Murphy Braz on EBay

[Mike60]

IMO, this would've been a better buy.

2003 Gibson 1959 R9 Les Paul Reissue | eBay

+1...this one because of the quality of the top went for what it

did and I'm sure if sold in a year or two will fetch another 10% to 15% more.

Personally I do not agree that these guitars are worth this kind of money especially

since they are no better than any another good '03 reissue however I do

understand why they go for the prices they do.

 

[jhun1976]

+1...this one because of the quality of the top went for what it

did and I'm sure if sold in a year or two will fetch another 10% to 15% more.

Personally I do not agree that these guitars are worth this kind of money especially

since they are no better than any another good '03 reissue however I do

understand why they go for the prices they do.

Yeah, even for a good price it sold for I still have a seller's remorse on this one. It actually sold in less than an hour. But there's a good reason I sold this one and I think I am getting an equally if not better guitar in exchange and it's not the R9 Stinger I am also still waiting for.

 

[7gtop]

Congrats to the new owner!

Wether it was "worth" it to you or not.....we just witnessed a piece of history exchange hands, which is quite rare.
Normally, this would have been a private deal and only the buyer and seller would have known what it sold for and therefore eliminating everyone elses "opinion".

Quite the statement of the current "state of the market"........

......... Exzzzzzzzz Actly ................

 

[DelawareGold]

Thanks to Goodvibes for the heads up!


Gibson Les Paul 1959 RI Brazilian Board Rare historic Near Mint, flame top | eBay







​

 

[pinefd]

Interesting info posted about the OP guitar on the other forum (my apologies if the seller in question is a fellow member here):

"I feel sorry for who ever bought this 2003 59 Brazilian Murphy Les Paul

There was a dealer in Europe I working with to buy this guitar and the story goes that the owner of the guitar has a big collection and wanted to thin down so he gave it to them to consign. So I bought this guitar last month and paid for it on a Friday. Over the weekend the dealer sent me tons of detailed photos but it just didnt look right to me. For one the pickup covers and tail piece are just way too shiney but the most tell tale sign was the pieces of wood missing on the head stock around the tuners.

On Monday I called the dealer and told them I had some real concerns with these issues and they told me they would contact the owner and ask him questions about his guitar because they just have not seen enough of these to know. Luckily when they called the owner he came clean and said that the bridge, pickups, tail piece, and tuners were all changed out on the guitar and the original parts could not be located. The dealer told me that the guy did not know how to take the tuners off and damaged the head stock during the process but the original tuners were put back on.

Naturally I pulled down my deposit and the dealer was so upset with the guy for giving them a guitar that he said was all original they told him to take it back and that they would not consign it. They thanked me for this information because they did not want to take a chance a ruining their reputation plus they called me on the phone to thank me as well as sent me 2 emails appologizing for the problem.

Seems they gave it back to the owner and he put it on Ebay. Good luck to who ever bought this one. They got burned pretty bad.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...vip=true&rt=nc
"

 

[DelawareGold]

Thanks Frank.
I guess some people just don’t understand.
They buy a highly collectable guitar, and start changing out rare,
and sometimes impossible to find parts, and to them it is no big deal.
It is only later that they find out it is a big deal, and it costs them money.
I saw a Brazilian on ebay recently that didn’t have the original potentiometers.
It was never mentioned it in the description, but did have a clear photo of the
Control Cavity. I guess they thought that the photo was full disclosure.
It is still very much Caveat Emptor.

 

[nicolasrivera]

Artie, what parts are almost impossible to find on those guitars?

 

[DelawareGold]

I was speaking about the genre of collectable guitars, in general.
Parts like the aged Gold on a Rossington. The tuners are a nightmare.

 

[nicolasrivera]

Ohh Ok.

I was speaking about the genre of collectable guitars, in general.
Parts like the aged Gold on a Rossington. The tuners are a nightmare.

 

[RAG7890]

By the way, mine is one digit off from the one you had.......LOL.......

Hey cool TS, I agree with your comments

I have always bought a guitar based on what I actually wanted to own at that particular time in my life rather than making a profit, although buying wisely does make sense...................but you win a few & lose few & break even on a few.

My keepers will all go to my son & maybe grandchildren sometime down the line.

If it makes me happy, makes me want to play & I can afford it, I'll generally buy it...............& for that I am thankful but I had to wait many years before I could do this.

I know the 2001 you are talking about................it is the twin of mine. I must admit I had planned to keep mine but I have way too many Les Pauls (7 x BRW's etc.) & decided to sell a bunch off recently & let others enjoy them................especially after I received my first Replica in January.

My preference now is to focus on my keepers, my Replicas & maybe look at getting a vintage Les Paul. I really need to focus on playing seriously again rather than collecting for the hell of it.

When I am done I may well only have 1 or 2 Historics left.

Cheers, Rudi

 

[tspoon5150]

Hey cool TS, I agree with your comments

I have always bought a guitar based on what I actually wanted to own at that particular time in my life rather than making a profit, although buying wisely does make sense...................but you win a few & lose few & break even on a few.

My keepers will all go to my son & maybe grandchildren sometime down the line.

If it makes me happy, makes me want to play & I can afford it, I'll generally buy it...............& for that I am thankful but I had to wait many years before I could do this.

I know the 2001 you are talking about................it is the twin of mine. I must admit I had planned to keep mine but I have way too many Les Pauls (7 x BRW's etc.) & decided to sell a bunch off recently & let others enjoy them................especially after I received my first Replica in January.

My preference now is to focus on my keepers, my Replicas & maybe look at getting a vintage Les Paul. I really need to focus on playing seriously again rather than collecting for the hell of it.

When I am done I may well only have 1 or 2 Historics left.

Cheers, Rudi

I hear you Rudi, I am at a point in life where chasing my tail is stopping and
getting back to basics.......My collection is fairly large and want to
thin down to quality keepers, hardly have time to play one or two.......

It is the joy of escaping this crazy world by sitting down
and just jamming on a nice axe, seems the only thing that I can do
to escape, hide for a little while.......A prized trophy is nice,
but playing the guitar is where it is at.......After picking up that last one,
it is chill time and enjoy those Flame Tops.......

It is nice sometimes to hang here at the forum a get a chuckle
from time to time and maybe learn from others......

Regards,

Tommy

 

[markguitar]

Deleted. Already posted info by Frank Pine.

 

[JimmyAce2006]

Interesting info posted about the OP guitar on the other forum (my apologies if the seller in question is a fellow member here):

"I feel sorry for who ever bought this 2003 59 Brazilian Murphy Les Paul

There was a dealer in Europe I working with to buy this guitar and the story goes that the owner of the guitar has a big collection and wanted to thin down so he gave it to them to consign. So I bought this guitar last month and paid for it on a Friday. Over the weekend the dealer sent me tons of detailed photos but it just didnt look right to me. For one the pickup covers and tail piece are just way too shiney but the most tell tale sign was the pieces of wood missing on the head stock around the tuners.

On Monday I called the dealer and told them I had some real concerns with these issues and they told me they would contact the owner and ask him questions about his guitar because they just have not seen enough of these to know. Luckily when they called the owner he came clean and said that the bridge, pickups, tail piece, and tuners were all changed out on the guitar and the original parts could not be located. The dealer told me that the guy did not know how to take the tuners off and damaged the head stock during the process but the original tuners were put back on.

Naturally I pulled down my deposit and the dealer was so upset with the guy for giving them a guitar that he said was all original they told him to take it back and that they would not consign it. They thanked me for this information because they did not want to take a chance a ruining their reputation plus they called me on the phone to thank me as well as sent me 2 emails appologizing for the problem.

Seems they gave it back to the owner and he put it on Ebay. Good luck to who ever bought this one. They got burned pretty bad.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...vip=true&rt=nc
"

I am not familiar with that thread on the other forum, but here is a link to the old listing from a dealer who recently sold it; they had it on ebay a few times last year. And if I remember correctly, they mentioned in the ebay listing that the original parts were off but could be put back on (I know they told me that in private emails):

The Fellowship of Acoustics for Fine, Vintage and Rare guitars - ON HOLD :: 2003 Gibson Les Paul R9 '59 RI Murphy Certified Brazilian, Cherry EC,COA, OHC

 

[DanL]

Sorry not to hijack this thread, but I just don't get the huge craze over brazilian rosewood. I've only played a few guitars with it in my lifetime, but that's just one area that I don't hear the difference. Does anyone claim to hear a difference in Braz and Indian RW or is it just a collectibility and rarity factor that makes them so expensive? Always curious about that.

 

[7gtop]

Sorry not to hijack this thread, but I just don't get the huge craze over brazilian rosewood. I've only played a few guitars with it in my lifetime, but that's just one area that I don't hear the difference. Does anyone claim to hear a difference in Braz and Indian RW or is it just a collectibility and rarity factor that makes them so expensive? Always curious about that.

.... For me it's feel , sight , and smell and not so much taste and hear .....

Three outa' five senses ..... And of course ....... Factory Made ......

Corporate Rebel Yell ....... When they had the spirit .......

 

[JimmyAce2006]

Sorry not to hijack this thread, but I just don't get the huge craze over brazilian rosewood. I've only played a few guitars with it in my lifetime, but that's just one area that I don't hear the difference. Does anyone claim to hear a difference in Braz and Indian RW or is it just a collectibility and rarity factor that makes them so expensive? Always curious about that.

some people claim to hear the difference. but for me it is more about the density and smoothness of the wood. i like the coloring (in most cases) and the collectibility as well.

 

[DelawareGold]

Just because you can not hear a difference, doesn’t mean there is no difference.
It only means you can not hear the difference that is there. The underlying science
that defines vibration, propagation, resonance, and harmonics demands that every
material used has different characteristics, that will alter the way sound responds
to that material. Science tells me that Rosewood will respond differently than Ebony,
and will respond differently than Maple. I can measure the differences. Whether or
not those differences can be heard has no bearing on those facts. In an electric
guitar, most of what is heard is the voicing of the amplifier, since that is what is driving
the speaker. The signal is so processed by the time it is delivered to the speaker, that
any subtle differences from the wood have been lost.

Smiley added to prevent flaming.

 

[RAG7890]

Sorry not to hijack this thread, but I just don't get the huge craze over brazilian rosewood. I've only played a few guitars with it in my lifetime, but that's just one area that I don't hear the difference. Does anyone claim to hear a difference in Braz and Indian RW or is it just a collectibility and rarity factor that makes them so expensive? Always curious about that.

Great question & haven't we argued about this a million times.

My 2c FWIW..................build 2 identical guitars, same woods, same style, same pickups, same amp, same amp setting etc. etc. etc. The only difference is the board................say BRW on one & IRW or MGRW on the other...................yep, I can hear the difference & so can others in blind testing (being there & listening, not listening to sound files).

It is as clear as a bell. We have done this several times over the last few years. You can also clearly hear the difference if you tone tap fretboard blanks.

The only proviso is that the guitar has to be a good one & built right etc. etc. On some Historics with BRW, you get lucky & get a great one, on many you don't.

Having said all this, there is absolutely nothing wrong with IRW or MGRW.............both great options.

 

[THDNUT]

Interesting info posted about the OP guitar on the other forum (my apologies if the seller in question is a fellow member here):

"I feel sorry for who ever bought this 2003 59 Brazilian Murphy Les Paul

There was a dealer in Europe I working with to buy this guitar and the story goes that the owner of the guitar has a big collection and wanted to thin down so he gave it to them to consign. So I bought this guitar last month and paid for it on a Friday. Over the weekend the dealer sent me tons of detailed photos but it just didnt look right to me. For one the pickup covers and tail piece are just way too shiney but the most tell tale sign was the pieces of wood missing on the head stock around the tuners.

On Monday I called the dealer and told them I had some real concerns with these issues and they told me they would contact the owner and ask him questions about his guitar because they just have not seen enough of these to know. Luckily when they called the owner he came clean and said that the bridge, pickups, tail piece, and tuners were all changed out on the guitar and the original parts could not be located. The dealer told me that the guy did not know how to take the tuners off and damaged the head stock during the process but the original tuners were put back on.

Naturally I pulled down my deposit and the dealer was so upset with the guy for giving them a guitar that he said was all original they told him to take it back and that they would not consign it. They thanked me for this information because they did not want to take a chance a ruining their reputation plus they called me on the phone to thank me as well as sent me 2 emails appologizing for the problem.

Seems they gave it back to the owner and he put it on Ebay. Good luck to who ever bought this one. They got burned pretty bad.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...vip=true&rt=nc
"

OMG! What a bummer if this is true.

 

[landguitar]

IMO, this would've been a better buy.

2003 Gibson 1959 R9 Les Paul Reissue | eBay

Second that. That is a gorgeous guitar. Not as nice or interesting as the 2004 Murphy (lightly aged!) that I recently acquired and posted a couple of weeks ago, but very nice. I like the board on this one better too - wonder if you can assume that the darker the board the more resonant - or just more oil!

On another note, anybody seen the J. Geils '59 on eBay? Seems to me that a totally refinished '59 would not be worth anywhere near that. J. Geils is a bit of provenance, but...