Which one of you dudes bought the 54 LP for $335,500? Don't be shy. Step forward.
1954 Les Paul Gibson guitar sells for $335,500
The 1954 Les Paul Gibson guitar known as "Black Beauty" has sold at auction for $335,500.
Guernsey's auction house says the six-string instrument with gold-plated hardware set the standard for other Les Paul Gibson guitars.
Paul was a jazz, country and blues guitarist. He made frequent modifications to his basic guitar over the years, refining the sound.
Paul, whose hit songs include "How High the Moon," played his instruments in concerts, recordings and on the "Les Paul and Mary Ford" television show. He died in 2009.
There was no pre-sale estimate for the "Black Beauty" guitar, and Guernsey's could not provide the name of the buyer.
The auction record for a guitar belongs to the Fender Stratocaster that Bob Dylan played at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. It sold for $965,000 in 2013.
Paul collaborated on his original design with Gibson after the guitar maker approached him about making an electric guitar bearing his name.
The auctioneer calls it the most significant electric guitar ever made.
Years ago, Paul gave the instrument to his friend, guitar technician and builder Tom Doyle of Wantage, New Jersey.
Guernsey's president, Arlan Ettinger, said the Les Paul guitar is considered a "Holy Grail" among musicians because it gave birth to thousands of instruments that bear his name.
Wasn't me... ;)
Mortgage was declined, so just couldn't pull the trigger....
Quote from: cooder on February 20, 2015, 06:59:13 PM
Wasn't me... ;)
Mortgage was declined, so just couldn't pull the trigger....
Did you try selling a kidney?
It was me. I sold my entire collection to cover it. Doesn't stay in tune worth a shit, though, but it frees up a lot more space in the basement. Thinking I'll refinish it in hot pink.
I'll be converting it to a lefty...
This was sort of a weird one. Hyped as the holy grail of Les Pauls, which it wasn't really. It definitely belonged to Les, but it wasn't his primary player and it certainly wasn't the genesis of the Les Paul Standard as it was made in '54 two years after LP production started.
It seemed like Irsay overpaid to me, but I get the impression that the sellers weren't really happy with the result.
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Some lawyer bought it to go with his 3 Centaurs and (Enter TS variant pedal name here).
Cody
I bought it and encased it in epoxy making a coffee table out of it. It matches my CBS Twin Reverb end tables and my Marshall Keg Refrigerator.
Quote from: pickdropper on February 20, 2015, 08:45:12 PM
It seemed like Irsay overpaid to me, but I get the impression that the sellers weren't really happy with the result.
Jim Irsay can't overpay for anything.
Dude's got some sweet axes, that's for sure.
I can understand if the seller's didn't think they got enough for the guitar. Compared to the Dylan guitar, it went for a third of the price. I would have probably expected it to go higher, but Dave made some good points with regards while it was Les' guitar, it was really one of Les' guitars.
People are: out..they..mind
Quote from: pryde on February 20, 2015, 09:44:04 PM
People are: out..they..mind
I guess having too much money can do that.....
Quote from: GermanCdn on February 20, 2015, 09:38:23 PM
Dude's got some sweet axes, that's for sure.
I can understand if the seller's didn't think they got enough for the guitar. Compared to the Dylan guitar, it went for a third of the price. I would have probably expected it to go higher, but Dave made some good points with regards while it was Les' guitar, it was really one of Les' guitars.
I think, in this particular case, the hype hurt them. They hyped it as if was the holy grail of Les Pauls, which isn't really the case. It was owned by Les Paul so it has value, but historians don't think it had much, if any, influence on LP designs and was really just another one of Les Pauls guitars, and not one of his more commonly played instruments. Certainly, Page's LP or Beano (if they ever find it) would fetch a significantly higher amount of money.
Also Max Stavron, the business partner of Doyle who was the one hyping it, probably doesn't help the cause. He comes across as slightly unstable. A couple of years ago, he had a white Les Paul custom that belonged to Les. He paid $8k for it but was convinced he could sell it for $500k. He went on the reality show Treasure Detectives and, well, it didn't quite go as he hoped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOTOwPilkNY
Quote from: pickdropper on February 23, 2015, 05:52:42 AM
Quote from: GermanCdn on February 20, 2015, 09:38:23 PM
Dude's got some sweet axes, that's for sure.
I can understand if the seller's didn't think they got enough for the guitar. Compared to the Dylan guitar, it went for a third of the price. I would have probably expected it to go higher, but Dave made some good points with regards while it was Les' guitar, it was really one of Les' guitars.
I think, in this particular case, the hype hurt them. They hyped it as if was the holy grail of Les Pauls, which isn't really the case. It was owned by Les Paul so it has value, but historians don't think it had much, if any, influence on LP designs and was really just another one of Les Pauls guitars, and not one of his more commonly played instruments. Certainly, Page's LP or Beano (if they ever find it) would fetch a significantly higher amount of money.
Also Max Stavron, the business partner of Doyle who was the one hyping it, probably doesn't help the cause. He comes across as slightly unstable. A couple of years ago, he had a white Les Paul custom that belonged to Les. He paid $8k for it but was convinced he could sell it for $500k. He went on the reality show Treasure Detectives and, well, it didn't quite go as he hoped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOTOwPilkNY
That is priceless...not the guitar :P
I'm not sure if it is unstable or if he is just a dbag through and through. So do you know what he got for it?
Quote from: TNblueshawk on February 23, 2015, 01:34:08 PM
Quote from: pickdropper on February 23, 2015, 05:52:42 AM
Quote from: GermanCdn on February 20, 2015, 09:38:23 PM
Dude's got some sweet axes, that's for sure.
I can understand if the seller's didn't think they got enough for the guitar. Compared to the Dylan guitar, it went for a third of the price. I would have probably expected it to go higher, but Dave made some good points with regards while it was Les' guitar, it was really one of Les' guitars.
I think, in this particular case, the hype hurt them. They hyped it as if was the holy grail of Les Pauls, which isn't really the case. It was owned by Les Paul so it has value, but historians don't think it had much, if any, influence on LP designs and was really just another one of Les Pauls guitars, and not one of his more commonly played instruments. Certainly, Page's LP or Beano (if they ever find it) would fetch a significantly higher amount of money.
Also Max Stavron, the business partner of Doyle who was the one hyping it, probably doesn't help the cause. He comes across as slightly unstable. A couple of years ago, he had a white Les Paul custom that belonged to Les. He paid $8k for it but was convinced he could sell it for $500k. He went on the reality show Treasure Detectives and, well, it didn't quite go as he hoped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOTOwPilkNY
That is priceless...not the guitar :P
I'm not sure if it is unstable or if he is just a dbag through and through. So do you know what he got for it?
I'm not sure that one sold. Last I heard, there was a fairly large gap between what he thought it was worth and what the rest of the market did.
I've got it home, but I'm looking to make some improvements.
Anyone know where to buy some retrofit G-Force Tuners and a brass nut?
I also feel a bit duped that new LP's come with a shiny Les Paul signature on the headstock and a holographic decal. Mine doesn't even have a sharpie scribble on the back >:(
My Joe Bonamassa licks aren't sounding quite right on it either. I'll have to invest in his signature pickup set.
Quote from: raulduke on February 23, 2015, 02:28:03 PM
My Joe Bonamassa licks aren't sounding quite right on it either. I'll have to invest in his signature pickup set.
Don't forget the guitar god spotlight. ;)