[-=FreeBird=-]

I would like to buy an acoustic guitar very soon, because its often a hassle to have to go up stairs and plug my electric guitar in to the amp and stuff.... And I'd like a quality guitar by a good name, Gibson is what I have in mind. I don't really care if it's got dings in it or a chip etc... So a pawn shop is my first thought, but I was wondering what can I expect to pay for a cheaper Gibson? I don't need a really expencive one with fancy wood, or a vintage one... just one that is affordable and plays fairly well...

[billy16]

Since any Gibson acoustic is pricey, I'd say around $900 or maybe $1000 or maybe even a bit more.

Go have a look at some other brands though. You can get a really good new acoustic for what a used Gibson would cost.

[-=FreeBird=-]

Seriously that much for a used one? With a price like that I think I'm going to have to look at alternative brands...

[billy16]

Take that with a grain of salt though, that's just in my local area. I saw a used J-45 for something like $920 or so and one with a hummingbird on it for $1098.

Might just be where I'm at. Bigger stores in a city may be cheaper.

[CRG1400]

I rarely see Gibsons in pawn shops. I highly doubt a pawn shop will give anyone enough money for a used gibson. Gibson acoustics range in the upper couple thousand dollars. I doubt you could get one for under a grand. If you own a gibson, you would know better to sell it to a pawn shop. If you ever see one, I would guess it was stolen and then pawned off, or the person who owned it need money fast, or didn't know it's worth. What is the range you are willing to pay?

[dadfad]

It truly depends on a lot of things... what model, vintage (as opposed to just "used"), your location. You CAN find a decent used Gibson acoustic in $650 range. For example take the jumbo models like the J-45. Earlier than 1968 (and part of '69) they were made "round-shouldered." These are usually about $1500 minimum and up (waaaay up!). In mid-69 Gibson started making "square-shouldered" jumbos. Gibson had recently been bought and the new owners thought this new design would be sturdier with less possibility of warranty work, etc. They were right. However it also cut down on the power of the guitar a bit. Still a nice "Gibson sound" but not as powerful (remember this was the pre on-board electronics days). Anyway, these era Gibsons are not as expensive. They do sound and play really nice, just not as powerful as pre-69. (I own two acoustic Gibsons from that era, a J-50 and a J-40. Both nice guitars too.) If you are going to play mostly at home or use on-board or drop-in electronics at a gig, they are an excellent bargain. Even mic'ed, while weaker than the older vintage Gibsons, they still sound pretty damn good.

Now to the newer used Gibsons. Because they are fairly expensive new, and not really that old yet, they still have a fairly high re-sale value. Not that far below what they went for originally.

Some of the smaller-bodied Gibsons like the LO models, even from the 50s or 60s, are generally a lot less than the bigger jumbo models. A young guy here at work who plays had me go with him to check out an LO-1 (a '66 I think) in excellent condition. I talked the guy down from $850 to $700. In not quite as great of shape (cosmetically) you'll see them in the 5 to 6-ish range fairly often.

I could go on... true jems you see occassionally (like the mid-70s "Kasha-Project" Mark-series Gibsons. Too far ahead of its time (like maybe the original Flying-Vs), not a lot were made and sold. Excellent guitars that few know of and so are not as sought after.) I recently bought a Mark 35 for a friend of mine. She thinks its the nicest guitar she's ever touched. I payed $550 for it. My own Mark 81 cost about $750).

Anyway, there are a lot of variations. And it's not impossible to locate a pretty nice Gibson acoustic around that "magic" $600 range.

[-=FreeBird=-]

Well thanks guys, I'll certainly keep my eyes open of some kind of crazy deal, but for now It looks like I will need to find somthing in the lower price range!

[billy16]

I would've picked that J-45 up if I wouldn've been after a Taylor 410 Dreadnought. But I didn't even get that, I bought a friend something really nice for her birthday (it was worth it ).

Still, I wouldn't mind have either the 410 or J-45.