Value Estimates - 1947-1948 J-45

[jheath]

Hey Gang, hoping I can call upon the knowledge base here to get an idea of value for one of my Gibsons.  I've tried the ebay / reverb tools but looking for a bit more real world info.  

I have a 1947 or 48 J-45.  It was purchased several years ago from a very reputable vintage instrument dealer but was a bit of an anomaly at the time.  It had a completely crack free body and sounded great, but had a weird / improper Martin style bridge fitted (which was lifting), non original tuners and pick guard and had been refinished and needed a neck reset.  I bought it anyways and over a couple of years had extensive work performed on it.   The neck was pulled and reset and got a full refret.  A new bridge was fabricated along with a new bridge plate.  The bridge was redone as a belly down style  to try and occupy the same space as the Martin style bridge did on the guitar, and apparently some of the late 40's J45's actually had these fitted from the factory.  A few loose braces were reglued and a couple of small cracks were repaired that were found once the neck was off.  

So a very original late 40's J45 body and neck with all the sound that goes with it but with lots of modern repairs, refinished with some other non original stuff.  Nice chunky neck, sounds and plays great, and the refinished finish is in great shape with only a few nicks here and there.  Am considering a sale to fund a couple more modern guitars.  

Any ideas on what this thing is worth?  

[jedzep]

That all original in OK-G condition Reverb tool estimate would probably be halved, which is my wildly unscientific estimate, but because there is refinishing involved it would be good to show us some pictures. That's a highly sought after time period for J's, so you have that going for you, but if an all orig version was 6-7K, I'd try a listing on the high end of half that and see what responses you get, including (maybe) offers, to get a feel for the range.  No harm in listing on Reverb or Ebay for your own entertainment and research. If you're not in a terrible hurry, you'll eventually get a feel for the market. I put in a mock Reverb listing for your described guitar and got back $3080-$5874.

This is not an easy question to answer, especially given the different types of guitar buyers that are out there. I'm selling my '35 L00 on both sites right now, so I looked around for a month or so to see what selling ranges were, and considering some minor mods, including a refinished back, came in to list at $1500 less than the closest specimen, a waay overpriced comparable guitar, which has been listed for a longer time than I would tolerate. I still get lowball offers, but I'm around 3K comparing to the 5-6K range better condition L00s I've seen.  That right buyer just may be out there, but my estimate of the value is only as good as what that buyer forks over. If wiser geeks here give you higher numbers, I'd go there and work down.

I put my pictures on Imgur which makes it easy to load here. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by jedzep

[cunningham26]

Agree  with jedzep- whatever you're seeing for range, bank on the low end of it if not below that bottom number. Too many changes to be collectible, definitely player-grade for someone that wants the tone and isn't banking on the investment.  Even then enough has been done that they may be leery of it having the exact 40's tone they're seeking. 

I once saw a banner j45 come up that had been modified further than yours and got some good advice from John at true vintage (back when he would lurk around this forum) that at a certain point it's no longer the guitar it was out of the factory and you just have to accept the changes in the life of that particular guitar, for better or worse, when trying to determine value.

[fortyearspickn]

JHeath,  you only need ONE buyer.  You don't need to price it so sell to half the potential buyers, or the 'average' buyer.  As you know, it is the type of instrument a real player would be looking for - not a collector.  Your description underscores the value and viability of your banner J45.  Unless you are needing cash fast - I'd price it just below  $7K and just wait.  It's sort of like fishing, I imagine.  You put a lot of money into a boat, rods, lures,  travel, time -    don't sell the fish for what Walmart sells them for.  Yours is a little more desirable.  Let us know how it goes.  G'Luck.  

[cunningham26]

6 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said:

JHeath,  you only need ONE buyer.  You don't need to price it so sell to half the potential buyers, or the 'average' buyer.  As you know, it is the type of instrument a real player would be looking for - not a collector.  Your description underscores the value and viability of your banner J45.  Unless you are needing cash fast - I'd price it just below  $7K and just wait.  It's sort of like fishing, I imagine.  You put a lot of money into a boat, rods, lures,  travel, time -    don't sell the fish for what Walmart sells them for.  Yours is a little more desirable.  Let us know how it goes.  G'Luck.  

 

Yea but if he's looking to sell to buy some other stuff, that's time spent not having the gear he's got his eye on.  What you're advising seems to be "price too high and wait for a sucker to find it." 

 

Putting value on something that is now one-of-a-kind is the tricky thing. Photos would definitely help- the value is absolutely dependent on how good or bad that refin was.  

[zombywoof]

Your guitar is not a "one of a kind" thing.  Based on the lack of originality and  the extensive work you have had done to it is a  top notch player's guitar.   And there are more than a few folks such as me who are attracted to exactly this kind of instrument as we get the sound and feel without having to cough up the heftier price tag that usually goes with it.   Jedzep is right on the money though in that the refinish alone will knock the value down 50% to 60%.  But $7K would be the granddaddy of Hail Mary passes

Not sure what your situation is but the guitar may be more valuable as trade bait.  My experience has been that I can get  another guitar in trade which was  worth more than what I had up for grabs would bring in a cash sale.

Edited August 2, 2021 by zombywoof

[cunningham26]

haha perhaps i should have used a different term- an outlier perhaps? One of a kind in that it's heavily modified and cannot fairly be compared with the price valuation of an original

[zombywoof]

2 hours ago, cunningham26 said:

haha perhaps i should have used a different term- an outlier perhaps? One of a kind in that it's heavily modified and cannot fairly be compared with the price valuation of an original

It is just a player's guitar meaning that while collectors will turn their nose up at it those looking for something at a bargain will jump all over it.   Last time I ran into this was three or for years back at a small guitar show.  Found a 1944 maple body LG2.  Refinished and some replaced parts brought with it a  $2500 price tag.  It remains the best sounding LG2 I have run across in a very long time.  If the seller had been set up to accept any kind of plastic and had it not been on a Sunday in the closing hours of the show with e several hours from home (meaning I had no way of rustling up the cash)  that guitar would be sitting with me right now.

Edited August 2, 2021 by zombywoof

[Tim Tim]

I agree, you might as well try $6k+ listing, but with a full recent refinish along with the other work, I’d be prepared to eventually settle for under $5k.  But as someone else said, it only takes one buyer…

[jt]

We've not seen photos.

From the description, I'd value the guitar at substantially less than 1/3 of the average Reverb estimate of $5K - $6K.