nickball75 Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Is there anyone on here who knows a little about the value of guitars? I have a vintage epiphone acoustic that I would like to sell, need some kind of figure for it. Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foodfreak Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Have a look on the vintage & rare website. might give you a clue, or get in touch with them & ask how much it would cost you if they had one. it would have to be an early one to worth much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 If its an OOOOLD epiphone (ie before they became the cheap leg of Gibson) then LOTS!!! But I think that was a million years ago and they only made mandolins then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 PM me some pictures of it and I can try to help. Model name too and age too I know quite alot about guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickball75 Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 PM me some pictures of it and I can try to help. Model name too and age too I know quite alot about guitars yep will do. I know it a 1970's. Its an Epiphone sheraton jumbo acoustic. I will get the serial code. Its on a blue label, made in michigan ( I think!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bleasem Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Nick, Gibson bought Epiphone in 1957 and from then until the seventies produced high quality instruments at Kalamazoo, Michigan. These included guitars which influenced Gibson design and guitars which were more expensive than the nearest Gibson model. It is a huge misconception people have that Epiphone was the budget end of Gibson, the reason that Epiphone and Gibson guitars were similar was to provide dealers who were not yet official Gibson dealers with a Gibson quality product to sell. As the previous poster stated year and model is important as well as modifications, which diminish the value of any vintage guitar, if you check values on line at vintage and rare you will see how modifications affect value. Condition is a critical factor, although personally I do not mind a guitar that is showing a bit of wear but it does affect value. Also an original case can play a part in the overall value as can original tags, labels, booklets etc. In the case of your guitar a bit of background is the best way to get started, when Norlin purchased CMI (which owned Gibson) in 1969, Epiphone production was switched to Japan in 1970. You state that your guitar is made in Michigan 1970s. This could mean that yours is a late production USA model made just before production switched. What is more likely is that your guitar was made in Japan but still given a label bearing Gibsons' Kalamazoo address, this was a known practice at this time and if your guitar has a 7 digit or longer serial number then this would seem to be the case as USA Epiphones had 6 digit or shorter serial numbers. Another thing that happened was that the blue label bearing Gibsons Kalamazoo address had a small 'made in Japan' at the bottom edge of the label. So unfortunately I can not see this guitar been worth more than a grand, depending on some of the factors previously mentioned but you never know how much someone who collects Epiphones might be prepared to pay, why not start an Ebay auction with a reserve that you would be happy with and see how it goes. Bear in mind that all decent collectable 1950s and 1960s guitars are vanishing into private collections fast and collectors are now look at 1970s guitars as good investments and great guitars, which makes keeping hold of them the most advisable thing to do. Hope you end up realising you have a nice investment guitar. Best wishes, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickball75 Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 I guess you could be right there, it did cross my mind to keep hold of it. I will get some pictures and further details for you. I have only had the guitar myself for a couple of years. It was sourced by my brother in law, and I must admit i didnt pay alot for it. Its a lovely guitar, great sound. It is something that I rarely use. Need to have a good think about this one. I'll some pics regardless. cheers Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickball75 Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 here are some pictures. the blue label does state that it is made in japan at the bottom. I put the product code into google and it brought a few things up. I think this could possibly be a 1973 model. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bleasem Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Nick, that is a really nice guitar. I would keep hold of it if I were you. The mother of pearl binding really sets it off and I love the colour of the wood. That 'cloudy' grain pattern on the back is very pretty and like you I think this is from around 1973. Have the machine heads been changed as the one in this link shows slightly a different type, http://www.guitar-museum.com/guitar-10347-Acoustic-Epiphone-FT570BL-Sheraton-Vintage-Guitar The guitar in the link shows a hexagonal pattern machine head whereas yours look like a grover type. It may be that they included both types of machine heads in the manufacturing, although with this guitar been a top end Epiphone I would be surprised if that was the case and a unique style machine head was more than likely used for that particular model rather than a generic grover. You may want to investigate this point further. Also that strap button behind the neck is not original but that could be removed and sorted by a guitar shop. From the photos it looks to be in nice condition and remember that this model was one of the prestige acoustic guitars from Epiphone in this era and are getting rarer by the day. What might be worth £500 today may be clearing a grand in a couple of years time - Guitars really are great investments. Anyway thanks for getting the pictures up. My advice, now that you know a bit more about it, is to keep hold of it and see what it might be worth in say 5 years time. Good luck mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickball75 Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 yeah I think you right. Worth putting away and forgeting about it. I will look into the machine head situation. It would be a shame to sell it when in a few years it would be worth more and then some more. thanks for your comments, very helpfull Cheers Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickball75 Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 Changed my mind, selling this now on ebay, Check it out:- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1970s-Vintage-Epiphone-Sheraton-Acoustic-Guitar_W0QQitemZ190326142158QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item2c505274ce&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManwithSupra Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 I would of put this in a specialist auction mate - more collectors willing to spend good money. you can find specilaist guitar auctions in the back of various guitar mags. You have got me thinking now, I wonder how much my Gibson Les Paul Studio is worth now?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 How old is the LP Studio (can tell by the first and fifth numbers in serial no. e.g. 91235 at the start indicates a 1995 model built on the 123rd day of the year. Finish, original hardshell case, condition, fret wear, original electronics etc. will all have an effect on the value. Let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickball75 Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 yeah good idea, do you know of any good guitar auction sites? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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