1970's Gibson Les Paul Deluxe

Garth-S

A friend of mine has and red early 70's LP deluxe and we were debating what the value of the guitar is. I have no idea what sort of price you could get for one of these. The only thing is it is pretty worn. What do you all think the value could be? The pic below is of a new one...

JoeyBones

Apparently the 70's was the worst era of guitar building, so they don't fetch as much as the older models. I've seen them go for as little as $800 on ebay dependant on condition. He might be lucky and have a good one, but because this was the mass production era, their quality wasn't as great as the older models.

Which area is he in? I wouldn't take it to some of the guitar shops in JHB. I've been in the shop while they told a guy his 70's strat would only fetch around +-R4K. I could get my buddy to give him an honest opinion if he is in the JHB area.

scratchy

Can't help on the value, but that is one hella sexy guitar

Reinhard

You can check Ebay for how much they are going or ask the guys on the Les Paul forum.
Around 2K US $ should be right, depending on condition (I checked Ebay)

Garth-S

Thanks for the responses guys. Joey, he's ufortunately in the Durban area. I dont think that the condition it is in would help either, he does not look after it very well and is got quite a number of digs and scratches, but man does it sound SO good.

Vintage-Vibe

Hey Garth

These are interesting axes - unfortunately the "collector" value here isn't what it is overseas,
and even there things are in a bit of a slump right now.
I would love to see photos of your mate's actual axe - full front, back and side profile.
Lots of factors affect the value - condition, year, is the neck maple or not, is the body a "pancake" (3 laminate layers,original case still there etc ..
I would love to check it out - been looking around 4 something like this.
Has he advertised it anywhere ?

Regards
VV

Garth-S

Hey VV

Unfortunately he's not really interested in selling it, cuz he got it at a bargain from somebody. Lol. He really clings to this axe. I'm not sure of the details that you mentioned, but its not in great shape. It's also missing the plate on the back, and I dunno about the original case. When I see him again I'll get some pics ?

singemonkey

Sorry to fire up this topic after so long, but thought that the questions may still be unanswered. I was searching for stuff about LP Deluxes after finding out some more about mine. If you haven't found out more, I can tell you that they definitely go for more than the 90's, 2000's Standards. Most seem to be in the $2,000 range if original and in good condition.

Weirdly, the older ones, from the early 70s, seem to go for much more, with a pristine 69 going for easily $4,000 on occasion. It strikes me as a little strange, because the last models were higher spec guitars - solid mahogany bodies, mahogany necks, 50's style headstock with 17 degree headstock angle - as opposed to the "pancake" bodies (you should be able to see the strip of maple through the middle if it is one), and the larger headstock with a less steep angle.

aubs1

Garth S wrote: Unfortunately he's not really interested in selling it,......

Just as a matter of interest, then why would he want to know what it's worth?

singemonkey

For me it's just curiosity. It's also worth finding out if your old guitar is worth $40,000 so that you can lock it away in a vault, pending your retirement ?

vic

Garth S wrote: Hey VV

Unfortunately he's not really interested in selling it, cuz he got it at a bargain from somebody. Lol. He really clings to this axe. I'm not sure of the details that you mentioned, but its not in great shape. It's also missing the plate on the back, and I dunno about the original case. When I see him again I'll get some pics ?

Your friend should do his own research and at the same time learn more about the guitar he is neglecting.... ☹

singemonkey

"Vintage Guitar Price Value For 2009 :
1969 > $4700 to $5500 ( Goldtop )
1970 > $4000 to $5000 ( Goldtop )
1971 - 1975 > $3500 to $4300 ( Goldtop )
1971 - 1975 > $2500 to $3000 ( various colors )
1976 - 1985 > $2000 to $2700 ( various colors )

1978 - 1982 > $1500 to $2100 ( pro-deluxe with 2 p-90 pickups )

gibson les paul deluxe price guide1969 - Avg Upward Trend Of 15% a Year since 2000
1970 - 1985 Avg Upward Trend Of 11% a Year since 2000

( in 1975 and 1977 red and blue sparkle finishes are estimated at $3900 to $4500 , they made them only in those years and are very rare , hard to find . )"

source: http://vintage-guitars.blogspot.com/2006/01/gibson-les-paul-deluxe.html

Though obviously you'll get nothing like that for an old beater, and certainly not in SA. Weirdly this blog posting claims that between 1970 and 1985 when they were discontinued, features remained largely unchanged. The Gibson Catalogue says very different. In 1983 they dropped the maple neck, pancake body, and larger headstock design - and went for more vintage spec. Same as the Standard, they say, except for the electronics.

DonovanB

vic wrote: Your friend should do his own research and at the same time learn more about the guitar he is neglecting.... ☹

I actually agree with this..