BarefootKevin Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) A friend of mine recently passed away and I inherited 3 of his guitars, a 1999 Taylor 914c, a 1997 Fender American Deluxe Bass, and a Gibson ES 345 Stereo Cherry that is stamped "SECOND" on the back of the headstock underneath the serial #. I want to get them all insured and know what the others are worth (that was easy), how do I find out the provenance and value of the Gibson. Serial # is 81351022 with "SECOND" stamped just beneath it. The finish on the guitar is beautiful, don't know that I would call it flawless, and there is some oxidation or most likely plating wear on the pick-ups. No bigsby, but there is a trapeze style tailpiece. Tried to post pics, but having a hard time resizing them to fit the requirements here. Edited December 30, 2022 by BarefootKevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 1 hour ago, BarefootKevin said: A friend of mine recently passed away and I inherited 3 of his guitars, a 1999 Taylor 914c, a 1997 Fender American Deluxe Bass, and a Gibson ES 345 Stereo Cherry that is stamped "SECOND" on the back of the headstock underneath the serial #. I want to get them all insured and know what the others are worth (that was easy), how do I find out the provenance and value of the Gibson. Serial # is 81351022 with "SECOND" stamped just beneath it. The finish on the guitar is beautiful, don't know that I would call it flawless, and there is some oxidation or most likely plating wear on the pick-ups. No bigsby, but there is a trapeze style tailpiece. Tried to post pics, but having a hard time resizing them to fit the requirements here. Since it was probably sold originally to an employee, and Gibson didn't sell it retail due to whatever flaw it has, probably just something with the finish. Its worth probably a good deal of cash, but probably just needs to have a bit taken off the price. See on Reverb what that same year are selling for go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 In the Norlin era they stamped tons of them SECONDS to get them to sell (at a reduced price). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarefootKevin Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) One of my original questions: Does the serial # indicate when it was made? Also, the bridge pickup appears to be dead, will be having my luthier check it out. Edited December 30, 2022 by BarefootKevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 8-decade 135-135th day of the year 1-last digit of the year (1981) 022-the 22nd guitar stamped that day in Kalamazoo. The serial number indicates the guitar was stamped on it around May 15, 1981. It would have been completed within 2-3 week of that date. It was made in Kalamazoo, MI. Many guitars with insignificant cosmetic flaws were stamped “second” and possibly sold cheaper at the wholesale level. There was a time when a “second” carried a “less than perfect” stigma but now that it’s 40+ years old, that stamping is more of an annoyance. It may have a small effect on the resale value but not horrific. If you find the pickup is truly dead and not just a wiring problem, have it rewound rather than replacing it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarefootKevin Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 Thank you. Took the guitar to my luthier a little while ago and he suggested the same thing if it's needed. Said he's done a lot of them for folks who want to keep things original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Mountain Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 On 12/30/2022 at 12:53 PM, BarefootKevin said: One of my original questions: Does the serial # indicate when it was made? Also, the bridge pickup appears to be dead, will be having my luthier check it out. If your guitar is wired for stereo and you are not using a stereo cable (at a minimum a TRS to TS if going to a non-stereo amp), you will get one pickup (generally the bridge not working. You can work around this by pulling a regular plug halfway out of your your guitar’s input jack. You should get both pickups working separately and the middle position together. If they are wired out of phase (how the original 345/355 pickups were wired), you will get that thin BB King/Peter Green thing going if you are in the middle position and both volumes are at the same level). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarefootKevin Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 Wow! Thanks! will check this out later today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted February 14, 2023 Share Posted February 14, 2023 Look at similar Sold Models on Reverb.com & EBay.. They will show the $$ range they sold for.. If you want to know what they’re worth.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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