vintage58
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- Joined
- Apr 13, 2003
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Very cool guitar! :salude..Do you know what range (i.e., alphabet letter) of serial numbers it belongs to? And if it's yours, did you purchase it when these guitars first came out?
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Very cool guitar! :salude..Do you know what range (i.e., alphabet letter) of serial numbers it belongs to? And if it's yours, did you purchase it when these guitars first came out?
If a real Moderne from the '50s surfaced and was authenticated, it would potentially sell for big bucks. The fact that no one has brought one forward to make money off of it strongly suggests to me that none exist. Until one surfaces and is authenticated, I think all this talk of them is just a bunch of rubbish.
If a real Moderne from the '50s surfaced and was authenticated, it would potentially sell for big bucks. The fact that no one has brought one forward to make money off of it strongly suggests to me that none exist. Until one surfaces and is authenticated, I think all this talk of them is just a bunch of rubbish.
Thanks for this info, Ellwood. If there's any way you could recall the exact month/year that you purchased your guitar, that would be great. The reason that I'd be interested in finding out, is covered in greater detail in this recent thread about Modernes.Thanks, it's a B series, bought in 82/83 I think? yes it's mine and I still have it, it's a great guitar!!
Well, I'd be very surprised if they did. But, hey.... that would obviously be terrific, ya know.Ok Vintage58, I'm trying to tie the buy to something in the past? maybe the boss remembers? I'm sure it was 82/83 right in that time frame... hummm.... I know where I bought it and they are still in business, I wonder if they have some kind of a file on the buy?
This is the Northwest Moderne, no? Like Beano, it has stayed quieter than it should have for this long…i used to buy guitars from an old retired gibson rep, he passed in 2021 r.i.p. his name was duane hess he told me he was a gibson sales rep for decades, anyone know of him?
he told me when he retired he had 5 or 6 guitars left from being a rep and one was a moderne, he told me he sold all the guitars to a guy in san jose california and they went to the guys ranch. thats just what he told me. i think i have a way of finding the guy but i,m keeping that up my sleeve till i get a chance to follow it up!
i know...pretty far fetched
yes, northwest. duane told me about it years and years ago, then before he passed i asked him again and he said he did have it and sold it along with a few other guitars he had laying around from his gibson days...who knowsThis is the Northwest Moderne, no? Like Beano, it has stayed quieter than it should have for this long…
(I don’t know that this guitar exists at all. But there are rumors occasionally. And the line from 1957 Gibson to Oregon is clear. Has anyone asked them?)
Duane was co-owner of Tom’s Guitar in Oregon. If you’re a Moderne sleuth, it maybe worth following that up. I’m more interested in what happened to the “two dozen” guitars that went through San Antonio. Ponty saw more than his mahogany/korina Futura before the train departed San Anton for El Paso and Juarez.yes, northwest. duane told me about it years and years ago, then before he passed i asked him again and he said he did have it and sold it along with a few other guitars he had laying around from his gibson days...who knows
RightThere's always a chance someone could have possession of one of these guitars and not have a clue as to what it is. An uncle of mine has a Gibson from the 50's (ES model, 1 cutaway, 2 P90's) that he gave to one of his daughters. She doesn't play guitar at all and doesn't know anything about it. But to her it's gold because it's something special from her dad. I'm sure this type of thing happens a lot more than not.
Seems to me it's entirely possible that one or maybe a few Moderne's escaped from the science lab!Right
But Duane Hess, regional sales manager at Gibson 1957-79 just got name dropped here with a story that he owned and sold a Moderne. I’ve never ever heard that. I have heard there is one, in the northwest and they know what they have. I just think this stuff is cool. I know more about the train schedules in 1957-58 from San Antonio to Juarez than I have any right to…
Possible? Sure. more than one or two? unlikely. IMO. There's no evidence that I'\ve seen that more than a few were ever built - and there's testimony that they were destroyed in the company morgue not long after. Could one or two have escaped that fate? Yep, but it's interesting that in the 60+ years since there's been zero official sightings. If I had one, I'd want it to be documented - hopefully with my identity kept secret; I wouldn't want the publicity. But to let Gibson know that it's there, and maybe a few guitar historians.Seems to me it's entirely possible that one or maybe a few Moderne's escaped from the science lab!
It's interesting to speculate how many gems are out there with folks not knowing what they have. You know: "my great uncle use to own this guitar. I don't play, but it's an old Gibson." In a slight way this reminds me of the gentleman who owned John Lennon's J-160 for all those years and didn't have a clue as to exactly what he had in his possession! Not that it was a rare guitar model, but wow! I can only imagine how I would have felt if I was in his shoes.Possible? Sure. more than one or two? unlikely. IMO. There's no evidence that I'\ve seen that more than a few were ever built - and there's testimony that they were destroyed in the company morgue not long after. Could one or two have escaped that fate? Yep, but it's interesting that in the 60+ years since there's been zero official sightings. If I had one, I'd want it to be documented - hopefully with my identity kept secret; I wouldn't want the publicity. But to let Gibson know that it's there, and maybe a few guitar historians.
|I don't disagree there. |How many of us HAVEN'T daydreamed of strolling up to a yard sale somewhere and finding a 'Burst, or early Strat, D'Angelico or what have you sitting out there, tagged at $20 or whatever.It's interesting to speculate how many gems are out there with folks not knowing what they have. You know: "my great uncle use to own this guitar. I don't play, but it's an old Gibson." In a slight way this reminds me of the gentleman who owned John Lennon's J-160 for all those years and didn't have a clue as to exactly what he had in his possession! Not that it was a rare guitar model, but wow! I can only imagine how I would have felt if I was in his shoes.