If I paint this guitar

[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..

[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 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/pro...?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/i...2=&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/produc...9&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 ~

[kiteman]

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

I don't have any gear addiction.

[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.

[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.