help with value of 69 black beauty

[zeronalo]

a friend of mine is offering me a chance to purchase a very very nice 1969 black beauty. he's got 2 of them hanging in his office along with a bunch of other collectible guitars and he mentioned he would sell me one of his.

One is all original except a refinish done many years ago (I guess that means it's not all original now doesn't it?) and one is 100% original but still in great condition.

what would be the value of each of these? I figure there is a range and I have to be fair to him.

Thanks

Freddy

[Core]

Others will chime in but I've been seeing values all over on these. Great examples get fetch on the average of 7-12k depending on varying degree of condition and sellers moods. Even up to 17k for super mint however those are not necessarily what they end up selling at and they don't usually sell at those prices. Seems 69 LP's closer to 10k and above just don't sell but you'll see ones hovering in the 7k range sell very often.

Refinished ANYTHING and half that number or more. I've seen some beat up players, still great guitars but have wrong/missing parts on them, decent bodies but worn in go in the $5000 range. That was just one example on ebay recently and not the norm however.

You can always offer him 6k for the really nice one and 3k for the refin and see what he says.

[zeronalo]

Thanks - that's a starting point anyway.

Freddy

[Mike60]

value on a '69 Custom depends on a lot of variables as that year they kept changing the build specs as the year went on.Early '69's are more desireable than later '69's.Condition and originality of the instrument is important as well.

To throw numbers out there without seeing what it is is kind of silly.

[LPPILOT]

Sold a very late 69 LPC , no volute , pancake body, 3piece neck , guitar had got wet I guess (pancake didn't save it) bad wood seperation splits on body , original finish, most original parts no neck/headstock repairs for 4K+. I have seen near mint examples of earlier 69 customs with nice clean cases and case candy priced in the 15-18K range. If you are buying as an investment , and not to play so much , generally a refin will detract from the value to collectors.

[icsm]

Make sure you know enough about them before purchasing.
Order of desirability (playability and sound put aside for the time being):
1) Jan 1969 (constructed 68, shipped 69)
2) Feb - early 69 (69 style control cavity)
3) 3 piece neck
4) pancake body

[HOT-BRIT]

$10,000 is the average price for one in todays market, condition and originality have a big effect on the price

[HOT-BRIT]

Originally Posted by zeronalo

a friend of mine is offering me a chance to purchase a very very nice 1969 black beauty. he's got 2 of them hanging in his office along with a bunch of other collectible guitars and he mentioned he would sell me one of his.

One is all original except a refinish done many years ago (I guess that means it's not all original now doesn't it?) and one is 100% original but still in great condition.

what would be the value of each of these? I figure there is a range and I have to be fair to him.

Thanks

Freddy

the refinished example will be around $5000
all original example around $10,000

[Dr. P]

...you definitely need to find out if it has the one pice neck AND body (as most of the 69s do not, only the earliest). From what I've seen online lately, this greatly affects the going rate... The later 69s have still been going for 5-10k, depending on condition.

[HOT-BRIT]

Originally Posted by dr. P

...you definitely need to find out if it has the one pice neck and body (as most of the 69s do not, only the earliest). From what i've seen online lately, this greatly affects the going rate... The later 69s have still been going for 5-10k, depending on condition.

will make a difference of $2000

[Dr. P]

Also, just for reference, an early 69 went on the bay for $3500 last week... HOWEVER, it had a broken head stock, had 3 switches added on the top, and thus has been re-routed really all crazy like. ...it short, it was fckered up pretty good. ...so, I would expect to pay a bit more than that...

[zeronalo]

Thanks guys - still working on it. I'll post some pics and get your input when I get a chance. I'm going to be bummed if the guitar I sell to buy this one sounded better...............to me owning a vintage is great but I'm going to play it not collect it and look at it. How it sounds is important to me.

Aloha
Freddy

[Core]

Originally Posted by zeronalo

Thanks guys - still working on it. I'll post some pics and get your input when I get a chance. I'm going to be bummed if the guitar I sell to buy this one sounded better...............to me owning a vintage is great but I'm going to play it not collect it and look at it. How it sounds is important to me.

Aloha
Freddy

I completely agree!

[Actinic]

Even though a seller states that a guitar is original does not make it so. Are the pickups correct for the period, were the covers replaced (very common), was any rewiring done in the pot cavity, etc.? Also, any prospective user has to be comfortable with the weight of these late sixties Les Pauls. If you need a reference tone for a '69, there is no better example than the demo on the solidbodyguitar.com site. This is what to aim for.

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