To Play or Not to Play Your Beauty

Guitardon · Jul 19, 2014

ultra said:
I have an acquaintance who has a fantastic collection of serious vintage pieces as well as current high value production guitars and ................. he has never played a note in his life.

He is not interested in the playing side at all but he really loves them, polishes them and caresses them and spends a lot of time just looking at them.

I'm not sure what he is thinking about when he has them all out. Maybe he uses his collection is a talking point or maybe he views them as functional art. No way to pick up girls IMO

Good luck to him. I could not have them all without at least strumming a chord and realising their potential.

I could never to that but I can understand the obsession. Each one is a work of art with its own beauty and vibe playing it or not. I can see that with some guitars on the market but it seems like just about everyone I open the link and it says mint never played etc.

Often I pull one out to play next thing you know I have all of them out because I just want to look at them while I play. They are so purdeee I can't help myself.:hee

Guitardon · Jul 19, 2014

Dozer95662 said:
It is possible some of the "mint unplayed" ones are from grey market dealers operating way under the radar

What is the grey market?

ultra · Jul 19, 2014

Guitardon said:
What is the grey market?

Probably us old folks with grey hair

Blackie59 · Jul 19, 2014

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but grey market refers to sellers who are not authorized Gibson dealers who move guitars for authorized dealers so they can keep up their sales quotas. At least that is what the term means to me when I hear it. You can see this on fleabay with guys selling new guitars with no warranty.

Nihon Jim · Jul 19, 2014

Guitardon said:
I am constantly amazed at how many guitars for sale on the secondary market are un-played. It seems that there are more mint and never played guitars than those that have been used that are for sale.

Are those the ones with the Gibson Custom Shop sticker still affixed to the pick guard? :hmm

J T · Jul 19, 2014

Even though I play my guitars, I can understand someone who would like to keep the guitar squeaky clean, no fingerprints or (gasp!) scratch free.

I dont abuse anything I own. I can relate to someone thinking their Les Paul is a thing of beauty to admire. I think all here do to some extent. But not playing the guitar and wiping off fingerprints, etc. falls into the category of investment. Now these guitar owners need to realize that this is not a guaranteed return on investment and is solely dependent on market whim. The economy tanks and nobody is paying top dollar, if at all.

Unless the guitar is really special, these guys are not going to cash in unless they bought the guitar for a really low price to begin with. However looking at e-bay and whatever else, some appear to believe they can hold on to a guitar, not touch it then double the going rate for their wonderful investment. Well they are probably better off putting that money in a Mutual Fund.

A guitar is something that requires maintenance. You can't just leave it hang on the wall or squirreled away in it's case. The strings will tighten, the neck will bow stuff like that requires the owner to make adjustments. An untouched guitar is less desirable to me as a buyer than one that was properly maintained.

Just my two cents.

Tomcat · Jul 19, 2014

Why should I leave the most important part of my signal chain at home? I purchased all my guitars because they sound good, not because they look good...

eace2

emg32 · Jul 19, 2014

IMO most of the used Reissue Les Pauls that state "unplayed" is just a marketing ploy by sellers to try to draw in extra money from the sell. Unless they are a unauthorized dealer selling newer models as a business.

There are a ton of used Reissues selling out there that have been played extensively but mainly in the sellers home. Due to that a lot of them are in excellent shape with no visible dings, scratches or signs of wear.

With that a lot of sellers will polish them up and then claim it's "unplayed" thinking it will make for a faster sell and max money.

herb · Jul 19, 2014

If I was in the market to buy a used guitar I would be in suspect of any guitar that wasn't played. How could you not play a guitar that sounds great?

shred · Jul 19, 2014

Playing guitars out dings them up. Nitro finishes are pretty fragile compared to poly.

Almost makes me wish I owned a Murphy. I was always against relicing, but it has one killer application: If you put some new 'wear' on your 6K guitar, it won't devalue it...

Guitardon · Jul 19, 2014

shred said:
Almost makes me wish I owned a Murphy. I was always against relicing, but it has one killer application: If you put some new 'wear' on your 6K guitar, it won't devalue it...

Funny stuff and senseless - If someone beats it up and sends a certificate with it, it is worth more but woe be me, if I put a dent on it, it is worth less. That is some funny stuff. We Les Paul people aught have our heads examined. In the 50's if someone said give me your burst, I'll ding it up and give you a certificate - it'll be worth more they would be laughed at:hee :rofl

Mats A · Jul 20, 2014

I don't know if buying historics really is an investment. Most often they sell for cheaper than they cost to buy new. Maybe some very special models. A 2007 Page signature sold for around 2000 Euro here recently.

mistersnappy · Jul 20, 2014

Its pretty simple, isnt it? If one is hoping their Pearly Gates or whatever goes up in price and they are looking to turn a profit, then they will likely not leave the case. Especially if they were signed and played by the artist.

Cliff Gress · Jul 20, 2014

rockinlespaul · Jul 21, 2014

I think in general, most owners do keep their guitars fairly clean and try to keep them from objects that can hurt them, lol. I also believe there are probably a lot of them that don't really know how to play that well so they don't get played. This is all strictly imho of course...

DANELECTRO · Jul 22, 2014

What fun are they if you don't play them! :## Whether we're talking about a 5 year old Historic or a 62 year old goldtop, all of my guitars make their way through the gig rotation. I don't wear giant cowboy belt buckles so nothing is going to get scarred because I play them a little. If I owned only one crappy guitar I'd probably be satisfied making the best of it playing it at a gig, however I'm fortunate enough to own some nice Les Pauls and for me it would suck the wind out of a gig to go on stage with some crappy guitar knowing that I have way nicer guitars sitting at home. Guitars are meant to make music. If I wanted an investment or a piece of art I would buy mutual funds or a painting.

les strat · Jul 23, 2014

My 2004 gloss R8 looks like it was made in the 50's. Almost though to the wood, patina, red has faded to pink all over the back and neck, hazed over nickle hardware, will need a fret job soon. I love that guitar, and it shows cause I played it for hundreds of gigs and didn;t abuse it, but didn't wear a cloth diaper on my belt either.

mike1100r · Jul 23, 2014

Hm, bought a 90´s Killerflame Beauty in mint condition 2 years ago.

Only very very minor playin marks visible.

After two years on stage i think i´m catching up

I´m taking care about my guitars, but honestly i´m a player and not a collector. All of my guitars have belt buckle rash and Ding/Dongs

Surprisingly i don´t care about some new marks on my Fender and Gibson guitars.
On my former PRS braz. McCarty i was afraid all the time.

Thx god... the PRS was my entry fee into Historic business... traded for my Goldie.
Best deal ever.

Guitardon · Jul 23, 2014

The thing that bothers me about all this stuff is I remember when I bought my 1958 in 1972 how proud I was. I loved looking at it and thinking about all the gigs it might have been played and who owned it etc. It was the mystique of the thing. That is what made it cool. But today people don't value that same thing that made the originals cool. If it is played they don't care where, when and who played it. That was the fun of ownership for me back in the day.

I just can't get into the "it has to be mint concept" for me a guitar with an ice tea finish means the guitar was out of the case a lot of the time for it fade and probably played on many gigs, Therefore I want that guitar to look the part and believe it should be a natural process caused by playing it out on gigs and practices etc. A mint guitar with a faded finish just doesn't look right without some playing wear on them. I am not knocking those who differ but I just can't relate so I will play my guitars and so be it if people won't pay for natural wear but will pay for mechanical wear done by some famous person that ages guitar. My current batch of guitars are keepers and not going anywhere soon so I will just play them, age them naturally and love every minute of it. This of course is just my little 2 cents.

Biggles58 · Jul 23, 2014

I remember a case on the Telecaster forum where a fellow posted pics of nice clean a '52 Tele reissue and stated he would only leave it in its case and look at it. Granted, it was his guitar and he was free to do what he wanted but you can well imagine the comments that followed...

To Play or Not to Play Your Beauty

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