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New Gibson Les Paul that was a Factory Error

immarkslater

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Mar 5, 2021
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16
I recently purchased a new Gibson Les Paul from Musicians Friend. It was supposed to be a Traditional Pro V with a satin iced tea finish. When the guitar arrived it was all gloss. I first thought that Gibson or MF put the wrong guitar in the box, but I checked the serial number on the guitar and the serial number on the box and they both matched. Box says its a satin finish, but the guitar isn't. I called Gibson to see what model they recorded the serial number as and according to them its supposed to be exactly what I ordered. The guy from Gibson customer service found it really hard to believe that the guitar was full gloss. After a long conversation with him he agreed that the guitar was indeed a gloss finish and somehow managed to make it all the way through production with the wrong finish. He also mentioned that he has heard of this happening before but it is very rare. I asked him if this is like 1 of 1000 that has ever left with the wrong finish, and he said no... its more like 1 of 10 that he's ever heard of leaving the factory with the wrong finish. He said this guitar should have been pulled from production, refinished with the correct finish, or destroyed. He said what I have isn't supposed to exist and is incredibly rare. I asked if he could give me an idea what it would be worth and he told me he is not allowed to give any advice on the value of something like this, but again said "you have something that probably only about 10 examples of this are know by Gibson to exist." I'm posting this because I want to know if anyone out there knows of any other Gibson guitars that made it through production with the wrong finish. I also want to get an idea of what something like this may be worth.
 

LyonAudio

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Aug 3, 2018
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I would think that it's really only going to be "valuable" to a very intense Gibson collector, and if you want to (eventually) sell it as "collectable" you can't play it, change the strings, or do much beyond look at it.
Even then you might find that nobody cares.
 

Wilko

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Mar 11, 2002
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insignificant at best. unless you don't like it. Wet sand with 600 grit or lightly apply cutting/rubbing compound.
 

immarkslater

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Mar 5, 2021
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So if Gibson makes a limited run of say 50 guitars, they're valuable because there will only ever be 50 of them in existence. Something that is 1 of maybe 10, and should not exist has no real added value? Seems like it should be worth more than the $1899 the satin version retails for simply because of the added cost to produce a guitar with a gloss finish. I find it hard to believe that it doesn't add any value.
 

Geno Gibson Fan

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Sep 26, 2018
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I bought new one of the early ES-339's built in Nashville (March 2020). It's supposed to be cherry gloss. Except it's finished in wine red. I have the postcard they included of the build and yes, they had no cherry nitro to shoot so they used what they had. I suspect the move from Memphis is the root cause. I haven't thought in terms of re-sale value and while unique, it's not enough to up the resale price versus cherry.
 

El Gringo

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Apr 8, 2015
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So if Gibson makes a limited run of say 50 guitars, they're valuable because there will only ever be 50 of them in existence. Something that is 1 of maybe 10, and should not exist has no real added value? Seems like it should be worth more than the $1899 the satin version retails for simply because of the added cost to produce a guitar with a gloss finish. I find it hard to believe that it doesn't add any value.
Well if you think it is that valuable then you should list it on Reverb.com with the full description and story and then see what kind of responses and feedback you get . That would most certainly be a good barometer to gauge the interest and value . You could pick a price that you have in mind and also maybe if you want to list a Best Offer . If you wonder what to list for a price , you could list it for what you paid for it . As the above poster mentioned that if you choose to use this as a piece to sell for the highest amount then you really should leave it alone and not play it .
 

immarkslater

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Mar 5, 2021
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Why did you buy the guitar?
I bought the guitar because I wanted a Les Paul with a compound radius fretboard and asymmetrical neck profile. I like the guitar, but was just concerned when it appeared that Gibson put the wrong guitar in the box. After I confirmed with Gibson it was what I ordered, just that it received the wrong finish, I was happy to keep it. After talking with Gibson though about how rare it is for a guitar to leave the factory with the wrong finish, and since they told me there are only about 10 others they know of to exist; I became really curious about what the value is of this guitar. I'm not a collector, I prefer to play them. If what I have was as rare as Gibson is telling me, I thought it would be worth something. If not because it is 1 of about 10 to exist, simply receiving a full gloss finish should increase the value. For me, if this is worth more than what I ordered, I'd rather sell this, put a few dollars in my pocket, and order again what I originally ordered.
 

immarkslater

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Mar 5, 2021
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Value is not in rarity alone. You have to add desirability, to make it valuable. If the demand is big, and it is at the same time a rare item, the the value will be high. To me there is no particular desirability in your guitar. You can get a new one like it anytime, with the only difference being that it will have the name that applies to the finish. I consider the gloss finish to be more desirable than a satin finish, and thus more valuable than a satin finish. To me the value of the guitar is exactly the same as any other gloss finished Les Paul Pro

What do you think that value would be? They don't make a Traditional Pro V with a plain top in gloss to compare it to. They are all satin finished.
 

wmachine

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Mar 17, 2016
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303
Wrong finish? I have a Gibson that left the factory as the wrong guitar. All of the paperwork says it should be a 2016 '59 ES-175 VOS. What it is actually is a 2015 '54 ES-175D VOS. A very different model, supposedly "only 50 made for worldwide distribution". So does this mean there are actually 51? For the record, the serial number matches everything.
 

Phoenician

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Oct 12, 2020
Messages
88
I bought the guitar because I wanted a Les Paul with a compound radius fretboard and asymmetrical neck profile. I like the guitar, but was just concerned when it appeared that Gibson put the wrong guitar in the box. After I confirmed with Gibson it was what I ordered, just that it received the wrong finish, I was happy to keep it. After talking with Gibson though about how rare it is for a guitar to leave the factory with the wrong finish, and since they told me there are only about 10 others they know of to exist; I became really curious about what the value is of this guitar. I'm not a collector, I prefer to play them. If what I have was as rare as Gibson is telling me, I thought it would be worth something. If not because it is 1 of about 10 to exist, simply receiving a full gloss finish should increase the value. For me, if this is worth more than what I ordered, I'd rather sell this, put a few dollars in my pocket, and order again what I originally ordered.
Sounds like selling it is order and, as such, you shouldn't play it. I don't know how to price it or where best to list it, but the sooner you do the better and you can put those funds to a replace while pocketing the difference. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
 
Last edited:

AA00475Bassman

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Apr 26, 2016
Messages
3,769
You'd be further a head farming Chinchilla's !

Disclaimer : Life is full of over valued ,Cars, Friendships, Relationships in general , guitars, mainly things you have & your neighbor doesn't!!!!!!
 

Scott L

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Nov 4, 2008
Messages
880
Many people over the years have taken a polish like Virtuoso to their Satin finished guitars and made
them glossy.
 

darkwave

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Joined
Sep 17, 2001
Messages
357
Get over it. It ain't all that and you can't hype it into the golden egg you think it is. Play your flippin' guitar or sell it, but spare us the pump & dump hype.
Not to mention it is also now a second-hand guitar. I seriously doubt the swap will net you a profit, but don’t have any problem with you giving it a try.
 

Big Al

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Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
Geeze, it's a MF fsr blowout. Called a Satin model cause it plays smoooooth. The flippin specs call for GLOSS finish on body and neck. Good deal but gotta read the details
 
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