NGD - 2007 Gibson ES-335 Canada Custom

[benum47]

I remember seeing one of these when they came out in 2007, a limited run of 50 for the Canadian distributor of Gibson (Yorkville Sound). I believe it's based on a 1963 335 custom with factory Bigsby (with a plate over the holes for the regular bridge). It was going for crazy money (3k+ I think) back then but I found one local for 2200 yesterday. I traded a Gibson songwriter deluxe 12 acoustic and an Epiphone Les Paul Custom for it.

Do you think it's limited run origin (1 of 50) will impact its value in the future?

For now, I'm digging the way it plays and sounds...

[pirateflynn]

that's a fun ride.

[cmatthes]

That's an incredibly cool guitar, and I think you got a helluva score on it.

Do I think that being in a run of 50 will impact it's future value or desirability? Honestly? Not really all that much. Gibson (and Fender) are putting out so many higher end collectible runs that they've totally diluted the market. I remember some of the limited runs from 30 years ago that were designed as "collector" instruments. Some of those were hot up until a decade or so ago, but with few exceptions, the new collectible market kind of stays flat. Simply too much out there.

The limited runs to have gotten way back when, in my opinion, would include the Guitar Trader Flametop reissues, things like the Lonnie Mack Vees from '94, PRS Dragons, and stuff like that. I remember in the mid-'90s, when you could actually pick out the limited runs that the big guys were putting out, because they were few and far between (HLE Strats, Custom Shop Firebird VIIs, etc.). Even those aren't going for all that much more, and often for much less than they were a few years ago. For the last 15 or so years, the big guys all crank out so many "Limited Runs" and "Dealer Exclusives", that nobody can really keep track of them, and although many are incredibly cool, I wouldn't expect any of them to even so much as double in the next decade or so.

I also have this theory that in the next 10-15 years, all those aging baby boomers who bought all these "collectibles" and vintage pieces are going to have a mass liquidation as they prepare for nursing homes and smaller quarters, further driving prices down and killing the market. There just isn't sufficient interest in whatever the hell Clapton played on the "Beano" album to anybody under 50-55 or so. Most people younger than 50 have never heard that record and couldn't care less about chasing down that "woman tone" that the older Gear Pagers and Les Paul Forum guys get wood over. That was the sound of THEIR youth, not mine. The kids buying guitars today are more interested in Schecter and Squier stuff than what I consider to be the classic stuff. Their heroes don't play '50s Les Pauls and 335s and Pre-CBS Fenders - they play black on black 7 string death machines!

Anyway, not trying to open up a rant or tangent or anything - your guitar is freakin' cool as hell, and I mean that sincerely. Would I even think about investing in it for possible future increased value? Never. Play the hell out of it and enjoy it now - you got a kick ass guitar for a smokin' price!

[JohnnyB]

^^^^

The important thing is if you like the guitar. The value of something is based on the combination of supply and demand. By having limited runs, the guitar makers limit supply, but whether there is outsized demand rests in the desires of the market. Sometimes it's a big hit, and sometimes it's a very nice guitar that makes the right buyer happy. You got a really cool guitar at an excellent price.

[crunchee]

Beauty! Needs some Stanley Cup inlays and Rush stickers, though.

[lincsman]

Very very nice congrats

[serial]

That guitar looks awesome. Great score no matter what collectibility might be!