shi Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Hi, I've found this Gibson Memphis ES-335 Dot Figured LH Antique Natural from 2013. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-Memphis-Es-335-Dot-Figured-Left-Hand-Antique-Natural-/274432195586 The seller is in Japan and I live in Japan. The price in Japan is $1,700. Unfortunately, I'm not able to find the retail price of this model. Somebody knows how much it would cost new? (in Japan the retail price is almost +$800 and LH certainly around +$200 so +$1000) as for the neck being repaired, I don't really care if the price asked is half of the retail price haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 I hope you'll be happy with it. It looks nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shi Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 Hi, thank you for your reply! I'm still on the fence as I can't find the original retail price. The actual Guitar Memphis figured antique natural cost $3,700 (is it the same? don't know...) but I've found look a like ES-335 guitars in the $2,500 range. Is there a way to assess the price? Are figured guitars more expensive? or being an antique natural make it more expensive? If it was $1,700 second hand with no problem at all (so no neck repair), it would be right next to me already haha but with a neck repair, it would not be a good deal if the original retail price was in the $2,500 range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Not sure what a 335 might have sold for in Japan in 2013, but here in the US they would have been around $3000 new. Figured is usually a little higher price than a plain top and then a little more for left handed. As long as the repair is solid, I think the price is pretty good. Hopefully you can go and play it and inspect the repair in person before purchasing? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 (edited) This is just me and I know you said its lefty and in the same country as you (I was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan when I was in the Navy), but it is what it is, a guitar that has been broken. I'm assuming a headstock snap, that is what that 17 degree angle is good for. The repair may be solid, but for me its a deal breaker. There are a few reason people sell guitars and I don't need anyone's problem they want to dump on me. Edited September 9, 2020 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shi Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 On 9/9/2020 at 8:12 AM, Twang Gang said: Not sure what a 335 might have sold for in Japan in 2013, but here in the US they would have been around $3000 new. Figured is usually a little higher price than a plain top and then a little more for left handed. As long as the repair is solid, I think the price is pretty good. Hopefully you can go and play it and inspect the repair in person before purchasing? Thank you for your reply! If new it would be around $3300-3500, this seems like a not so bad deal. But no I can't inspect the repair before purchasing but they have a one week guarantee policy so I can check with them if I can return it after inspection and that the repair does not seem good enough (but I'm no pro in this domain so my ability to assess a repair is limited...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shi Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: This is just me and I know you said its lefty and in the same country as you (I was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan when I was in the Navy), but it is what it is, a guitar that has been broken. I'm assuming a headstock snap, that is what that 17 degree angle is good for. The repair may be solid, but for me its a deal breaker. There are a few reason people sell guitars and I don't need anyone's problem they want to dump on me. In Japan, as you may know, people do take care of their gear/instruments. I bought many (almost all?) stuffs second hand and never had any problem here. It's hard to find lefty ES-335 second hand (that's the only one I found!!) and investing $3500 (it's around that price in Japan) is way too much money for just the hobbyist that I am. Gibson's necks are well-known for snapping easily, after all, they bent it against the natural flow of the wood. I think other manufacturers with the same angle glue 2 pieces of wood together (but I might be wrong) so a repaired Gibson neck should be as good as any other guitar if it was done properly. They also added a volute it seems and from the pictures it seems very well-done (but I'm no expert haha). I'd be happier to buy a second hand lefty ES-335 at $2,000 if I could find one but $1,500 is more in my budget and rather tempting... But I have to say that I'm still on the fence... I've never bought a guitar with a neck repair but the worst could be to avoid the second hand one, buy a brand new one for $3500 just for it to snap on me haha... that'd be ironic. Edited September 10, 2020 by shi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 13, 2020 Share Posted September 13, 2020 Quote I'd be happier to buy a second hand lefty ES-335 at $2,000 if I could find one but $1,500 is more in my budget and rather tempting... But I have to say that I'm still on the fence... I've never bought a guitar with a neck repair but the worst could be to avoid the second hand one, buy a brand new one for $3500 just for it to snap on me haha... that'd be ironic. It really depends on how good the neck repair is (and how bad the break was). Mostly, they are good, but people don't want them. My luthier has repaired countless neck breaks. He says mahogany usually breaks cleanly, and so is easy to repair. Maple is much less likely to break, but when it does, its never a clean break and can be difficult to repair. I cracked a mahogany neck once (hairline fissure at the usual place). He squeezed glue into it through the truss rod cavity. Its also true that the glue is stronger than the wood; especially with the grain running at the 30 deg angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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