Mr. Robot Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Are you guys aware of this new book? It has just been released in Australia. The full title is Million Dollar Les Paul: In Search of the Most Valuable Guitar in the World. Read a review of it at: http://www.curledup.com/mlespaul.htm Sound like an interesting read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Are you guys aware of this new book? It has just been released in Australia. The full title is Million Dollar Les Paul: In Search of the Most Valuable Guitar in the World. Read a review of it at: http://www.curledup.com/mlespaul.htm Sound like an interesting read. Funny you should bring this up. It appeared on my "amazon recommends" email yesterday. Just ordered it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chongo Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Funny you should bring this up. It appeared on my "amazon recommends" email yesterday. Just ordered it... "Only" a million? I thought Clapton's guitars had already exceeded that number handily. Not only that, but I think it's going to be a while before a '59 burst sees those numbers, given current economic conditions and people selling them quietly for a tenth of that to raise some much-needed cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cvansickle Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I read it last month. It's actually very interesting. Some killer photos in the front too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRom Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I wonder if it's available for the Kindle. I'll have to go take a look-see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobv Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Does Bacon still insist that a "Nashville" bridge is something other than what we all think it is? He has two or three books devoted to the LP out already. In "50 years of..." he mistakenly shows a '54 style Custom with a P90 and an alnico in the context of the '69 re-introduction when the Custom would have had humbuckers. In that book, as well as in "the Les Paul book" he insists that a "Nashville" bridge is some big rectangular thing that was only used for a short time, but the thing we all know to be a Nashville Tune-O-Matic he refers to instead as an "Improved TuneOMatic." Is it something lost in translation? Sorry but I don't know how many more times I can stand to read the story about how Paul's contract expired during his divorce, or how they reused leftover Epiphone minihumbuckers in the Deluxe. Bacon is a good guitar-book author, but I think I'll wait for it at the library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossroadsnyc Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 "Only" a million? I thought Clapton's guitars had already exceeded that number handily. Not only that' date=' but I think it's going to be a while before a '59 burst sees those numbers, given current economic conditions and people selling them quietly for a tenth of that to raise some much-needed cash. [/quote'] Current economic conditions would have very little effect on pricing. People who are in the market to purchase a very high end / expensive instrument have the money for it regardless...it's a different league of wealth. Whether or not it's worth the price is debatable, but the market is still there and will be there as it continues to climb in perceived value. I pulled this from the whereseric.com website - a site for Clapton fans. It lists a few of the record guitar prices: Both of Eric’s Guitar Auctions featured record-breaking prices for American fretted instruments. On 24 June 1999, Eric’s 1957 Fender Stratocaster known as “Brownie” sold for $450,000 (without buyer’s premium). It became the world auction record for a guitar. In succeeding years, Brownie’s selling price was surpassed by electric guitars previously owned by Jimi Hendrix and Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead), respectively. With the second auction on 24 June 2004, several more records were shattered. To date, they have not been surpassed. World Auction Record for a guitar Lot #88 - Fender Composite Stratocaster (circa 1956 and 1957) $959,500(Pre-Sale Estimate: $100,000 - $150,000) “Blackie” – The guitar most famously associated with Eric Clapton. He has referred to this guitar as being “part of him.” Blackie was practically his sole stage and studio guitar from late 1970 to 1985. Occasionally used in the 1990s. World auction record for a Martin Guitar Lot #19 - C.F. Martin & Company Style 000-42 (1939) $791,500 (Pre-Sale Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000 Main instrument used for EC’s MTV Unplugged appearance World auction record for a Gibson Guitar (and 3rd highest price for a guitar) Lot #41 - Gibson ES-335 TDC $847,500 (Pre-Sale Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000) The “Cherry Red” Gibson, owned and used extensively by EC since 1964 Second highest price paid for a Fender Stratocaster Lot #83 - Fender Composite Stratocaster (circa 1965 & later) $623,500 (Pre-Sale Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000) “Lenny” - Donated by Jimmie Vaughan from the Estate of Stevie Ray Vaughan – used by SRV throughout his career. This is the only personal guitar of SRV to be released by the Estate into the public domain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 auction prices can be beaten by private sales though. i understand that a couple of 58-60 bursts have sold for the $1 million price already. in these cases, they were exceptionally fine examples bought by people who paid a premium for privacy, and b/c they couldn't verify it on their own so the price was higher due to some added "security" as to that fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flight959 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 On recommendation from Tim I bought Beauty of the burst.... Now thats just raw LPGuitar porn... Hmmmmmmm Flight959 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil325 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 geez...i wonder how it felt when clapton heard his guitars were that valuable...if i were him i'd be putting up random stuff for auction to see what i can get out of it. these proceeds went to crossroads center right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossroadsnyc Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 geez...i wonder how it felt when clapton heard his guitars were that valuable...if i were him i'd be putting up random stuff for auction to see what i can get out of it. these proceeds went to crossroads center right? Yeah it all went to the rehab center. I find it very commendable that he's as giving to other people as he is. With all the talk on another thread about Clapton and his talent (or lack thereof to some), it goes too unnoticed what he's meant to many people outside the guitar/music community as well. He's a stand-up dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slab man Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 1.2 million will get you Duane`s goldtop used on Layla. duaneallmansgoldtop.com Great feeling guitar. It is a 57 after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chongo Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Does Bacon still insist that a "Nashville" bridge is something other than what we all think it is? He has two or three books devoted to the LP out already. In "50 years of..." he mistakenly shows a '54 style Custom with a P90 and an alnico in the context of the '69 re-introduction when the Custom would have had humbuckers.. Nah -- a Custom in the '50's arrived first with a P90 in the bridge and that bar post pickup in the neck. I've got one. And if you walk into the Hollywood Guitar Center vintage room' date=' they've got a reissue of that guitar (from 1972) with the same P90 and the same bar post pickup, hanging on the wall with (I believe) a five grand plus price tag on it. The first [i']reissues[/i] were the P90 gold tops, followed by the Epi-bucker gold tops (no retooling needed), followed by the black Customs with real humbuckers (and really low shaved frets), followed almost immediately by one with more normal frets. Gibson simply Did Not Get what players were looking for when they started reissuing the Les Paul guitars in the late '60's. Dealers actually had '59's that had come in as trade-ins on "Beatle" guitars in those days, and they'd shake the '59's at the Gibson reps and say "THIS!" and Gibson still didn't get it. The '72 reissue of that P90 and bar post pickup Custom hanging on the GC wall is probably fairly rare, given that no one was particularly interested in that iteration of the Les Paul by then ("give me buckers or give me death!"), but since very few are interested in it even in THIS day and age (or even in my old '50's original for that matter), it remains at a relatively reasonable price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chongo Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 1.2 million will get you Duane`s goldtop used on Layla. duaneallmansgoldtop.com Great feeling guitar. It is a 57 after all. It will be a corporation like Guitar Center or the Hard Rock that will pay anything like that for it. If and when it does get sold. And I'll bet you that the price they tell everyone it sold for will much exceed the actual selling price. I've seen too much of this stuff go that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chongo Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 auction prices can be beaten by private sales though. i understand that a couple of 58-60 bursts have sold for the $1 million price already. in these cases' date=' they were exceptionally fine examples bought by people who paid a premium for privacy, and b/c they couldn't verify it on their own so the price was higher due to some added "security" as to that fact.[/quote'] As per the previous post -- I know that several good bursts exchanged hands and that the legal documents state that the actual selling price must never be revealed and that the only answer to "How much" be "more than $XXXX dollars", which is actually a fabrication. I also know that at least one of the bursts sold for '58-60 prices (these have dropped a lot, by the way) is in fact one of the Peter Baranet guitars. The owner has sued the seller, NOT for replacement of the money (the seller didn't know), but to prevent him telling anyone that the guitar isn't genuine, at least until the current owner dies, just to prevent his embarrassment (and that of his "expert" who encouraged the purchase). There's just SO much behind the scenes crap that goes on with these things that it's just silly. At the moment I've played 16 different (by serial number) '59 bursts (most at guitar shows, vintage rooms, etc.), and I just don't get the whole "mojo" thing... <G> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossroadsnyc Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 As per the previous post -- I know that several good bursts exchanged hands and that the legal documents state that the actual selling price must never be revealed and that the only answer to "How much" be "more than $XXXX dollars"' date=' which is actually a fabrication. I also know that at least one of the bursts sold for '58-60 prices (these have dropped a lot, by the way) is in fact one of the Peter Baranet guitars. The owner has sued the seller, NOT for replacement of the money (the seller didn't know), but to prevent him telling anyone that the guitar isn't genuine, at least until the current owner dies, just to prevent his embarrassment (and that of his "expert" who encouraged the purchase). There's just SO much behind the scenes crap that goes on with these things that it's just silly. At the moment I've played 16 different (by serial number) '59 bursts (most at guitar shows, vintage rooms, etc.), and I just don't get the whole "mojo" thing... <G>[/quote'] That's a pretty wild story, man. The new owner should be ashamed of himself trying to pass off a replica as an original. Would hate to be the guy who purchases it off him (if he resells it). Though, I can imagine why he'd be embarrassed to have purchased it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slab man Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Yeah, I don`t get the outrageous prices but I do get the mojo thing. It can be put in and taken out. Sweat and dirt ,dryness can be put in. Finish ,pickups can be taken out. soul,soul soul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twelvenotes Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I've read the book and was surprised at how good a read it was. I cruised through it on the GO train for my commute in a week. Not boring data stuff, but good stories and interviews. The book does go into recent market conditions and indicates that there has been a significant decline in prices, but that there seems to be an effort by both recent buyers and seller to reduce the level of awareness around the extent of the decline. I also have Beauty of the Burst and if you like LPs, it'll get you going! Bacon's also got another LP book be released by Hal Leonard in April. Looks like some serious porn too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 As per the previous post -- I know that several good bursts exchanged hands and that the legal documents state that the actual selling price must never be revealed and that the only answer to "How much" be "more than $XXXX dollars"' date=' which is actually a fabrication. I also know that at least one of the bursts sold for '58-60 prices (these have dropped a lot, by the way) is in fact one of the Peter Baranet guitars. The owner has sued the seller, NOT for replacement of the money (the seller didn't know), but to prevent him telling anyone that the guitar isn't genuine, at least until the current owner dies, just to prevent his embarrassment (and that of his "expert" who encouraged the purchase). There's just SO much behind the scenes crap that goes on with these things that it's just silly. At the moment I've played 16 different (by serial number) '59 bursts (most at guitar shows, vintage rooms, etc.), and I just don't get the whole "mojo" thing... <G>[/quote'] yes there is a lot of behind the scenes stuff with these...... but are you saying that none have sold for a million yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant7629 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Yeah it all went to the rehab center. I find it very commendable that he's as giving to other people as he is. With all the talk on another thread about Clapton and his talent (or lack thereof to some)' date=' it goes too unnoticed what he's meant to many people outside the guitar/music community as well. He's a stand-up dude. [/quote'] +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaredrum Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 i read this a month or so ago. it's a good read, as it has interviews with some great players and collectors. never enough pics though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky4 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 This is the same Tony Bacon who wrote the Les Paul book, which stated that the swiss cheese Les Pauls only had holes drilled around the pickup switch area (which I made an *** of myself in an earlier post defending the misinformation) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 In big money terms, I wonder what would happen if the Jimmy Page collection ever hit the auction block? Page actually used relatively few guitars over the years and inspired millions to acquire copies of their own. He has the 59 burst, the 58(?) burst, the EDS-1275 double neck, the black Danelectro, the Tele and a Martin acoustic. These guitars are still in his arsenal after all these years, and still used when he records. Of course, there are other guitars he used onstage in his early years including the stolen Black Beauty with a Bigsby. On the last Zep tour he used a blue Strat on several songs, he played a wine colored Les Paul in the eighties and nineties. Suffice it to say, I believe his Les Paul would top anything we've ever seen in the guitar world if a price were placed on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slab man Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 And you are exactly right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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