whitedogbanana Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Hi, So I recently purchased a early 60's ES-330 off EBay. The seller claims the guitar is all original. When I received the guitar I took it to my luthier for a set up and apparently the original nut was changed at one point and the replacement nut was not fitted properly. My luither advised me to fit a new nut in. Other than that, the guitar is in great condition - the frets are original and still have some life to them, and the finish looks excellent. My question is how much it affects a vintage guitar's value should the nut not being original? I am thinking to ask for a partial-refund from the seller - what is a reasonable amount to ask? And should I fit a new nut? I attach a couple of photos of the nut. All opinions welcome. Thanks WDB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 I can't imagine what kind of cork sniffing mentality would make a person pay more for a 50 year old guitar because it has the original nut or take any value away from it if it weren't original. Nuts wear out. I would be more concerned if it WERE the original nut because it would likely be all shot to hell and would need to be replaced anyway. Do what you think is right but I think you should just pay the $50 and have a new bone nut made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 IMHO some people go overboard when assessing an instrument for its "collectible" value. But I'm aware that some people do just that. On the other hand.... Since it already has a replaced nut, what's the difference if you replace it again? Insights and incites by Notes ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Don't always assume your luthier is 100% correct... If the action is good and the guitar plays fine, stays in tune good with that current nut, don't do anything... If the guitar's playability is not affected by the nut, your luthier is likely trying to hit you up for some money... A nut will not affect the collectability/value of a vintage guitar IMHO... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaicho8888 Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Since I do not collect guitars just to frame and look at; nor do I buy guitars and hope to make a few buck more later, I'd say it's minor. You bought it "as is" and hopefully the guitar is authentic for the major part. The pictures you posted must be the pictures of the nut as you bought it...I see that the nut is not flushed with the the binding and does not have the yellowed nitro on it. If it plays well, then it's ok, or you can replace it to make it look better. It depends what you want to do with the guitar. A lot of people spend big bucks on vintage guitars and think that it should play better...well, it's old and usually needs work to make it reasonably playable. Now, does the vintage value lessen, when you work on the guitar to make it play better? I suppose adjusting the original parts is acceptable...hmmm, is this considered not original anymore and lessen the vintage value(or for that matter, any type of work on the vintage guitar)? ... or do you keep the guitar true to vintage with all its shortfalls? It's true the nut may not be original; but if it looks vintage and sounds good; it's a small item to worry about. Perhaps, there might be a nut from an old Gibby laying around you could use. In the end, everything will depend on what the future buyer will pay, and how much you are willing to sell. I don't think I'd worry, unless it's going to a museum for display only. I'm glad you got a nice guitar to cherish and someone like you to appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 A lot of things that are older definitely have some good advantages over the new stuff. Guitars have better wood, saxes better brass, and so on. On the other hand, new things have their own advantages too. I owned a Selmer Mark VI sax for many years (it's the "holy grail" of saxophones). It had a great tone, but it's intonation was not that great. It was great for saxes made in the 1950s, but the technology of making saxes has come a long way since then. My new "Mac Sax" sounds excellent (but a bit different) and the intonation is light years better. My 1970, 100% "stock" ES-330 sounds great as an acoustic guitar. My 2001 Casino with Duncan Pickups sounds much better plugged in. Other than that there isn't a great difference between the two. I love my 330, but when plugged in, I generally go for the Casino. I'm thinking about selling the 330 and keeping the Casino when the collectible prices go back up. I guess I could put Duncans in the ES, but then I still have two almost identical guitars, and I can get a lot more money by selling the Gibson. There is a sometimes falsely perceived notion that older things were better. Back in the 1960s it was rare to get 100,000 miles on a car. Now I routinely get over 200,000 on my vehicles with hardly any repairs except for normal maintenance. So as long as you bought the guitar to play it, have fun and don't worry about it. If you bought it to be a collector's item investment, I hope it appreciates nicely for you. Insights and incites by Notes ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Notes_Norton I probably shouldn't tell you about the 1950 Conn 28M I bought at a yard sale for $25. Oops, too late. :-" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endpin Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 The mounting slot the nut goes in appears to be in good shape so a new professionally done bone nut should fit in there very nicely. I have a 1965 ES-330TD and the binding has pulled away from the nut over the years similar to yours so this might not be a result of the nut replacement. To be honest, the original detailing on the nut/binding joint done at the Gibson factory was not all that great as I recall (I bought this guitar new in 1965 and it has never left my possession making it a good reference point as to what an unmodified original looked like). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Notes_Norton I probably shouldn't tell you about the 1950 Conn 28M I bought at a yard sale for $25. Oops, too late. :-" Nice horn, but also with intonation problems. I bought a Silver Plated 1925 King Alto for $50.00 once. Poor intonation but wonderful tone. It can be played in tune, it just takes more work. I really like silver plated altos, they just sparkle. I don't play it much but I still have that horn (see avatar). Notes ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motowntom Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Sorry Notes, but i have an all orig. 66" casino, and a 2005 koren casino, and both acousticly and plugged in THEY ARE FROM DIFFERENT A UNIVERSE. The 66" just rings and moans, and cries! The 2005 is a great sounding hollow box, but can't even hold the 66"'s case. The Korean is for sale to anyone on this forum fro $500.00 shippen w/case and is perfect. But I cannot disagree more about the sound, feel and playability between the two. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 A replaced nut if a decent nut and if fitted properly will not decrease the value of a vintage instrument...if the original is worn, broken and/and causing buzzing or action (which can happen) An original nut won't increase or decrease a guitar's value...but, the truth is if its causing the instrument to not play well it will decrease the value (as playability is a major factor in any instrument's worth.) Things like strings, nuts, saddles are part of a guitar that normally figure into the basic playability of an instrument and can wear out...and don't figure into a vintage guitar's value. They have no asthetic value to being original equipment of an the instrument. That would not be true of a bridge, pickups, pickguard, tuners (provided they're still working fine), finish, etc. QM aka "Jazzman" Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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