Joe Cocker - Now That The Magic Has Gone (LIVE in Dortmund) HD

 OK THE FACTS:

When I first put it up for sale a plethora of people came to view to buy it. They were all dealers one offered me as little as £2,000 and told me that’s all it was worth. However some of them really seemed to  know  their stuff , and some of those, thought the neck and serial number was original and genuine. Some of them believed the body was that of a 1957 gold top which had been re-veneered by Dick Knight with a tiger flame, burst finish which is what everyone wanted in the 1960s.and 70s. I now really don’t know the true beginnings of the guitar. Everyone had a different opinion, but I do believe it’s a 50’s guitar. Someone even used my L.P photo and listed it themselves with a provenance I have never even seen before.

 I was told that there are workshops all over the US, China and elsewhere knocking out fake copies, some, almost impossible to detect.

It would be good if people worldwide with old Les Paul guitars would list and log their serial number with a photo on a forum somewhere. Wow, that could really start something !  Unscrupulous dealers won’t like that. Nor will people with a stolen guitar. I guess many would be scared to admit to buying a fake although they would probably, I hope, have recourse for a refund.  I guess ultimately it is the provenance for the guitar that is really paramount to its value.

I also believe that  if someone changes the machine heads for superior quality ones, it can only make it a better guitar, right ?  All the nonsense about, its not the original solder or toggle switch or connecting wire I believe is for the money maker Cartels that operate and collude. Much like, I believe the way some auction houses operate.

I have been reliably told by a classical musician “wood expert” that the type of tree and the part of the tree used, and the shrinkage of the wood cells, over time will make 59 Les Pauls  all sound different, much like the wood used on say a Stradivarius violin. The wood and craftsmanship being a major contribution to the sound.  Why doesn't anybody ever mention the wood?  A short bit of wire from the pickup inside, a resistor, or a plastic pick-up surround won’t make any difference to the sound. Strange isn't it ?  It’s the wood of the body, the neck and the pickups where the major sound is created. Not to mention the player. I think it true to say that if the wood is selected  from the correct part of the tree, not kiln dried, but stored and dried naturally, the instrument will sound sweeter with age and bearing in mind the metal bridge on the guitar connects to the wood body of the guitar, thus giving the guitar its resonance and sound.This is translated by the pick-ups for amplification. Some pick-ups sound better than others I guess. Good ears and the love of music will always identify this, but I am no guitar expert, just a careful listener of music.

 “Me”, I now don’t care if nobody buys this guitar, I will keep it. I have had so much agg, but I can say with certainty  that Mr Miles  bought and owned this guitar sometime in 1975 and it was with him and he recorded with it until 2008. I have owned it ever since. I love the fact it is well used, maintained and a Players guitar and not a pristine L.P guitar for a glass cabinet. That ain't Rock and Roll, right ?

 After all the guff I hear on the net from dealers and some of the guess-work from couch experts, I prefer to sell this guitar to a musician who can come to view with his own Gibson expert, to examine and appraise the guitar. I am sick of dealers wasting my time. Some are like vultures.

 Treating a  Les Paul as a bank investment is like putting a Michael Angelo painting in a vault for no one to see. I believe beautiful sounding instruments should be played regularly by competent musicians and not wasted in a cupboard or to play just a few chords on, or indeed for “showing off”. I also personally think they are not a very good investment any more, unless they have impeccable provenance.

 SO,  I am sorry if I may have made any incorrect assumptions.

 As for Johns guitar, I wonder now who can truly value it. I certainly can’t and I don't feel I can trust anybody any more. Can you blame me.

                                                   That said and above all.        Music will always be my first love.