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For Sale / Re: pre Gibson G101 organ, first called Kalamazoo K101. For sale.
« on: February 17, 2018, 11:35:25 AM »
If extra data helps, I bought my Gibson G101 on Craigslist in Los Angeles in July of 2016 for $1,800. I could probably have gotten it from him cheaper, since I think he was asking $2,300 and when I offered $1,800, he didn't counter-offer with $2,000. I think he was having a hard time finding interested parties, even in Los Angeles, so he jumped when a live buyer appeared and didn't want to risk me leaving. I suspect Alen is right that the market for these isn't what it used to be.
It's in very good shape, has the volume pedal, but not the bass pedals. It sounded good, but I did have someone go through the electronics (replace some capacitors and stuff) and replace the bulb, which wasn't working. (I can't remember what that total bill was.)
In your Kalamazoo picture, you can see the green tolex showing in some areas, so the blue might be removable. That'll be a job, though, because the tolex on these babies is extra heavy on the nooks and crannies. I'm not sure if paint remover would work without damaging the tolex. It's nasty stuff. You'll definitely need to disassemble, because if it were me, I'd hose/brush it off when you're done. You don't want any traces of paint remover remaining. (I've amateur-painted a few cars.)
Regular paint thinner is less destructive, but I don't know if it would work.
I probably shouldn't mention this next thing, because I don't think I would recommend it here, but ... years ago, I bought an old Vox AC-30 amp head that the guy had painted blue. It looked horrible. I was some limited experience with vinyl spray paint (for car interiors), so I bought a can of black and painted the head. I disassembled everything and did a very careful job. It looked really good and completely "believable." In fact, I went back to look at it just now and if I didn't know what I had done, I would never guess it wasn't original.
Of course, the G101 isn't black, though. The green and tan of G101s are both really weird shades that would be hard to match, plus there's a whole lot more surface area than on an amp head, so I think you'd have a much tougher time looking authentic. Plus, unless your tolex has no rips or wear, then "perfect" color, top to bottom, will raise an eyebrow. If I were going to keep the organ (like with the AC-30 head), I might give it a try, but not if I were going to sell it.
It's in very good shape, has the volume pedal, but not the bass pedals. It sounded good, but I did have someone go through the electronics (replace some capacitors and stuff) and replace the bulb, which wasn't working. (I can't remember what that total bill was.)
In your Kalamazoo picture, you can see the green tolex showing in some areas, so the blue might be removable. That'll be a job, though, because the tolex on these babies is extra heavy on the nooks and crannies. I'm not sure if paint remover would work without damaging the tolex. It's nasty stuff. You'll definitely need to disassemble, because if it were me, I'd hose/brush it off when you're done. You don't want any traces of paint remover remaining. (I've amateur-painted a few cars.)
Regular paint thinner is less destructive, but I don't know if it would work.
I probably shouldn't mention this next thing, because I don't think I would recommend it here, but ... years ago, I bought an old Vox AC-30 amp head that the guy had painted blue. It looked horrible. I was some limited experience with vinyl spray paint (for car interiors), so I bought a can of black and painted the head. I disassembled everything and did a very careful job. It looked really good and completely "believable." In fact, I went back to look at it just now and if I didn't know what I had done, I would never guess it wasn't original.
Of course, the G101 isn't black, though. The green and tan of G101s are both really weird shades that would be hard to match, plus there's a whole lot more surface area than on an amp head, so I think you'd have a much tougher time looking authentic. Plus, unless your tolex has no rips or wear, then "perfect" color, top to bottom, will raise an eyebrow. If I were going to keep the organ (like with the AC-30 head), I might give it a try, but not if I were going to sell it.
