How can I help you?
I've got this really cool guitar
built by John Carruthers.
He actually worked with Leo Fender
on the original design of the Telecaster.
It's absolutely beautiful when you play it.
This is about all I can play.
[guitar strums]
Ha.
There you go.
I don't even know if that's a note.
CHRIS: I'm looking to sell my John Carruthers guitar.
The guitar itself is made with amazing materials
and amazing craftsmanship.
I'd like to get $1,500 for the guitar
because I've played this guitar.
And even though I'm very amateur,
it even makes me sound OK.
It's a really wonderful guitar.
CHUMLEE: This is awesome.
Everybody loves Fenders for the quality, especially those '50s
and '60s guitars.
In 1949, Fender had a market share on amps.
And then in 1952, they released what
I think was the Broadkaster, which later became
the Telecaster, the guitar that is synonymous with rock
and roll all over the world.
People absolutely love the sound of that guitar
and they just blew up.
People loved these Telecasters.
And Fender is the top selling guitar of all time.
Yeah.
CHUMLEE: So this is a John Carruthers guitar?
I believe it is.
Absolutely.
I don't know too much about his history personally,
but John Carruthers is known for making exceptional guitars.
It looks like you say what you have here might be a prototype.
And if this proves to be something that he worked on,
it could be very valuable even though it doesn't have any
of the Fender markings on it.
It does have a few condition issues.
Looking at it, it even looks like it
might have been dropped because that's a pretty big chip.
CHRIS: I can live up to that one.
CHUMLEE: You dropped it?
I did.
I met an absolutely gorgeous young lady
and I got sidetracked.
[laughter]
She must have been pretty gorgeous.
CHRIS: She was.
I felt like a real nincompoop.
CHUMLEE: Well I mean other than that,
the guitar has the normal wear and tear on it.
But a guitar like this is built to be played.
How much are you looking to get for this guitar?
I was thinking $1,500 would be a reasonable price to start at.
Well, you could have something really cool on your hands here
or you could have nothing.
It's got no markings on it and I definitely
need to have it checked out before I
even offer you a price on it.
OK.
CHUMLEE: So I'd like to have someone come down
and take a look at it. - Right.
Right.
CHUMLEE: So if you got a little time,
I'd like to get someone down here.
Yeah.
I'd be thrilled to hear what they have to say, actually.
CHUMLEE: All right.
Give me just a few minutes.
I'll be right back.
OK, cool.
I believe the expert is going to find that the guitar is
probably worth at least $3,000.
So there shouldn't be any qualms with my asking price, really.
CHUMLEE: Hey, Wolf. WOLF: Hey.
How are you?
Good.
CHUMLEE: So this is what I called you about.
Supposedly, it's a John Carruthers.
WOLF: Definitely looks like one to me.
Carruthers is a legend in the guitar building industry.
He worked for people like Hendrix,
Elvis, The Stones, Neil Young.
You could just go on and on and on.
He worked with Fender designing the 52 Telecaster
and the 52 Telecaster reissue.
He was actually even asked to run the Fender custom shop
at one point, but he turned that offer down to go work
on his own.
CHUMLEE: Are his guitars very collectible?
WOLF: Yeah.
I'd say a Carruthers guitar is fairly collectible.
Yeah.
CHUMLEE: So you mind taking a closer
look at it because he believes it could be a prototype?
Yeah.
I'd love to take a look at it.
It's OK if I pick this up? CHRIS: Yeah.
Please do.
Thank you so much.
Very nice looking ax.
Wow.
Looks like Brazilian Rosewood on the fret board and the bridge.
And that's-- you can't even import this
wood without proper licensing fees
or you go to jail immediately.
It feels like it's chambered.
And what's that mean? It's chambered?
WOLF: That means that it's hollowed out
in certain parts of the guitar to give
it a more resonant sound.
Let's listen to one.
[guitar strums]
Really, you can hear the hollow properties in the guitar.
Yeah.
I play it unamplified all the time.
WOLF: No serial numbers or nothing, huh?
CHRIS: Yeah.
There are no markings or no serial numbers on it at all.
So is this a prototype?
Not really.
It's a custom shop order.
And I know it's a Carruthers guitar for sure,
but this is what lets me know this
is a custom shop order because this pick up
is usually not here.
That's just something he doesn't do.
OK.
So I'm going to need to get a value on this,
but I just wanted to make sure we
take that into consideration.
I don't know if that affects the value or not,
but it's been dropped.
WOLF: Definitely a ding like that is pretty substantial
and may affect value a little bit.
But when you're talking John Carruthers, I mean,
this is a really nice instrument.
So I mean, I put a value on this of about $2,500.
CHUMLEE: All right.
Well, thanks for coming in.
I appreciate you. - Thank you.
I appreciate it. Good seeing you.
CHUMLEE: See you next time. - Nice meeting you, sir.
Thank you very much.
All right.
Well, that's good news.
Yes, indeed.
CHUMLEE: Why don't we make a deal at $1,600?
It's a little more than you were asking for.
You know, it's not like I don't
have enough guitars to play at home
so I guess I'll take the deal.
Thank you. - All right.
Let's go write it up. Follow me.
Cool.
Thank you.
I think I struck a major chord today
because I only paid $400 for the guitar
and I sold it for $1,600.
So I feel like it's song and a dance out the door here.