[thefishingline]

My 72' LP Tobacco 9/10 burst never broke $1,700 on Evil Bay...what a change in the market!

 

[Scottone]

great market if you are buying

 

[Jeff Flowerday]

Am I missing something, but the 70s aren't know for great guitars, thus the price?

 

[thefishingline]

Pleeeeese????? The early 70's are excellent guitars and it's the guys that own 50's and 60's LP's that continue to propogate this fiction....and turn their noses up at us Norlin owners like a red headed step child.

this is just what we talk about on other boards no matter the subject matter...."I read it on the internet so it MUST be true!" bullshit

The 70 and 71' deluxe is only 1 and 2 years removed from the classic and well sought after 69' deluxe...it was in the late 74 year that the "Norlin" LP's started to get their somewhat deserved bad reputation.

But I own a 73 and 76' deluxe that I would put against anyone else's guitar for sound and quality. It was just more consistently good guitars in the early 70's from 70-73' before it started to fall apart at Gibson.

Ther eis basolutely nothing wroing wiht owneing a 72' LP deluxe especially when it's a very tough color to find such as the Tobacco sunburst.

If you are buyinf I sugest you do it now because it may turn around to a seller's markert after the taxman commeth and the tax returns start to come around.

Guitars seem to sell better in spring and summer while things like fishing lures seem to do better in winter and nose dive in summer.

 

[david henman]

...yeah, i'm seeing a downturn, finally. literally dozens of les paul studios (mostly wine red) going for +/- seven bills.

-dh

 

[Jeff Flowerday]

Pleeeeese????? The early 70's are excellent guitars and it's the guys that own 50's and 60's LP's that continue to propogate this fiction....and turn their noses up at us Norlin owners like a red headed step child.

this is just what we talk about on other boards no matter the subject matter...."I read it on the internet so it MUST be true!" bullshit

The 70 and 71' deluxe is only 1 and 2 years removed from the classic and well sought after 69' deluxe...it was in the late 74 year that the "Norlin" LP's started to get their somewhat deserved bad reputation.

But I own a 73 and 76' deluxe that I would put against anyone else's guitar for sound and quality. It was just more consistently good guitars in the early 70's from 70-73' before it started to fall apart at Gibson.

Ther eis basolutely nothing wroing wiht owneing a 72' LP deluxe especially when it's a very tough color to find such as the Tobacco sunburst.

If you are buyinf I sugest you do it now because it may turn around to a seller's markert after the taxman commeth and the tax returns start to come around.

Guitars seem to sell better in spring and summer while things like fishing lures seem to do better in winter and nose dive in summer.

Well unfortunately for you, your experience doesn't dictate the market. I've never met anyone looking for 70s anything, Gibson's or Fenders.

By the way, when did I mention I read on the Internet that they aren't great guitars?

And I believe you, there are probably some great 70s guitars out there. And you probably own a couple jems, but personally I'm still not going to buy one blind. I might consider it at the price you quoted, just incase I get lucky, if not turn it right around.

.02

 

[Lester B. Flat]

My 72' LP Tobacco 9/10 burst never broke $1,700 on Evil Bay...what a change in the market!

Maybe a correction in the market would be a better term. Also, I think there has been a flood of deluxes recently increasing the supply. I can't make any sense of the rationale of buyer's preferences. Beat up, routed guitars seem to fetch just as much or even more. Maybe yours was in too good condition. People are looking for players. Many younger buyers are looking for something with mojo that they can mod without guilt. Your guitar was in collector's condition but deluxes really are'nt collectible....yet. If you're buying deluxes as an investment you have to hang on to them for many years. 50's rules do not apply.

 

[mario]

I think it is just that time of the year. I'm sure if you try again in a few months, you will have better luck. BTW, I have a 1970 Les Paul Goldtop that is amazing! A keeper. Not all Norlin era guitars are bad.

 

[Hamm Guitars]

I have recently discovered that studios (Both North American and European) eat up vintage gear that is not in 'collectable' condition.
They actually pay a reasonable price, and the gear gets a second life as oposed to living an eternity in a glass case.

 

[rippinglickfest]

Born Again

I have recently discovered that studios (Both North American and European) eat up vintage gear that is not in 'collectable' condition.
They actually pay a reasonable price, and the gear gets a second life as oposed to living an eternity in a glass case.

Thats right! Its collectors who are driving the prices of these guitars to unfair (i think) prices. These guitars are meant to be played.

 

[david henman]

...its really not that long ago (late 90s?) that i was accustomed to seeing vintage princeton reverbs and deluxe reverbs at the 12th fret for $450-$750.

-dh

 

[mandocaster]

...its really not that long ago (late 90s?) that i was accustomed to seeing vintage princeton reverbs and deluxe reverbs at the 12th fret for $450-$750.

-dh

The same 12th fret that is trying to sell a '51 Gibson mandolin for almost 10,000 bucks, pretending that it is as vintage as one possibly WORTH ten g's.....

 

[torndownunit]

Well unfortunately for you, your experience doesn't dictate the market. I've never met anyone looking for 70s anything, Gibson's or Fenders.

By the way, when did I mention I read on the Internet that they aren't great guitars?

And I believe you, there are probably some great 70s guitars out there. And you probably own a couple jems, but personally I'm still not going to buy one blind. I might consider it at the price you quoted, just incase I get lucky, if not turn it right around.

.02

Ya that sums it up well. It's one of those cases where if you love the guitar, you are better off just keeping it at this time.

 

[thefishingline]

Thats right! Its collectors who are driving the prices of these guitars to unfair (i think) prices. These guitars are meant to be played.

And I play them all the time..my guitars are not in glass cases...:rockon2:

 

[Lester B. Flat]

I think it is just that time of the year. I'm sure if you try again in a few months, you will have better luck. BTW, I have a 1970 Les Paul Goldtop that is amazing! A keeper. Not all Norlin era guitars are bad.

Hey Mario, I've got a '70 goldtop too. Bought mine in '71 and have no intention of selling it. Does yours have the Made in U.S.A stamp? I'm trying to determine when in '70 that appeared. Mine has 12th week of March/'70 pot codes and a slight volute and no stamp.

Fishingline, I agree the early Norlins get an unfair bad rap. My guitar has never needed a truss rod adjustment in 37 years! The only difference between mine and a late '69 is about $8,000 and the pot codes.

 

[thefishingline]

Excactly!..............

 

[peedenmark7]

the market?

the market is indeed abismol accross the board .
even the big dollar hot ticket items have taken a pretty good hit especially on ebay.
'70s l.p.s have never been big buck guitars, and it was not so long ago you could buy a mid to late '70s custom for around $500....
obviously we will likely never see these days again, but there still are deals out there in the mid 2k range.
I am not a lespaul or gibson fan.
but always liked the '71-74 les paul deluxes and at some point will scratch that itch.

sit tight, the market will swing back around and you wont be able to touch a paul for under $3k again..

it is a great time to be adding guitars and amps. !!!

 

[rwe333]

Am I missing something, but the 70s aren't know for great guitars, thus the price?

FWIW, my fave Les Pauls have all been circa 1978.

 

[dwagar]

I think the market has come down, could be just the time of year. People are worried about paying the taxman (insert commie bastards rant here).

Just a couple of thoughts:
- first I'm biased, I DO have a '74 Custom that I DID buy for about $500, but that was about 15 years ago.
- the '70s are known as the bad years, for all manufacturers. Every kid on the block wanted a guitar, and the factories pushed production thru the roof. IIRC in '74 Gibson shipped about 7,500 Customs. Simply because of this high production, I don't believe these guitars will ever go thru the roof in value.
- but, other than guys that have read somewhere, or 'my buddy used to own one', have you ever met a '70s Les Paul OWNER that didn't really like his guitar?
- pancake bodies, 3pc necks, maple necks starting in '75. All this contributed to the idea that Norlin era LPs weren't 'good'. But these things also contributed to a unique tone era for LPs. These are GREAT Rock Guitars.

With the stupidly high values of '50s Les Pauls, '68s hitting over $10K, some '69s following closely, I think a lot of guys are looking at speculating the early 70's (pre-maple '70-'74) LPs will be next. I think they are going to go up, but, as I said above, with thousands and thousands of them out there, I don't believe they will ever go really high. As an investment, I won't jump in. But as a player, I think they are great.

I used to have a '55 Special (shouldn't have sold it), and a '68 Goldtop (shouldn't have sold it). And my Custom is a keeper.

But after all this rant, IMO, my R9 really does walk all over my Custom. It is one of the best guitars I've ever played. So, as far as being a player, I wouldn't pay the same $ for a '70s that I would for a new Historic.

 

[GP_Hawk]

My 72' LP Tobacco 9/10 burst never broke $1,700 on Evil Bay...what a change in the market!

Still, I just looked through a dozen or so and they were from $1900.xx to $2799.xx(asking of course) which is a little high I beleive. I have a 75 bought in 75 that I still play. I think I paid $350.xx us for it when I was in New Hampshire but I really don't see them being worth some of the prices they are asking on evil bay. Look at songbird music, they are trying to sell 70's deluxes for around the same and the ones I saw were pretty beat up.

I think it's gonna be a while before they get those prices.