would you pay $1000 for this tele?

angry tele

L'effet c'est moi
http://norfolk.craigslist.org/msg/4614164255.html

MIM 50s Classic which are $800 new.
but dude put $600 into it
and thinks its worth $1000 now.
I think its worth about $500.

If I bought it I would replace the pickguard which doesnt look good
get rid of the neck pickup ring whatever that thing is
get a trad CRL/Oak grisby switch
flip the control plate back around

this is the classic story that proves "upgrades' is 100% subjective and almost always devalues a guitar
 
That's a diesel-billy tele. Bill Kirchen of LCCAPA did those. made the wah-wah type swells easier by hand. Don't think i'd pay 1k for it, but that's a pretty strong group of hardware (imho).
 
I also saw this ad recently...:messedup:
Really, the only true upgrade he did was the Fralin pickups at around $200. I don't know how he got another $400 out of the rest of that crap. I agree that the chrome ring around the neck pickup looks ridiculous. $500 is about right. Nothing wrong with the reverse control plate. I don't like the LP toggle in place of the lever switch though.

:facepalm:
 
He obviously hasn't taken Guitar Economics 101 or he'd know all this.
He's going to the school of hard knocks.
 
That's a hot guitar, and I'm behind all those mods, but I've always been under the impression that you'd take out all the high end upgrades when you sold a piece, since you'd want them in your next guitar, and the next owner would probably want to do his own mods.
 
Just another craigslist dumbass that doesn't realize that putting $600 into something doesn't make it worth $600 more on resale. It's a nice Tele though. I agree with $500 maybe even $600.
 
I paid $425 for my modded 50's Classic Tele in '07. The two previous owners had swapped the tuners, bridge saddles, and routed for a neck humbucker. I have since added a bigsby, and had the tech who did the routing install a traditional tele pickup and a 4 way switch. I also replaced the pickguard with an 8 hole version as the one-ply versions it came with (the original pickguard was included) never stayed down. Even after all that, I could probably only get $600 for it, at best. So no way. Mods are done for the player, not for resale.
 
i paid $100 for this MIM 60s classic body.
it has been routed for a neck bucker which is why it was so cheap.
pretty silly as nobody will ever know.

the saddles (glendale) and pickguard alone cost about $120.
pickups (novak) another $160
if I were to sell this I couldnt get more than $200 lol
but I know that.

 
Last edited:
He'd do better parting it out.
I dig the LP switch. Tele switches are not my favorite.
Looks good and that Callaham and Glendale stuff is very pricey.
But in the end, the market still sees an MIM telecaster. $1k is too much.
 
regardless of the parts upgrades, in the end it's STILL a MIM tele.
upgrades are great if you're doing it for YOU......but not so much if yer trying to make $$
 
Mods make the guitar more suitable for the person doing them but rarely have a positive effect on resale value.

People want to get a stock guitar and do their own mods. A mod that appeals to one buyer usually turns off two more.
 
Back
Top