1968 Crestline Les Paul

by Eric B.
(Georgia)

I acquired this beautiful sunburst (wood into red) Les Paul with white trim, square pearl inlaid fret board, beautifully toned humbuckers, Grover tuners, etc. He called it a pre lawsuit guitar and explained Crestline (or some part of) actually began making Gibsons after 1968, but at any rate he claimed that they were later sued for this copy. I love the guitar, in fact, if it didn't say Crestline at the top, I'd swear it was a Gibson. It weighs a whopping 13 pounds and is in excellent condition if it is truly 40 years old. I know nothing about Crestline, the guitar has no visible serial number on it, and I'm curious about it's true value. I was told you can tell the age of a Crestline by its logo which has changed over the years. The logo is yellow and in the shape of a shield. The lettering runs diagonally. I was also told there was a date or some sort of serial number behind the rhythm pick up (I have not looked). The guy had it for sale for $500. I traded him a Fender Rumble 100 bass amp for the guitar. I apologize about the long winded question, but can you tell me what you know about these guitars or direct me to someone who does know some history on Crestline and a possible value on my guitar? I can email pictures if necessary.

Thanks,

Eric

ANSWER

First, here is what the Blue Book says about Crestline:

"Instruments previously built in Japan circa mid- to late 1970s. Distributed by the Grossman Music Corporation in Cleveland, OH.
These entry level to intermediate solid body guitars featured designs based on classic American favorites. Crestline offered a wide range of stringed instruments, including classical, folk, dreadnought, and twelve-string acoustics; solid body electric guitars and basses; amplifiers; banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles. Considering the amount of instruments available, the Crestline trademark was probably used on guitars built by one of the bigger Japanese guitar producers and rebranded for the U.S. market. One model reviewed at a vintage guitar show was based on Gibson's Les Paul design, and had Grover tuners, two Japanese covered humbuckers, and decent wood."

That said, in my research, I found a lot of people who really love these guitars. It seems that Crestline made copies of almost every guitar of value.

Regrettably, I must tell you that AS A COLLECTORS ITEM, these guitars are probably not worth a lot. The actual VALUE is indicated by how well you like it. It sounds like a beautiful guitar and I would love to see a picture.

Sorry I could not be of more help.

Lynne