Is old worth it?

tadol · #1 06-16-2017, 04:13 PM

I don't play a lot of electric - but I would like to do more. I have a nice strat, and its a keeper, but a friend has his dads Les Paul Jr. that he is interested in selling. Its in great shape, plays and sounds great, and I can possible work out getting his dads Gibson GA6 amp and old tremolo unit with it (amp needs work, and not sure about the tremolo condition).

So these are kinda collectible, and I love older acoustics, but when we get into the realm of electrics, I just don't know. I can get it for a pretty good price (I'm not gonna steal it) but for a bit less, I think I could get one of the new Collings models, or ?? much closer to new -

Input? Is it worth putting the money into the older electric stuff if the main goal is to play it an enjoy it, or leave it with its idiosyncrasies and age issues to the collectors, and get something newer, probably technologically better, and also very probably cheaper? Or would I look back on this opportunity in 10 years, and kick myself repeatedly if I didn't buy it now -

Just not sure - help!!

Big Band Guitar · #2 06-16-2017, 04:40 PM

Old or new, collectable or not. Instruments were made to be played and enjoyed. If it makes you happy do it.

Old electrics may need pots replaced or cleaned of noisy. Dirty or corroded jacks and switch contacts may need to be cleaned. Easy fixes.

Bob Womack · #3 06-16-2017, 06:09 PM

The GA-6 Lancer is considered by many to be a Fender 5E3 Tweed Deluxe killer. It is very much similar in design but Gibson always designed their amps to begin breaking up earlier and to have a darker sound. The result is a really cool distorted amp sound. '50s and '60s amps have got a certain vibe that is just plain old cool. Older amps can be restored to the point where they aren't perpetually needy and fragile. The key is to find a good tech and not be niggardly - replace everything that needs to be replaced to bring it back to blueprint spec and consider that cost part of the price of the amp from the start.

So owning and playing a vintage amp can be very cool. I have a couple of small vintage ones myself and a repro 5E3 that I commissioned.

Bob

perttime · #4 06-17-2017, 12:31 AM

BBG and Bob nailed it.
Old stuff may well need some maintenance to get it running perfectly. Sounds like a great amp and LP Jr. is one of those simple guitars that some absolutely love, old or new. It really boils down to what you will enjoy more. Others can explain pros and cons but judgement is up to you.

I have little idea of what is collectible and how much that affects the $$$ side of things.

MC5C · #5 06-17-2017, 05:47 AM

I like old guitars a lot. I like old amplifiers a lot. I have a 1962 Gibson Melody Maker, which was the successor to the LPjr. It is quite astounding for such a simple instrument, and perhaps that simplicity is part of the charm. It is literally three pieces of wood - a one piece mahogany body, a one piece mahogany neck, and a rosewood fretboard. It is resonant and more responsive than any solid body guitar I've ever played. Good luck with your decision.

Steve DeRosa · #6 06-17-2017, 07:20 AM

I ask myself the same question when I look in the mirror every morning...

Then I remember I got to play all those cool old guitars/amps when they were brand-new: pre-CBS Teles/Strats/Jags, blonde/blackface Fender amps, Beatle-era Gretsch hollowbodies, late-PAF/pre-Norlin Gibsons, Kalamazoo Epiphones, Hoboken Guilds, plexi Marshalls, blue-check Ampegs, BRW Martins, those funky old Harmony/Kay archtops, and the first wave of "lawsuit" Japanese instruments that caused justifiable panic among the major American manufacturers in the early-70's...

I feel better now...

redir · #7 06-17-2017, 07:39 AM

As far as electric guitars go, the age of one compared to an acoustic guitar is much less to worry about. Very very rarely do electric guitars need neck resets and usually when they do it's due to damage. Check to see if the headstock has ever broken off before and if so the repair was done right,,, and so on.

Pickups will last forever and even pots if taken care of will last a long time. But you may need to clean or replace the pots and jack, not expensive. Then you have to consider fret wear. Does it need a refret? That sort of thing.

Otherwise you have good advice here, I'd pick that up in a hurry. Great amp and guitar combo. It's always nice to have two of the guitars that pretty much made rock and roll history in your arsenal, the Strat and the Les Paul.

aknow · #8 06-17-2017, 10:27 AM

I have over 35 guitars and 30 amps.
The best sounding? 1964 Fender B/F Deluxe Reverb, and 2011 Gibson Les Paul Jr, or 1964 Gibson SG standard
Good luck---Those vintage amps are well worth fixing up!

muscmp · #9 06-17-2017, 11:04 AM

go for it and enjoy playing the guitar, amp and tremolo unit. it is a whole new world! i have some old gibson amps(as well as fender) and they are so much fun to play thru.

play music!

JeffreyAK · #10 06-17-2017, 12:16 PM

If you like them and are willing to pay whatever the prices are for them, that's all that matters. I don't think old necessarily equates to better, and often it equates to more problems to sort out if you intend to use the gear, but it does equate to different, and maybe you like different for any of a variety of reasons.

I love my "vintage" (ha, sounds funny to say that!) Strat, and I have no interest in swapping it for a newer version because I can't get the configuration I like and am used to (especially fretboard width and curvature and materials, and hardtail), but the pots are a bit noisy and the frets are very nearly toast, and would have been toast long ago for most players (I get by with higher action). When I can't get by any longer, I'll have to make a decision, refret it (big deal with the lacquered maple) or try to find a replacement neck.

M Sarad · #11 06-17-2017, 12:38 PM

I have a '58 3/4 LP Jr that I play through a '58 Tweed Deluxe. It ain't a modern sound. Funky, dirty, nasty, it is a one of a kind for that special song.

Steel and wood · #12 06-17-2017, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MC5C

I like old guitars a lot. I like old amplifiers a lot. I have a 1962 Gibson Melody Maker, which was the successor to the LPjr. It is quite astounding for such a simple instrument, and perhaps that simplicity is part of the charm. It is literally three pieces of wood - a one piece mahogany body, a one piece mahogany neck, and a rosewood fretboard. It is resonant and more responsive than any solid body guitar I've ever played. Good luck with your decision.

Same. (Although I'm partial to vintage Fender Telecasters and Stratocasters in particular and old Fender tube amps and reverb units).

tadol · #13 06-18-2017, 12:32 PM

Well, I've been playing the LP Jr for a couple days, its a '55 sunburst, and he had it cleaned and set up at Gryphon 8-9 years ago right after his dad passed, and it plays and feels and sounds fantastic still. I like the simplicity of the single pu, and just 2 knobs. The neck feels fantastic - if we can come to agreement on a price I can afford, I'd love to get it, but I've been advised to look at the new Collings models if I can find one. I've been told they're pretty great copies, and may be better in most ways other than collectibility -

The amp is rough - not playable as is, but makes noise so its kinda working - it also appears to be a 55 or so vintage, and I've been told I can find someone who can get it into primo shape, if I can get it cheap enough to allow for the repairs. I have a Schertler Unico, and a Jam 150, and a little Roland, so a tube model would be fun - I just don't know anything about them. This guitar/amp had been together for 60 years, so it'd be nice to keep them together as long as possible. The tremolo is a DeArmond 601, same vintage, but he's misplaced it and has to look for it, so I haven't any idea of its state of operation.

So I guess its all gonna boil down to price, and we'll just have to see how that all works out -

perttime · #14 06-18-2017, 01:33 PM

Just googled to see how much people are asking for Gibson Les Paul Junior 1955 Sunburst guitars in good or excellent condition. Seems to vary but it is a lot of money. I'd call it collectible kind of money, which is more than player kind of money.

The new ones from Collings aren't exactly cheap either, though, but clearly they are built right. I'd call them high end simple guitars.

The amp sounds like a project - but a good tech can certainly sort it out. For a cost.

MC5C · #15 06-19-2017, 09:13 AM

a year from now a 1950's LP jr will be worth more than you paid for it, maybe a lot more. A year from now a new Collings will be worth less than you paid for it, maybe a lot less. Remember this also - a late 50's LP jr was an entry level student model guitar, the cheapest thing that Gibson made and it reflects that. A new Collings is a high end boutique instrument that in no way reflects "entry level" or "cheap student model". They might look the same from 50 feet, but they sure ain't the same. Here is my bottom line - if you didn't decide to buy it within 10 minutes of seeing it for the first time, pass it on to someone who cares. No harm in not wanting 60 years of someone else's mojo. I never ever buy a guitar that doesn't make up my mind in 10 minutes or less. If it's in my lap for 20 minutes and I haven't given my wife the nod, then it goes back on the rack.