CE 100 questions

amnicon

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Hi All-- There is a CE 100 for sale near me that I'm thinking I'm thinking I'll go look at. The serial number makes it a 1956ish. It's a guy selling his grandpa's guitar and isn't a guitar player, so his descriptions are fuzzy and the pictures are poor, but he seems like an honest and nice guy. He said his brother is a guitar player and used to plug it in, and supposedly the electronics work.

-He's listed it at $1300. I have no clear idea about condition at this point, but how does this sit? What is reasonable range for this guitar?

-How do you check the neck angle on an archtop? I'd want to check this, but haven't ever bought an old one.

-Are there other typical quirks or issues I should be looking for?


Thanks for your time!!
 

AcornHouse

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I have a ‘57 CE-100, so I can try to answer some.

In excellent condition, these can go for up to $2000, but condition is the key. One of the things to look for is the binding, in this era, they can be deteriorating, crack, or shrunk away from the channels (which is what leads to cracking.) Fixing binding can run a few hundred.
As far as the neck angle, first, check for neck straightness. Assuming a straight neck, the string height should be nice and low, and there should still be a little room to lower the bridge further.
The other checks are the usual: fret wear, tuner condition, originality, electronics.
Everything can be fixed, but that takes money, which you can use to bargain for a lower price.

Good luck!
 

Walter Broes

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single pickup? Double pickup? Color? In any case, if the guitar's all there condition and playing-wise, 1300 is OK, but it really depends on the condition of the guitar. Binding, neck/fingerboard/frets and "are all the orginal parts there?" is what I'd check for.
 

amnicon

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It's the single pickup version. Sunburst. From my research on line, it looks like the original Franz pick-up, and the original knobs. The straight-across /non-harp tailpiece.

He said there are cracks in the binding on the bass side, but didn't sound like any was fully off/missing. He couldn't find other obvious cracks in the body, but I'm not sure he would be able to recognize small/closed ones.
 

dbirchett

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Fixing the binding is going to run close to a grand. Considering that one in excellent condition should run about $2K or less, his asking price is a bit high. Would be closer if it was 2 pickups with a Bigsby, given the binding issues. I would suggest bargaining his down some,
 

amnicon

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Sorry, I might not have been clear enough. The neck binding is cracked. Is that would could be be $1K?
 
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