Should I Verify Celebrity Ownership (Duran Duran)?

Thumper · #1 02-20-2011, 01:27 PM

I own and am planning to sell a Les Paul deluxe 5 reportedly owned by John Taylor of Duran Duran. That's not why I bought it, although I thought that was cool. I was in Phoenix and stopped by the Guitar Center on Peoria (around 40th). I was there on business and just stopped by cuz they occasionally had some interesting used basses. I saw this beautiful LP5 high on the wall and asked to look at/play it since I had never seen one and it was the same color as my then guitar players axe. It had some major mojo and sounded and felt great. It was up there sitting next to a blue sparkle LP 4 (at least I think it was a 4 since this as 6-7 years ago). The salesman said it belonged to John Tayor, who's equipment guy lived in Phoenix and came in and traded them for some other gear. The blue sparkle was immediately bought by a store employee but the LP5 was still for sale. Again, I thought is was a great sounding bass, but a little heavy for my then troublesome shoulder (around 10-10.5 lbs). I mentioned it to a co-worker who wanted to see it, so we went back that evening. Long story short, I bought it.

I later went on John Taylor's web site and saw a picture of both basses there. I thought I should verify it was his bass, but can no longer find the web site, so I really don't know how to prove it was his, which may not be that big a deal since I don't know that really adds any value since it will probably sell on it's own merits.

Finally, now my question: is it worth verifying his ownership, does that add any appreciable value? If so, how would I do it? I went to the only website I could find (Duran Duran fan site) thinking I could ask someone there, but they want $35 just to join before I can post! Or should I just post to Ebay instead of Talkbass and take my chances?

Someone more internet savy than I am can maybe point me in the right direction to find John Taylor's old web site?

Could/should I post this in the basses forum instead?

fenderhutz · #2 02-20-2011, 01:33 PM

Might add 100 bucks to the value for a Duran Duran fan. John Taylor is only famous amongst bassists.

**DougD** · #3 02-20-2011, 01:48 PM

IMHO it's always good to verify. If for nothing else other than your own satisfaction. And I completely disagree that John Taylor is only famous amongst bass players. Duran Duran was HUGE, especially in Europe. There are a lot of John Taylor fans out there that are not bass players. Although it may not add value here in the USA, The European market my be different.

elgecko · #4 02-20-2011, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

Might add 100 bucks to the value for a Duran Duran fan. John Taylor is only famous amongst bassists.

And a certain percentage of now, middle aged cougars!

sevenorchids · #5 02-20-2011, 02:27 PM

http://www.trusttheprocess.com/ was his former site. Looks like it got folded under www.duranduran.com now. He created that site during his hiatus from DD but since he is back it's all under the umbrella site.

And, no, John Taylor is not only famous amongst bass players. I know MANY, MANY people that aren't even musicians (let alone bass players) that could name him from a picture with no problem at all. If you are the right age, you had little choice but to know who he was.

I know that he ended up with one or more of Bernard Edwards basses. Here's a snippet from Wiki...

The bass guitar most commonly associated with John Taylor is the Japanese Aria Pro II SB1000, which he used during the height of Duran Duran's fame; he also promoted the instrument in a series of magazine advertisements. In the mid-1980s, John tried other basses such as Steinberger and Wal (interestingly, although the Wal is considered by many to be one of the world's finest basses, Taylor was unimpressed with his). Taylor eventually settled on Phillip Kubicki's Factor bass with a unique drop-D latch on the head. Taylor also inherited the Music Man StingRay belonging to his idol Bernard Edwards.

As of 2007, Taylor still plays the Aria and the Stingray, but has also been seen playing a 1962 reissue Fender Precision Bass, a Gibson Les Paul bass, a Warwick Thumb 5 and a Peavey Cirrus 5 and 4 string.

Noting Taylor's loyalty to the same Peavey bass guitar onstage with Duran Duran for several years, in early 2006, Peavey Guitars asked Taylor to create a signature 4-string bass guitar. With his design partner Patty Palazzo, and designer Ted McCann, Taylor created the limited-edition "Peavey Liberator JT-84", which featured a detachable amplifier built into a custom-built case. The amp could be expanded into an external speaker or amplifier to increase volume and flexibility. Taylor went on to design a six-string guitar, the "Peavey Liberator A435" (named after the main road that led from his childhood home into the city of Birmingham, England), as well. Only 100 each of the numbered-and-signed basses and guitars were made available to the public, in October 2006.

Here's the interview from BP talking about Gibson basses. Looks like he didn't play them onstage:

http://www.bassplayer.com/article/du...ber-2007/32777

Also, is it this bass?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf3C6rLwK0Y

MNAirHead · #6 02-20-2011, 02:59 PM

I wouldn't bother... unless you can contact him directly, you will not have an authentication..

There are some (like Hendrix guitars) that an antique investigator can trace back knicks etc...

Thumper · #7 02-20-2011, 03:13 PM

Thanks for the feedback so far, pretty much what I thought.

Regarding the bass, if he didn't play it on stage, he (or someone else) played the heck out of it. And judgeing from the case, it had been around the world many times.

The European community would only see it on Ebay, and I don't want to mess with overseas issues.

Jim C · #8 02-20-2011, 09:58 PM

Without a signed certificate of authenticity there is no verification

FWIW, Years ago Gill Soutworth of Southworth Guitars had the same Les Paul that Mick Ralph used on "Feel Like Making Love" ( among other hits) complete with signed paperwork, photo's, etc.

It made no difference in the sale or sale price
Unless it's a MEGA player, celebrity ownership seems to make no difference; have heard that it can work against you if the potential buyer doesn't care and feels you have raised the price accordingly
I'm sure John is a great musician and a super nice guy but doubt that his ownership will really mean anything when it comes to a sale

My name is Mudd · #9 02-21-2011, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim C

...but doubt that his ownership will really mean anything when it comes to a sale

I could see how having verification may add additional value to the bass to/for a collector of 'famous' instruments or a rabid DD fan, but obtaining that verification is another issue...

Thumper · #10 02-22-2011, 09:26 AM

John Taylor aside, I guess my only remaining issue is where to value this beauty. Not many have moved on TalkBass, and they seem to go $900 to $1,300 on Ebay. I'm no sure where to value this - I'm guessing start around $1,000. Any advice in this issue?

Thanks for the input so far.