Buying help

[Cellosummer]

I'm interested in purchasing a Gibson L4 (circa 1923) from a shop, but I'd like to get an idea of how much I should shell out for such a guitar. It's in pretty good condition (I'll need to get the neck reset, and there needs to be some varnish work done), but I'm having problems finding price references for a model this old. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[JimR56]

It is indeed tricky to find info on these scarce old instruments. I'm not seeing anything on ebay right now, for example. However, if you really dig around, you can get some idea of what sort of range they fall into.

 

After looking on ebay, I went to another good source, Gbase: http://www.gbase.com/gear (type in the make, model, and year, and any other filter you want to use). I searched 1920-1930, and there are only a few results that come up, but you might find them interesting to look at.

 

After that, I did a general Google search for 1920's Gibson L4, and added the word "sale". This led me to a couple of links to auction sites, including this one: http://www.artfact.com/auction-catalog/2011-february-signature-music-entertainment-auct-cqnwy6q4xt

 

I also turned up this interesting site: http://www.pickerssupply.com/vintage.html Check out the 1915 model. B)

 

I have dozens of guitar dealer sites bookmarked, and I searched those, but so far I haven't come across anything very close to a 20's L4.

 

You might also go to a bookstore or library and look for a guitar "blue book" or price guide. I tend not to trust those too much, but when all else fails, they do provide some general ideas about what various models are worth (sometimes they're off, or outdated in terms of the current market, though).

 

Hope this helps some.

[pfox14]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120752969807&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

This really nice 1920s L-3 just popped up on eBay - worth a look.