Greg recently asked about vintage Gibson Les Paul guitars. At one time
I could identify and price just about any Gibson model by year but I've
forgotten most of that information. In general, a used Gibson Les Paul
or a Gibson Standard, depending on condition, is usually worth somewhere
between $1,800 and $2,500 with a few exceptions. Obviously, the older
it is makes it worth more as a collectable but so many of them have
been produced over the years that they don't have any exceptional value.
One exception was Mary Ford's original Gibson Les Paul model that was
purchased and then sold by "Pawn Stars". I think it went for about $90K.

Gibson monkeyed around with the design of the original Les Paul or
Standard model over the years. They are very heavy guitars (compared to
a Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster and Gibson came out with some
"lightened" versions by hollowing out some of the body, so you have to
watch what you buy.

There are some exceptions in the value of used ones. A guy by the name
of Tom Murphy ran the finishing department at Gibson for a few years and
he personally did some of the really high quality flamed wood finishes
on some guitars.

I unknowingly bought one of these when I had the guitar shop. Obviously
the guy I bought it from didn't know about Murphy either. I paid $1,600
for the guitar.

Doing some research on it's serial number I discovered it may be one of
the ones that Murphy personally finished. The proof is tying the serial
number to his hidden initials in the bottom of the wiring compartment on
the back of the guitar. I opened it up, pushed the wires and shielding
aside and sure enough, the "TM" initials were there. Took a picture
along with the rest of the guitar and put it on eBay for kicks. Ended
up with two guys in a bidding war for it and it ended up selling for $6,500.

By the time I gave up the guitar shop in 2014, the quality of new Gibson
guitars had declined dramatically. People used to bring a brand new
Gibson for my buddy Rick to set up and make it playable. They were
horrible fresh out of the box. Gibson also recently filed for bankruptcy.

BTW ... Gibson was originally located in Kalamazoo, Michigan and made
mandolins. Les Paul is often credited as "inventing" the first electric
guitar but that's not really true. Electric guitars with magnetic
pickups were first used by jazz guitarists who played with the big
bands of the 30's and 40's. As the bands became bigger and louder, the
guitarist playing an acoustic jazz guitar couldn't be heard so they
started adding a pickup and small amplifier. A true jazz guitar is a
little different than a typical electric guitar. The pickup is mounted
on a bracket attached to the bottom end of the fretboard instead on on
the guitar body and only one pickup is used usually with a volume
control only although some have a tone control as well. The location of
the pickup attached to the fretboard produces a much more mellow tone
overall that is characteristic of the sound of a true jazz guitar.

Playing a jazz guitar in true jazz guitar style is difficult to learn.
(I know ... I've been trying for years). Jazz guitarists play
melodies using complete chords ... known as the "jazz chord melody"
style of playing. Usually a guitarist only uses a string or two
at a time if playing a solo or riff. B.B. King played his guitar
"Lucille" using only two strings at a time.

Anyway, one other comment. When Gibson moved manufacturing from
Kalamazoo to Nashville, starting in 1974 many of the skilled
craftsmen didn't want to re-locate with the company. With Gibson's
approval a group of them stayed in Kalamazoo and started a company
called "Heritage" guitars. Heritage guitars are built by hand,
the way Gibsons used to be built until they went with automated, CNC
production, using equipment and tools left behind by Gibson in the
original Kalamazoo facility. Not as well known as "Gibson" and not
anywhere near as expensive, the Heritage guitars are more original
"Gibson" than any Gibson made since the mid 80's. I've had a couple
of Heritage guitars ... Les Paul types ... and they are far superior
in both quality and sound than anything Gibson has made in the past
20 or 30 years.