What's it worth?

[Philip0812]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this site and I'm asking for help. My  father-in-law recently passed away and left my wife 13 guitars, electric and acoustic. One of them is a Hamer GDBS-XC serial number 230715. We are considering selling some of them but would like help appraising it. Most were played very little because of his health. Thank you. 

 

[hamerhead]

Welcome, and sorry for your loss.

I believe you have a '92 Diablo which, depending on condition, is in the $500-$800 range. A picture is worth a thousand words in this case - we can tell you a lot more if we can see it. Take some good clear pictures and post them up. You'll need them anyways to sell it. Besides, guitar porn is what most of us live for.

(^^^ this was posted before the pics were up)

[cynic]

If you need assistance with pricing or identifying any of the other guitars, the expertise here goes well beyond the Hamer universe. Dishwashers, microwaves, motorcycles, parachutes, cabinetry, lawnmowers, carpet, etc...the depth and breadth of the knowledge here has no end.

[hamerhead]

^^^ That's hilarious! And so true. We have quite a wide variety of savants around here.

[SSII x 2]

Sorry for your recent loss.  Nice looking guitar for sure.  GLWtS...

[cynic]

That is indeed a USA made Diablo. Three recent sales on ebay (the green one is the same guitar by the same seller) has them selling at $500-$600.  There are some that have nicely figured birds-eye maple necks or other fret inlays that can drive the pricing higher, but your dad's is a pretty ordinary example.

If you're looking at current ebay auctions to get an idea of what you'll ask, be aware that some of current Diablo's listed are Korean made (Slammer Series) instruments.  In some cases the seller wants more for them than the USA models are fetching.

[Philip0812]

Thanks for all of the help. This is another one that has no serial number or other markings on it at all. I think it may be a custom job. I would love to get your opinions. 

[murkat]

^ import asian made shredder type. It is made to look good, probably that is about it.

The case is probably worth more than the guitar.

$200. tops. maybe more if you are lucky on  your local CL.

The USA Hamer Diablo is very nice. clean.

Keep them coming

[Philip0812]

Thanks murkat. I appreciate the help as I don't have much knowledge of guitars, especially electric. Here is his Fender Strat. No serial number that I can see. 

[murkat]

2 minutes ago, Philip0812 said:

No serial number that I can see. 

check the back of the headstock.

knobs look like replacements, and should be three control knobs.

Plot thickens.

[Philip0812]

I'll check for the serial number when I get back home from work. 

[killerteddybear]

3 hours ago, hamerhead said:

We have quite a wide variety of savants around here.

Mostly idiot savants. And hold the savant!

[Philip0812]

On 11/16/2016 at 11:47 AM, murkat said:

check the back of the headstock.

knobs look like replacements, and should be three control knobs.

Plot thickens.

 I checked and there is no number. I did some further investigation and the Strat is probably a fake. 

[Philip0812]

On 11/16/2016 at 11:34 AM, murkat said:

^ import asian made shredder type. It is made to look good, probably that is about it.

The case is probably worth more than the guitar.

$200. tops. maybe more if you are lucky on  your local CL.

The USA Hamer Diablo is very nice. clean.

Keep them coming

Here is another one of his guitars. It's a Lag serial number 2001226. 

[hamerhead]

Hey new guy - check your PMs!

Some pretty neat stuff so far.

[cynic]

Does the Lag have Made in France printed on the back of the headstock (perhaps another word above it?), and where is the serial located?

It looks like a 2002 or earlier instrument (Roxanne became Roxane in 2003).

[Philip0812]

9 minutes ago, cynic said:

Does the Lag have Made in France printed on the back of the headstock (perhaps another word above it?), and where is the serial located?

It looks like a 2002 or earlier instrument (Roxanne became Roxane in 2003).

Yes. Made in France is on back. I forgot to take a pic of it.  I'm not sure of the location of the serial number and I will take a picture of it when I get home from work   

[murkat]

 the Lag has asian parts on it as well.

[Philip0812]

26 minutes ago, murkat said:

 the Lag has asian parts on it as well.

Ok. Thanks for the info. Are there parts available to get it back to stock?

[murkat]

21 minutes ago, Philip0812 said:

get it back to stock?

the guitar already appears to be "stock" with the asian parts.

Just because it says "made in France" somewhere on the guitar, means that it is entirely true....

 

Plenty of "Chibsons" here in the States.....

[Philip0812]

2 minutes ago, murkat said:

the guitar already appears to be "stock" with the asian parts.

Just because it says "made in France" somewhere on the guitar, means that it is entirely true....

 

Plenty of "Chibsons" here in the States.....

 Ok.  Does it hurt the value of the guitar to have the Asian parts on it?

[cmatthes]

Not if they're original parts to the guitar.

Some high-quality brands/makers use USA or German parts, but some also use high-quality Japanese or Korean made parts.  Cheaper guitars (or counterfeits) use Chinese-made, lower quality hardware.

[cynic]

The Gotoh bridge is factory spec, and using Asian parts makes perfect sense given the guitar was made in the country at the epicenter of the metric system.  It doesn't hurt the value at all for anyone interested in owning an all original LAG guitar.  It might lessen your pool of buyers because many prefer the wide selection of replacement parts made to fit standard Gibson or Fender dimensions.

Speaking of the pool of buyers, I'm not sure LAG even has much of a market outside of Europe.  If you've tried to research them at all I'm sure you've noticed a lack of info in English.  

Hopefully some of our Euro members can chime in with a better guess on quality and pricing.

With both a Hamer and Lag in his collection, your dad wasn't much of a beaten path type guy was he.

 

[Philip0812]

15 minutes ago, cmatthes said:

Not if they're original parts to the guitar.

Some high-quality brands/makers use USA or German parts, but some also use high-quality Japanese or Korean made parts.  Cheaper guitars (or counterfeits) use Chinese-made, lower quality hardware.

 Well I learned something new today.  Do you have an estimated value because I can't locate any that have sold recently.  Also I have more guitars but they are acoustic or a hybrid type. I wasnt sure if you'd be interested in seeing them. 

[Philip0812]

2 hours ago, cynic said:

The Gotoh bridge is factory spec, and using Asian parts makes perfect sense given the guitar was made in the country at the epicenter of the metric system.  It doesn't hurt the value at all for anyone interested in owning an all original LAG guitar.  It might lessen your pool of buyers because many prefer the wide selection of replacement parts made to fit standard Gibson or Fender dimensions.

Speaking of the pool of buyers, I'm not sure LAG even has much of a market outside of Europe.  If you've tried to research them at all I'm sure you've noticed a lack of info in English.  

Hopefully some of our Euro members can chime in with a better guess on quality and pricing.

With both a Hamer and Lag in his collection, your dad wasn't much of a beaten path type guy was he.

 

No he wasn't. That's what was so great about him. Here is more proof in an acoustic. It's his Blueberry crocodile  which is all handcarved.

[mc2]

LAG makes some nice guitars but isn't much known in the U.S. They are like a French Fender, albeit a tiny company. Vigier, another French builder, is better known. Their non-inport (meaning Made in France) stuff is nice and they have had some name endorsers.

The Blueberry carved acoustics vary in $$$, depending how intricate and how early a SN#. They use American trained luthiers and carvers in Bali, so the quality is much better than typical Asian/Pacific guitars.