Can someone give me an idea how much is a fair discount or devaluation on a Gibson that has had a headstock repair? I'm looking at one that's been repaired, but you can still see the crack. It hasn't been sanded or re-finished...just glued and set.
How much devaluation for a setneck headstock repair?
- Thread starter endzone
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It depends on the model and the year. If it's a '59 Les Paul (original, not reissue), then the devaluation would be different than if it's a 2007 Standard....
I'd say if it's a modern production (non custom shop) Les Paul you should expect the break to devalue about $500...at least for me it would.
It's all very subjective, and as always, anything is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay!
Good luck.
I'd say if it's a modern production (non custom shop) Les Paul you should expect the break to devalue about $500...at least for me it would.
It's all very subjective, and as always, anything is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay!
Good luck.
I don't think I can get it that low and that's why I'm asking. He's wanting around $700 and I'm trying to figure out if that's a good deal or not.
Chris Leger
Banned
No, probably not.
What would a skilled person charge you to complete the repair, in a manner that makes the guitar worth $1000?
Offer him $500,
What would a skilled person charge you to complete the repair, in a manner that makes the guitar worth $1000?
Offer him $500,
It's completely and obviously up to you, but the only way I'd plop $700 on a repaired neck '03 335 is if it was THE ONE (Hallelujah Chorus in the background and all).....if that happened, then I'd pay whatever he wanted.
Other than that, I personally would stop at $500 bones. I wouldn't care about having someone retouch the break or anything as long as it is stable and good....no matter what you do to it, it'll always be a repaired-neck guitar, suffering for it's break....JMO, YMMV...
Don't do it. $700 is way too much for a Gibson that's had a headstock repair. Nothing lowers the value of a Gibson more than a neck/headstock break/repair. It lowers the value by at least 50% on any non-vintage Gibson (and probably about that on most vintage ones as well). I personally wouldn't buy a Gibson with a headstock repair, but if you're going to spend more than $500, then you can find better options out there than a repaired one. IMO you shouldn't spend more than $400, and if that means walking away from the deal, then that's the best option.
Wow...you state a LOT as fact, when it's just your opinion. A properly repaired piece of wood is actually STRONGER at the break than it was before....so there's no reason for anyone to steer away from repaired guitars (as long as they were repaired correctly). Walking away from that guitar at $400 may be just perfect for you, but the OP may really really like it....and if he does, HISTORY shows that he's probably safe at $500-$600 on it as far as resale will go.
Again, OP...this is ALL SUBJECTIVE....it's easy for me to play with your money....
I sold a repaired headstock 72 LP Deluxe a number of years ago at a 50% discount, so I think $500-$600 might be fair. It will really depend on how professionally the job was done. In my experience, a good repair will last as long as the guitar, but without seeing the repair, it's hard to say. On my LP, the repair was well done and barely noticeable. Good luck.
mad dog
Friend of Leo's
I would buy a properly repaired guitar, if it were the right guitar and right price. The 50 to 60 percent figure is probably more realistic than 40 percent. Assuming 1000 is the right price for that guitar with no break, I'd pay 500 for it.
Assuming the repair was done properly, it's actually a non-issue. When I had this choice, it was actually quite easy to make. The guitar was a '66 ES-335, got the broken headstock in shipping to a well known shop. He fixed it himself (the guy has a great rep on the repair side,) and offered it to me for less than half what undamaged versions were going for then. About 15 years ago. Before the recent economic troubles, I saw one very similar with no break go for 6500. He told me if I wanted to consign it at his shop, he'd put it up on the wall for 3500, maybe a bit more. So the ratio holds.
I knew I'd never sell, so it was an easy call. If I were thinking of reselling at some point, that is where the hesitation comes in. Just as this buyer has to explain the break, field questions and suspicions, and bargain, so would you if you owned it.
Assuming the repair was done properly, it's actually a non-issue. When I had this choice, it was actually quite easy to make. The guitar was a '66 ES-335, got the broken headstock in shipping to a well known shop. He fixed it himself (the guy has a great rep on the repair side,) and offered it to me for less than half what undamaged versions were going for then. About 15 years ago. Before the recent economic troubles, I saw one very similar with no break go for 6500. He told me if I wanted to consign it at his shop, he'd put it up on the wall for 3500, maybe a bit more. So the ratio holds.
I knew I'd never sell, so it was an easy call. If I were thinking of reselling at some point, that is where the hesitation comes in. Just as this buyer has to explain the break, field questions and suspicions, and bargain, so would you if you owned it.
Wow...you state a LOT as fact, when it's just your opinion. A properly repaired piece of wood is actually STRONGER at the break than it was before....so there's no reason for anyone to steer away from repaired guitars (as long as they were repaired correctly). Walking away from that guitar at $400 may be just perfect for you, but the OP may really really like it....and if he does, HISTORY shows that he's probably safe at $500-$600 on it as far as resale will go.
Again, OP...this is ALL SUBJECTIVE....it's easy for me to play with your money....
Did you see the word "fact" in my post? I must have missed that. However, I do see the words "personally" and "IMO" (in my opinion), which would suggest, well, an opinion. I also must have missed where I made a comment about the strength of a repair. Hint: I didn't say anything about it. I commented on the value. I've bought or sold 24 Gibson guitars in the past 5 or 6 years, and it's my assessment that a headstock repair lowers the value by about 50%, and that's reason enough for me to advise not to get a repaired Gibson when you can find one that has not been repaired for just a little more than that price. I wouldn't buy one with a headstock repair and I wouldn't advise spending more than $400 on one, but if you think differently, fine. And what "history" are you referring to? I'm guessing it's the fictitious "history" you tend to be fond of. But then, you've made it clear you have difficulty processing information (and the reading comprehension doesn't appear to be strong either).
If you're saying they're usually worth about a grand, I think $700-$800 is fair, if the guitar is in overall good shape and the repair was done well.
Headstock repairs don't normally knock 50% off the value of the guitar as some are suggesting here. If that's normally a $1000 guitar, I think it's very unlikely you can get it for 5 bills.
More power to you if you can though!
-Eric
Hey Rumble, I disagree based on what I've seen with eBay sales. A "modern" Les Paul in overall great shape but with a good headstock repair isn't typically de-valued by 50%. When I sold my last Les Paul (an 06 I think) for $1500--which seemed to be in the ballpark of what they were going for--there were a couple of closed auctions on eBay for similar models/year/color with headstock repairs and one was about $1100, the other went for $1200.
If it's done well, I personally would have no problem at all with it, but that's me.
Ready for that game today!?
-Eric
Mike Simpson
Doctor of Teleocity
If it is a player and you like it... and it feels worth the price to you... buy it.
My 1962 ES-335TD has had a headstock repair, I paid $750 for it 8 or 10 years ago... You can see the repair if you look for it, it was done well and there has never been any issue but the repair man did not try to hide the repair. I bought it to play and keep, the headstock repair made it affordable.
My 1962 ES-335TD has had a headstock repair, I paid $750 for it 8 or 10 years ago... You can see the repair if you look for it, it was done well and there has never been any issue but the repair man did not try to hide the repair. I bought it to play and keep, the headstock repair made it affordable.
When I was buying and selling guitars a couple years ago I saw a lot of Les Pauls on ebay going for $500-600 with headstock repairs that would have gone for twice that if they didn't have the repair. And the SGs were going for about $300 (also half). But since I know you do a lot of trading yourself, I'll take your word about what you've seen lately. I just look at Gibsons a little differently than Fenders. While Fenders are "working man" guitars and can take loads of abuse, Gibsons tend to be so much more expensive and fragile that I think you have to consider the investment value. I agree that one with a repair can be as strong and play just as well as one without, but for $700 I could definitely go out and find 15 Gibsons that haven't been broken.
(After Halloween shopping with the little girl I'm going to kick back with some chips, jalapenos, and cheese dip and watch a dominating Bulldog performance against the Vols for the first time in a few years (fingers crossed)).
Post Toastie
Poster Extraordinaire
To me a Headstock repair is like buying a car with frame damage that has been repaired. You can save money but you have that hanging over the purchase. Maybe someone that has played a Gibson before the break and had the repair done and played it after needs to tell us if the guitar is the same or not.Has anyone broken a bone in their body and had the repaired bone be better than before?
I don't think that is a fair comparison. I know for a fact that if a headstock break is properly repaired, it will never break in that spot again. The break becomes the strongest point and is stronger than the wood itself. If it breaks again, it will be somewhere else. It will have absolutely no effect on the playability of the guitar. And if done well, you won't be able to even tell there was a break. So you will have a guitar that is no different than another guitar that has had no break except you will know it's been broken and it won't be worth as much. I've had two guitars with broken headstocks and because of my positive experience with them, I'm not afraid to buy another if the deal is right.
FWIW, I bought this guitar. Some research showed these go somewhere between $1200-1400 and occasionally as low as $1000. I got it for $675, so I'm around the 40-50% discount that I thought was OK. I would have loved to have gotten it for $300-400, but I haven't had the opportunity to buy one (even broken) for that cheap and I"ve been looking for over a year. I plan on using this personally so resale is not really an issue.
If it is a player and you like it... and it feels worth the price to you... buy it.
My 1962 ES-335TD has had a headstock repair, I paid $750 for it 8 or 10 years ago... You can see the repair if you look for it, it was done well and there has never been any issue but the repair man did not try to hide the repair. I bought it to play and keep, the headstock repair made it affordable.
You got a great buy on that guitar. I would love to find a deal like that on a 335, but you would really have to get lucky and stumble across it now. People part 335's out and get $750 these days, even more if the have a little age on them.
JayFreddy
Poster Extraordinaire
Congrats on your new guitar. Hope it all works out well for you.
My issue with buying guitars that have had headstock or neck repairs is that it can be difficult to tell if they have been "properly" repaired.
To me, a proper repair means you don't even notice it unless you are looking for it. Copious amounts of hand sanding, some color-matched touch up paint, and fresh lacquer is what I would expect.
If a luthier isn't willing to go the extra mile to make it look nice, that tells me they didn't think it was worth going the extra mile... I.e., they might know something about the repair that we don't. :idea:
Even the nicest refinish job won't fix a seized truss rod. How many people honestly check the truss rod before they buy a used guitar?
As I said, hopefully it will all work out.
