Tie-dyed Les Paul - credible?

[reverbbb]

I came across this Gibson Les Paul Standard on ebay. I know that many folks will think this guitar is hidious. But I am always looking for colorful guitars that are saturated in character. This looks cool to me.

But the problem is, that his price seems too low for a "one of a kind" (which I doubt it is that rare). He also has a (0) feedback rating though he has been an ebay member for nearly one year.

Does this look fishy to you? He also has a '70's Strat that seems be priced a little too low.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3743782067

After posting this, I came across this article:

~~~~~~~~~~

GEORGE ST. PIERRE

Tie-Dye - The phrase brings to mind images of the fabulous '60s with carefree hippies frolicking at the free concert in the park while their favorite bands their classic instruments through set-long extended jams. It was an era of exploration in all phases of society. Men walked on the moon, while their earth-bound brethen found alternative means to leave the planet. Fashion took a decidedly casual turn, and Tie-Dye dresses and T-shorts were the uniform of the exploding youth movement.

On May 23, 1954, the artist who "always loved colors" was born in Denver, Colorado. George St. Pierre traveled the ****ry compliments of the U.S. Army. His father was stationed at various times in Oakland, San Francisco, Okinawa, Clovis, Phoenix, Atlanta and Tampa, among other culturally-diverse locations. George loved to work with his hands and drifted toward woodworking, furniture building, carpentry and construction.

College days, spent in part at Auburn University, offered George a chance to expand his creative inclinations. The pre-veterinarian medicine student tried acting for a time, and wound up in radio as a DJ, doing voice-overs and commercials. He also promoted concerts, a talent that led him to a position as manager of the largest dinner theater in America at the time, in Montgomery, Alabama.

George St. Pierre arrived at Gibson USA nearly six years ago. He continued his tie-dyed shirt making hobby and expanded it into a custom order business with help from his wife, Dorothy. Meanwhile, George was experimenting with a unique tie-dye process with a scrapped guitar body during break periods at Gibson. George finished his prototype and presented it to Gibson USA CEO Henry Juszkiewicz in October, 1995. In February of the following year, Henry gave George a project - design and build 103 tie-dyed Les Pauls for the summer NAMM show. The results are in. The Tie-Dye Les Paul Series is a collection of individually-numbered and signed works of art - a fascinating testament to the vision and creative spark of George St. Pierre and Gibson USA.

[TheGoodTexan]

I don't know why we need to know George's life story, but the last paragraph is 100% true.

I worked there at that time, and I observed George working on these several times. He's made some other interesting paint jobs on LPs too.

This one on Ebay is a one of a kind, in that no two tie-dyes can be exactly the same. But there were at least 100 in that run.

The price seems really cheap...like maybe there's been a headstock repair or something...just specualtion on my part....but the low price certainly raises a red flag.

[fontaine]

I found that to be very interesting.I appreciate the history.
I did not know of such a model Les Paul.
Looks pretty Groovy to me BAYBY!

[eryque]

Any idea how he made the tie-dye pattern on the guitars? Did he just paint it by hand, or what?

[TheGoodTexan]

Originally Posted by eryque

Any idea how he made the tie-dye pattern on the guitars? Did he just paint it by hand, or what?

He actually had a motorized table that spun.

[Teletwang]

Hey Good Texan, I recently saw a show w/ John Ratzenberger(sp),the Cheer's postman where
he goes around to American factories and talks
about their "inner workings".Anyway he visited Gibson
(Memphis) where he was talking to a "buffer" who
had been there for 40+ years but I noticed a lot of
red colored compound on the wheels & floor.What
gives?

[TheGoodTexan]

Originally Posted by Teletwang

Hey Good Texan, I recently saw a show w/ John Ratzenberger(sp),the Cheer's postman where
he goes around to American factories and talks
about their "inner workings".Anyway he visited Gibson
(Memphis) where he was talking to a "buffer" who
had been there for 40+ years but I noticed a lot of
red colored compound on the wheels & floor.What
gives?

Well....I spent a lot of time in the wood shop, but I never learned anything about the paint department. I did walk through there everyday on my way to lunch, and I do know what you're talking about...the dark, reddish-brown powder on the floor, beneath the buffing wheels...

I'm going to make an educated guess and say that it was buffing compound. Sort of a wax that they use to keep the wheel from burning through the finish. Keeps the friction down.

It was either that, or some sort of cleaner for the wheel.

[fontaine]

I don't Know.

[ravindave_3600]

Originally Posted by Teletwang

where he was talking to a "buffer" who had been there for 40+ years but I noticed a lot of
red colored compound on the wheels & floor.What
gives?

Did that "Buffer" have all his fingers?

[Telemaniac]

I'm not a Les Paul fan but if I lived anywhere near CA so I could collect it I'd be bidding on that - it's one of the few LPs I've seen that I liked (in a weird kind of way!). Trouble is, zero feedback, the seller might be honest as heck but there's no way you'd risk it.

[reverbbb]

I emailed him yesterday two different times with questions. I have gotten no response from him.

That is sad when you have (0) feedback you should do everything you can to apease the questions. I simply wanted to know if he would sell on COD and would he provide the S/N. A simple yes or no would have been all that was needed.

[Michael Murphy]

I'd bet that this isn't one of the NAMM items- it's probably just one somebody painted with an airbrush, thus no COA, etc.

The ad says "one of a kind" twice, instead of "one of 103", and they probably didn't do a Standard Model for a NAMM show- I imagine those were fancier...


-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

[d. meyers]

doesn't reduce friction, it creates it. The "wax," in most cases, suspends a fine abrasive particulate. Buffers are motorized sandpaper, more or less- the wheels are the paper, the compound is the abrasive. The various colors are the manufacturer's code for the variety of "grits."

[JBandtheSalts]

yeah, those les pauls are real...

fenders even doing tye dye strats now:

http://www.fender.com/products/show.php?partno=0264900

definately not my thing...you can veiw a differant color by click "view" under the "specs" part of the chart...-john

[TheGoodTexan]

Originally Posted by Michael Murphy

I'd bet that this isn't one of the NAMM items- it's probably just one somebody painted with an airbrush, thus no COA, etc.

The ad says "one of a kind" twice, instead of "one of 103", and they probably didn't do a Standard Model for a NAMM show- I imagine those were fancier...


-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

So you think that this particular one may not actually be a George St. Pierre model?

[Michael Murphy]

Originally Posted by TheGoodTexan

So you think that this particular one may not actually be a George St. Pierre model?

I've never seen one, so I couldn't really say, but does the pic look like one you saw him working on?

This just doesn't have a very professional look to me. The red areas on the lower bout especially look like they were done with a short burst from an airbrush- kinda sausage-shaped. It certainly doesn't look like it was done on a rotating table of any kind. It looks like even strokes, not distorted by centrifugal force, and not blended into each other very well. They carry over to the sides with the same un-distored, un-diffused look, not what you imagine a spinning table would impart. It looks like the body was just sitting there, and the paint sprayed on- not some special technique or process.

Certainly the new Fender models are lightyears ahead of what he was doing, if this is the genuine article.

Plus the guy doesn't say anything about a signature or number on it.

Like I say, I've never seen one, so I can't say for sure. I'm very skeptical of this being the real deal.


-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

[El Capitan]

$2995.00 Signed by artist, notice it doesn't say STANDARD on the bell.....or have a rhythm treble switch cover, and has bonnet knobs

http://www.rumbleseatmusic.com/pix/9...eredtiedye.jpg

I say ebay one is homemade. OR, real, and REALLY horrible photos with no customer support.

[reverbbb]

Originally Posted by El Capitan

$2995.00 Signed by artist, notice it doesn't say STANDARD on the bell.....or have a rhythm treble switch cover, and has bonnet knobs

http://www.rumbleseatmusic.com/pix/9...eredtiedye.jpg

I say ebay one is homemade. OR, real, and REALLY horrible photos with no customer support.

Extremely different I must say.

I have made 3 attempts at contacting the seller, and still no reply. At this point, I could care less if it were real. I won't deal with folks that can't or won't respond to questions.

<font size=5>PASS!!</font>

[TheGoodTexan]

Originally Posted by Michael Murphy

I've never seen one, so I couldn't really say, but does the pic look like one you saw him working on?

The Ebay item looks closer to the ones that I've seen than those pictures from Rumble Seat Music. The guitar at RSM looks hidious....sort of like a skin infection!

At this point, even though I did see George working on these, I don't guess I can really vouch for the Ebay item. It's been 7 or 8 years ago, and at least one or two beers ago.

The red areas on the lower bout especially look like they were done with a short burst from an airbrush- kinda sausage-shaped. It certainly doesn't look like it was done on a rotating table of any kind. It looks like even strokes, not distorted by centrifugal force, and not blended into each other very well. They carry over to the sides with the same un-distored, un-diffused look, not what you imagine a spinning table would impart. It looks like the body was just sitting there, and the paint sprayed on- not some special technique or process.

I see your point.

Certainly the new Fender models are lightyears ahead of what he was doing, if this is the genuine article.

Yeah, but the Fender products are "splater painted"....Splatercasters. You can actually feel the different textures in the paint. The tye-dyed Gibsons are clear-coated over and smooth to the touch.

[Michael Murphy]

I agree- that Rumbleseat link *is* pretty hideous, but with that signature appears to be the real deal. 'Course, who knows what else George may have cooked up in the paint shop. I just have a hard time thinking that eBay item is one of his- it really looks crappy from an execution point-of-view.

I'm not thinking about the SplatterCasters (although they were certainly done on a spinning table). The Fender link in JBandtheSalts' post up above is their new tie-dye model. It looks pretty sharp (if you're into that kinda paint job). Click on "View" for that second model- that's more like what I would expect a tie-dye finish to look like (although the blue one isn't bad in its own way).

(EDIT)
Heck, here's the pic:




-Michael
Charter Member S. Texas He-Man Emoticon Haters Local #316

[Brutalblues]

last weekend. A very friendly guy (sorry, forgot his name) told us about the guitar. Here's a link to his gbase listing. He goes by "Groovy Guitar" http://gbase.com/gbase.asp?display_type=all&dealer=1090