Question about Gibson Les Paul guitars & Fender Bassman amp?

Hello there,

If you have not already done so, I suggest you start doing your homework. Research the LPs of the 70s and 80s. There are many models. Make notes about how to identify each model. Search ebay's closed auctions for some recent sales of 70s and 80s LPs so you have some idea as to the value of each model.

Without knowing the model and year of the LP, no one can give you a reasonable estimate of its value.

As for the Fender Bassman amp. There have been many models and the value varies greatly depending on the model. If it is an old tweed Bassman, you are looking at a valuable amp if it is in good condition. If you are looking at a blackface amp then it is worth less than a tweed, but still worth around $600 to $800 for the head alone. With blackface there were 2 main speaker cabs used, a 2x12 and a 2x15. Condition is a factor to the value, but so is which speakers are loaded in the cab. Fender used several different speakers. I believe the 2x15 loaded with JBLs were about the best. Then there were some silverface era Bassman amps and the styles changed. Early silverface (around 69) were still fairly close to blackface, But the farther you go along in the silverface era the more drastic the changes and the more drastically the value drops. A lot of the CBS era amps are not very good. Fender made Bassman amps quite frequently. I think they even have a small practice bass amp with the Bassman name. Of course it does not have much value. Because of the many Bassman models, and speaker configurations, it will take a lot of research and notes to have a fair working knowledge of the values of each model of Bassman ever made. If you do not understand electronics, you will need some tech to work on the amp to get it playable. Vintage amps need to be checked over and repaired. Especially vintage tube amps required care and maintenace. If the amp has not been properly maintained, the cost to get it into playable condition can be quite a bit. Just a set of tubes for a vintage Bassman will run you over a $100. I don't know what the caps cost. If you do not understand tube electronics, you do not want to tinker with it yourself, The caps can contain lethal dozes of electricity stored up.

If you do not know the model, year, condition and speakers of the Bassman amp, no one can give you a realistic value.

Later,

Les Paul customs used Kluson deluxe tuners which had the "pearloid" type of knob that is an off-white color. If the guitar has binding on the neck and the "parallel-o-gram" fret markers than it is likely a custom. This makes it much more valuable than a standard which usually has no binding and dot inlays. It could be a valuable instrument so check the serial numbers. If it is in mint condition it could be worth a couple grand.

Bassmans are very cool amps and have been built by Fender for years. Little known fact: the first Marshall guitar amps were based directly on the bassman circuit. Although there is a great deal of interest in older bassman amps, it is usually from amp collectors so there is not a big spike in the value. A fair price would be $300-$500 (but offer less!!)