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Location: New Jersey | Hi folks, I saw a used 1769 Custom legend from Guitar Center-they had no pics, so I asked them to send me a few. It was listed for $699, and the salesman is telling me it has a crack in the top. According to him it was going to cost him $300 for his guy to repair it. He told me he would sell it me as is for $399. Here is a pic of the top. Does it look like a case of a seriously dry top and/or does it look like a $300 or less repair job? My goal was to eventually get either a US Custom Legend or a US Custom Elite. Cash is a bit short since I just paid for my Celeb 247, but if this is worth it for around $300-400, I would try to get SWMBO to give me her blessing.
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Location: New Hartford CT | I would keep looking. Unless you get an actual hands on test drive, don't buy a guitar with a serious crack. That one looks really bad and I see plenty of nice Ovations on ebay more worthy of your hard earned money.
It's not so much the cosmetics of it; it's common to have a nice sounding beater guitar handy. The top is a soundboard and a serious crack can wipe out a lot of tone. That's why it's a good idea to test drive and make sure it sounds OK. YMMV |
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Location: New Hartford CT | Maybe someone has that picture of Willie Nelson's guitar? Just a crack or two on that one |
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Location: Texas | "Willie Nelson's guitar? Just a crack or two on that one"
If I am not mistaken, through the years, Willies guitar has undergone quite a bit of internal re-structuring by a luthier in Austin. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Besides that, I don't think anyone is bragging on the tone of Willie Nelson's guitar. Probably has all the warm tonal characteristics of a plywood Esteban. It's simply a prop for Nelson to convey an "everyman" image to the public. |
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Location: sitting at my computer | Scanman, I'd pass and keep saving up for one that doesn't have "big headache" potential. IMO most salesman's estimates of how much it'd cost to repair are woefully optimistic! YMMV Willie's just in the process of "opening up" his guitar... by adding another sound hole!  |
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Location: Indiana | darkbarguitar - 2012-03-25 10:08 AM
It's simply a prop for Nelson to convey an "everyman" image to the public.
Or... it's a faithful old friend Willie has traveled and performed with for decades. It's "his" guitar and he's comfortable playing it. Willie doesn't give a rats behind what anyone thinks of Trigger. |
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Location: Utah | It might be worth $100 if the case is in very good condition. Then you could part it out. The crack looks pretty bad to me. |
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Location: California | Keep looking. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Jonmark Stone - 2012-03-25 12:06 PM
Willie doesn't give a rats behind what anyone thinks of Trigger.
Right.....that's his gimmick, IN MY OPINION. Since neither of us know him, we'll just disagree, I suppose. |
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Location: Texas | "anyone is bragging on the tone of Willie Nelson's guitar" Its the prismatone pickup. Reeds Baldwin, Nelsons Martin...or a new Yamaha (w/Sams Prismatone recreation) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh_LPCH9hB4 Same sound... "Prop" "everyman" ? A little harsh. No one calls Setzers often used Gretsch that Steve Miller gave him back in the day a prop. Maybe it is a preference? When I met Nelson in the late 70's, his surroundings were very "everyman" like. I worked security for a concert of his in the early 80's and he hadnt changed his demeanor a bit, on or off stage. Very easy to get along with. He didn't come across other than someone who hung out in very casual settings and enjoyed being "loose". I certainly never got the feeling he was trying to convey anything to anybody. |
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Location: New Jersey | Folks, thanks for all your input- yeah I'm gonna pass this one up. I didn't notice the first time around, but in one of the other pics, one of the pearl tuners is missing-this O may have a bit more abuse than I'm being told. I'd rather hold out for a natural finish anyway, and it gives me more time to look around at what I can sell to offset the cost of a new Git. |
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Location: Flahdaw | This is getting WAY away from Scanman's topic, but....
IN MY OPINION, The point that he has had a lot of bracing and structural work on the guitar to even keep it playable says something TO ME. The guitar was in trouble even back in the 70's. Here is a video from 1980
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTPL1WPJqjs
where the guitar looks virtually identical to how it looks today...over 30 years later. If he is going to get all that structural work done on it to keep it playable, the hole in the face of the guitar could have been repaired as well, BUT he knew better than to mess with the image of himself playing an old beater..."the good ol' boy, just gettin' by on tips and handouts, riding the rails to the next dusty town." If he showed up at the next concert with a brand new shiny Martin, his loyal followers would be very disappointed, even if it sounded and played 10 times better. That ol' beat up guitar is his schtick, and he and his publicist KNOW it.
Don't' get me wrong...there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's great marketing. But still just marketing, in my opinion,
Edited by dark bar 2012-03-25 2:30 PM
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Location: Indiana | darkbarguitar - 2012-03-25 1:16 PM
Since neither of us know him, we'll just disagree, I suppose.
DB, you have no way of knowing what I am aware of regarding Willie...
Willie is Willie. You can believe it or not, but Trigger is not a prop. He loves to ride that bus and he loves to play live and he'd be doing it whether we knew who he was or not.
Edited by Jonmark Stone 2012-03-25 3:37 PM
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Location: Flahdaw | Thanks, yeah I know I can believe it or not, and I don't believe it. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I had 20 guitars... But I brought the Painted T to the PNW Gathering.
Coulda brought the Sweet T or an Adamas or a Flame T... But I brought the unique one.
Nowadays I have been playing a Red Flame GCXT with a Crack in it.
Which brings us back to the Original Topic...
That is a Nasty Crack. But if the guitar still sounds good and plays well, it might be worth $400
(hopefully with a case).
You would have to play it, which I am guessing that you have, and decide from there.
If you humidified that guitar for a while, that crack might close-up a bunch.
(That crack on my GCXT closed-up a lot with some humidity)
You will always be able to see that crack, but if the guitar sounds good... Who Cares?
A little bit of Sharpie marker goes a long way, then you are good to go!
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Location: SoCal | There was a show, a special on, about 14 years ago that had older country stars playing and telling stories. At one point, Glen Campbell was playing Willie's guitar and he even commented on how great the tone was.
As to the hole in it, I've always believed (only based on the photos) that it's not pick wear but damage of some sort. It hasn't changed in 30 years and the edges are too sharp. But that's an opinion and I honestly don't know. Might be that the pick wear weakened areas around the top and the edges snapped off..... |
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Location: Texas | Paul... I looked it up and he takes it to a guy in Austin by the name of Mark Erlewine Here is a picture of him treating the deterioration... http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3054/2883763787_2a7ae9237a.jpg?v=0 |
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Location: SoCal | Now that's cool... |
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Location: NJ | absolutely pick wear and that boys and girl is the reason that you need to practice good technique. Obviously willie has a really lazy right hand and scrapes the top of the guitar with his pick or at least he did scrape the top until he no longer has a top |
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Location: New Jersey | Actually Arthur, I did not play the guitar- it's in Illinois and I'm in Jersey. I have bought numerous items including my Ovation Celebrity and both my Parker guitars from GC without playing them first. Normally I would never do that, but Guitar Center has a 30 day money back deal, so nothing to lose really. Every item I've bought has been at the least exactly as described, and in a couple of cases even better. I was almost willing to give it a shot if the price was a bit lower, and if my guitar guy said he could fix it for a decent price. The deciding factor for me actually was the missing tuner- I'm thinking if a high end guitar is in this bad shape, what else could be wrong with it? I'll just keep looking. Green isn't one of my favorite colors anyway.  |
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Location: Massachusetts | ..."the good ol' boy, just gettin' by on tips and handouts, riding the rails to the next dusty town."
That made me laugh - thanks!
Bob |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I met Willie and his wife Connie when they lived in Evergreen, CO. My first wife knew Connie even better as their kids were enrolled in her class (she was a school teacher) and she often drove them home. This would have been in the early 80's. We were in their house a few times. If anything, it leaned a bit toward the underfurnished side of decorating. A bare mattress on the floor was regularly used by some of his friends staying at the house. There were also lots of guitars leaning against the walls or sitting on top of their cases. He was about as unpretentious a star as there ever was. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | So Brad, back in the 80's did you get to share some of Willie's famous stash? |
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Location: SoCal | stephent28 - 2012-03-26 3:23 PM
So Brad, back in the 80's did you get to share some of Willie's famous stash?
He' probably never smoke weed with Willie again.... |
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Custom Legend 1769- opinions?
