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Old 03-05-2021, 03:32 PM
obijohn obijohn is offline
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Default value of 1944 Gibson LG-2

I've recently acquired 44 LG-2 and would like some help with the value. Vintage guitars haven't been my thing so I don't really know where to start. The guitar is currently with a luthier getting some braces reset and the bridge redone. Other than that, the guitar seems in prime condition. Some weather checking of the finish and that's about it. Anybody have an idea? I've seen some crazy prices on these, but the range is huge.
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Old 03-05-2021, 03:38 PM
beatcomber beatcomber is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by obijohn View Post
I've recently acquired 44 LG-2 and would like some help with the value. Vintage guitars haven't been my thing so I don't really know where to start. The guitar is currently with a luthier getting some braces reset and the bridge redone. Other than that, the guitar seems in prime condition. Some weather checking of the finish and that's about it. Anybody have an idea? I've seen some crazy prices on these, but the range is huge.
I believe that Gruhn offers appraisals for a fee.
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Old 03-05-2021, 03:50 PM
jgottsman11 jgottsman11 is offline
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People usually list them in the high $4000s and low $5000s. They sit on the market for quite some time. The ones that are in the mid to low $3000s tend to be the sellers.
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Old 03-05-2021, 05:12 PM
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drplayer drplayer is offline
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The price range is huge because condition and year is everything with a vintage guitar. This a Banner Gibson, so that makes it quite desirable; however, the better the condition and the more orginal it is, the more you can expect to get for it. You said you're having some work done on it. Re-gluing braces won't affect the price at all; however, the bridge work might. Is the bridge getting replaced, or re-glued, or repaired? Or, is it just the bridge plate that's getting replaced?

Anything other than re-gluing the bridge will impact the price to a potential buyer that's a vintage guitar purist. Finish checking is expected and actually desirable over a re-finish, so that shouldn't impact the cost at all. An all original Banner LG-2 in excellent condition (i.e. normal wear and finish checking, no cracks or repaired cracks, original tuners, original bridge and bridge plate) can bring you close to $5K if you're willing to wait for the right buyer to come along. Prices go down from there, again, depending on condition and percent original...
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Last edited by drplayer; 03-06-2021 at 07:43 AM.
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Old 03-06-2021, 01:35 PM
zombywoof zombywoof is offline
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A friend of mine who owns a small store and has been buying and selling vintage guitars for some 25 years say what he does is take the Vintage Price Guide and knock off around 30% to get a "human being" value. Not sure if he was goofing on me but the point is that values tend to be inflated when you factor in what the big sexy vintage dealers ask for these instruments. The big dealers though have a large built in audience and can afford to sit on instruments until they get what they want. Not the way to go though if you do not want inventory just sitting around and need to move it as quickly as possible.
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Old 03-06-2021, 09:09 PM
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blindboyjimi blindboyjimi is offline
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It depends on condition, year, rarity, the shape of the neck, Spruce vs Mahogany tops, etc. Condition is the main thing, originality, then maybe playability and tone. Usually, vintage guitars are priced irrespective of tone but a great sounding one will get the money. The range could be $3,500-$6,000 retail and 25% off that for person-person sales. @$6,000 it should be 100% original, with no cracks or repairs other than a neck re-set or a re-fret, maybe a rarer one, like a Mahogany top and sound fantastic. Playability should be as good as a new guitar. The other end of the spectrum is for cracked, ill sounding, previous repairs and maybe even needing work.
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Old 03-09-2021, 02:28 PM
obijohn obijohn is offline
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Thank you all for the information. Greatly appreciated.
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Old 03-09-2021, 02:36 PM
redir redir is offline
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Those are fantastic little guitars. I have not played a mahogany top one but I had a '43 LG2 in my shop last year and I swear it was one of the best sounding steel string guitars I ever played. It just had that magic. And the big neck are great too imo.

Of course it depends on the condition. Having a bridge replaced will hurt the value a bit. Knowing what they sell on Reverb for helps. There is always what people ask then what they actually sell for.
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Old 03-09-2021, 02:47 PM
generalliamsayn generalliamsayn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redir View Post
I had a '43 LG2 in my shop last year and I swear it was one of the best sounding steel string guitars I ever played.
That's what my tech (and I) thought about my '42 L-00. There's a reason people love that era Gibsons.
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