I see this guitar more like a collector piece, and I'd like to know more things about it. Perhaps I will try to sell it or not, I'm not sure. Last week I was looking for the serial number, which in fact doesn't exist, and found the FON inside the body and guess what year it was made and it's value. Thanks Thank you for explaining that. I like the fact that you got to enjoy it for awhile, and I'm sorry that you're unable to play any more. The FON looks right. Unfortunately, as I said, the modifications were done without concern for its authenticity as a vintage Gibson. The placement of the control knobs is particularly unfortunate (as well as the change to some sort of humbuckers (the guitar originally had one P-90 single coil pickup). So, "collectability" is out the window, I'm afraid. The value would be subjective at this point, but there's no collector's value any more. This is not a rare model, in fact it's a relatively common model, in production for over 60 years, so unmodified examples are very easy to find. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quebone Posted May 6, 2013 Author Share Posted May 6, 2013 OK, Jim. Thanks for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.