Hello Boys, It's LesPawl aka John W way west of Chitown

[Lefty4Sale]

I came back and low and behold, I forgot my username and password. So, I just decided to open a new account.

First off, hello, hello, hello. I haven't read the forum in forever, nor have I touched a guitar in a few years. Okay, I actually have noodled here and there, but you know what I mean.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life. Me, not so much. In 2019 I had a regular run of the mill left hip replacement surgery, and it went totally sideways. Within a period of 12 months I had a total of 5 major surgeries, and I've never been the same since. I live in constant pain that ranges from just annoying to downright miserable. My ability to do everything I formerly loved to do is forever gone. I have a constant limp and am very limited in how far I can walk. The only exercise i can do now all takes place in the pool. I'm not whining, because I know so many others are far worse off than I am. My cousin is a big time medical malpractice attorney in Chicago, and he was all over me to sue the surgeon and the hospital. I finally had to tell him to stop calling me. My philosophy in life has always been, A Card Laid, Is A Card Played.
I've decided to unload aka sell at least 50 guitars and a bunch of other stuff. I'm going the Reverb route, because it seems to be the easiest way. I took a few guitars to Guitar Center and they offered a whopping 60% of what they'd sell them for. I said thanks, but no thanks. They had a 3010se lefty in pretty nice shape for 450$. They are asking $400 ish for nice AL2000's. It seems to me, they're moving stuff pretty dang fast too.

Anyhoo, I came back to say hi and share a few discoveries, which I'll add to this thread over time. Right now, it's dinner time, and I'm hongry. TTYL

Again, hope everyone is well. I kinda missed this place. I was also a regular on a few other forums, precision shooting, 3 gun, and of course, my downfall, cigars. I haven't been on them at all either.

I hope Nick and Bubba are still around, and of course Mickey the fabulous lefty down Florida way.

Peace guys/ John

[sabasgr68]

I came back and low and behold, I forgot my username and password. So, I just decided to open a new account.

First off, hello, hello, hello. I haven't read the forum in forever, nor have I touched a guitar in a few years. Okay, I actually have noodled here and there, but you know what I mean.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life. Me, not so much. In 2019 I had a regular run of the mill left hip replacement surgery, and it went totally sideways. Within a period of 12 months I had a total of 5 major surgeries, and I've never been the same since. I live in constant pain that ranges from just annoying to downright miserable. My ability to do everything I formerly loved to do is forever gone. I have a constant limp and am very limited in how far I can walk. The only exercise i can do now all takes place in the pool. I'm not whining, because I know so many others are far worse off than I am. My cousin is a big time medical malpractice attorney in Chicago, and he was all over me to sue the surgeon and the hospital. I finally had to tell him to stop calling me. My philosophy in life has always been, A Card Laid, Is A Card Played.
I've decided to unload aka sell at least 50 guitars and a bunch of other stuff. I'm going the Reverb route, because it seems to be the easiest way. I took a few guitars to Guitar Center and they offered a whopping 60% of what they'd sell them for. I said thanks, but no thanks. They had a 3010se lefty in pretty nice shape for 450$. They are asking $400 ish for nice AL2000's. It seems to me, they're moving stuff pretty dang fast too.

Anyhoo, I came back to say hi and share a few discoveries, which I'll add to this thread over time. Right now, it's dinner time, and I'm hongry. TTYL

Again, hope everyone is well. I kinda missed this place. I was also a regular on a few other forums, precision shooting, 3 gun, and of course, my downfall, cigars. I haven't been on them at all either.

I hope Nick and Bubba are still around, and of course Mickey the fabulous lefty down Florida way.

Peace guys/ John

Hello, John @Lefty4Sale ! I´m happy to know about you, I´ve been wondering all this time how you´ve been doing. So, as happy as I feel to know from you, I´m sorry for what you´ve been through. You told us about your hip surgery in the old forum, and if I remember correctly, you said the recoverying was slow and with some pain. I´m really sorry it hasn´t been going as well as you´d expected - and we -. But I applaude your attitude, and encourage you to keep nurturing it - it takes a lot of sheer will, I know -. Will have you in my thoughts.

Talk later, friend.

[Lefty4Sale]

Thanks, Sabas. I hope things are well with you my friend. It's nice to hear from you again brother.

[Lefty4Sale]

Okay, so here's my first discovery, and it was both surprising while at the same time kinda weird and disappointing. The method I'm using for selling off my guitars is to just pick a case randomly, and whatever's in there goes up for sale. The first one I picked was my one and only AL-3200. I purchased it on sale from Rondo in Oct of 2015. Paid 399.99 plus 18.75 shipping. The day it arrived here i went over it with a fine tooth comb. I also weighed it and wrote the weight on the back of the receipt. It weighed in at a hefty 10 1/4 pounds on the dot. The guitar is very striking looking, and that neck thru is just very cool. The problem I had with it from day one is that acoustically, it was DOA. I've never heard a deader sounding guitar save for a PRS SE which I bought new from Sweetwater.
Something I obviously overlooked on the 3200, and the reason it was 399.99 is now plain as day to the naked eye. The poly finish, which seems like it's 1/4" thick has a single wave that is easily 1/16 to 1/8th of an inch higher than the rest of the poly just under the bridge. I totally missed that on day one. It's glaring now and just pops out. Man, I was very disappointed too spot that. The guitar has sat in an HSC for the better part of 7 years. It's spotless and looks like new outta the box. When I took it out of the case, the first thing I did was weigh it. I was shocked to see that it had lost almost 3/4 of a pound. I had no idea Rondo shipped the Agiles with that much moisture in the wood. At first I thought, uh oh,it's been way too dry in the house, but, that's not the case. The fret ends are as smooth as can be. After weighing it, I tuned it and strummed a bunch of chords. I'll be danged if this guitar doesn't sing like a totally thin nitro finished guitar now. I was shocked at how loud it was acoustically and how long the chords would sing.
So now I'm left with a very pretty guitar, that now weighs way less than it did, and it sings beautifully. I'm going to take a guess here and say it wasn't the thick poly that deadened the guitar, it was the excess moisture in the wood. Amazingly, the neck is perfectly straight and the frets are amazingly well leveled. My problem is, I can't sell it now. The Poly finish flaw just jumps right out at you as the light hits the body. I've been watching the market on Reverb and GC, this would have easily sold for 500 bucks plus shipping if it didn't have this dang flaw. I'm just going to keep it. I'm planning on having the poly totally taken down and converting it into a Matte finish. One of the guys I know from where I use to play a lot is really good at refinishing and he loves to do it. We'll see how that turns out.
I grabbed an AL-2000 in Tiger Eye and an AL-3100MCC with the same finish as the 3200. Those are going up this week or next. Myy deal is simple, if they sell, good. If not, I don't really care. I'd rather have them sitting with someone who's going to give them the love they deserve rather than just sitting is the case.
Yes, another long winded post. Sorry fellas, but that weight difference in the 3200 just blew my mind.

Peace

[sabasgr68]

Okay, so here's my first discovery, and it was both surprising while at the same time kinda weird and disappointing. The method I'm using for selling off my guitars is to just pick a case randomly, and whatever's in there goes up for sale. The first one I picked was my one and only AL-3200. I purchased it on sale from Rondo in Oct of 2015. Paid 399.99 plus 18.75 shipping. The day it arrived here i went over it with a fine tooth comb. I also weighed it and wrote the weight on the back of the receipt. It weighed in at a hefty 10 1/4 pounds on the dot. The guitar is very striking looking, and that neck thru is just very cool. The problem I had with it from day one is that acoustically, it was DOA. I've never heard a deader sounding guitar save for a PRS SE which I bought new from Sweetwater.
Something I obviously overlooked on the 3200, and the reason it was 399.99 is now plain as day to the naked eye. The poly finish, which seems like it's 1/4" thick has a single wave that is easily 1/16 to 1/8th of an inch higher than the rest of the poly just under the bridge. I totally missed that on day one. It's glaring now and just pops out. Man, I was very disappointed too spot that. The guitar has sat in an HSC for the better part of 7 years. It's spotless and looks like new outta the box. When I took it out of the case, the first thing I did was weigh it. I was shocked to see that it had lost almost 3/4 of a pound. I had no idea Rondo shipped the Agiles with that much moisture in the wood. At first I thought, uh oh,it's been way too dry in the house, but, that's not the case. The fret ends are as smooth as can be. After weighing it, I tuned it and strummed a bunch of chords. I'll be danged if this guitar doesn't sing like a totally thin nitro finished guitar now. I was shocked at how loud it was acoustically and how long the chords would sing.
So now I'm left with a very pretty guitar, that now weighs way less than it did, and it sings beautifully. I'm going to take a guess here and say it wasn't the thick poly that deadened the guitar, it was the excess moisture in the wood. Amazingly, the neck is perfectly straight and the frets are amazingly well leveled. My problem is, I can't sell it now. The Poly finish flaw just jumps right out at you as the light hits the body. I've been watching the market on Reverb and GC, this would have easily sold for 500 bucks plus shipping if it didn't have this dang flaw. I'm just going to keep it. I'm planning on having the poly totally taken down and converting it into a Matte finish. One of the guys I know from where I use to play a lot is really good at refinishing and he loves to do it. We'll see how that turns out.
I grabbed an AL-2000 in Tiger Eye and an AL-3100MCC with the same finish as the 3200. Those are going up this week or next. Myy deal is simple, if they sell, good. If not, I don't really care. I'd rather have them sitting with someone who's going to give them the love they deserve rather than just sitting is the case.
Yes, another long winded post. Sorry fellas, but that weight difference in the 3200 just blew my mind.

Peace

Very interesting.

Well, since I get sad every time someone gets rid of his AL3200, I´m happy you´re keeping it. Without having one of those never, I know that´s one of the best ALs to have.

[bc rich]

i feel for your mail order neck thru issues , maybe there is something to a guitar that has aged. like back in the day of mail order brides.

[honyock]

Welcome back, sorry to hear about the pain issues.

Best wishes on the big sell-off, hopefully it continues to be a sellers market. This time of year is always good for guitar sales (tax money burning a hole is people's pockets.)

I have been surprised at how high used Agiles have been listed on Guitar Center. I've wondered if GC actually pays over new price for those $400 AL2000s and whatnot.

It felt a little wrong selling my AL3200MCC last month for what I had in it (after accounting for inflation) compared to what I saw lesser Agiles going for, but I haven't lost any sleep about it after I let it go. It was one of my "Rondo B-stock price too good to pass up" guitars not one I sought out due to finish. (ocean burst. Meh.)

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[Jaymo]

Welcome back.
I’m truly sorry to hear of your medical issues.
I’m always glad to see posts by any of the guys from the old AGF.

[Lefty4Sale]

Welcome back, sorry to hear about the pain issues.

Best wishes on the big sell-off, hopefully it continues to be a sellers market. This time of year is always good for guitar sales (tax money burning a hole is people's pockets.)

I have been surprised at how high used Agiles have been listed on Guitar Center. I've wondered if GC actually pays over new price for those $400 AL2000s and whatnot.

It felt a little wrong selling my AL3200MCC last month for what I had in it (after accounting for inflation) compared to what I saw lesser Agiles going for, but I haven't lost any sleep about it after I let it go. It was one of my "Rondo B-stock price too good to pass up" guitars not one I sought out due to finish. (ocean burst. Meh.)

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

honyock, good to see you're still around brother. Speaking of B Stock 3200's, I think that's what King Kurt sold me, but didn't bother to tell me. LOL. It's also a "my bad" for not noticing the defect in the poly, certainly not Kurt's. He's always been more than fair with me, so zero complaints.
As far as selling guitars, I won't lose any sleep over any of them. I'm just not into it as much as I once was. OTOH, if they don't sell, I'm also fine with that.
It's funny you bring up Ocean Burst. Man I was crazy mad for those 5 years ago. I bought 2 of them. A 3010se (still my favorite Agile model and a great value) and a 3100 MCC. These days, when I look at them, I ask myself what I was thinking? Ii guess it's like anything else in life, taste changes.
I did but a Gibson Flying V from a guy I use to jam with. It was a newer model. he gave me a fair but not great deal. For the life of me, I couldn't get comfortable playing it. It did sound amazing though. I ended up selling to another guy who comes by our jam place for 150 less than I paid and he loves it.
Hope all is well my friend.

John

[Lefty4Sale]

Welcome back.
I’m truly sorry to hear of your medical issues.
I’m always glad to see posts by any of the guys from the old AGF.

Hi Jaymo,
Good to see you still around as well, buddy. Yeah, the medical issues suck, but it is, what it is. I'm making the most out of it, and feel pretty lucky to have survived the whole kerfuffle. Keep rocking brotha.

John

[andrewsrea]

@Lefty4Sale (John): nice to have you back!

Sorry to hear of your trials, but sounds like you are facing them head-on with grace. So is the sell off because your condition isn't conducive to playing, or just time to thin?

[toomanycats]

Woooooo! Jon Way is in the house! Love those Agile video reviews!

Oh wait . . . . it's not really him.



Just kidding John, I know it's really you. Glad to see you come back. Honestly though, the thread title did fool me for a few seconds.

[Lefty4Sale]

@Lefty4Sale (John): nice to have you back!

Sorry to hear of your trials, but sounds like you are facing them head-on with grace. So is the sell off because your condition isn't conducive to playing, or just time to thin?

Hey Rob,
How are you man? The sell off is really because I'm tired of my wife whining about all the guitars and gear that I never use any longer just taking up space. As far as playing goes, fortunately, the perma damage to my hip and left side has no effect on my playing at all. I still listen to music every day, for hours. I just kind of grew tired of playing. It might have something to do with the fact that right when I got to the point where I was getting good enough to jump into the next level and learn a lot more, my passion for the guitar just wasn't there.
It's kind of hard to explain, because music is still my favorite thing in life, after family, of course. It also dawned on me, way too late, I just had way too much stuff for an amateur player. I'd like to think that whoever ends up with the stuff I sell will give it the love it deserves. I'm planning on keeping 20 or so guitars, and several amps. This way, when the mood strikes, I can noodle around and maybe find the passion again. I hope you and your family are doing well brother. It's really great to see these old familiar names again. A lot of you guys here had a huge positive effect on me as I was coming up in the guitar world. I'll always be grateful for that.

John

[Lefty4Sale]

Woooooo! Jon Way is in the house! Love those Agile video reviews!

Oh wait . . . . it's not really him.



Just kidding John, I know it's really you. Glad to see you come back. Honestly though, the thread title did fool me for a few seconds.

Hey buddy, long time no see or hear from you. Last time I looked, you were playing some major league kick butt guitar man. Your blues playing impressed me big time. Hope you, the Mrs. and all the furry babies are doing well. John Way, wow, I haven't seen a vid of him in a long while. He did really nice, easy to follow reviews. Take it easy TMC, so good to hear from you again, thanks.

John

[BatUtilityBelt]

Welcome back! Getting older definitely sucks, but the alternative is worse.

[Lefty4Sale]

Welcome back! Getting older definitely sucks, but the alternative is worse.

Thanks Bat, I don't mind old, i'm way past my use by date, so I feel kinda lucky. The infection that came after surgery #2 came very very close to taking me out. Were it not for an amazing infectious disease team, I wouldn't be here right now. I'm pretty lucky.

[Lefty4Sale]

So the madness continues. Today I went to the "pile o guitars" all in the corner of our master bedroom. (in their original inner shipping boxes) Our house isn't that big at all, but the master bedroom is freakishly huge. It makes a perfect spot for my hoarding buys.

I thought I had three Agile 3010SE's. Have I mentioned that's my very favorite Agile model? Turns out I actually have six of them, and only one has more than an hour of playing time on it. I didn't know I had a Blue Flame top, an extra Cherry Sunburst top, making 2 for that color, and what I think is a Root Beer top. Five of the six still have the plastic film on the pickups ans back covers. OMG, it pains me to admit, my wife was right all along, I'm a hoarder.

I also found that I have two Epiphone Cherry Sunburst Plus Top Pro's. I bought a second Black and Gold Epi Custom Pro, because I played the living heck out of the first one. I ended up selling the second one to a friend for what I paid for it less taxes. This all makes me wonder what I'm going to find next? I sure wish these purchases would have all been Gibson's. If so, I might be looking at some nice easy to sell guitars and I might even make a few bucks on them. LOL

Reverb is going to love me. My guess, they even send me a free sticker when I'm done. Kidding, they already sent me a goody bag before they sold out. The shirt is awesome looking, and probably just the right fit for my 105 pound oldest daughter. LOL But hey i got picks, tuners, and stickers galore. Kewl I knew the old owner back from the floor trading days. He wasn't a floor guy himself, but a very well known guy in the option trading business. Smarter than a whip and a real nice fellow.

What I wish right this moment is that GC would have offered 70% of their selling price. It would have been a done deal all in one fell swoop. Rent a U-Haul, drop it all off and go home with a check. This project is going to make me feel like that ginger on YouTube,Troglydine, or whatever his name is. He basically ships as many guitars as your normal fairly busy shop. Me, I'm lazy, I gotta get use to packing them up real well and then making trips to FedEx or UPS.

That's my daily update and whine session. peace fellas

PS, interesting side note: It seems the vast majority of my mad hoarding took place in 2015 according to the receipts.

[dabbler]

OMG, it pains me to admit, my wife was right all along, I'm a hoarder.

PS, interesting side note: It seems the vast majority of my mad hoarding took place in 2015 according to the receipts.

Relax you're among friends... and fellow hoarders. And the wives have us all pegged. I had to admit mine was right when she pointed out that our basement was no longer usable because of my "stuff".

I am recovering from surgery myself, ATM, but I also need to think the herd. But I'm lazy, and don't feel like packing and shipping all this stuff. So I'm looking to get rid of so least don't of it locally.

I wish you much success in your inventory reduction.

Oh yeah, I'm impressed that you kept all of your receipts! All I have is a SS where I recorded dates, prices and specs.

[Lefty4Sale]

OMG, it pains me to admit, my wife was right all along, I'm a hoarder.

PS, interesting side note: It seems the vast majority of my mad hoarding took place in 2015 according to the receipts.

Relax you're among friends... and fellow hoarders. And the wives have us all pegged. I had to admit mine was right when she pointed out that our basement was no longer usable because of my "stuff".

I am recovering from surgery myself, ATM, but I also need to think the herd. But I'm lazy, and don't feel like packing and shipping all this stuff. So I'm looking to get rid of so least don't of it locally.

I wish you much success in your inventory reduction.

Oh yeah, I'm impressed that you kept all of your receipts! All I have is a SS where I recorded dates, prices and specs.

Good Morning Dabbler,

Great to see you still around here too. That guy Major Tom really destroyed the size of our last forum, what a shame.
As far as the inventory reduction, you said the magic words, packing and shipping. Oh man, I'm so not up for that part. I already know to expect payback from all the low ballers on Reverb too. I was the worst when it came to that.

I'm also not comfortable selling locally, only because I've never done it before. I'm going back to Guitar Center today to see if we can work a deal for the entire package. I know I'll be giving up money, but if it saves me the hassle of responding to low ballers, packing, shipping, and dealing with nit pickers after the sale, it's worth every dime to me.

I hope you have a speedy and complete recovery my friend.

Thanks, John

[andrewsrea]

@Lefty4Sale (John): nice to have you back!

Sorry to hear of your trials, but sounds like you are facing them head-on with grace. So is the sell off because your condition isn't conducive to playing, or just time to thin?

Hey Rob,
How are you man? The sell off is really because I'm tired of my wife whining about all the guitars and gear that I never use any longer just taking up space. As far as playing goes, fortunately, the perma damage to my hip and left side has no effect on my playing at all. I still listen to music every day, for hours. I just kind of grew tired of playing. It might have something to do with the fact that right when I got to the point where I was getting good enough to jump into the next level and learn a lot more, my passion for the guitar just wasn't there.
It's kind of hard to explain, because music is still my favorite thing in life, after family, of course. It also dawned on me, way too late, I just had way too much stuff for an amateur player. I'd like to think that whoever ends up with the stuff I sell will give it the love it deserves. I'm planning on keeping 20 or so guitars, and several amps. This way, when the mood strikes, I can noodle around and maybe find the passion again. I hope you and your family are doing well brother. It's really great to see these old familiar names again. A lot of you guys here had a huge positive effect on me as I was coming up in the guitar world. I'll always be grateful for that.

John

I am glad to hear your family is well and you still play when the spirit moves you!

I am doing great! I was laid off in 2020 due to Covid, which advanced my retirement by about a year and a half. Retirement is great, but the days seem to go faster than ever. I wonder how I used to get so much done.

[Lefty4Sale]

@Lefty4Sale (John): nice to have you back!

Sorry to hear of your trials, but sounds like you are facing them head-on with grace. So is the sell off because your condition isn't conducive to playing, or just time to thin?

Hey Rob,
How are you man? The sell off is really because I'm tired of my wife whining about all the guitars and gear that I never use any longer just taking up space. As far as playing goes, fortunately, the perma damage to my hip and left side has no effect on my playing at all. I still listen to music every day, for hours. I just kind of grew tired of playing. It might have something to do with the fact that right when I got to the point where I was getting good enough to jump into the next level and learn a lot more, my passion for the guitar just wasn't there.
It's kind of hard to explain, because music is still my favorite thing in life, after family, of course. It also dawned on me, way too late, I just had way too much stuff for an amateur player. I'd like to think that whoever ends up with the stuff I sell will give it the love it deserves. I'm planning on keeping 20 or so guitars, and several amps. This way, when the mood strikes, I can noodle around and maybe find the passion again. I hope you and your family are doing well brother. It's really great to see these old familiar names again. A lot of you guys here had a huge positive effect on me as I was coming up in the guitar world. I'll always be grateful for that.

John

I am glad to hear your family is well and you still play when the spirit moves you!

I am doing great! I was laid off in 2020 due to Covid, which advanced my retirement by about a year and a half. Retirement is great, but the days seem to go faster than ever. I wonder how I used to get so much done.

Rob, Covid really had such a massive effect on everyone, it's scary. So many people I know, as well as business owners have now moved into a full time remote operation. One of my nest eggs was an investment in commercial real estate, needless to say, it's looking very dire at the moment. One of my cousin's owns a bunch of apartment buildings with retail shops on the ground level. We spoke the other day and he's so upset that so many tenants have just stopped paying rent, he's selling his entire portfolio off. Fortunately, residential properties are still doing well, so he'll be okay.
You make an excellent point on how fast the days go by my friend. Our first grand daughter is going into 8th grade next school year. I honestly remember the day she was born like it was a few weeks ago. I also 100% agree with you, live life to the fullest. Good to hear you're doing good buddy. If you get up north anytime soon, range time at my club is on me.

John

[Lefty4Sale]

Latest Update to Guitar Inventory Reduction Plan

I've decided I'm not up for the packing and shipping hassle. I went to a few local GC's and it looks like one of them wants to play ball for the whole deal at one time. I'll end up with less money, but I don't care about that. The money I give up by selling direct to GC more than makes up for the time and energy I'd waste packing gear up and shipping it. I've looked around a lot at the various selling platforms. Up front, Reverb appears to be a great site, BUT there's literally no human help available (that I can find anyway) in case a deal went south for whatever reason. The new Reverb pales in comparison to the old version. Those people were willing to work, answer questions, and be very helpful. The new version seems to be virtual everything. Who knew selling a ton of guitars could be such a PITA? Nothing's sealed and done yet, but that's the latest, if anyone cares. Peace

[honyock]

Latest Update to Guitar Inventory Reduction Plan

I've decided I'm not up for the packing and shipping hassle. I went to a few local GC's and it looks like one of them wants to play ball for the whole deal at one time. I'll end up with less money, but I don't care about that. The money I give up by selling direct to GC more than makes up for the time and energy I'd waste packing gear up and shipping it. I've looked around a lot at the various selling platforms. Up front, Reverb appears to be a great site, BUT there's literally no human help available (that I can find anyway) in case a deal went south for whatever reason. The new Reverb pales in comparison to the old version. Those people were willing to work, answer questions, and be very helpful. The new version seems to be virtual everything. Who knew selling a ton of guitars could be such a PITA? Nothing's sealed and done yet, but that's the latest, if anyone cares. Peace

Yep, Reverb sold to Etsy and the personal touch and support from real people was replaced by typical crap online customer service people left eBay for...

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[LightWingStudios]

He's back Ladies and Germs! HE'S BACK!

[mickey]

@LesPawl Got any guitars you are wanting to sell that are NOT solid body electrics?
If so, please PM me the details. Thanks.