Olson that JT played? No way!

Stevied63 · #1 02-22-2017, 12:43 PM

I just saw a new listing on Reverb for an Olson SJ. The seller implies that the guitar was previously owned by James Taylor - here is a quote from the listing:

" With this alone I would put the guitar at 9.5, but there is moderate string wear on the frets you would expect James Taylor to play most frequently which lowers the condition in my mind to a 9.0."

I hope nobody actually falls for this - I would think someone spending this much on a guitar will be smarter.

S

Bowie · #2 02-22-2017, 12:46 PM

Is that the only reference? If it is, then you are reading too much into it. If that's the only time he mentioned it then it means that the owner was playing a lot of James taylor songs on that guitar.

Stevied63 · #3 02-22-2017, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowie

Is that the only reference? If it is, then you are reading too much into it. If that's the only time he mentioned it then it means that the owner was playing a lot of James taylor songs on that guitar.

Yeah, perhaps you are right..

Steve DeRosa · #4 02-22-2017, 12:59 PM

Personally, I'd question why a knowledgeable individual would be selling an Olson SJ with a purported JT provenance on Reverb in the first place - heck, we don't even get instruments like that around here...

Caveat emptor...

Bowie · #5 02-22-2017, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Personally, I'd question why a knowledgeable individual would be selling an Olson SJ with a purported JT provenance on Reverb in the first place - heck, we don't even get instruments like that around here...

Caveat emptor...

Not sure what that means. There's a far larger variety of guitars on Reverb than on here. When I shop high-end guitars, I find that I'm far more likely to encounter the model I'm looking for there than on here at any given time. Not that there's anything wrong with this place, I just found your comment unusual.

Steve DeRosa · #6 02-22-2017, 01:09 PM

Given our sponsor list - as well as the fact that we have a few working pros among our number - IMO a genuine JT-owned Olson stands a better chance of turning up in the hands of Ted, Maury, or Toby (among others)...

Bowie · #7 02-22-2017, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Given our sponsor list - as well as the fact that we have a few working pros among our number - IMO a genuine JT-owned Olson stands a better chance of turning up in the hands of Ted, Maury, or Toby (among others)...

I'll just agree to highly disagree. There's a number of dealers on Reverb. And, quite a few high-end and even historic instruments get posted there. No reason why a JT Olson is above a Reverb listing. I believe one of the guys you listed sells on ebay, so why would he be above Reverb? Several of the sponsors here sell on Reverb.

frances50 · #8 02-22-2017, 01:32 PM

I've seen a few Olson guitars on Reverb. The price on this one is about the average asking price that I would expect to see for Guitar Gallery. Dream Guitars and Luthier's Collection would probably be substantially higher for this same guitar.

I don't think the seller was implying that James Taylor actually owned this guitar. I think it was poor wording on the description. Jim Olson actually made about 100 James Taylor signature guitars (with James signing the label inside the guitar). Those have been sold out for several years now and the last one (used) on Luthier's Collection was listed for over $23,000.

fishstick_kitty · #9 02-22-2017, 01:37 PM

I'm pretty sure James Taylor throws his Olsons away when he's done with them.

Stevied63 · #10 02-22-2017, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishstick_kitty

I'm pretty sure James Taylor throws his Olsons away when he's done with them.

Haha! Now I would dumpster dive for that! I saw a video a little while ago where he goes through his guitar "archive" - he appears to still have his first Olson.

DavidE · #11 02-22-2017, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevied63

Haha! Now I would dumpster dive for that! I saw a video a little while ago where he goes through his guitar "archive" - he appears to still have his first Olson.

Link? Does his still have his Whitebook?

Dwight · #12 02-23-2017, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevied63

I hope nobody actually falls for this - I would think someone spending this much on a guitar will be smarter. S

I think you're reading too much into this, as others have mentioned, he's trying to say the frets are worn. He's just doing a little name dropping with JT and Paul Simon who are known Olson players.
Anyone dropping 13k on a 1999 Olson is already very smart, very lucky or fortunate in one way or another so you needn't worry so much!

I'm sure the seller is grateful to you for driving so much attention to his listing!

Yrksman · #13 02-23-2017, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowie

Is that the only reference? If it is, then you are reading too much into it. If that's the only time he mentioned it then it means that the owner was playing a lot of James taylor songs on that guitar.

I thought the same.

Yrksman · #14 02-23-2017, 06:26 PM

Am I right in thinking JT has kept every Olson he has ever owned?

Wengr · #15 02-23-2017, 06:46 PM

Uh, - I'm pretty sure that Justin Timberlake plays Taylors.