Gibson Byrdland

[audioforgery]

Ok gearheads, front and center!!

I've got a friend who's looking for a reasonably priced Gibson Byrdland. He's been to most of the sites, and can't find anything even remotely affordable. If anybody's got a take on where to look, it would help.

Why are Byrdies so expensive anyway? -- Gruhn guitars (www.guitars.com) has one for 7.5k, and another for 15k!

 

[foo]

I checked the Gruhn site to see what it was they had for sale. Gruhn's is world renowned for it's vintage guitars - the $7500 is for a guitar made in 1958 in exceptionally fine condition (EXF) which means virtually new condition.
Just the fact that it has PAF pickups (Patent Applied For) puts about $400 - $600 on the price (or more - I haven't been keeping up with current prices).The $15000 one is no longer listed, but it was probably mint condition, very rare color or custom job from the 50's.
Generally speaking, Gibsons made before 1966 are more expensive than those made after that.(There's lots of small details involved in that, email me if you want more info.)
A newer, but used Byrdland is probably available for a lot less. Check out Vintage Guitar magazine (www.vguitar.com) for a list of dealers in your area.

Also, you can buy guitars through the mail. Most reputable dealers will FedEx/UPS guitars to you with a 24-hour approval. If you live in a remote area, this works really well as you can get a top-of-the-line guitar or two delivered to your door for the cost of the return shipping. No questions asked if you don't like it ship it back in the same condition and it costs you the shipping (typically $20 - $30)
foo

[This message has been edited by foo (edited 11-23-1999).]

 

[audioforgery]

Thanks, Foo - I forwarded the vguitar site to my bud after perusing their wares. I'm betting the "early byrdie's" are so much more expensive because they were hand-crafted with painstaking detail. Don't find that much these days.