If I paint this guitar

[kiteman]

Do you think it'll sell?

It's handmade by a luthier.

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/265/s50300352.jpg (http://img708.imageshack.us/i/s50300352.jpg/)

[Heywood Jablomie]

Regardless of the finish, I honestly don't think you're going to get anywhere near the $400 you're asking. I don't think it's realistic. It may be "hand made by a luthier", and it may be a wonderful, good-playing guitar, but the bottom line is that it's a funny-looking, no-name guitar that apparently won't fetch a very high price, regardless of what you think it's worth. Don't shoot the messenger.

[hubberjub]

I don't think painting it will help. It looks like a nice piece of wood an I don't think the body style is bad. The musical instrument economy is down. Your situation is compounded by the fact that the luthier is not very well know. If you like that guitar I'd hold on to it. Didn't you say it's a Buck Dharma inspired guitar? Have you looked for any BOC fan sites or forums? That might be a good route.

[kiteman]

Yea, I'm a member of Buck Dharma forum but their password recovery doesn't work. Also the forum doesn't allow guests to enter. It's moot.

I could keep it but it doesn't get played much and I rather have someone wear it out. I'm wearing out my Carvins. :)

I thought it's a good price because all the materials are quality and it does play well. It feels like wearing an SG but without the neck dive.

EDIT: I'm also trying to clean house from my accumulations.

[Eric]

No, I don't think painting it would help even a little. Here's my take on it: I would buy it, funny shape and unknown luthier and all, for $200.

And I like the finish on it right now. If I'm going to go for a $400 guitar, I'm going to venture into safer waters.

If you paint it, you're doing it for the people who would never have any interest in a guitar like that in the first place, so it seems like all it would do is lower the attractiveness for someone who would take a chance on it.

Personally, if I was you, I'd either keep it or throw it in as part of a trade with someone. Selling it probably won't net you a result you'll be happy with.

[Bloozcat]

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Just as ironic and hopeless a case here, kiteman. Although the name on the guitar shouldn't matter rationally, in the world of guitars, it does...

[kiteman]

Would you believe I paid $899 for it?

Yea, I know. :thwap

EDIT: I played this guitar for almost a year and enjoyed it tremendously but I made a mistake, I bought a Carvin Bolt kit. Then I made the same mistake again and bought a Carvin DC127. :D

[GuitarAcademy]

Here's my .02

I'd want it as is with the natural finish. If you had a lower price and a return option, I might be interested. In the end, its about how it feels and plays to me. Since I cannot feel the neck, how it fits me as a player and such, that's a big gamble. And just because its made from a Luthier doesn't mean I'd like it. I go to the NAMM show and have played many guitars by Luthiers and frankly I have been as disappointed as often as I have been when playing a brand name.

GA

[sumitomo]

I know where your comming from brother,I just built a strat,warmoth neck,locking tuners,tonerider pups,fender body,ect.I have about 600.00 or better and I know I couldn't sell it for 400.00.I say keep an add on your guitar for 450.00 or better and sit on it,the right person will come or not.Sumi:D

[M29]

The natural wood looks great! I think you need good exposure so a large number of people can see it. Once that is done you will have an honest idea on what you have and what to do next. There may a person out there that loves it.
The economy is eating everything up right now. Get it out there for (all) to see and see what happens.

[kiteman]

EDIT: in response to GA.

Just like any others. :)

This guitar has a "Harper profile" neck. Seems to be pretty comfortable. Some invention of his I guess. Like a D from the nut to a shallow D then becoming C at the end.

I'm not going to paint it as I realized it can be a botched job. I've thought about staining it though, that might be better and I'll keep it.

[kiteman]

The natural wood looks great! I think you need good exposure so a large number of people can see it. Once that is done you will have an honest idea on what you have and what to do next. There may a person out there that loves it.
The economy is eating everything up right now. Get it out there for (all) to see and see what happens.

On my CL ad I have 137 views on the pics (imageshack) so far from Jun 7. :)

Funny thing is I've just put the Holdworths pups on and I started playing with it more often when I first tried it on my new amp. :dance

[Bloozcat]

The wood appears to be Mahogany. If that's the case then keep it natural wood finish. Any idea what the finish is now? Urethane? Lacquer? The flash photography has probably created that light/dark irregular finish look as well. Does the wood appear as the same shade/color all throughout?

The biggest problem in trying to sell an unknown name custom guitar is exposure. A single add for a one-off guitar isn't going to generate much interest. But, if you had several from the same custom maker and were at a guitar show, your chances of selling it (or several) go up. But, without a recognizable name you generally can't get top dollar...no matter how nice the guitar.

[kiteman]

No, I'm not trying to get top dollar, just the money's worth. :)

Yea, it's mahogany in one piece and it's poly wiped. This probably show it better and before the pup swap. The case underneath is included in the sale so I figured it's worth 400 bucks.

By the way there's nothing cheap on this guitar but the people won't see that. What they buy is a nice shiny guitar.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/913/s5030256.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/i/s5030256.jpg/)

[Eric]

Well...then you get into determining what it's worth. If you can't sell it for more than $100, is it actually worth more than that? To you the answer is probably yes, which is why you keep it, right?

[Bloozcat]

By the way there's nothing cheap on this guitar but the people won't see that. What they buy is a nice shiny guitar.

Hence my coment about the guitar show. At least in an environment like that many people could handle, play, and hear the guitar. A big plus when selling what is essentially an unknown quantity.

Best advice is don't be in any rush to sell it. It may take a while and a lot of patience, but that one person may come along sooner or later who'll love the guitar and meet your price. What else can you do?

[kiteman]

ERIC- right. :)

Bloozcat- no hurry, just wanna make room. I like the guitar though and my Carvins sounds stiff compared to this guitar.

I figure I'll make it a project guitar, I like the idea of staining it. Make it look like cherrywood. I got the sandpapers and a can of poly wipe. All I need is the stain.

[Bloozcat]

A mixture of cherry stain and mahogany stain can make a nice red mahogany look. I did that on some chair rail that I was trying to match up to some dark cherry furniture I have.

You might want to go with some of the liquid stain from Stew-Mac.

If the guitar plays well, sounds good, and you like it, forget what you paid for it and just enjoy it. That's what it's all about anyway...

[oldguy]

If I paint this guitar

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you think it'll sell?

It's handmade by a luthier.


Keep it, just as it is, unless you have to have cash to survive. Don't do anything to it, just hang on to it.
I have axes I paid "too much" for because they aren't well-known names, and they kick *** on most of the big corporate offerings. If I mention them on a forum, it's usually a "ho-hum" response I get, though I only mention them to put people on to a great bargain.
If you absolutely have to sell it, PM me.

[syo]

Hey Kiteman, have you tried to sell this giving more information other than "made by a luthier? I checked out the J.C. Harper website. Perhaps putting more background into the sell will boost your price and this site would be helpful. There are lots of pics of Eric Bloom with his guitars. Surely a BOC freak would be getting a bargain at $400..:dude

[DeanEVO_Dude]

Kiteman,
It seems that the overwhelming majority here think the guitar should be left natural, and I am in agreeance with that... I am biased, I love the look of a well grained piece of mahogany wood on a guitar. It is a nice looking guitar, none the less. If you need the money, get what you can for it, but if you don't, hold on to it, the market is bound to turn around some day. You can continue to post it on CL or list it on Ebay (wouldn't do it with out a reserve price, though). Syo has a great suggestion about adding a little history of the luthier in the add... never know, there may be a "fan" out there somewhere.
At any rate, the descision is up to you, so good luck.

[kiteman]

Thanks again guys, as always you are tremendous with your honesty. Yes, I was strapped for cash because of the Bogner but I made it.

Been hungry for a while though. I'm renting a room in my sis's house so everything I own is in my room. Still have to make room somehow so I'm going to try and sell my Blackheart half stack (again).

I played the guitar yesterday and I can't get over the Holdsworth pups, they sure sound good on the Bogner. If I'm going to keep it I'd like to stain it and make it prettier. It would be a fun project.

[DeanEVO_Dude]

I have to say, Kiteman, I do love tranparent finishes on a beautiful hunk of wood, tinted, stained, etc. are just as good, as long as they are not sooo dark that you can't see the grain.
A nice color stain would look great, I really like the Worn Brown and the Worn Cherry that gibson uses on the SGs, matte or glossy, don't matter to me, both ways look great!

[deeaa]

Is the neck standard size pocket/scale? Then consider the sum of parts. Nice neck, 150, tuners etc. maybe 15, pickups, say 60, case perhaps 40. Anyway there's clearly under 300 in parts used...if it's not even standard...somebody would have to want a guitar that looks just like that. Very hard to find a buyer. I might like the shape for instance but would probably change the bridge and pups the minimum, and likely also re-shape the neck profile. Thus if I saw it on sale, it'd have to be something like 120 max to get me interested.

[kiteman]

Good question on the neck deeaa, I don't know. It's 24 frets so it isn't Fender scale I'm sure but I think the scale length is 25.5".

[otaypanky]

IMHO, Staining or painting that guitar would be a major mistake. It's mahogany! It's pretty wood. Each time you describe it you say it's made by a luthier, so why would you want to take away from that fact? Nothing you could do to that wood is going to make it a more sellable guitar. In fact I bet the offers that were posted in this thread would probably disappear if you did that. If you were making the guitar from scratch I'd encourage you, yes, be creative. Stain it, paint it, buy a Bedazzler on TV and put little rhinestones on it, whatever you want, but D O N 'T go messin' with that mahogany.
Like everyone else has indicated, it's not going to sell on visual appeal or by market demand, 'just not gonna happen. If it's the need for the money that's the driving motivation for the sale, decide if having half a loaf of bread is better than having none, then sell it to Eric for the $200 he offered. If it's the need to make some room and eliminate some clutter, sell it to Eric for the $200 he offered and enjoy the extra space. Oldguy indicated he might want it too. Start a bidding war, a little Fret Family Feud auction action.
(Try and say "Fret Family Feud auction action" 5 times fast, it will take your mind off the guitar) Maybe 'cause he's an 'Oldguy' and Eric's only a young guy, Oldguy might have an extra $50 bucks in his pocket. But those are about the best offers you're likely to get. Honestly, you're obsessing over the inequity of having paid $899 and wanting to get what you feel is a fair price, and I understand that part. But a whole forum full of your guitar playin' friends are saying maybe $400 is not a realistic expectation.
Once it's out of sight you'll stop thinking about it ~

That is of course until Eric posts about what a great guitar it is and how he would have paid $899 if he knew how sweet it was!
Then the :thwap starts all over again
LOL

[kiteman]

Heh, I didn't realize I'd start a commotion. :)

I can't sell it for that price so I'll just keep it. Maybe I should just sell my Carvin Bolt for $400. It's normal size, normal scale, normal etc etc etc. It's loaded blah blah blah, here we go again.

I got my Blackheart half stack on CL for $280 and I got an offer of a Cube 60 plus $100 for it but that won't solve my room problem.

EDIT: by the way I copied and pasted from my email from this guy.

Hi, interested in any trades ? I have:

Roland Cube 60 amp in great condition + $100.00 cash to you.
http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?ProductId=640

Ibanez AES10 EAM Acoustic electric Straight trade.
http://www.ibanez.com/AcousticGuitars/model-AES10EAM

Gretsch 5129 Electromatic Guitar (Red top, Black back) + $400.00 cash to me.
http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/index.php?product=G5126&cat1=&cat2=&q=5129&st=2

SKB Hardshell Guitar case brought brand new and never used. It is model 1SKB-18
Acoustic dreadnought deluxe guitar case. Fits the Gretsch 5129 or the Ibanez AES10. + $150.00 Cash to you
http://www.skbcases.com/music/products/proddetail.php?id=229&c=83&o=&s=75

All items are in like new condition with no defects.

[otaypanky]

I think we all go through stuff like this trying to deal with our gear addictions
I know I do ~ :agree

[kiteman]

I think we all go through stuff like this trying to deal with our gear addictions
I know I do ~ :agree

I don't have any gear addiction. :notme

[FrankenFretter]

A Cube 60 would be less space-consuming than a half-stack, and the Cube 60 I have is a great amph. Plus, you'll make a bit of cash with the deal.

I agree with the majority here about staining your axe; it's perfect the way it is. It may be an odd shape, but it's still a decent looking guitar, and the natural finish definitely adds to the overall look.

I have a friend who's a huge BOC fan, and an excellent guitarist. He isn't a huge gear hog, like some of us (myself included), but he does like to have a few nice guitars on hand. If you decide that you still want to sell it to make room, PM me and I'll send my friend some pics and info from you. He might pay what you're asking.

Good luck whichever way you go, KM. If you really like the sound of the Holdsworths, but still want to get rid of the guitar, why don't you put the stock pickups back in!?

[kiteman]

The stock pups which were Dimarzio D'Activators (my choice) is in my Carvin DC127. :D

[ZMAN]

I think if you painted it a Daphne Blue or Surf Green this guitar would sell in a minute. It has a real 50s vibe to it and the way it is finished now it looks like a home made guitar.
I think you could seel it for the price you are asking IF you painted it.
It looks to have decent hardware and electronics.
The only guitar I like in an natural state is the Telecaster.

[kiteman]

Interesting you said that but I'm afraid I'll botch the paint job so I'll let it be. I'm not even going to stain it.

EDIT: got another hit on my Blackheart ad, a guy wants to trade a bike for it.

"Interested in a cannondale q5 road bike as a trade by chance?"

[bigoldron]

Don't paint it Kite. I like the finish it has on it. I like your idea about staining it though. Be sure to post pics if and when you do!

[kiteman]

Don't paint it Kite. I like the finish it has on it. I like your idea about staining it though. Be sure to post pics if and when you do!

Thanks, I really like the idea of staining it and I'm going to sit on it (not literally guys) and think about it. I think the wood is African Mahogany and I'm going to research about finishing that wood. Look at the furniture makers as they know their stuff.

My Carvin Bolt was a kit and I poly wiped the Walnut body (and neck). Got a nice shiny finish like plastic. After a while I didn't like the plastic look and sanded it all off. I sprayed shellac on it and I like it better, just a small shine.