I finally saw this episode and apart from the pleasure of seeing this iconic guitar I had to wonder if there wasn't anywhere more appropriate to sell it than a pawn shop. I mean aren't there guitar auction places or something where real guitar afficionados can gather to bid or buy ? I have a feeling that in such an environment it would have raked in a bit more money.
I agree... it makes for good TV but I often have wondered that. The people wander outside in a daze after getting half what their SG is worth, and say "Well, I'm happy with what I got... I wasn't playin' that guitar, and now I can go buy myself a crying towel for the days when I realize how dumb I was to sell it for so little." And they go home and their attitudinal young head-banger says, "Dad, why didn't you give that SG to me? I'd a played it till it screamed, or if I sold it I'd a got twice that measlie four hundred on e'bay." and his wife looks wise and says, "honey, yer dad jus' wanted to be on TV, and there warn't no other way."
Want the guitar? It's on ebay now! Mary Ford's 1961 Gibson Les Paul Custom Guitar | eBay Only 250K!!!
I agree. Good luck with that in this economy. And the fact that everyone knows what the pawn stars paid 90K for it.
Ooooohhh Nooooo, not again!!! If anyone wants some interesting reading, check out this old thread on MyLesPaul. In this thread, our own Kevin James does a lot of very detailed analysis of the guitar. There are some oddities with the guitar. Its a long thread and starts off kinda slowly, but at one point Kevin responds to someone who claims to be a relative of Mary Ford. Its an interesting read. Kevin is one very smart dude on vintage SGs. The gist of Kevin's assertions (and SG Lou even chimes in at one point) is that the SG is more likely a '63 than a '61. Other posters in that thread then insisted that it doesn't command the high value attributed to it since it has less association with Les Paul, the man. The supposed family member's first post is post #114 and goes by the screenname, "Lesandmarywerefamily." http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/vintage-sg/179047-pawn-stars-1961-gibson-les-paul-sg.html
I admit to watching pawn stars but only believe about 10% of what i see on that show. Now I will say I'd love to have a chance to play that SG for a couple hours but that kind of money is just nuts.
Realty TV is as real as a set of fake boobs. Looks like the real thing, but is definitely not. These shows are at best edited in a way that is different from the facts or the shows are indeed out-and-out scripted and use actors, not real people. Supposedly the Ford LP had been at a local guitar shop and this whole show was indeed scripted.
I remember that thread. That was quite an interesting read. Anyone else find it funny that some random guy under the username "Lesandmarywerefamily" just pops up on a guitar forum the day after Les Paul's supposed iconic SG was on Pawn Stars. I'm fairly confident it was just some internet troll again. Anyways, yeah if anyone here has ever been into the pawn shop, you'll know its basically just a glorified gift shop. They sell shirts with their faces on them and other knick-knacks but the majority of the things they claim to buy are staged. They make all their money off of the show and nearly nothing off of the shop itself--I read somewhere that rick makes about $3million a year and even Chum Lee, the biggest idiot on the show, is actually a fairly intelligent guy (its all staged, people) and even he makes I believe $600-800k. I've even heard of a story of a guy coming in to sell a 68 LP custom to them that they bought for a few grand and then somebody ended up doing a bunch of research just to find out that the guitar that was "sold" to the pawn shop was still up for sale in Vegas' cowtown guitars. It's a very entertaining show but it is extremely fake and is all just a gimmick.
Scripting and editing is one thing. But, some of the things that transpire on Pawn Stars is tantamount to deception. The whole idea behind the show is of customers coming into the store with items for sale or pawn. But, there have been episodes that are anything but that. Some are not customers, at all, and they aren't selling anything. For example, an early episode where a "customer" brought in a beat up Coke machine was a downright fabrication. The expert who evaluated the machine was Rick Dale of Rick's Restorations. The "customer" was actually Rick's brother, Ron. The coke machine that was refurbished was wrong, too. The restored machine was a different make and model, entirely, from the one that was brought in. Then there was the episode where a "customer" came in who was the supposed guitarist for Toto. He brought in a Les Paul, only to learn from the "expert" at Cowtown Guitars that it wasn't the year of Les Paul he thought it was. Well, the "customer" was not the guitarist for Toto. He was an employee of Cowtown Guitars. To me, this goes beyond scripting and editing.
C'mon guys, you mean to tell me my TV is LYING TO ME???? :) Seriously though, I'd still consider television to be the "old, quaint evil". The internet can be much worse. Would love to see these points corroborated though. I remember that Toto impostor guy, it was weird because it was his "prized" Gibson, but he didn't even realize the pancake body put it in a different decade. Even I knew that one.
You're right. It probably is no big deal, but it kinda irks me. Ah well, life goes on. Getting back to the original topic, the other thing I found interesting on the thread on MLP which I referenced earlier, is that the nephew who originally brought the SG into the Pawn Stars was initially only asking for $30,000.00. That fact was from a Time magazine article. See the link below, post #536 by a poster name ElectricMagick. Later, in post #543, ElectricMagick attached a pic of the article. Pawn Stars 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG - Page 18 - My Les Paul Forums
Here's just a bit of corroboration of my earlier points. There's more out there! History Channel’s Pawn Stars is Fake | centraltendencies.com Either way, the fake nature of the show is one thing. The fact that the History Channel is the home network of the show, just seems, somehow, twisted.
It's fascinating how these guys would bake their own future scandal(s) into the production of the show. Maybe they're relying on people's attitude that "it's just a TV show". There must be some law about staging fake business transactions. Will be interesting to see how it plays out, haven't seen the TIME article, though if I'm understanding it correctly?, Rick is up-front about the fakeness of the show in the article.
It's called dumbing of the masses. That's what these shows do and it's really no longer reality is it? I'll have to consult with George Carlin on this one...oh ya, he's dead, and dead people don't give a s%!# about the sanctity of life, or reality shows! After reading some of that MLP thread, I would have to come to the conclusion the price for that guitar on eBay is very ridiculous. The Pawn Stars show was aired to set this guitar up for TV hype, and then sell it on eBay for what the price is listed now. It has a cracked jack, the covers have been taken off the pick-ups, it's been refretted, and now it's supposed to be a '63. Lots of issues here. The sad & real part about all this is that someone will actually buy that guitar on eBay!
All scrpited huh ? Well that's a let down. I'm almost too scared to ask but what's the deal with all those ranting psychos on Hardcore Pawn then ? You know- the ones who want $800 for a ring and then go nuts when they can't get it. Not to mention the frequently hostile interaction between Les, Seth and Ashley.
The ranting psychos is pure entertainment. If you ever notice on any reality show, there is always some sort of conflict. It's not really about the subject anymore, it's more about conflict & mindless entertainment. Just like 'Storage Wars' and so on, etc. You are not really learning anything. Facts are twisted so it's not really educational. Lack of substance! Have I missed any other points?
Sounds like you've pretty much covered it. I guess you're right about the conflict aspect.Storage Wars wouldn't be quite the same if everyone was civil and congratulated each other on their buys. That would be a real channel changer. Speaking of which has anyone ever seen any interesting guitars pop up on Storage Wars ?
Out of curiosity I checked ebay to see if they still the SG in question but what I found was a bit confusing. Take a look and let me know what you guys reckon. Vintage 1963 Gibson Les Paul S.G. Custom Mary Ford SG Star of the Pawn Shop!! | eBay
