Considering a 1954 Goldtop

[Progear]

I drive by tone tailors everyday to work, been very tempted to atop by to check out there ‘54, but i might like it and buy it.. and i already have a ‘53 and a 56/59 conversion. So iam staying away for now. Good luck with your search.

 

[61LPSG]

54 to 56 goldtop is my dream guitar. Both of those listed look really good.
I never heard of Tone Tailors, but they're only half an hour from me. I may have to go look at that beauty.
Good luck with you quest, and be sure to keep us up-dated .

 

[L96A1]

54 to 56 goldtop is my dream guitar. Both of those listed look really good.
I never heard of Tone Tailors, but they're only half an hour from me. I may have to go look at that beauty.
Good luck with you quest, and be sure to keep us up-dated .

Well neither is willing to budge on the price, I’m being patient now.

 

[Uncle Vinnie]

All things being equal, I like the one from Tone Tailors, it has a darker back which is the bomb.

 

[jeggz]

Gibson Vintage les paul goldtop 1954 original | The Gear Place | Reverb

Original 1954 goldtop with original finish and electronics. has been refretted so plays like butter and stays in tune great.new tuners as well. this collectable guitar only keeps going up.

reverb.com

Put an offer on this one, I used to own it.

Its great, light as a feather, got bawls and already has been refretted with 59 style wire.

 

[sonsofthedesert]

Leaning studs I would say. Pretty common but not a deal-breaker issue, just something that needs correcting by a good luthier, putting in full legnth studs and bushings. Made my guitar sound even better believe it or not also

Always been curious about this modification and the maple flame mod on bridge posts as some folks are not always happy about the changed tone, just some observations and alternate thoughts needing feedback..

1. You can't return it to original vintage condition or reinstall the original smaller vintage studs and bridge if you want to sell it in the condition you bought it. The longer studs don't hold the thin eared bridge (does it affect the value, original vintage guitar V modified vintage guitar)


2. Vintage 50s Les Paul guitars hold their value as antiques and artifacts regardless of how they sound from what i can see and mods to chase tone are subjective to the owners, sellers and buyers ears, unless you are Page, Clapton etc and could make a cheap Danelectro sing.

Of course you could do what you like with it and paint it purple if you want...some do , kind of like buying a antique table and then sanding it because it looks old or smells bad but you will lose value on it if a buyer doesn't like it just because you do..

3.Completely original vintage 50s goldtops must be getting rarer and more irreplaceable by now surely as more and more obsessive and or delusional people imo tend to modify them to look like imposter vintage 58,59,60s sunburst Les Paul's.

My vintage 54 is completely original and i would not consider irreversible mods with the exception of new frets.

jeggz, observes,." Theres way too little aluminum over and under those grub screws".

"I’ve owned two 54’s, bridge lean was not an issue with either one, I think it’s because of the maple cap".

Do the longer studs seat themselves in the mahogany or just deeper in the maple cap ?, Maple is a harder wood.

In regard to fragility of the construction of the bridge, yes i would think so most likely but what about the tone as plenty of them haven't snapped and sound great in my opinion . Is it reason enough to mod?

What about resetting the bridge studs with a repair rather than sink longer studs and try and find rare and very expensive 50s studs and bridges?

I haven't seen 50s studs or wraparound 50s bridges for sale for years, if any one knows of any let me know as i have a project i am compiling parts for.


Anecdotally, my understanding is that the thin eared wraptail part is a cast part and therefore more fragile than a milled part particularly when being adjusted with the grub screws under tension (reason for snapping). The part could and did snap from incorrect adjustment if the strings weren't not slacked right off for intonation tweeks.

 

[sonsofthedesert]

How I wish you live near Carter now lol, yes super low or low frets would be a deal breaker for me. But they look fine from their photos.

I haven't found low fretts problematic on 54s playing wise, obviously it will need refretting like any guitar once the fretts are too low. Shouldn't be a deal breaker, just negotiate the price down towards the cost of a refrett.

 

[sonsofthedesert]

Ohhh

One other tidbit, take the thin ear wraptail and studs off, put em away and replace it with a Mojoaxe, or later 50s vintage if ya want.

The one you are selling still has the thin eared wraptail bridge, did you reinstall it or not swap it out?
Curious to know if you installed longer studs?

 

[jeggz]

The one you are selling still has the thin eared wraptail bridge, did you reinstall it or not swap it out?
Curious to know if you installed longer studs?

When I sold it, I put the original bridge back on.

The bushings we’re still stock when I sold it, zero lean.

 

[sonsofthedesert]

O.K, i didn't know after market bridges fit on the smaller bridge posts, or did you use longer posts?
Which aftermarket bridge did you use as i'm looking for a backup to save wear and tear on the original.

 

[sonsofthedesert]

Absolutely，I’ll be patient for mine.


I could just offer 25k or something like that, the thing is they don’t know me and what are the chances for them to discount to a real life price for some one they don’t know.
Anyway, I now have a measure in the mind to avoid paying too much.

I hope I can have original frets, though they are s bit small, had one guitar with jescar, those frets sound too bright for me, though they are super durable.

For the studs and bushing I think I probably will ask the shop to swap for me, then I can put strings I like without worrying.

If you can see the guitar in person it is much better when negotiating,
Owners are more likely to negotiate than most dealers because dealers hate to lose on their commission.
Lay the cash out in front of em and make a reasonable offer. I find the smell and look of money gets people excited and flustered, particularly when you threaten to put it away and walk out.
And yes, i have bought guitars this way.

 

[jeggz]

O.K, i didn't know after market bridges fit on the smaller bridge posts, or did you use longer posts?
Which aftermarket bridge did you use as i'm looking for a backup to save wear and tear on the original.

I used later 50s bridge and studs.

 

[L96A1]

If you can see the guitar in person it is much better when negotiating,
Owners are more likely to negotiate than most dealers because dealers hate to lose on their commission.
Lay the cash out in front of em and make a reasonable offer. I find the smell and look of money gets people excited and flustered, particularly when you threaten to put it away and walk out.
And yes, i have bought guitars this way.

Thanks and that’s great suggestion, since I’m from another country its hard to to close quarter communications, if I were the shop I won’t just budge the price for a stranger from another country.

 

[red_house356]

If you can see the guitar in person it is much better when negotiating,
Owners are more likely to negotiate than most dealers because dealers hate to lose on their commission.
Lay the cash out in front of em and make a reasonable offer. I find the smell and look of money gets people excited and flustered, particularly when you threaten to put it away and walk out.
And yes, i have bought guitars this way.

Cash is king. This has worked to my advantage the last two times. Not only is cash an incentive, but if you find your sellers online, shipping is eliminated via cash on pickup.

Thanks and that’s great suggestion, since I’m from another country its hard to to close quarter communications, if I were the shop I won’t just budge the price for a stranger from another country.

I don’t think it’s so much that you’re making an offer overseas. For the most part, as a seller, I’m don’t mind shipping guitars or etc overseas. The issue here is shipping $25,000 plus guitar overseas. I live in the States, but even I cringe at the thought of shipping my player grade Les Paul for any period of time. Even with priority or express shipping, we’re talking about 3-7 day trip around the globe.

Not to mention possible CITES restrictions with the Brazilian board. If shipping isn’t a concern for them, CITES is the next logistical problem for a seller.