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What will happen to the prices of used rosewood Gibson's


DiamondJig

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If Gibson does not make any more guitars with rosewood or ebony fret boards. What will the used market for this guitars be, will people pay big money for a studio with a rosewood board. Should we all start buying out the existing stock of these guitars. In the years to come will you sell your rosewood for twice the price you paid or do all these wood issues go away in about a year with Gibson paying a big fine and promising to be good.

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My thoughts are that it will not raise the value of the guitar. The value of the guitar is still based upon its playability. I think there are so many Rosewood out there that they will never become rare for just that reason.

 

I do believe that they may become a preference to people looking to buy a good guitar and therefore they may sell quicker than one with another type of wood board.

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It might be better to think of it like this. Do you go out looking for SGs made with pre ban Honduran Mahogany? Do you go looking for Les Pauls with pre ban Brazilian Rosewood fingerboards? We tend to not conceder these things when shopping for an old guitar. We’re just interested in the guitar as a whole.

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As usual I agree with Searcy, I doubt this will have any prolonged impact on price. Not to mention, the super collectable stuff that turns out to be worth real money in the future is the stuff no one thought would become collectable; otherwise everyone would collect it and hang onto it waiting for the market to be ripe for selling.

 

I was watching Pawn Stars a few weeks ago and some guy sold the head off an old Stretch Armstrong Lizard toy that has become so rare it was worth around $2-5K simply because there are none left because no one thought it was collectable.

 

On the other side of the coin, people save Newspapers with big dates on them, special stamps and coins issued as "collector items" and so on and it sells for next to nothing because everyone saved it.

 

Moral of my story? Save the innocuous crap!

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Hard to say really....The fact that legal supplies of many varieties of Rosewood exist (If one is willing to seek it out) suggests that guitars will be available with Rosewood fingerboards (and bodies, for that matter)in the future. Gibson is in a tough spot because of all the scrutiny that has occurred of late making it hard for them to continue using these woods without enduring the heat that would, no doubt follow.

 

As to pricing, my opinion that fine Gibsons will sell for whatever a buyer is willing to pay, regardless of what the fretboard is made from. However, having a rosewood fingerboard, obviously will never hurt the value of these instruments.

 

Bob

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Do you really buy a guitar, for it's "Collectivity?!" [scared][cursing]

 

You can't know, what will be collectible, any time in the future. Well made

instruments, from well known & respected brands, will always (at least) hold

their value, over the long run, by inflation, if nothing else. Besides, one

person's trash, can be another person's treasure/collectible. Clever marketing,

and herd mentality, are also at work. Who knew, back in '58-'60, that Les Paul

Bursts (especially figured tops) would be what they're worth, today! NO ONE!

They were just cute little Gibson's that (essentially) failed, to sell, so were

limited in production, because of that! Hero worship (Clapton & Bloomfield),

fueled the reissue "need/craze!" Then, about 14 years later, the Japanese decided

they only wanted "American made" guitars, especially OLD American Made guitars!

Thus the beginning of the "Vintage" (another clever marketing term) craze, was

born. Add to that, the "Baby Boomer" nostalgia, for everything they had, or

wanted as kids, and suddenly everything became collectible. There has always been

a market, for some folks, for antiques. Always will be, no doubt. But some of

this "Vintage" crap, is getting out of hand, and totally ridiculous...IMHO. Good

stuff, is good stuff, Junk, is Junk, rare junk or not!! [tongue]

 

CB

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I've a hunch that we'll see decreasing use of a number of tonewoods over the next generation - so it may make little real difference other than nostalgia. The use of various man-made substances seems to me to be the wave of the future whether "we" like it or not. As in, when's the last time you've bought a television in a teak cabinet?

 

m

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i think more people will start buying fenders

That or an Epiphone. The tragic part of it all is that Gibson will probably not offer rosewood on their lower end Gibson branded guitars, but Epihone branded guitars even perhaps the lower priced models around $200 and less may still have rosewood fingerboards available.

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The day Gibson uses maple exclusively is the day when rosewood is completely extinct. Gibson is still getting rosewood, it's just they can't buy it directly, but through a third party - which is more expensive, I assume. I'm sure the rosewood will come rushing back when they work out this situation with the feds. The question is: will these maple fretboards be collective thirty or so years down the road.

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As has been said, there are so many hundreds of thousands of rosewood-board Gibsons out there that this one factor wouldn't affect their collectability/value too much IMHO.

 

If you know where to look it's even possible - and legal - to buy a 'blank' of Brazillian rosewood to have a luthier put on your LP if you really feel the desperate need to get as close as possible to the spec of the original instruments. The wood itself isn't even that prohibitively expensive. Indian and Madagascar woods are more reasonably priced.

 

The problem Gibson has is that it 'needs' rosewood in very large quantities.

 

By all accounts the baked maple 'boards are wonderful. I'm also keen to try out the 'Richlite' 'boards of the new 'Midtown Custom'. I've no problem in accepting these choices for fingerboard material whatsoever. I've played a few Hagstroms fitted with man-made 'boards and they were gorgeous. They looked and felt exactly like ebony.

 

And, as milod says, when did anyone last look to buy a teak-cabinet television?

 

Perhaps we should all go out and snap these up from the second-hand/junk shops?! Teak is very valuable and - nowadays - is hard to find!

 

P.

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To add to what guitarest says above;

 

From the mid-seventies there were quite a few models from Gibson which were offered with maple 'boards.

 

The L6S; the S-1; the RD Custom; the G-3, Grabber, RD Artist and RD Custom basses all had maple 'boards. These same guitars even had maple bodies and necks into the bargain.

 

Even the Les Paul Custom could be had in an all-maple configuration.

 

P.

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Matt:

 

You need to post a picture of that entire guitar. I bet that thing sounds frigging great.

 

I am going to be making a youtube video soon with pics and soundclips for some friends who are m3 fans. As usual with a lot of Gibson traditionalists; despite it's top notch woods, craftsmanship and innovative m3 switching (it can sound like anything!) a lot of 'the herd' rejected it. Gibson represented "tradition" to them and not messing with the formula (which is ironic in itself, as 'blowing caution to the wind' has always been the "tradition" of Gibson!)

 

Since it brief life in the early 90's, it has gathered quite a cult following. I have seen prices for a good condition Deluxe range from $800 - to in excessive of $2000. It is worth (as with anything) what people at the time are willing to pay for it. It is a very easy guitar to play [thumbup]

 

Here is the back. It is made from Walnut and poplar wood I believe - sorry about the grainy pic. Matt

 

IMG_0331.jpg

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Let me know when you post that video, I bet that thing sounds great. Whats not to love about that guitar. Hey those traditionalist are everywhere. Remember when Fender came out with "The Strat" majority of the Fender clan hated that guitar, sadly even me. Yes I can make mistakes also.

 

FHM3.JPG

 

I don't remember the logo, but I remember hearing about it.

 

One big difference I have noticed with the classical guitar community and the electric one; is that so many people from the later seem to dismiss a guitar because of it's looks, what country it is made, if it is too cheap, if it is too expensive even, if the specs are ones that are ones that they are unfamiliar etc etc...all with out playing a damn note on it!

 

You'd think, given the rock n roll association, people would be adventurous and open; not closed and rigid!

 

Jocko here is a small side shot I found on page 8 of photo bucket, just to give you an idea of the shape and dimensions.

 

m_c4b58f0376f0b8dfc437dfc757722148.jpg

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If this is ONLY about rosewood, I would guess that the current baked-maple would be the more valuable long term. There is more involved in working it, not to mention the cost in equipment.

 

I think we may tend to forget that the use of baked maple (and richlite) is a TEMPORARY thing here, because Gibson is having PROBLEMS with the govt. regarding the use of rosewood and ebony.

 

And, I also believe that regardless of the outcome, there is more to this story than just rosewood or ebony. Regardless of Gibson's guilt or innocence, what the govt. is attempting to implement will result in higher cost and less availability for ALL woods.

 

And of corse, regulations involving the manufacture of synthetics are also subject to regulation. Not sure or educated on the cost and effort to produce richlite, but obviously baked maple is more labor intensive than plain wood.

 

When this "case" is over, if rosewood becomes more expensive as a result, than surely maple will be subject to the same things as rosewood.

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I don't like maple fretboards.

 

I have to put my glasses on to see the strings...dry.gif

 

LOL!!!

 

I just don't like maple boards.... I have one guitar with a maple board (Kramer Baretta) and it never gets played.

 

Ebony or rosewood for this player [thumbup]

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I hope its not a temp solution and ends up being a permanent choice of fretboard by Gibson. There are many others here who have purchased guitars with burnt maple and have spoken highly about it also; so its not just me. Isn't maple a American wood? I didn't know they imported that also, anyone actually know that answer?

I think most maple is from here, but also I would imagine it is exported as well. And, the export price also effects the domestic price. But I still see IF the govt. being able to have more of a hand in it either way, and even if it benefits jobs here, I find it highly unlikely it will NOT result in MORE EXPENSIVE wood for the consumer.

 

I might tend to agree about the cooked maple, if I tried it. I see it as a "desireable" option, and the determining factors being how much it cost to build, and what some are willing to pay.

 

I get the feeling NOW that it is viewed as a "cheaper" alternative both in cost and performance than what it really is because of the role it playing now in connection with the "trouble" Gibson is in using the traditional woods.

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