Instrument Collectors Vs. Musicians, if you have a few minutes to read.

[djroge1]

If I had a '59 I'd mod it out to the max... DiMarzio's and the whold JP wiring scheme. I might even consider putting EMGs in it...

[NeoConMan]

Gruhn is a great place but they ****ing rip guys off.

Really?

You been there?

 

C'mon....

 

 

Gruhn makes money because people buy from him.

They pay the prices voluntarily.

His knowledge is respected' date=' his merchandise is well-represented, and people will pay a little

more for the piece of mind that comes from the security a respected name in the biz gives 'em.

 

Talking sh!t about him reveals a certain lack of understanding about money.

 

Even [b']Ed Roman[/b] (epitome of the word "pr!ck") gets my respect in that regard.

If he's doing business, then he's doing business because people buy from him.

For the life of me, I don't understand why, but....

 

My complete and utter contempt for Guitar Center is balanced by my desire to simply make

sure people understand what they're getting themselves into.

Buy from them if you like, but if you go in uninformed and believe their sh!t....

 

Those three examples are as different as night and day.

They cater to very different clientels.

They are all very successful.

 

Which one do YOU trust?

 

I can tell you that Gruhn isn't gonna fxck you.

You may pay a little more than you should, but if you can afford it....

And Walter Carter helped me get every precious bit of information I could find on my 12 string SG.

He worked at Gibson for decades, and has written some books on the matter.

I would regard anything he and George Gruhn said with more than just a passing interest.

 

 

As far as a '59 Les Paul goes, I would put it in the rack with my other guitars.

I would keep it until such time that it made sense for me to sell it - for whatever reason.

Until then, it would be played occasionally to ensure it was still in good shape.

Maybe I'd never sell it, let my family worry about it after I died.

 

 

 

My sister just acquired a 1965 Gretsch Chet Atkins.

Her husband Lonnie just lost his father, and it was one of his from back in the day when he was a semi-pro.

He passed away just before Christmas, so she took it to a luthier to get it cleaned and set up.

She's gonna have a shadow box built for it and put it on the wall over her husband's office door.

It's now an heirloom piece that my 8 year old neice will get someday.

Her grandfather played it opening for the Beach Boys 40 years ago.

It's worth maybe $3k tops.

 

They passed on a 1930's Gibson acoustic, it went to another son.

It may turn out to be worth much, much more.

Why?

Because Lonnie remembers his dad playing the Gretsch when he was a child.

It's the one he wanted.

 

By the way, my sister and neice play piano. Lonnie can't play anything.

Guess that makes them collectors now, worse than me!!!

 

:-k/

[pohatu771]

If I had a '59 I'd mod it out to the max... DiMarzio's and the whold JP wiring scheme. I might even consider putting EMGs in it...

Why not route for a third pickup? I'd probably add a Strat-style tummy-cut and maybe a second cutaway, for better fret access.

[rocketman]

Very nice Neo. There was a thread a while ago about the price of PRS guitars. The same thing applies here. Let the market dictate the price. Guitars are bought and sold based on supply and demand. Gruhn's business is selling guitars. He's obviously damn good at it. Can't blame the guy for that. He obviously knows the value of service too, just like Bob Taylor and some others. In the end the others fade away. I've always said that running a good business is like a successful research program. It's based on perseverance not silver bullets. Along the way you'll eventually get your toes stepped on but you'll step on someone's toes too. I'm sure Gruhn has done that. But his business model has worked well...

[retrosurfer1959]

What's the difference between a guy that makes 100k buying a reissue and a multi millionaire buying an original it's all about disposable income I doubt if any of the guys buying original 59's have families skipping meals so they could buy it. And if I had a original I'd play it but I wouldn't gig with it I may be crazy but I'm not stupid.