GIBSON 1953 LES PAUL GOLD TOP ~ FABULOUS HISTORY! FROM RECORD PLANT STUDIOS CO-FOUNDER ESTATE! Start Price USD 20,000.00 Current Price USD 20,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, October 07, 2008 End Time Thursday, November 06, 2008 Location Scottsdale, Arizona See more about 'GIBSON 1953 LES PAUL GOLD TOP ~ FABULOUS HISTORY!' Description PRESENTING AN EARLY 50'S GIBSON 'LES PAUL' STANDARD ELECTRIC GUITAR THAT WAS MADE BEFORE THE WERE GIVEN SERIAL NUMBERS....IT HAS BEEN STORED AWAY FOR OVER 30 YEARS.... IT ONCE BELONGED TO STEPHEN STILLS OF CSNY, WHO RECORDED AT OUR STUDIOS, & WAS LATER AQUIRED FROM HIM BY MY FATHER, GARY KELLGREN, THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE WORLD FAMOUS 'RECORD PLANT' RECORDING STUDIOS IN NEW YORK, SAUSALITO & LOS ANGELES, WHERE MOST OF THE BEST KNOWN MUSIC OF THE LATE 60'S & 70'S WAS RECORDED &, IN LOS ANGELES, IS STILL GOING STRONG TODAY.  BESIDES BEING THE CREATIVE HALF OF THE STUDIOS, GARY KELLGREN WAS ALSO THE RECORDING ENGINEER FOR THE  JIMI HENDRIX "ELECTRIC LADYLAND" ALBUM, AS WELL AS GEORGE HARRISON'S "CONCERT FOR BANGLA DESH"....HE WORKED WITH  ALL OF THE BEATLES, JOHN LENNON, RINGO STARR, BARBARA STRIESAND, PAUL ANKA, ELLA FITZGERALD, ROLLING STONES MICK JAGGER, RON WOOD & BILL WYMAN, BILL WITHERS, CSNY, THE ANIMALS, LOU REED & THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, AS WELL AS FRANK ZAPPA, TO NAME BUT A FAB FEW!   IN SEP/2006, I HAD IT PHYSICALLY INSPECTED & APPRAISED BY A VINTAGE GIBSON GUITAR EXPERT, BOB TURNER, IN PHOENIX. HIS WRITTEN APPRAISAL READS:   "THIS EXTREMELY EARLY EXAMPLE OF A TRAPEZE TAILPIECE LES PAUL IS A LATE 1952 OR 1953 MODEL. IT HAS 1/2" KNOBS & BINDING ON THE NECK THAT MAKES IT THE 2ND VERSION OF A LES PAUL. THE KLUSON SINGLE BUTTON KEYS ARE BLANK. THE GUITAR HAS IT'S ORIGINAL GOLDTOP FINISH WITH NATURAL BACK & SIDES. IT IS 100% CORRECT EXCEPT FOR A REPLACED JACKPLATE. THE GUITARS OVERALL CONDITION IS A 90 OUT OF 100. ALSO INCLUDES ORIGINAL BROWN CASE.    His manager plugged it in & played it for a bit....He said that short of having some dust in 2 of the 4 pods, it sounded great....especially considering that it hadn't been touched for over 30 years.....He said that that could be cleared up easily & suggested to just use some tuner cleaner that could be purchased at Radio Shack for around $5 or so.... re the measurements on the pick-ups, his notes read:   -bridge 7.21 k 52 -neck    7.19 k 52 -some static in volume & tone for bridge p.u. -neck p.u. volume & tone = good IN FEB/2007  I SENT AWAY FOR AN  ONLINE WRITTEN APPRAISAL BY **GEORGE GRUHN (REKNOWNED NASHVILLE VINTAGE GUITAR EXPERT) (www.gruhn.com) WHO WROTE:   "We certify that the guitar described below is, in our opinion, a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop model made in the year 1953."  Description:  As is typical of 1952 and 1953 Gibson Les Paul models, this guitar has no serial number (serial numbers were first used on Les Pauls in late 1953).  This guitar conforms to typical 1953 Les Paul specifications with carved maple top with gold lacquer finish, mahogany neck and back with clear lacquer finish, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with white binding and pearloid trapezoid inlays, unbound peghead with pearl inlaid Gibson logo and silk screened Les Paul model logo, white trimmed truss rod cover, trapeze bridge/tailpiece combination, two white plastic covered single coil "soapbar" P-90 pickups, single ply white pickguard, and low top barrel shaped tone and volume knobs (1952 models had a higher profile knob).  The hard shell brown covered case with pink plush interior lining is the correct original style for this instrument.  This is a historically significant guitar which would be of interest to collectors as well as musicians.   Current market value: $25,000 to $26,500 **("George Gruhn knows more about guitars than anyone on earth," says Tom Wheeler, former editor of Guitar Player magazine. That knowledge has made Gruhn Guitars the world's most famous vintage instrument store and has brought George Gruhn worldwide recognition as an author of definitive books on vintage guitars, an innovative instrument and string designer, and a primary source for insight into the guitar market -- past, present and future. BOTH OF THESE APPRAISALS WERE DONE WELL OVER A YEAR AGO, & AS YOU KNOW THESE GUITARS JUST GO UP IN VALUE WITH TIME...I HAD BOTH A VINTAGE GUITAR EXPERT PHYSICALLY INSPECT & APPRAISE IT HERE IN PHOENIX, AS WELL AS THE ONLINE APPRAISAL THAT WAS DONE BY NASHVILLE'S GEO GRUHN, CONSIDERED TO BE THE BEST GIBSON GUITAR EXPERT IN THE WORLD. SO PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS!  I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU IN EVERY WAY I CAN, BUT ONCE THIS GUITAR LEAVES HERE IT'S CONSIDERED SOLD, UNLESS YOU CAN SHOW ME THAT THERE IS A MAJOR MISREPRESENTATION IN THIS LISTING......IT IS A GEM THAT HAS BEEN SAFELY STORED AWAY FOR OVER 30 YEARS & I HOPE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THAT I DON'T WISH FOR IT TO BE TAMPERED WITH & SHIPPED BACK & FORTH ONCE IT LEAVES MY POSSESSION....THE WRITTEN APPRAISALS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES & THEY WILL BE SENT ALONG WITH THE GUITAR.....ALL THE FOTOS BELOW SHOULD TELL THE STORY....THESE ARE THE VERY SAME FOTOS THAT MR. GRUHN USED TO APPRAISE IT.....I WILL STAND BY WHAT YOU SEE & READ HERE. FOR ADD'L INFORMATION: JUST WRITE TO REQUEST COPIES OF EITHER OR BOTH WRITTEN APPRAISALS! ALSO, PLEASE DO NOT CALL THESE PEOPLE...OTHERS HAVE...I WILL GUARANTEE WHATEVER YOU READ HERE~ I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO TAKE IT TO ANYONE HERE IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA THAT YOU CHOOSE TO HAVE IT PHYSICALLY INSPECTED FOR YOU....I HAVE MANY OTHER ITEMS FROM THOSE OLD ROCK N' ROLL DAYS IN MY EBAY STORE & I'VE BEEN AN EBAY POWER SELLER FOR MANY YEARS NOW, SO YOU CAN TRUST THAT WHAT I PRESENT HERE IS HONEST & SINCERE! IT CAN ALSO BE PICKED UP IN SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, HOWEVER PAYMENT MUST CLEAR BEFORE TAKING POSSESSION!   ATTN: 10/7/08:  FROM THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW WEBSITE! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200706A21.html#   **************   *ATTN: WINNING BUYER* PLEASE WAIT FOR MY CONFIRMATION EMAIL, WHICH WILL COME TO YOU SHORTLY.....IN ORDER TO PROCESS YOUR PAYMENT QUICKLY, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THE PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS BELOW! THX FOR DROPPING IN!     Use the FREE Counters 1 million sellers do - Andale!     Place a Bid!