Someone PLEASE identify this odd "MIJ" les paul co

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cyberpunk409

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ok, here's the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/LES-PAUL-VINTAGE-MIJ-MADE-IN-JAPAN_W0QQitemZ160084819403QQihZ006QQcategoryZ2384QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

now the seller simply REFUSES to remove the sticker covering the brand name... no matter how much anyone asks, he refuses, instead claiming he does not want to "damage" the headstock. I quote: "i dont want to be responsible for removing the sticker in case i removed paint or damage the finish"

So my initial thoughts are that he's hiding something, covering something up that he KNOWS is fishy. Well if that's the way he wants to be, so be it.

So i turn to you guys for help... as you can see;
- the headstock has the gibson LP shape
- headstock has 2 side wings glued to it, just like gibsons
- serial number is 08069679, i can confirm this since he sent me a CLEAR picture of the back of the headstock
- it has an approx 1cm thick maple cap
- p'up have braided wiring (of course they could be aftermarket)
- fret ends do appear to be bound

this is all i know. there is NO decal/logo where the "Les Paul MODEL" would be on a real gibson, its just blank.

so if anyone can throw some suggestions my way, i'd greatly appreciate it. He had to relist it since no one bid even $400 the first time around...
 
but by doing so i could be missing out on something good. surely someone will see the serial number i posted and recognise the number format.
 
ok ..if you insist..

does not look like orville burny greco or tokai late 70's early 80's however there were many many other brands....the specs look decent .....who cares what the headstock says...

especially at the opening price you cant lose...
 
nah, once you start bidding other people automatically assume someone out there has verified this as being MIJ then they start bidding too, by the end of it you're way over the $800 "buy it now" price tag. If im gonna go for this, its gonna be "buy it now" or hold out til the last 5mins and then bid... history has shown that i am PATHETIC at the latter option, instead bidding it up days before its end.

i guess to some extent it DOES matter what it says on the headstock, otherwise i could be bidding for a birch bodied, alder capped, maple veneered, MIK piece of crap. The long neck tennon does nothing to prove or disprove that its MIJ, as i have seen low end korean guitars with them too, it's all about how tightly the neck was fitted into its pocket, which is where japanese craftsmenship exceeds.

i'm leaning towards it POSSIBLY being a greco, what other lesser know brand could it also be villager? cheers
 
I think he's just having you on. There are 100's of correct headstock LP's in the Ochanomizu on any given day. He's made several purchases from Sigler music and they sell a lot of low end guitars.
 
a few months ago i decided to start saving headstock pics from sellers on yahoo japan amd i must have 30 or 40 already...there were literally dozens of names on headstocks, i doubt there were that many factories but it seems those that did exist were putting out a lot of guitars. theres a used Storm les paul type in a local shop that i picked up to examine last week and you can actually see the plywood ridges along the edge of the body.
be vewy vewy careful.
 
sounds like good advice guys! i wish he lived nearby so i could examine it in person and 'accidentally' rip off that sticker lol. but he's more than 1000miles away so thats not an option. i will hang out for a tokai burny greco orville or elitist. cheers again
 
cyberpunk409 said:
sounds like good advice guys! i wish he lived nearby so i could examine it in person and 'accidentally' rip off that sticker lol. but he's more than 1000miles away so thats not an option. i will hang out for a tokai burny greco orville or elitist. cheers again
HAH...he lives 2 hours away from me...I could "contact the seller" and go down and sneak a peek under the tape for you.
My guess is that the brand is ANSON....denoted by a dirty big "A" on the headstock....I know most of the MIJ brands that were sold here in Australia in the 70's/80's and unless it's a TOKAI/GRECO or IBANEZ it's certainly not worth the buy now price in AUS dollars.
It's possible that it's a BURNY as there have been a few 70's/80's bargains floating around locally lately.
 
I contacted the seller and asked him:
"Did you seriously buy that guitar with tape stuck over the headstock?
Who buys a guitar in that condition?"
His reply:
"yes i did.. i bought the guitar not knowing the brand. brands mean nothing to me..its about where it was made.. this guitar is fantastic quality as you would know if you own anything japanese... have you seen the money you pay for brand names.. and that doesnt mean quality.. have you seen current model gibsons? just terrible and they cost thousands,.. anything else you want to know?"
My reply:
"Yeah...as it happens I'm a collector of MIJ guitars and Les Pauls in particular.
Me personally....I have never nor would I ever pay good money for a guitar with "sticky tape" covering the name.
As for paying money for a brand name?
What do you think makes these guitars collectable?
The quality of TOKAI,GRECO,BURNY etc gotes hand in hand with their brand names to make them collectable...NO collector will pay a cent for this axe without knowing the brand beforehand.
Your auction is already the talk of the MIJ collector's forums and people have been warned....I live 2 hours away from you and if you are serious about wanting to sell this guitar I'd be happy to inspect it...there is a forum member who has been asking forum member's opinions about your guitar and is quite happy to pay your buy now price...but NOT without knowing the brand."
Se if he invites me down to see it in person :p
 
hoo yeah! nice one! he sent me a similar message claiming that brand names mean nothing blah blah blah.

i also told him that if he removes the tape and takes a photo and it turns out to be one of the better japanese makes then he's just sold an axe for his buy it now price.

he CLEARLY knows what's beneath that tape, could you imagine yourself, or ANY guitar enthusiast/player buying a guitar like that and NOT ripping the tape off as the first thing? highly unlikely hey? if i bought it from someone, the FIRST thing i would do, before i even changed strings and tuned it, before i EVEN strummed the **** thing, would be to rip that tape RIGHT OFF!

he knows its a crappy brand, but even a crappy branded, genuine MIJ with long neck tennon and bound fret edges would be worth $400 to me, so if you do get a chance to check this guys **** out, please do and keep us posted, CHEERS!!!
 
Lol...I may have been a bit harsh with this seller.
After a few back and forth emails...one of which I was asked if I was a stalker :eek: ....the seller has taken my advice and updated his listing:

"STICKER IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REMOVED. PLEASE CHECK BACK TOMORROW FOR ALL TO BE REVEALED. NEW PHOTOS AFTER I BUY SOME EUCALYPTUS OIL TO REMOVE THE DECAL"

I advised him to remove the sticker and clean the finish with Eucalyptus oil and showed him pics of my V which had a few stickers on it.
Pays to be a nag I guess 8)
 
nice work!!! i look forward to seeing just what it is. of course this could work against me if it does turn out to be a high end MIJ guitar and he ups the buy it now price. we'll see...
 
I noticed that the seller makes many claims in his listing yet he has no photos to back up his claims.

I would give this seller the time of day; he can go hump a dead donkey.............................
 
See how we go ...he's supposed to be emailing me the pics today. 8)
 
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